North Texans were among those arrested in the Jan. 6 Capitol riot. Where are they now?
Thursday marks a year since the Jan. 6 attack on the U.S. Capitol, which took place during Congress’ joint session to confirm the 2020 presidential election results.
Since then, over 725 people have been arrested in nearly all 50 states and the District of Columbia, according to the Department of Justice website. Out of those arrests, 63 were made in Texas, making it the state with the second highest number of Capitol cases after Florida.
Nineteen of those charged in the riot are North Texans, according to a Washington Post report, one of the largest numbers anyplace in the country.
Who are these North Texans accused of storming the Capitol seeking to prevent Congress from certifying the election of President Joe Biden and the defeat of Donald Trump? And where do their cases stand a year after the insurrection?
Here are six of the most high-profile North Texas defendants.
Where do North Texans’ cases stand a year later?
Most of the North Texas cases have yet to be resolved.
Those charged were identified by the FBI through social media accounts, officers’ body cameras, building security footage and tips called in to a tip line, according to the FBI’s Dallas field office, which handled 35 cases. Only two cases, including that of Frisco resident Jennifer Ryan, have been resolved.
At least half of the defendants were accused of destroying property or assaulting police officers. Their cases are expected to take more than six months to resolve, especially with COVID postponing some trials.
Others were misdemeanors, where authorities said people entered into the Capitol but didn’t commit an act of violence. Those cases could be resolved more quickly if the defendant enters a plea agreement.
The office expects to see more people charged as investigations continue.
Jennifer Leigh Ryan
Frisco real estate agent Jennifer Leigh “Jenna” Ryan was arrested in Plano on Jan. 15, 2021, and charged with entering and remaining in a restricted building, disorderly and disruptive conduct in a restricted building, violent entry and disorderly conduct in a Capitol building and parading, demonstrating, or picketing in a Capitol building.
A FBI special agent compiled photos, security camera stills and screenshots from social media posts that showed Ryan at the Capitol on Jan. 6. According to court documents, Ryan also live-streamed during the riots and said, “we are going to [redacted] go in here. Life or death, it doesn’t matter. Here we go,” as she approached the top of the west side Capitol steps.
In March, Ryan posted on Twitter that she was “definitely not going to jail” and that she did nothing wrong.
She initially pleaded not guilty but later changed her plea and was sentenced to 60 days in jail.
In December, Ryan posted on her TikTok account that she hoped to lose weight while in prison for 60 days. She said the “only good thing about going to prison” was that she would be able to work out a lot and wouldn’t eat as much.
“I’m thinking that I can get down to 140, so 30 pounds in two months,” she said. “If I do that, then it will be worth going to prison for 60 days.”
Larry Brock
Grapevine man Larry Brock surrendered to police on Jan. 10 on charges that he unlawfully and violently entered the Capitol. Brock is a retired lieutenant colonel in the Air Force who served four tours in Afghanistan.
“He means to take hostages. He means to kidnap, restrain, perhaps try, perhaps execute members of the U.S. government,” Assistant U.S. Attorney Jay Weimer said about Brock in court.
Brock’s ex-wife had seen a picture of him in the Capitol and called the FBI, according to court documents. He had been wearing a military-style helmet, khaki pants, gray and black fatigues over a tactical vest and a patch from his military service.
Federal prosecutors in court said Brock was holding zip ties to restrain politicians and hold them hostage. In a two-minute YouTube video, Brock was seen walking out of the Speaker of the United States House of Representatives Nancy Pelosi’s office.
Prosecutors testified that the 53-year-old was a danger to the community because he justified violence on social media, according to CBS 11. “Patriots on the Capitol. Patriots storming. Men with guns need to shoot their way in,” Brock posted on Jan. 6.
“Wednesday’s capitol riots were a disgrace,” the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the North District of Texas tweeted. “Forcibly storming a government building is a shocking betrayal of the rule of law and we are proud to hold Brock accountable.”
On June 24, Brock pleaded not guilty on all six charges against him. He has remained out of federal custody since January. No updates on his case have been made since July.
Thomas Paul Conover
Keller resident Thomas Paul Conover was arrested Dec. 8 on charges of entering and remaining in a restricted building or grounds, disorderly and disruptive conduct in a restricted building or grounds, disorderly conduct in a Capitol building, and parading, demonstrating or picketing in a Capitol building.
A FBI special agent traced back statements Conover made on Facebook in late December of 2020 which said he planned to be at the Capitol on Jan. 6, the Star-Telegram previously reported.
According to the criminal complaint, on Dec. 26, 2020, Conover said, “I’ll be there on the 6th.”
In posts made on Jan. 6, Conover said, “Greetings from Washington D.C. We took the Capital [sic].”
Other posts, including photos and videos, shared by Conover on Jan. 6 showed him standing outside the Capitol and posing for photos with a beer can inside the Rotunda.
In one video, he said, “I don’t always storm the Capitol of the United States of America. But when I do, I prefer Coors Light.”
Information was filed in Conover’s case on Dec. 23, which is the last update given by the Department of Justice.
Luke Russell Coffee
Dallas actor Luke Russell Coffee was arrested Feb. 25 on charges of assaulting a federal law enforcement officer with a dangerous weapon, interference with law enforcement during civil disorder, obstruction of an official proceeding, unlawful entry on restricted grounds and disorderly conduct on Capitol grounds.
Security camera stills and photos taken on Jan. 6 show Coffee wearing a camouflage hoodie and brown cowboy hat. The weapon he used against a federal law enforcement officer, according to the initial indictment, was a crutch.
Coffee was indicted April 28 and pleaded not guilty to all counts on May 26.
The last update in Coffee’s case, according to court records, was on Dec. 1 when the United States District Court for the District of Columbia made a superseding indictment on 10 counts.
Thomas Ballard
The FBI arrested Fort Worth mechanic Thomas John Ballard on Aug. 10. Ballard, 35, was charged with assaulting officers with a deadly or dangerous weapon, as well as physical violence.
Public videos showed Ballard attacking police officers with a baton and throwing a table at them, according to court documents from his initial hearing.
The FBI had received an online tip with a photo of him in May. They then used a facial recognition tool to match that image to his motorcycle-based YouTube channel called “CliffCares.” Ballard, who owns a motorcycle repair business, had worn the same “Infowars” baseball cap in his videos and at the riot.
The investigation is still ongoing as of August, when his case was last updated. At that time, he was being held at the Parker County Jail. It’s unclear if he has been released since then.
Katherine Staveley Schwab
Colleyville’s Katherine Staveley Schwab “willfully and knowingly engaged in an act of physical violence” at the Capitol, according to court documents. The violence charge filed in June followed several other charges against the real estate agent including knowingly entering and remaining in the Capitol without lawful authority and having disorderly and disruptive conduct.
Schwab, then 32, flew to Washington D.C. on a private plane with four other people to join the riot, including Jenna Ryan, authorities said. Ryan, a Frisco real estate agent, gained media attention for her social media posts about breaking into the Capitol.
“Definitely not going to jail. Sorry I have blonde hair white skin a great job a great future and I’m not going to jail. Sorry to rain on your hater parade. I did nothing wrong,” Ryan tweeted in March, according to the Associated Press.
Like Ryan, Schwab posted several comments on Facebook indicating that she had stormed the Capitol, and was seen in the middle of a crowd of rioters in the Capitol’s surveillance footage, authorities said.
Schwab surrendered to U.S. marshals in Fort Worth on Feb. 1, and pleaded not guilty to all five charges in July. She has been released on personal bond, without any deposit or collateral.
As of Jan. 3, Staveley Schwab’s case had not yet been resolved. Her next hearing has not yet been scheduled.
This story was originally published January 5, 2022 at 2:51 PM.
