Dozens arrested during riot at US Capitol. These suspects are from NC.

A violent mob of pro-President Donald Trump supporters overran the nation’s Capitol Wednesday, resulting in at least 69 arrests, four people dead and 14 D.C. officers injured, the Metropolitan Police reported.

Congress was set to confirm President-elect Joe Biden’s win Wednesday when elected officials, Congressional staff, journalists and other people working in the United States Capitol buildings were evacuated.

Metropolitan Police released a list Thursday morning of 69 people who have been arrested during Wednesday’s attack. The list included several from North Carolina who were charged with curfew violations while a few also were charged with unlawful entry. Washington, DC, set a 6 p.m. curfew Wednesday.

US Capitol Police released a list of 14 people who were arrested, but none are from North Carolina.

Police said more arrests are expected and released several photos of people of interest in connection with “unrest-related offenses.” The photos of people in the Capitol halls, on the Senate floor and in unidentified Congressional offices. One photo shows a rioter posing with a statue while another shows someone holding a shard of the sign that was outside House Speaker Nancy Pelosi’s office.

Here is who was charged Wednesday from North Carolina, as of 7 a.m. Thursday.

• Earl Glosser, 40, of Matthews. Curfew violation and unlawful entry.
• Lance Grames, 42, of Sanford. Curfew violation and unlawful entry.
• Jere Brower, 45, Sanford. Curfew violation and unlawful entry.
• Tim Scarboro, 33, of Monroe. Curfew violation
• James Smawley, 27, of Charlotte. Curfew violation
• Jay Thaxton, 46, of Concord. Curfew violation

• Michael Jones, 23, home city unknown. Curfew violation

Grames, Brower and Glosser did not disperse after at least three warnings from the Metropolitan Police Department (MPD), court documents state. MPD and Capitol Police also warned people to get off of Capitol Grounds using audio-amplification devices, but Grames and Glosser did not do so, the documents state.

In addition to Wednesday’s riots, nine people were arrested Tuesday in Washington, DC, in pro-Trump protests, the day before Congress certified the Electoral College votes. That group included two from North Carolina.

Thomas Gronek, 46, from Asheville, went to Washington, DC, in a brightly colored bus with light blue swirls, reminiscent of hippie vans from the 1970s, according to a photo on his Facebook profile. The phrases “Hippies 4 Trump 2020” and “USA Rules” are spray-painted on the windows.

Metropolitan Police Department charged Gronek with carrying a pistol without a license, possession of a large capacity ammunition feeding device and possession of unregistered ammunition.

Tuesday, the department’s Gun Recovery Unit stopped the bus and found that the driver, Timothy Keller, 34, also of Asheville, did not have a permit to operate a vehicle in the District of Columbia. Keller has a pending unauthorized use of motor vehicle charge, according to court records.

When officers swept the vehicle because of “clutter” in the bus with shelves and bicycles, they found a black Springfield 9mm handgun in plain view and a pink Ruger .22 long rifle wrapped in a white blanket, court documents state. Both were fully functional.

They also found four magazines for the handgun with 31 live rounds of ammo, according to the documents.

After a further search, they found 275 live rounds of ammo for the rifle, a drum magazine that holds 110 rounds of ammo and an illegal firework, the documents stated.

Gronek did not have a license for a firearm in the District of Columbia and was not in the process of registering the firearms and ammunition, according to the documents.

More charges possible

N.C. Attorney General Josh Stein tweeted Friday that his office is supporting federal law enforcement efforts to investigate North Carolina residents who took part in the attack. He asked people to send tips about residents who “participated in this lawless insurrection” to email investigationtips@ncdoj.gov.

His statement came the day after U.S. Attorneys in all three districts of North Carolina said they would investigate those who were charged in Washington. They could potentially face charges in North Carolina, they said.

United States Attorneys Robert Higdon Jr., Matthew Martin and Andrew Murray — all Trump appointees — said they would investigate those who traveled to Washington with “the intent to commit federal crimes.”

“As a practical matter, those who committed crimes in and around our Capitol will be dealt with by authorities in the District of Columbia,” Higdon said in a statement.

But if investigations show that residents of the Eastern District of North Carolina traveled to Washington “with the intent to commit federal crimes, we will prosecute them here in the Eastern District,” he said.

Lynne P. Klauer, an Assistant U.S. Attorney from the Middle District of North Carolina, said that also will happen in the Middle District. Martin is the U.S. Attorney.

“Our district stands ready to prosecute if, in the course of the investigations, law enforcement finds that there is a nexus to our jurisdiction, and it is appropriate to prosecute the case here,” she wrote.

Murray is the U.S. Attorney from the Western District of North Carolina.

This story was originally published January 7, 2021 at 1:45 PM with the headline "Dozens arrested during riot at US Capitol. These suspects are from NC.."