FBI arrests 'dreaded' Jan. 6 defendant they say rammed 'Trump' sign into police line

WASHINGTON — A Jan. 6 participant whose dreaded blonde locks and face tattoos made him a memorable face in the pro-Trump mob has been arrested in South Dakota, the FBI said, accusing him of shoving an officer during the Capitol melee after "ramming" a giant metal-framed “TRUMP” sign into a line of police officers.

William George Knight faces more than a half-dozen charges in connection with the Jan. 6 Capitol attack, including felony charges of assault on a federal officer and obstruction of law enforcement during civil disorder.

Footage compiled by "sedition hunters" who have aided the FBI in hundreds of cases against Capitol rioters shows the man identified as Knight was one of the first people to breach the initial barriers at the Capitol and shows him ripping away police barricades as the mob confronted officers. Video shows the same man aggressively confronting law enforcement, at one point rushing towards the police line with an extended flag pole and then smashing it on the concrete in front of officers. That man was initially dubbed "Dreaded Proud Boy" by online sleuths due to his hairstyle and proximity to members of the far-right organization during the initial breach of the Capitol grounds, but federal prosecutors did not present any evidence to connect Knight to the organization.

Footage from before the Capitol attack also shows the man identified as Knight banging on glass near the Washington Monument after officers took another man into custody near the Trump rally on the Ellipse, where the election-denying former president told the mob to "fight like hell" or they wouldn't have a country anymore.

The FBI affidavit in Knight's Jan. 6 case says he has "several distinctive tattoos, including one under his