Global Courant 2023-05-03 08:29:19
WASHINGTON — The FBI on Tuesday arrested a Florida man who federal authorities say detonated an explosive device in a Capitol tunnel during a fierce fight between Trump supporters and law enforcement on Jan. 6.
Daniel Ball of Homosassa does charged with 12 counts, including attacking, resisting or interfering with officers with a deadly or dangerous weapon; using an explosive device to commit a crime; and obstruction of law enforcement during a civil disorder.
He is the only January 6 defendant charged with detonating an explosive device during the attack on the Capitol.
Authorities say Ball, 38, “co-operated with other rioters to push violently against fully uniformed police officers attempting to keep individuals out of the Capitol” and then “thrown an explosive device in the entryway.”
Several agents are affected by the explosion, according to the FBI. One described “months of persistent hearing loss”; another described the pain from his ringing in the ears as a 10/10 on the pain scale and said he temporarily lost his hearing and his hearing was impaired for at least two days. Another officer reported ringing in the ears for nearly three hours, while another said the ringing continued well into the next day, the FBI said.
“For many of the other officers who were interviewed, it was the most memorable event that day,” an FBI statement said. “Some officers defending the tunnel at the time of the explosion reported feeling the pressure of the blast. Some believed it to be a fragmentation grenade and expected pain or significant injury. Some thought they were going to die. Some officers suffered psychological trauma from the explosion.”
An FBI examiner of explosives and dangerous devices in the Explosives Unit of the FBI Laboratory in Huntsville, Alabama, was “unable to determine the precise dimensions, the size of the charge, whether the thrown explosive was improvised or commercially manufactured. said the FBI. FBI, but concluded it was “capable of causing damage to surrounding property and seriously injuring persons in the vicinity of the resulting explosion.”
Daniel Ball gestures to Capitol Police in Washington, DC, on January 6, 2021.United States District Court Washington
In the affidavit, the FBI said Ball was arrested a few months after the attack on the Florida Capitol and charged with wounds against five civilians and two law enforcement officers. The FBI said he was convicted in connection with the incident and sentenced to five years’ probation.
The FBI said Ball’s parole officer confirmed his identification for Tuesday’s arrest, which appears to have been made using facial recognition technology. “That’s Daniel Ball,” the parole officer said after being shown a photo, the FBI said. The parole officer added that Ball still owned the jacket he was wearing on Jan. 6, 2021, authorities said.
Ball’s attorney did not immediately respond to a request for comment Tuesday evening.
The use of explosives by the pro-Trump mob on January 6 was extremely rare.
David Lee Judd lit what looked like a firecracker, but it didn’t explode. He was convicted to more than 2½ years in prison for his role in the attack on the Capitol.
The FBI is still searching for the person or persons who left pipe bombs outside the headquarters of the Republican and Democratic national committees on January 6. Shortly before the second anniversary of the riot, the FBI increased the reward to $500,000 for information leading to the arrest of everyone involved in planting the pipe bombs, which failed to explode.
