A 20-year-old Athens man is the latest Georgian to be arrested in the massive and continuing investigation into the Jan. 6, 2021, U.S. Capitol riot.
The FBI arrested Jake Maxwell Wednesday, charging him with six criminal counts, the most serious of which is assaulting a police officer, a felony that carries a possible maximum penalty of eight years in prison. According to court records, Maxwell fought with police on the West Terrace of the Capitol as the mob attempted to push through police lines.
The FBI used footage from police-worn body cameras to identify Maxwell. Photos contained in court records show a man identified by authorities as Maxwell pushing and banging against the riot shield of a Capitol Police officer. The charging documents claim Maxwell then “got into a physical struggle” with a Metro D.C. Police officer and attempted to take away his baton.
The FBI used that camera footage to compare with a photo of Maxwell wearing the same clothing and cowboy hat on his father’s Facebook page.
For the past year, authorities frequently have used defendants’ own social media photos to identify their presence at the riot. However, according to court records, Maxwell confirmed he was the person in the photos during a Dec. 9 interview at the FBI’s Atlanta office.
“He said he did not remember doing those things, but he confirmed the person doing those things was him,” the arresting agent wrote in a Feb. 9 report. “He said he was under the effects of being sprayed with an irritant, and that he had ‘started freakin’ out.’”
Maxwell made an initial appearance in federal court in the Northern District of Georgia Thursday and was released on bond. He will appear in court in Washington via teleconference later this month. He is the 18th Georgian to be arrested in relation to the riot, but he has been on investigators’ radar for more than nine months.
According to an affidavit filed with the court, an FBI agent contacted Maxwell on April 1, 2021, and questioned him and a family member about their trip to Washington, D.C., for the pro-Trump rally that preceded the riot. At that time, Maxwell and the family member said they “followed the crowd to the U.S. Capitol,” according to the affidavit.
In October, the FBI received a confidential tip that Maxwell had fought with police, leading to his eventual arrest, the affidavit states.
He faces five lesser charges related to his alleged participation in the riot, including disorderly conduct and committing violent acts on the Capitol grounds.
Attempts by the Atlanta Journal-Constitution to reach Maxwell were unsuccessful.
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