ROANOKE, Va. – Another Southwest Virginia man has been arrested and charged in connection with the riot at the U.S. Capitol on Jan. 6, 2021.
On Wednesday, authorities arrested 47-year-old Markus Maly, of Fincastle, charging him with the following nine offenses:
- 18 U.S.C. §§ 111(a)(1) and (b) - Assaulting, Resisting, or Impeding Certain Officers Using a Dangerous Weapon or Inflicting Bodily Injury
- 18 U.S.C. § 231(a)(3) - Civil Disorder
- 18 U.S.C. § 1512(c)(2) - Obstruction of an Official Proceeding
- 18 U.S.C. § 1752(a)(2) - Disorderly and Disruptive Conduct in a Restricted Building or Grounds
- 18 U.S.C. § 1752(a)(2)- Disorderly and Disruptive Conduct in a Restricted Building or Grounds
- 18 U.S.C. § 1752(a)(4) - Engaging in Physical Violence in a Restricted Building or Grounds
- 40 U.S.C. § 5104(e)(2)(D) - Disorderly Conduct in a Capitol Building
- 40 U.S.C. § 5104(e)(2)(E) - Impeding Passage Through the Capitol Grounds or Buildings
- 40 U.S.C. § 5104(e)(2)(F) - Act of Physical Violence in the Capitol Grounds or Buildings
The arrest warrant was signed on Jan. 13; however, it was not released until after his arrest on Wednesday.
While in Washington D.C. on Jan. 6, Maly pointed and sprayed a chemical irritant at a line of police officers attempting to secure the area of the Lower West Terrace of the U.S. Capitol Building, according to court documents.
Court records indicate that at times, Maly wore a black beanie and a white cowboy hat with the words “TRUMP 2020″ printed on the front and what appears to be “TEAM TRUMP” printed on the back, with an American flag pattern printed on the underside.
Also, prior to being identified, online communities were referring to him as #JohnSprayne.
The court documents include screenshots from the body camera footage of a Metro Police officer showing Maly spaying officers.
Prosecutors said that he also helped another man, Jeffrey Scott Brown, 55, of Santa Ana, California, by giving him a can of spray. Brown has already been charged with various felony offenses and has pleaded not guilty.
Later in the day, Maly exited the tunnel area of the Capitol with what appears to be a riot shield, according to court documents.
Court records also indicate that on Jan. 6, Maly messaged his girlfriend in response to her concern about violence at the Capitol, and wrote, “I know …I’ve got stories though,” and “I was so fun …,”
The next day, he stated in one conversation on social media that, “I stood my ground and went back for seconds and thirds even.”
Below is one photo that Maly posted to his Facebook page on Jan. 19, according to the FBI.
The FBI said that Maly was identified as Person #324 from its seeking information photos.
Maly is also on page 169 of the D.C. Metro Police posting of persons of interest in connection with the events of Jan. 6.
As part of the effort to identify Maly, the statement of facts revealed that the FBI reached out to the Roanoke County Police Department as Maly had been previously arrested in both 2017 and 2020.
One of the department’s officers who was shown the above photos told the FBI that he did indeed recognize the man as Maly, despite the fact that he had longer hair at the time of his previous arrests.
In the year since Jan. 6, more than 725 individuals have been arrested in nearly all 50 states for crimes related to the breach of the U.S. Capitol, including over 225 individuals charged with assaulting or impeding law enforcement, according to the FBI.
The other three Southwest Virginia men charged in connection with the events of Jan. 6 are Jacob Fracker, Thomas Robertson, Jeremy Groseclose and Joshua Haynes.
Maly made his first court appearance, via video conference, on Wednesday in the United States District Court for the Western District of Virginia in Roanoke.
He’s being held in the Roanoke City Jail without bond.
10 News spoke with Maly’s attorney, who said the next hearing has not been scheduled yet.