So far this month, five men from North Carolina have been found guilty of charges related to the Jan. 6, 2021 attack on the Capitol. 

What You Need To Know

  • Over 30 people from North Carolina have been charged in relation to the Jan. 6 attacks

  • All five men were found guilty on felony charges, including obstruction of an official proceeding and civil disorder

  • The Department of Justice said over 1,300 nationwide have been charged in relation to the attack that caused an estimated $2.8 million in damages 

On Thursday, the Department of Justice announced Christopher Raphael Spencer, 43, of Pilot Mountain, was convicted of felony obstruction of an official proceeding and other misdemeanor charges including disruptive conduct in a restricted building or grounds. 

Spencer was arrested in January 2021 and pleaded not guilty to the charges. 

His wife, Virginia Marie Spencer, was arrested a month later and pleaded guilty to one charge of picketing in a Capitol building. She was sentenced to 90 days incarceration in January 2022. 

The couple recorded part of their time in the Capitol on Facebook Live. The DOJ said in one of the videos Christopher Spencer can be heard yelling “don’t stop!” to other rioters in their struggle with the police. 

David Worth Bowman, 22, of Raleigh, and Christopher Carnell, 21, of Cary, were both found guilty earlier this month of felony obstruction of an official proceeding and multiple misdemeanor charges. 

Both men were arrested last March and pleaded not guilty to all charges. 

The DOJ said they illegally entered the Capitol through the Senate Wing Door and joined a crowd of rioters chanting “Treason, treason, treason.” Carnell and Bowman were both seen in videos from the day going through documents and other materials from a senator’s desk. 

Court documents revealed the men later texted about the events, joking about taking things from the Capitol and suggesting they should delete their messages. 

Carnell and Bowman are set to be sentenced on June 14, according to a DOJ press release. 

Alan Michael St. Onge, 36, of Brevard, pleaded guilty on Feb. 1 to two counts of felony civil disorder for his participation in the attack. 

The DOJ said St. Onge was part of the mob attempting to overtake a line of police officers protecting an entrance to the Capitol. He was captured on surveillance video “pushing, with great effort, against other rioters in an attempt to collectively breach the police line,” a press release from the DOJ said. 

St. Onge will be sentenced on May 17. 

Earlier this month, James Tate Grant, 31, of Cary was found guilty on multiple charges, including felony civil disorder and obstruction of an official proceeding. 

Grant previously pleaded guilty to two misdemeanor charges of entering certain rooms within the Capitol and demonstrating or picketing inside a Capitol building. 

The DOJ says Grant and others lifted a metal bike rack barricade and drove it into a line of Capitol police officers, causing one officer to fall backward and slam their head on the stairs behind them. The officer sustained a concussion. 

Grant then went into the Capitol and continued to fuel the riot, the DOJ said. Along with the four other men he was with, Grant will be sentenced on June, 13. 

As of Feb, 22, more than 1,300 have been charged with crimes related to the Jan. 6 riot that left five dead and caused an estimated $2.8 million in damages.