JEFFERSONVILLE, Ind. — A southern Indiana man was arrested for his actions during the Capitol riot on Jan. 6, 2021.
On Aug. 24, FBI agents in Wilmington, N.C. arrested Curtis Logan Tate, 32, of Jeffersonville on felony and misdemeanor charges, including assaulting law enforcement, related to his actions during the breach of the U.S. Capitol.
Tate is charged in a criminal complaint filed in the District of Columbia with civil disorder, assaulting, resisting, or impeding certain officers using a deadly or dangerous weapon, and destruction of government property.
In addition to the felonies, Tate is charged with several misdemeanor offenses, including entering or remaining in any restricted building or grounds, disorderly and disruptive conduct in a restricted building or grounds, engaging in physical violence in a restricted building or grounds, disorderly conduct in the Capitol grounds or buildings, and engaging in an act of physical violence in the grounds or any of the Capitol buildings.
According to court documents, on Jan. 6, 2021, Tate attended a rally in Washington, D.C., and afterward made his way toward the U.S. Capitol building. Video footage showed Tate in the restricted area of the U.S. Capitol grounds, including in the Lower West Terrace tunnel.
At 2:05 p.m., Tate is seen in body-worn camera videos from Metropolitan Police Department Officers (MPD) near the Lower West Terrace as he used a metal baton to strike an MPD officer in the hand. In response, an MPD officer sprayed Tate with pepper spray, according to a news release from the U.S. Department of Justice (DOJ).
Tate later uploaded a video on social media of himself near the Lower West Terrace holding a metal baton, which appears to be the same baton used to strike the MPD officer, with the caption: “POST 1ST MACING.” During the video, Tate yelled, “We’re tearing this ************* down!”
At 2:43 p.m., Tate was outside the entrance to the Lower West Terrace tunnel. He arrived minutes after the area was first breached and entered the tunnel closely behind the initial group of rioters. Tate is later seen on Capitol CCTV footage inside the tunnel holding his cell phone above his head, consistent with using the phone to record video.
At 2:57 p.m., Tate is shown inside the tunnel brandishing the metal baton above his head and charging towards the line of police officers protecting the entrance to the Capitol building. Tate then repeatedly struck a U.S. Capitol Police (USCP) officer in the helmet with the metal baton. In response, a USCP officer pepper sprayed Tate, and he retreated.
Later, at about 4:28 p.m., Tate is seen on publicly available video throwing a black speaker box and breaking a window located to the left of the tunnel entrance. Tate then threw a black speaker box and a shoe at police officers protecting the entrance to the tunnel. The speaker box and shoe struck MPD officers.
Shortly after the above assaults, Tate is shown in publicly available video receiving a broken table leg with a protruding screw through a broken window in the Capitol building. The window was the same window damaged by Tate earlier with the speaker box and now was completely broken as a result of damage caused by Tate and others.
Tate is shown in multiple publicly available videos and photographs taken by a photojournalist, navigating through the crowd and carrying the broken table leg toward the entrance to the tunnel. At 4:34 p.m., video shows Tate throwing the broken table leg at police officers who were protecting the tunnel entrance.
At 4:38 p.m., video footage shows Tate assisting others in carrying a piece of lumber toward the entrance to the tunnel, and, at 5:01 p.m., Tate is shown in multiple videos throwing a floor lamp at police officers near the tunnel.
According to the DOJ news release, Tate gave an interview to a media outlet, in which he stated, “I would never hurt an officer. I come from a military background. I’m very respectful of our military and police… I know I didn’t hurt anybody… I’m not speaking here bold as brass, because you never know what can happen…but I’ve never, ever once hurt, or put my hands on an officer… I never did it. So, I’m not going to live the rest of my life in fear.”
This case is being investigated by the FBI’s Indianapolis and Washington Field Offices with valuable assistance provided by FBI Charlotte, U.S. Capitol Police, and the Metropolitan Police Department.
In the 31 months since Jan. 6, 2021, more than 1,106 individuals have been arrested in nearly all 50 states for crimes related to the breach of the U.S. Capitol, including more than 350 individuals charged with assaulting or impeding law enforcement, according to the DOJ.
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