Another Tennessee man charged with breaching U.S. Capitol

Associated Press
Sunday, Jan. 17, 2021 6:59 p.m. | Sunday, Jan. 17, 2021 6:59 p.m.

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People walk Sunday across the quiet Legislative Plaza in front of the State Capitol in Nashville, Tenn. The FBI warned of the potential for armed protests at the nation’s Capitol and all 50 state capitol buildings beginning this weekend.

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A Tennessee State Trooper stands guard on the grounds of the State Capitol Sunday, Jan. 17, 2021, in Nashville, Tenn. The FBI has warned of the potential for armed protests at the nation’s Capitol and all 50 state capitol buildings beginning this weekend.

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A Tennessee State Trooper stands guard by a bus on the grounds of the State Capitol Sunday, Jan. 17, 2021, in Nashville, Tenn. The FBI has warned of the potential for armed protests at the nation’s Capitol and all 50 state capitol buildings beginning this weekend.

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A man rides a scooter past the State Capitol Sunday, Jan. 17, 2021, in Nashville, Tenn. The FBI warned of the potential for armed protests at the nation’s Capitol and all 50 state capitol buildings beginning this weekend.

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Tennessee State Troopers stand guard on the grounds of the State Capitol Sunday, Jan. 17, 2021, in Nashville, Tenn. The FBI has warned of the potential for armed protests at the nation’s Capitol and all 50 state capitol buildings beginning this weekend.

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People walk across the quiet Legislative Plaza near the State Capitol Sunday, Jan. 17, 2021, in Nashville, Tenn. The FBI warned of the potential for armed protests at the nation’s Capitol and all 50 state capitol buildings beginning this weekend.

NASHVILLE — A Tennessee man was charged Sunday with participating in the raid at the U.S. Capitol earlier this month, federal authorities said.

Blake Austin Reed, 35, of Nashville, was arrested by FBI agents in Nashville, said David W. Boling, a spokesman for the U.S. attorney’s office for the Middle District of Tennessee.

According to charging documents, Reed was charged with knowingly entering or remaining in any restricted building or grounds without lawful authority, violent entry and disorderly conduct on Capitol grounds.

Boling said an initial appearance for Reed is scheduled for Tuesday before a U.S. magistrate judge in Nashville.

It wasn’t immediately determined whether Reed has an attorney who could comment on the charges.

According to a statement accompanying the charges, the FBI was provided a screenshot of Reed’s Facebook account, which posted photos of the events leading up to the breach of the U.S. Capitol.

According to the statement, Reed posted on Facebook that “We The People have spoken and we are pissed! No antifa, no BLM… We The People took the Capitol!”

BREAKING: FBI agents arrest Blake Austin Reed of Nashville on charges related to Capitol riots, DOJ announces pic.twitter.com/K5hX1nKEyD

— Phil Williams (@NC5PhilWilliams) January 17, 2021

The FBI said a profile picture with Reed’s name on several social media accounts shows a man smiling and wearing ski goggles and a respirator next to Matthew Bledsoe of Memphis inside the Capitol. Law enforcement confirmed Reed’s identity by comparing his state-issued driver’s license photo with the photo inside the Capitol.

Bledsoe has been charged with illegally entering or remaining in a restricted building, and violent entry and disorderly conduct on Capitol grounds, the U.S. Justice Department said last week.

The statement said profiles for Reed and Bledsoe on a professional networking website indicate both attended Germantown High School in Memphis from 2000-2002.

Authorities said at least three others have been arrested in Tennessee on charges in connection to the Washington, D.C., riots, including:

—Jack Jesse Griffith, known online as Juan Bibiano, was arrested in Gallatin by the FBI. A Facebook post included a photo of him in what appears to be the Capitol Crypt, raising his fist into the air.

—Lisa Eisenhart, 56, of Woodstock, Ga., was arrested in Nashville. Charges include conspiring with her son, Eric Munchel, to violate federal statutes. Munchel, accused of carrying plastic restraints into the U.S. Capitol during the riot, was arrested in Tennessee a week ago.

JUST IN: Metro police have released booking photos for 3 people arrested by FBI Nashville this weekend on charges related to riots at U.S. Capitol — Lisa Eisenhart, Blake Austin Reed and Jack Jesse Griffith. pic.twitter.com/PqAC8msG8y

— Josh Breslow (@JoshBreslowWKRN) January 17, 2021

The charges stem from the Jan. 6 riot when supporters of outgoing President Donald Trump stormed the Capitol as Congress gathered to certify the November election won by Democratic President-elect Joe Biden. The siege came after a rally led by Trump in which he repeated false claims of a stolen election and urged his supporters to “fight like hell.” Five people, including a Capitol Police officer, died during the unrest.

State capitals nationwide were placed on high alert after this month’s deadly storming of the U.S. Capitol. On Sunday, there was a heavy police presence at the state Capitol in Nashville. Pedestrians occasionally walked past but there were no groups of protesters.