Florida man accused of shoving and trying to punch police officers on January 6 is arrested on Capitol riot charges

• A Florida man accused of assaulting police officers during the Capitol riot was arrested this week.
• Prosecutors said Steven Miles was caught on video smashing a Capitol window with a wooden plank.
• More than 800 people have been arrested in connection with the Capitol riot. 

A Florida man accused of attacking police officers and smashing a Capitol window with a plank during the January 6 attack was arrested earlier this week, officials said.

Steven Miles, 39, of Zephyrhills, Florida, faces nine charges related to his role in the insurrection, including assaulting, resisting, or impeding officers; civil disorder; and engaging in physical violence in a restricted building with a dangerous weapon. 

Miles was arrested on Tuesday and made his initial appearance the same day in the Middle District of Florida. He was released pending further proceedings, the Department of Justice said in a Wednesday statement.

Prosecutors said Miles joined a group of Trump supporters marching to the Capitol on January 6, 2021, and wound up on the West Front of the building. While there, the group of rioters confronted police officers who were trying to protect the Capitol. During the fight, Miles shoved and attempted to punch multiple police officers, according to court documents.

Following the fight with authorities, Miles moved to a staircase leading to the Upper West Terrace, prosecutors said. Surveillance footage captured him using a wooden plank to smash a window on one of the Senate Wing doors. Miles then entered the building through the broken window, according to court records.

He briefly walked through the building and then exited through a door, prosecutors said. Investigators later used cell phone records to place Miles at the scene. 

A man who was with Miles that day was also arrested on Wednesday and listed as a co-defendant in the case. Matthew LeBrun, 33, of New Orleans, Louisiana, faces four charges, including entering and remaining in a restricted building and disorderly conduct in a Capitol building. 

According to court records, the FBI was alerted to the men’s presence at the attack after an anonymous tipster reached out to the agency. The witness told investigators that she met the two men and posed for a photograph with them. She said she heard them talking about how they broke into the Capitol by breaking a window, prosecutors said. 

Miles could not be reached for comment. An attorney for the man was not yet listed as of Friday.

More than 800 people have been arrested in connection with the Capitol riot, and 251 rioters have pleaded guilty thus far.