2 Georgia brothers arrested for assaulting officers during Jan. 6 Capitol breach, USDOJ says

GEORGIA — Two Georgia brothers, one from Marietta and one from Rockmart, were arrested on felony and misdemeanor charges for their actions during the Jan. 6, 2021 breach of the U.S. Capitol.

The U.S. Department of Justice announced the arrests Tuesday, saying Cepane Sarty of Marietta and Seth Sarty of Rockmart face charges of assaulting law enforcement during the breach. Both brothers were arrested by agents from the Federal Bureau of Investigation on Feb. 5, according to officials.

“Their actions and the actions of others disrupted a joint session of the U.S. Congress convened to ascertain and count the electoral votes related to the 2020 presidential election,” officials said.

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The criminal complaint was filed in the District of Columbia’s federal court.

According to the USDOJ, both of the Sarty brothers were inside the Capitol building on Jan. 6, 2021, having entered through the Senate Wing Door less than 10 minutes after the initial breach.

Federal officials said “the brothers then made their way to the Crypt and toward the Memorial Door” before meeting up with “a group of rioters confronting a police line.”

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By 2:32 p.m. that afternoon, a group of rioters that included the Sarty Brothers broke through the police line and into the House side of the Capitol.

“At about 3:09 p.m., the brothers stood at the front of the mob of rioters resisting police and began assaulting officers,” USDOJ said.

The brothers are charged with assaulting officers, which the Justice Department said was based on body camera and closed-circuit television footage showing them “shoving officers and temporarily driving them back,” before they “continued to fight with police preventing the police from clearing the Rotunda of rioters.”

The two Sartys left the Capitol through the Rotunda doors at 3:13 p.m. after police used a chemical riot control agent to disperse the crowd, according to USDOJ.

Federal officials said more than 1,313 individuals have been charged in nearly all 50 states for crimes related to the breach of the U.S. Capitol, including more than 469 individuals charged with assaulting or impeding law enforcement, a felony in the more than three years since the attack.

According to records from the Justice Department, 24 federal cases have been filed against Georgia residents for their involvement in the Capitol breach.

Anyone with tips can call 1-800-CALL-FBI (800-225-5324) or visit tips.fbi.gov.

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