Former NFL linebacker, Georgia Southern player arrested on Jan. 6 riot charges

WASHINGTON, D.C. — A former linebacker for the Detroit Lions who played at Georgia Southern University has been arrested on charges related to the Jan. 6, 2021 insurrection.

Leander Antwione Williams, 31, was arrested on Thursday in Savannah on felony charges of assaulting, resisting, or impeding certain officers and obstruction of law enforcement during a civil disorder, according to the U.S. Department of Justice. He also faces several misdemeanors, including acts of physical violence in the Capitol grounds.

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The DOJ alleges that Williams was one of the initial rioters to breach the Capitol’s perimeter. They say he pushed through the crowd and fought with Capitol police officers.

They say he tried to take a metal bike rack from an officer trying to maintain control of the area and swatted at another officer’s hand as he tried deploying spray into the crowd.

DOJ officials say Williams stayed on the front lines, even using other rioters as cover

He stayed in the area with rioters, pushing back against officers and chanting, “USA! USA!” for most of the day before leaving Capitol grounds in the evening, the DOJ says.

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Williams attended Lovejoy High School in Henry County before playing football at Georgia Southern from 2011 to 2015.

He was drafted by the Detriot Lions in the fifth round of the 2016 NFL Draft. He spent just one season with the Lions before bouncing around to practice squads with the Minnesota Vikings, Seattle Seahawks and Carolina Panthers.

The DOJ says more than 1,561 have been charged in nearly all 50 states related to the Jan. 6, 2021 riot. More than 590 of them have been charged with assaulting or impeding law enforcement.

You can read the DOJ’s full report on Williams below.

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