Man From Tennessee Will Be Charged With Several Crimes, Including Assault, During the January 6 Insurrection
KNOXVILLE, Tenn. — A guy from Tennessee is being charged with several crimes after it was said that he took part in the uprising in Washington, D.C. on January 6. Federal Bureau of Investigation documents show that he broke the law to get into the U.S. Capitol building and then fought police officers when he was pushed out. The papers also said Shannon Bitzer threw a metal device meant to control the crowd at cops.
Bitzer was accused of using a gun to fight back, obstruct, scare, or otherwise get in the way of police officers. During the Jan. 6 Insurrection, he was also charged with breaking into a closed building without permission, using obscene language in the Capitol Building, and beating someone.
According to FBI records, the agency got a tip from someone who knew Bitzer that he had taken part in the Jan. 6 Insurrection. The FBI also said it got a letter from someone who claimed to be him that identified him. There was a picture of him at the Jan. 6 Insurrection in the letter. The FBI said that picture was compared to the picture Bitzer had on his Tennessee license.
The FBI then found Bitzer’s phone signed up with a cell spot that serves the U.S. Capitol Building on January 6, 2021. Security video, open-source video, and police bodycam footage all showed him wearing a red “Make America Great Again” hat with a black scarf, a green shirt, blue pants, tan shoes, and a black coat more than once.
The papers also said that between January 6, 2021, and January 8, 2021, there were several payments in his bank accounts from the Washington, D.C. area.
The FBI said that around 3:10 p.m., Bitzer went up to a fence that blocked the front doors of the U.S. Capitol building’s north doors while other people talked with two police officers about getting into the building. It said that the cops would not let them in.
“Then Bieder moved the barrier out of the way and went up to the USCP officers at the North Door.” “We want to go into the Capitol!” yelled Bitzer. We want to go inside! “While other protesters chanted, ‘Let us in, let us in,’ Bitzer went up to the North Door, which had just been opened by another protester,” the FBI papers said.
The report said he held the north door open, putting his arm around a cop to block the way, and waved other people inside. His yell was recorded as “Get in, patriots, get in!” The papers said that he entered the building with a cell phone in his hand about a minute later.
The FBI documents also said that officers had found evidence that Bitzer had urged people to break into the U.S. Capitol building.
Records show that he left the building when cops pushed the crowd out of the Capitol building after another minute. The papers said that after being pushed out, people in the crowd started beating police officers.
The FBI said that bodycam video showed a metal column and railing close by. In other video clips, Bitzer was seen close to the fence and stanchion. Then Bitzer joined the fight against the cops, the papers said.
As cops tried to get inside and lock the doors, it said Bitzer pushed the railing toward the north door. The FBI said Bitzer also threw the stake at the north doors and the police officers standing in the doorway.
Court records show that he was charged in July 2024, and a hearing was scheduled for August 7 for Bitzer’s plan.