Joseph Charles Valentour, bottom inset, and son, Jonathan Wayne “Duke” Valentour, top inset and background (U.S. Attorney’s Office).
A father and son have been arrested for clashing with cops guarding the U.S. Capitol during the Jan. 6 riots.
Joseph Charles Valentour, 66, of Ohio, and Jonathan Wayne “Duke” Valentour, 26, of Colorado, face charges of assaulting and obstructing officers, trespassing, and disorderly conduct, the U.S. Attorney’s Office said in a press release.
Police body camera footage shows Joseph Valentour approaching a police line on the Lower West Terrace of the Capitol building that day, appearing to purposefully back into it, authorities said. After he allegedly made contact with the police line, an officer attempted to push him back, but other rioters grabbed the officer’s baton and dragged the officer into the crowd.
Amid the chaos, body-worn camera footage captured Joseph Valentour pushing against the police line, officials said. He then allegedly touched a police officer’s shield multiple times and appeared to be working with other rioters to disarm the officer of the shield. The skirmish at one point caused the officer to fall down a flight of stairs, officials said.
Joseph Valentour allegedly lowered his shoulder and used his body weight to charge at and push an officer who went in to try to help the fallen officer.
After he made contact with another officer, Joseph Valentour then moved into the crowd of rioters, prosecutors said.
His son, meanwhile, allegedly charged through other rioters toward the police line. As Jonathan Valentour approached police, he interfered with and resisted officers along the police line by forcibly pushing other rioters in front of him into the police line, according to authorities.
The younger Valentour tried to grab and interfere with the officers at this location, officials said. Officers eventually repelled him down a flight of stairs, but he ran back up the stairs behind another rioter carrying a police shield, authorities allege. He appeared to use this rioter for protection, pushing this rioter into officers along the police line, officials said.
He ultimately retreated when an officer sprayed mace in his direction, officials said. A photo posted on Instagram by a freelance photographer commemorated the moment, according to the statement of facts.
The FBI arrested Joseph Valentour on Friday in Ohio. Jonathan Valentour was arrested on Monday in Colorado.
Joseph Valentour’s image — apparently carrying out an assault while wearing a brown coat, light-colored jeans, and distinctive half-glove/half-mitten hand coverings — was posted online as BOLO 494-AFO. Online sleuths allegedly referred to him as #WestWanderer.
His son was also identified through images from the Capitol, which showed him wearing a blue coat, light-colored jeans, dark gloves, a dark backpack, and a red hat that said, “Make America Great Again.” One of his coworkers identified him to agents in May 2024, court documents said.
In the four years since the attack, about 1,583 people have been with crimes in federal court, officials said. Donald Trump, who will be sworn in on Jan. 20, said he would act quickly to pardon rioters.
Jan. 6 defendants have used Trump’s vow to push for their cases to be dropped. Law&Crime recently covered the story of Proud Boys leader Enrique Tarrio — currently serving a 22-year sentence — whose mother asked Trump to pardon him.
Another defendant who smoked marijuana in the Capitol told a judge, “Trump’s gonna pardon me” at his sentencing.
