Waterford Man Charged In Connection With U.S. Capitol Breach: Feds

WATERFORD, CT — A Waterford man is facing charges tied to his actions in the Jan. 6 breach of the U.S. Capitol, according to federal prosecutors in Washington, D.C.

James Roe Cleary, 56, was charged in the District of Columbia with a felony offense of obstruction of law enforcement during a civil disorder.

Cleary was among those who disrupted a joint session of Congress dedicated to counting the electoral votes for the 2020 presidential election, according to prosecutors.

According to court documents, Cleary was at the Lower West Tunnel on Jan. 6, 2021, where some of the most violent attacks against law enforcement occurred.

Video footage shows Cleary positioned himself at the mouth of the tunnel "where he quickly moved his body towards the interior of the Tunnel and made a swiping motion at the head of a police officer," according to prosecutors. He also pulled a rioter out of the tunnel then "made another swiping or grabbing gesture with his hand toward police officers."

Shortly after, when an officer was pushed to the ground and rioters tried to pull the officer’s body out of the tunnel and into the mob, Cleary was filmed "allegedly clambering across the bodies of a fallen rioter and the downed officer and grabbing a baton on the ground," prosecutors said. He then handed off the baton to another rioter.

He also grabbed and pushed a person carrying camera equipment nearby the Capitol building as rioters broke windows.

Cleary was also charged with misdemeanors of simple assault, entering and remaining in a restricted building or grounds, disorderly and disruptive conduct in a restricted building or grounds, and engaging in physical violence in a restricted building or grounds, and disorderly conduct in a Capitol building.

More than 1,504 people have been charged with crimes related to the breach of the U.S. Capitol, including over 560 charged with assaulting or impeding law enforcement, a felony.