Middlesex County Man Convicted For Role In Jan. 6 Capitol Hill Riot

NORTH BRUNSWICK, NJ — A Middlesex County man has now been convicted of more than a dozen federal charges for taking part in the Jan. 6, 2021 insurgency on Capitol Hill, led by President Donald Trump.

The man is Christopher Quaglin, 37, and he is from North Brunswick.

Quaglin was arrested in New Brunswick on April 7, 2021 and he has been held in federal prison since then.

He was indicted on the first round of charges April 16, 2021, and then indicted on a second round of charges on June 16 of that year.

He was found guilty July 10 of 14 charges, including 12 felonies and two misdemeanors, said U.S. Attorneys in this press release announcing his conviction.

Federal Judge Trevor McFadden returned the verdict after a trial in which Quaglin and the government agreed upon a stipulated set of facts regarding his conduct.

Prosecutors say that on that day, Quaglin traveled from his home in North Brunswick to Washington D.C. to attend the “Stop the Steal” rally led by former President Trump. Quaglin then took part in the storming of Capitol Hill following Trump's speech that the 2021 election had been stolen from him.

"After attending the rally, Quaglin made his way to the U.S. Capitol grounds intending to stop or prevent Congress from certifying the Electoral College vote results," said federal prosecutors. "At approximately 1:08 p.m., Quaglin was seen repeatedly assaulting multiple law enforcement officers guarding and protecting the Capitol from rioters."

Quaglin wore protective gear including a helmet and gas mask while he engaged violently with police.

Quaglin was captured on video spraying pepper or OC spray at Capitol Hill and Metro police officers for a full 15 minutes, and he was also seen attacking police officers with a stolen riot shield.

"Quaglin sprayed the chemical irritant at MPD and USCP officers, and again, at 3:07 p.m., directly into the face of an MPD officer who was not wearing a face shield or gas mask," federal prosecutors wrote. "Quaglin is later seen at the front of the line pushing up against the same MPD Officer he sprayed with the chemical irritant as the crowd yells 'heave ho' and puts their collective mass behind Quaglin and others. Quaglin remained on the front line of rioters impeding police until approximately 3:18 p.m. when he was pushed out of the tunnel with other rioters."

According to court documents, surveillance video also showed Quaglin grabbing and pushing a U.S. Capitol police officer by the neck before working with other rioters to rip one of the barrier fences out of the hands of Metro police officers. Around 2:34 p.m., body-worn camera footage captured Quaglin lunging at an officer and pushing him down.

"As a result, several officers dropped their shields, which Quaglin and other rioters stole and passed back into the crowd," said U.S. Attorneys.

He was also captured on video shouting at Metropolitan police officers: “You don’t want this fight. You do not want this f****** fight. You are on the wrong f****** side," according to the press release.

Quaglin was charged with a slew of charges related to that day including, assaulting, resisting or impeding certain officers or employees; assaulting, resisting or impeding certain officers using a dangerous weapon; engaging in physical violence in a restricted building or grounds with a deadly or dangerous weapon; inflicting bodily injury on certain officers; disorderly conduct in a Capitol building; acts of physical violence in a Capitol grounds or buildings and obstruction of official proceedings, in addition to other charges.

Nearly all of those are felonies.

He is scheduled to be sentenced Sept. 26.

In the 30 months since Jan. 6, 2021, more than 1,069 people have been arrested in nearly all 50 states for crimes related to the breach of the U.S. Capitol, including more than 350 individuals charged with assaulting or impeding law enforcement. The investigation remains ongoing.