OKLAHOMA CITY (AP) — Two more Oklahomans face charges in the Jan. 6 storming of the U.S. Capitol, according to federal court documents in the District of Columbia.
An affidavit filed last week alleges Anthony Griffith, 56, and Jerry Ryals, 26, entered the Capitol illegally and disrupted congressional business. Both also face charges of disorderly conduct and Ryals faces a count of obstructing an official proceeding.
Ryals was in Washington “at the behest of President Trump, and like many other protestors he was swept up in the events of that day” and is not affiliated with any organized group, his attorney, Jay Mykytiuk, said in a statement to The Associated Press. “He simply believed that he was doing his patriotic duty by protesting what many of his elected representatives loudly and repeatedly claimed was a fraudulent presidential election.”
An attorney for Griffith did not return a phone call for comment.
The rioters sought to stop the electoral college from formalizing President Joe Biden’s election over former President Trump.
The affidavit says people who know Ryals, an apprentice electrician who worked for Griffith in Fort Gibson, identified them from photographs and video taken inside the Capitol.
There are now four Oklahomans charged in connection with the breach.
