An Ohio man was arrested Tuesday on charges that he brought a massive “Trump” sign to the U.S. Capitol and joined other rioters in using it as a weapon against police officers during a mob attack.
Jeffrey Newcomb, 41, of Polk, Ohio, apparently posted on social media that he brought the custom-made, metal-framed sign to the Capitol on Jan. 6, 2021, “because bullets are expensive,” according to an FBI agent’s affidavit. The sign was approximately 8 feet tall and 10 feet wide, with wheels the size of a person’s head, the affidavit says.
In March 2023, a message posted on a Twitter account linked to Newcomb included photos of the sign in the crowd of Donald Trump supporters who gathered outside the Capitol on Jan. 6. In one photo, the account’s user obscured his face with an emoji.
“Went to Jan 6th to peacefully protest in the loudest way possible: With a 13 ft by 10 ft signs on custom made aluminum wagon. I spent $700 on this. Keeping my identity a secret because bullets are expensive,” the post said.
The account on Twitter, now called X, has since been deleted.
Several other Capitol riot defendants have been charged with using the large Trump sign as a battering ram to assault officers and breach police lines outside the Capitol.
Newcomb was expected to make his initial court appearance on Tuesday in Ohio after his arrest in Polk. Court records didn’t immediately name an attorney representing him.
Newcomb is charged in a criminal complaint with felony charges of assaulting police and interfering with law-enforcement officers during a civil disorder.
Videos show Newcomb moving his large sign near Trump’s “Stop the Steal” rally on Jan. 6. Other rioters helped him carry the sign into the mob on the Capitol’s West Plaza.
“Rioters cheered the sign’s arrival and many in the crowd helped pass the sign closer and closer to the police line,” the FBI agent wrote.
Newcomb let go of the sign just before other rioters shoved it into a police line. But he pushed on the backs of other rioters who continued to push it toward police, the agent said.
“As the police were struck by the sign, they easily could have been knocked over due to the frame’s sheer size, and the sharp edges and corners were readily capable of causing slicing or splitting injuries,” the agent wrote. “It ultimately took over a dozen officers to fully move the sign away from the line.”
More than 1,500 people have been charged with Capitol riot-related federal crimes. Approximately 1,200 of them have pleaded guilty or been convicted after trials decided by judges and juries. And over 1,000 of the defendants have been sentenced, with roughly two-thirds receiving a term of imprisonment ranging from a few days to 22 years.