Wisconsin man charged with assaulting officer on January 6 in DC

COLGATE, Wis. (Civic Media) – A Wisconsin man has been charged for his role in the January 6 insurrection.

40-year-old Joseph Cattani of Colgate, Wisconsin has been charged with two felonies – assaulting an officer and civil disorder. Cattani also faces several misdemeanor charges, including entering and remaining in a restricted building.

Video footage from D.C. shows Cattani pulling on a capitol police officer’s face mask and pulling his head around. He then forced his way into the U.S. Capitol Building and remained inside for about 20 minutes. He spent most of his time outside the office of the majority whip and outside the Senate chambers. 

Cattani agreed to be interviewed by authorities back in November, where he admitted to entering the Capitol building, and identified himself in the videos. 

The Milwaukee Journal Sentinel reports that Cattani told authorities that the crowd in Washington D.C. on January 6 became “hyped up” after Donald Trump told everyone he would join them in marching to the Capitol. 

Cattani was one of hundreds of people who stormed the U.S Capitol building on January 6, 2021, unsuccessfully trying to stop the certification of the 2020 presidential election. Then-President Donald Trump had spent the preceding months claiming without evidence that Joe Biden had stolen the election.

President Joe Biden won the 2020 presidential election by over 7 million votes. In August, Trump was indicted by a federal grand jury for his role in trying to overturn the results of that election.

Over 1,100 people across the country have been arrested for participating in the January 6 insurrection, and Colgate is at least the 10th Wisconsinite to be charged.