A Waldoboro man who ran as a Republican for the Maine Senate last year was arrested on felony and misdemeanor charges after prosecutors said he assaulted officers during the U.S. Capitol riots of Jan. 6, 2021.
Matthew Brackley, 39, was arrested in Waldoboro on Friday and charged in a criminal complaint filed in the District of Columbia. His felony charges include assaulting, resisting, or impeding certain officers and civil disorder, according to the U.S. Department of Justice.
Brackley is the most notable Mainer charged so far in the Capitol riots, during which supporters of former President Donald Trump stormed the building as Congress certified President Joe Biden’s victory over Trump.
Brackley ran as a Republican against Maine Senate Majority Leader Eloise Vitelli, D-Arrowsic, in a 2022 election in which he won 42 percent of votes. His cellphone went straight to voicemail on Friday, and he did not immediately respond to a request for comment.
On Jan. 6, 2021, Brackley traveled from Maine to Washington, D.C., to attend Trump’s “Stop the Steal” rally on the National Mall, prosecutors say. After the rally, Brackley walked to the Capitol, arriving on the west lawn at about 1:40 p.m., where a large crowd gathered. Brackley stood in the crowd near where a police line had formed to keep them from advancing to the Capitol.
The complaint against Brackley said he then approached a set of stairs underneath the scaffolding erected to construct the inaugural stage. Soon rioters began to climb onto the scaffolding and tore up the white tarp covering it, giving Brackley and others greater access to the stairs. Brackley and other rioters flooded the stairs and advanced toward the Capitol.
Brackley entered the U.S. Capitol via the Senate wing doors at 2:23 p.m., only ten minutes after they were first breached. Brackley then made his way to the Crypt, where a large group of rioters had assembled and were pushing against police lines. The rioters then pushed past police and further into the Crypt.
As Brackley and the rioters made their way toward the Senate Chambers, they were again stopped by police. Court records say that police instructed Brackley and others to “back up,” but Brackley asked the officers where the Speaker of the House’s office was located.
Brackley then turned to the crowd behind him, shouted, “Let’s go!” He then moved forward, using both arms to push through the officers before him, prosecutors say.
Brackley then led the crowd toward the Senate chamber and was again halted by police. Officers deployed chemical spray causing Brackley and other rioters to retreat from the area. Brackley left the Capitol building at approximately 3:05 p.m.
Brackley is one of more than 1,069 people from across the U.S. who have been arrested for crimes related to the Jan. 6, 2021 riot. More than 350 people have been charged with assaulting or impeding law enforcement.
Brackley’s misdemeanor charges are entering and remaining in a restricted building or grounds; disorderly and disruptive conduct in a restricted building or grounds; engaging in physical violence in a restricted building or grounds; disorderly conduct in a capitol building; act of physical violence in the capitol grounds or buildings; and parading, picketing, and demonstrating in a capitol building.