DENVER — A 33-year-old Colorado Springs man was arrested Friday on suspicion of participating in the Jan. 6 Capitol riot in Washington, D.C.
Tyler Earl Ethridge was arrested in Denver and appeared in federal court Friday on suspicion of civil disorder, a felony, and related misdemeanors. He's among more than 850 people – including at least 13 with a connection to Colorado – arrested for their roles in the Capitol breach.
Ethridge lost his job as a youth pastor at a Florida church in February 2021 after videos surfaced on social media of him inside the Capitol on Jan. 6.
“I’m probably going to lose my job as a pastor after this," Ethridge said in a video he filmed inside the Capitol and posted to social media. "I think we’re to a point where talk is cheap. If this makes me lose my, my reputation, I don’t care.”
On Sept. 24, he wrote on social media, "Don’t be afraid of what they sentence you with. I’m not. I’m ready for whatever I’ll be charged with," the U.S. Attorney's Office says in a news release.
On the day of the riot, Ethridge helped take down fencing on the northwest side of the Capitol and crossed barricades to the West Plaza outside the Capitol, the release says.
Ethridge was pepper-sprayed and shot with rubber bullets by law enforcement officers who were attempting to control and disperse the crowd. He documented the moment in a video he posted to social media, the U.S. Attorney's Office said.
Warning: The video below contains offensive language:
He climbed atop media scaffolding and "exhorted the crowd to keep fighting," the release says.
At 2:35 p.m., he entered the Capitol and went to the Rotunda, where he filmed several social media videos, then joined a crowd between the Rotunda and the Senate Chamber.
After rioters were blocked by law enforcement and forcibly pushed out of the hallway, he returned to the Rotunda and then left the building. He was inside the Capitol for about 30 minutes, the U.S. Attorney's Office said.
According to arrest documents, Ethridge flew with two other people from Denver International Airport to Philadelphia on Jan. 4 and drove to Washington to attend the Jan. 6 rally.
Ethridge faces several charges, according to the U.S. Attorney's Office:
- Civil disorder
- Obstruction of an official proceeding
- Entering and remaining in a restricted building or grounds
- Disorderly and disruptive conduct in a restricted building or grounds
- Disorderly conduct in a Capitol building
- Parading, demonstrating or picketing in a Capitol building
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