COLUMBUS, Ohio — Another Ohioan was arrested Tuesday for breaching the U.S. Capitol on Jan. 6, according to court documents.
Derek Jancart, 39, of Columbus was identified by a former coworker and family members through social media and security camera footage, prosecutors said.
Courtesy of the Department of Justice.
According to the complaint, the FBI received a tip from a former coworker identified as “C-1” on Jan. 9 that helped identify Jancart.
Jancart, who was released to his home after his arrest, posted a photo to Facebook outside the Office of the Speaker’s conference room inside the Capitol building with the caption, “we’re in.”
In a follow-up interview with the former coworker on Feb. 9, authorities showed screen captures from the Metropolitan Police Department body cameras and the Capitol security cameras. Out of five photos, the coworker positively identified Jancart in each one, according to documents.
Then on Feb. 10, a family member of Jancart provided a tip to the FBI, also claiming he was in the Capitol building. The family member, identified only as “C-2” was notified by another family member that Jancart had attended the riots, prosecutors said.
Text messages between the family member “C-2” and Jancart were reviewed, and the FBI confirmed he was inside the building.
Jancart faces several charges, including knowingly entering or remaining in a restricted building or grounds without lawful authority, and knowingly disrupting the orderly conduct of the government.
Fairfield County and Franklin County officials confirmed Jancart wasn’t arrested in either county Tuesday. It’s not yet known where he was arrested and previously held.
At least nine other Ohioans have been charged with involvement in the Capitol riots:
- Robert Anthony Lyon of Reynoldsburg
- Dustin Bryon Thompson of Columbus
- Stephen Michael Ayers of Champion Township
- Jessica Watkins of Woodstock
- Donovan Crowl of Woodstock
- Justin Stoll of Wilmington
- Christine Priola of Willoughby
- Bernie and Sandra Parker of Warren
One of the cases gaining the most notoriety is regarding Oath Keepers member Watkins, who recently backtracked on her reasoning for being at the riots.
In a court filing Saturday, Watkins claimed she had been given a VIP pass and met with the Secret Service. She also claimed she went to the rally as a medic, not an insurrectionist. In a new filing Monday, she corrected herself to say she only talked to Secret Service agents in passing.
“She was given directives about things she could and could not do, including directions to leave all tactical gear outside of the VIP area, and she abided by all those directives,” Watkins’ attorney said in the court filing Monday.
Her attorney filed a motion for her release on Saturday, saying she has at-risk being in a jail as a transgender female. A federal public defender representing the Afghanistan veteran said Watkins admitted she made a mistake in attending the Capitol riots, arguing she had been brainwashed by former President Donald Trump’s administration and conservative media.
At the riots, Watkins stayed among a group involving Crowl and a man named Thomas Caldwell from Virginia. An indictment accuses the three of communicating and coordinating with a group to storm the Capitol. Text messages go as far back as November.
Watkins’ detention hearing is scheduled to take place Friday in Washington D.C.’s U.S. District Court.
