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The U.S. Attorney’s Office for the District of Oregon announced on Monday that 62-year-old Reed Knox Christensen of Hillsboro had been arrested on federal assault charges stemming from the failed insurrection at the U.S. Capitol.
He is among a handful of Oregonians to be charged with federal crimes stemming from the storming of the Capitol.
Federal prosecutors allege that surveillance and body camera footage shows Christensen “striking and pushing officers and initiating the aggressive removal of metal bike rack barriers” on the Capitol grounds Jan. 6.
At about 2:20 pm, prosecutors say, a Metropolitan Police Department officer sprayed Christensen in the face with a chemical irritant as he allegedly tried to breach the metal barriers.
“Despite the spray to his face, Christensen charged through the perimeter, away from officers, and struck a [U.S. Capitol] officer with his fists,” the U.S. Attorney’s Office said Monday.
Christensen faces charges that he forcibly assaulted, resisted, impeded or interfered with law enforcement, willfully and knowingly engaged in an act of physical violence on the grounds of the Capitol Building, and more.
He appeared before a federal judge in Portland on Monday. The Oregonian, which attended the hearing, reported that prosecutors asked U.S. Magistrate Judge Youlee Yim You to remove Christensen’s guns from his home, saying his anti-government beliefs made him a public danger.
“I’m a little surprised that I’m losing my critter weapons…when I haven’t been convicted of anything,” Christensen replied, according to The Oregonian.