Mt. Juliet man arrested in connection with Jan. 6 Capitol insurrection

MT. JULIET, Tenn. (WKRN) — A Middle Tennessee man has been arrested for his connection to the breach of the U.S. Capitol on Jan. 6, 2021, officials announced Friday.

Nicolas Smotherman, 41, of Mt. Juliet, was arrested by the FBI in Hermitage on Friday, August 2, according to the U.S. Attorney’s Office for Middle Tennessee.

Court documents reveal that Smotherman was identified among a crowd of rioters that gathered near the Upper West Plaza of U.S. Capitol grounds on Jan. 6, 2021.

A police-worn body camera reportedly captured Smotherman among a group of rioters that advanced toward a police line despite being told to move back. Smotherman is then accused of pushing an officer with both hands.

According to the attorney’s office, an officer attempted to push Smotherman with a baton, but he stood up and yelled, “Hit me with it again,” before grabbing the officer’s baton and attempting to pull it away.

An officer allegedly prevented Smotherman from taking the baton while another officer pepper sprayed him, which made him retreat.

Officials said the Mt. Juliet man faces felony offenses, which include “obstruction of law enforcement during a civil disorder and assaulting, resisting, or impeding certain officers.”

In addition to the felony offenses, authorities say Smotherman is also being charged with several misdemeanors, including “entering and remaining in restricted grounds or buildings, disorderly and disruptive conduct in restricted grounds or buildings, engaging in physical violence in restricted grounds or buildings, disorderly conduct in a Capitol building or grounds, and act of physical violence in the Capitol grounds or buildings.”

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In a release, the attorney’s office stated: “Since the Jan. 6 2021 riots, more than 1,470 individuals have been charged in nearly all 50 states for crimes related to the breach of the U.S. Capitol, including the more 530 individuals charged with assaulting or impeding law enforcement.”

Smotherman is expected to make his first court appearance in Middle Tennessee. The case is being prosecuted by the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the District of Columbia and the Department of Justice National Security Division’s Counterterrorism Section, said the attorney’s office.

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