DOJ charges two brothers with assaulting New York Times photographer on Jan. 6

A pair of brothers were arrested Thursday for allegedly assaulting a New York Times photographer and taking her camera during the Jan. 6 Capitol attack.

Philip and David Walker face charges they forcibly took an item of value from a person and carried out an assault with the intent to commit another felony, on top of other misdemeanors tied to entering the Capitol as part of the riot. Philip Walker is also accused of willfully and maliciously destroying personal property.

Although court filings leave The New York Times photographer unnamed, she previously identified herself as Erin Schaff and detailed the assault in an essay for the Times .

“Grabbing my press pass, they saw that my ID said The New York Times and became really angry,” Schaff wrote. “They threw me to the floor, trying to take my cameras. I started screaming for help as loudly as I could. No one came. People just watched.

“At this point, I thought I could be killed and no one would stop them,” the photographer said. “They ripped one of my cameras away from me, broke a lens on the other and ran away.”

Days after the riot, Philip Walker was interviewed by the FBI after a tip was submitted suggesting he was likely present and may have participated in the attack, according to an FBI affidavit .

In the interview, he admitted to a physical confrontation with an individual he said he believed was a member of Antifa, a loosely linked group of left-wing anti-fascism activists. He also said he took the person’s camera and left the Capitol with it. Later dumping it in a “body of water.”

The Hill requested comment from Schaff.

More than 1,500 rioters have been charged for their conduct on Jan. 6.

Danielle Rhoades Ha, a spokesperson for the New York Times, said in a statement stemming from a comment request to Schaff that the paper is “grateful” to federal prosecutors and the FBI for their “persistence in pursuing justice in this case.”

“Independent, fact-based journalism is a cornerstone of democracy and attacks against reporters should be a grave concern to anyone who cares about an informed citizenry,” Ha said.

Updated 3:41 p.m.

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