Leeds man charged in Capitol riot
A Leeds man has been arrested for allegedly participating in the riots at the U.S. Capitol last week. Joshua Matthew Black has been charged in federal court for unlawful entry of a restricted building and disorderly conduct.
Federal court documents say Black was identified as one of the men photographed inside the Senate chamber during the Jan. 6 riot through a YouTube video. The court documents note that one of the men, wearing a red jacket, camouflage jacket and yellow gloves, “appears to bleeding on his left cheek.”
The affidavit says on Jan. 8, a man they’ve identified as Black, posted a video under the user name “LetUs Talk,” in which he discusses participating in the riot and how he received a wound to his face from a projectile.
In the video, he says, “Once we found out Pence turned on us and that they had stolen the election, like officially, the crowd went crazy. I mean, it became a mob. We crossed the gate. We just wanted to get inside the building. I wanted to get inside the building so I could plead the blood of Jesus over it. That was my goal.”
He said he was led by God to the Senate chamber. “I just felt like the spirit of God wanted me to go into the Senate room,” he said.
The FBI released photos from the riot and asked for the public’s help in identifying individuals involved. On Jan. 7, they received an anonymous call identifying Black as one of the people in the photos. The FBI interviewed Black at their Moody office, where they noted the blood on his cheek. According to the court documents, during his interview with the FBI agents, Black said he recorded a video “detailing his experience entering the Capitol and Senate chamber.”
Detention, preliminary and identity hearings in the case are set for Jan. 20.