WASHINGTON, D.C., USA — An Oregon man made a virtual appearance in U.S. District Court in Washington on Tuesday, accused of illegally entering the U.S. Capitol and disrupting Congress on Jan. 6, 2021.
Joshua Coker, 45, was arrested July 18 in Toledo after being accused of five violations. On Tuesday, he was granted pretrial release and will return to court later in the fall.
He is the fifth northwest Ohio resident who has either been accused or convicted of illegal actions during the insurrection.
Earlier this month, Cole Temple was found guilty of violent entry and disorderly conduct on Capitol grounds with a specification of parading, demonstrating or picketing in a Capitol building. After taking a plea deal in October 2022, three other charges were dismissed.
Temple, his mother, Jodi Lynn Wilson, and Madison Pettit and Gabriel Burress were found guilty of charges they faced in the riot and received sentences over the past year.
Court documents indicate that Coker faces the following charges:
- Entering and remaining in a restricted building or grounds;
- Disorderly and disruptive conduct in a restricted building or grounds;
- Entering and remaining in the gallery of Congress;
- Disorderly conduct in a Capitol building;
- Parading, demonstrating, or picketing in a Capitol building.
In a “Statement of Facts” filed with the court, an FBI agent said that Coker became a suspect after his phone was identified as being inside the U.S. Capitol on Jan. 6.
Facial recognition technology was used to compare Coker’s driver’s license photo to all publicly available photos, videos, and other media captured during the unrest. According to the document, Coker was identified wearing a hooded sweatshirt and carrying a camouflage backpack outside the U.S. Capitol.
Additional photos indicated he entered the Capitol through the Senate Wing Doors at 2:13 p.m. and did not leave until 2:54 p.m.
In photos provided in the document, the FBI identifies a man it says is Coker entering the Crypt, then. walking down Memorial Door Hallway. At 2:38, he was identified inside the Rotunda, and then the Senate Gallery. He allegedly left the building through the northeast exit, shortly before 3 p.m.
According to FBI records, it confirmed Coker’s phone number with his supervisor at the Jeep Assembly Complex. The supervisor told agents that Coker was not at work from Jan. 5 to Jan. 12, 2021 and the employee also identified photos of Coker.
The FBI served a search warrant to Facebook to get his communications. Records provided by Facebook showed Coker messaging an associate on Jan. 5 to say: “DC bound.” On Jan. 6, the FBI reported that he messaged the same associate to say, “Just stormed the capital building.”
More on WTOL: