Lowcountry man arrested in Charlottesville march now charged in U.S. Capitol attack

Washington, D.C. – A South Carolina man serving time for illegally joining white nationalists in a march in Charlottesville is now accused of stealing a riot shield and letting a mob into the U.S. Capitol during the Jan. 6, 2021 attack.

Tyler Bradley Dykes of Bluffton, SC faces several federal charges including civil disorder and assaulting, resisting or impeding police. He made his first court appearance Monday after being arrested Monday in Virginia.

Authorities say the 25-year-old is seen in videos tearing down barriers and holding a police riot shield over his head to keep officers from taking it. They say he held open a door on the Capitol’s east side as law enforcement tried to secure the entrance.

Earlier this year, Dykes pleaded guilty to illegally taking part in the 2017 march in Charlottesville the night before the deadly “Unite the Right” rally that ended with a woman hit by a car. Authorities say he burned an object with the intent to intimidate.

The latest case against Dykes is being investigated by the FBI and prosecuted by the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the District of Columbia.

Authorities say more than 1,069 people have been arrested in connection with the attack on the U.S. Capitol.