DOJ arrests Maryland state elections official for attacking Capitol police on January 6

A Republican member of the Maryland State Board of Elections was arrested this week on both federal felony and misdemeanor charges relating to his alleged participation in the deadly January 6, 2021 siege of the US Capitol.

Nonprofit news outlet Maryland Matters reported Thursday that 52-year-old Carlos Ayala resigned from the board of elections following his apprehension by the Department of Justice (DOJ). Charging documents from the DOJ state that Ayala "was identified as among a group of rioters illegally gathered on restricted Capitol grounds near the scaffolding erected for the upcoming Inauguration," and "carried a distinctive black and white flag affixed to a PVC pipe flagpole bearing the words 'We the People' and 'DEFEND.'" Ayala's flag also featured an image of an M-16-style rifle.

"Ayala is seen on video footage climbing over police barricades and making his way to the Upper West Terrace of the Capitol as rioters overran the police lines on the stairs adjacent to the scaffolding," a DOJ press release read. "CCTV footage taken from inside the Capitol building shows a rioter positioned to the right side of the Senate Wing Door, the same area where Ayala was present, jabbing a flag and flagpole at a USCP officer... Court documents state that the flag matched the description of Ayala's flag, which he was holding moments before."

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The DOJ has charged Ayala with felony civil disorder, and unnamed misdemeanor offenses. As of this writing, more than 1,200 participants in the January 6 insurrection have been charged, with prosecutors obtaining either guilty pleas or convictions from approximately 440 rioters.

Ayala's resignation comes less than a year after he was appointed to the board by Governor Wes Moore (D). According to Maryland Matters, Moore chose Ayala over Republican William Newton, who reportedly trafficked in conspiracy theories about the 2020 election and pleaded guilty to a misdemeanor embezzlement charge involving his mother in 2019. Ayala was also chosen over Christine McCloud, a hypnotherapist whose election experience is limited to working on a candidate's 2022 campaign.

Moore has not yet named a replacement for Ayala on the five-member Board of Elections. Maryland state law stipulates that while a majority of the board should be from the same political party as the governor, the other two members must come from the opposing party. The board's next meeting is scheduled for January 25 at 1:30 PM.

READ MORE: FBI announces arrest of 3 'armed and dangerous' Jan. 6 fugitives accused of attacking cops