Florida Couple Arrested for Crimes Related to Jan. 6 Capitol Breach

Husband and Wife Stormed Capitol; Man Threw Chair at U.S. Capitol Police Officers

By Angelo Locsin

A Florida couple was arrested today for crimes related to the breach of the U.S. Capitol on Jan. 6, which disrupted a joint session of the U.S. Congress that was in the process of ascertaining and counting the electoral votes related to the presidential election.

Jamie Buteau, 48, and Jennifer Buteau, 44, both of Ocala, are charged with federal offenses that include disorderly and disruptive conduct in a restricted building or grounds and parading, demonstrating or picketing in a Capitol building, among other charges. Jamie Buteau is additionally charged with obstruction of law enforcement during civil disorder; assaulting, resisting or impeding certain officers or employees; and engaging in physical violence on Capitol grounds. The Buteaus will make their initial court appearance on Thursday, June 24, at 2 p.m. in the Middle District of Florida.

According to court documents, the Buteaus entered the U.S. Capitol on Jan. 6 around 2:25 p.m. through a broken door in the Senate wing of the building and stood near an elevator lobby between the Crypt and the Capitol Visitor Center (CVC). As depicted in U.S. Capitol Police (USCP) closed-circuit television video footage and video obtained from social media, Jamie Buteau threw a chair at two USCP officers around 2:30 p.m. From around 2:32 to 2:39 p.m., Jamie was in the orientation lobby where he was captured on video dragging another chair across the ground. The couple exited the Capitol around 2:46 p.m. through the south door.

The case is being prosecuted by the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the District of Columbia and the Department of Justice National Security Division’s Counterterrorism Section. Valuable assistance was provided by the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Middle District of Florida.

The case is being investigated by the FBI’s Washington Field Office, who identified Jamie Buteau as #188 in its seeking information photos, as well as the Metropolitan Police Department, with significant assistance provided by the U.S. Capitol Police and FBI’s Jacksonville Field Office. 

In the 150 days since Jan. 6, approximately 465 individuals have been arrested on charges related to the Jan. 6 Capitol breach, including over 130 individuals charged with assaulting or impeding law enforcement. The investigation remains ongoing.