Clark County man charged in U.S. Capitol riots

By Troy Brynelson (OPB)
Feb. 5, 2021 7:48 p.m.

According to an affidavit filed in federal court, Jeffrey Grace portrayed himself to FBI agents as a bystander as the rioting unfolded around him.

A Clark County man is now among the many people criminally charged for entering the U.S. Capitol during a riot to stop Congress from certifying the presidential election results.

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In this photo provided by the FBI, Jeffrey Grace, 61, of Battle Ground, is seen during the Jan. 6 riot at the U.S. Capitol.

In this photo provided by the FBI, Jeffrey Grace, 61, of Battle Ground, is seen during the Jan. 6 riot at the U.S. Capitol.

via Federal Bureau of Investigation

Jeffrey Grace, 61, of Battle Ground, is so far the only known Southwest Washington resident to face charges in the Jan. 6 riot. Court documents show him in the background of a widely circulated photo of another man who stole a lectern.

In an interview with FBI agents, according to an affidavit filed in federal court, Grace portrayed himself as a bystander as the riot unfolded around him. Agents contacted him after receiving a confidential tip.

Grace appeared in federal court Thursday. Several calls to phone numbers associated with Grace went unanswered. A federal public defender who appears to be representing Grace also could not be reached.

FBI agents interviewed Grace at his Battle Ground home Jan. 21, according to the affidavit, after receiving the confidential tip.

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Grace reportedly told investigators that he and his son traveled to Washington, D.C., that day to attend a rally for former President Donald Trump. He said they got separated and he entered the Capitol’s north side “after seeing an open door.”

“According to Grace, two Capitol Police Officers were standing at the door when he walked in, but they did not say anything to him,” agents wrote in the six-page affidavit. “Grace stated that the law enforcement officers appeared to be overwhelmed by the number of protesters and looked scared.”

Grace said he did not go anywhere besides the rotunda, where he “picked up items that others had knocked over,” and allegedly confronted another man who was carrying a metal pipe. Agents noted in security footage that Grace is seen “helping to reattach the velvet ropes onto stanchions in the rotunda.”

According to Grace, the door he came in through was closed and blocked by police officers, so he climbed out of a broken window.

“Grace stated that people he knew were contacting him on his cellphone, telling him that he could be seen in widely distributed photographs of a man carrying the lectern,” the affidavit said, referencing a photo of Adam Johnson, 36, of Parrish, Florida.

In the picture, Johnson is wearing a Trump stocking hat, smiling and waving as he carries House Speaker Nancy Pelosi’s lectern. Grace, according to federal law enforcement, is in the background of the photo.

Grace said he was not part of extremist groups such as the Three Percenters, Proud Boys or the 1% Outlaw Motorcycle Gang, but knew people who were.

Earlier this week, Ethan Nordean, a member of the Proud Boys who resides near Auburn, Washington, and is a regular at Proud Boys rallies in the Northwest was also charged for his role in the Capitol riot.

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