1st active-duty service member charged over US Capitol riots

Washington, May 14 A US Marine Corps officer was arrested and charged with assaulting policemen during the January 6 Capitol riots, making him the first active-duty service member charged for his role in the violence, according to the Justice Department.

Major Christopher Warnagiris, 40, is accused of forcing his way inside the Capitol by pushing through a line of officers guarding the building's East Rotunda doors, Xinhua news agency quoted the Department as saying on Thursday.

Video footage showed Warnagiris keeping the door open for others to get in and later pushing a Capitol Police officer who tried to close it, the Department said.

Warnagiris, stationed at the Marine Corps Base in Quantico, Virginia, before the arrest, is facing several charges, including assaulting, resisting or impeding officers, obstruction of law enforcement, and obstruction of justice, according to a USA Today report.

The Justice Department has so far charged about 440 people in connection to the Capitol breach and the numbers are expected to grow, said the report.

The January 6 riots were staged by supporters of former President Donald Trump while Congress was in session considering the ratification of the electoral college votes electing Joe Biden as President and Kamala Harris as Vice President.

Five people, including a police officer, were killed in the ensuing violence.