Add two more to the list of Floridians charged with participating in the Jan. 6, 2021, riot at the U.S. Capitol.
Zachary Johnson, 33, of St. Petersburg, and Dion Rajewski, 61, of Largo, are accused in a federal indictment of entering the Capitol that day and engaging in disorderly conduct as a mob disrupted the congressional certification of the 2020 election results.
The indictment is light on details, but it states that both men carried pepper spray and that Johnson sprayed an officer with it. Johnson is also alleged to have carried a sledgehammer, according to the indictment.
The pair were arrested Thursday after the indictment was unsealed. Altogether, Johnson faces six criminal charges, including assaulting, resisting or impeding an officer. Rajewski is accused of five federal crimes. Both men are alleged to have engaged in physical violence at the Capitol, according to the indictment.
They appeared in a federal courtroom in Tampa shortly after their arrests Thursday. A judge allowed the pair to each be released on a $50,000 signature bond, meaning they will only pay if they do not show up for future court dates. Johnson was ordered to be placed on home detention, with a GPS monitor to ensure he does not leave without permission.
Release conditions also included that both men must give up any firearms they own, and cannot change addresses or travel without permission.
Efforts to reach both men by phone were not successful. An attorney for Rajewski declined to comment on the case.
The arrests bring the total number of Floridians accused of participating in the events of Jan. 6 to 78, the highest number of any state.
More than 700 people have been charged with crimes related to the Jan. 6 attack, when a mob of supporters of former President Donald Trump stormed the seat of America’s legislative branch of government in an effort to stop certification of the results of the 2020 election.
