Former Lions linebacker charged in Jan. 6 riot
GRAND RAPIDS, Mich. (WOOD) — Former Detroit Lions linebacker Leander Antwione Williams has reportedly been arrested and charged with assaulting police officers during the attack on the U.S. Capitol on Jan. 6, 2021.
NBC News reports Williams was arrested Thursday in Savannah, Georgia. He faces felony charges of assaulting, resisting or impeding officers and obstruction of law enforcement. He also faces three misdemeanor charges "related to entering and remaining on restricted Capitol buildings and grounds, disorderly conduct and acts of physical violence."
In a released by the U.S. Attorney's Office in Washington D.C., Williams "confronted and overpowered" Capitol Police officers at the perimeter line and struck an officer in the head with his arm.
According to NBC News, investigators previously labeled the unknown assailant, now accused to be Williams, as "AFO-419," an acronym for assault on federal officer. The FBI received a tip in December 2022 that Williams may be the suspect.
In a court filing, federal agents said the agency interviewed Williams at his home in 2023 and noticed a red key fob similar to one seen in surveillance video. The agency also reviewed credit card statements that showed he was in the Washington D.C. area and paid for parking not far from the Capitol on the day of the attack.
Lions drafted Williams in the fifth round of the 2016 NFL Draft out of Georgia Southern. He appeared in 14 games that season and recorded 27 total tackles and forced a fumble. He was cut after training camp ahead of the next season.
Williams signed with three other NFL teams over a few years — the Minnesota Vikings, the Seattle Seahawks and the Carolina Panthers — but never played in another NFL game.
Williams is now one of more than 1,500 people who have been charged in connection to the riot, formed by people who believed President-Elect Donald Trump's repeated and unfounded claims that the 2020 election was "stolen" from him. Nearly 600 of them have been charged with assaulting or impeding law enforcement.
However, now that Trump has won another term, many of those participants believe they will be pardoned by the president-elect when he takes office.
Trump had previously stated he planned to do so and referred to the rioters as "warriors," "political prisoners," "hostages," and "unbelievable patriots."
