NJ man convicted of assaulting Capitol police officers during January 6 riots

A Middlesex County man has been convicted of more than a dozen federal charges, stemming from repeated assaults on Capitol and Metro police during the violent riots of Jan. 6, 2021.

Christopher J. Quaglin was initially arrested in April 2021, months after being spotted in a “Make America Great Again” sweatshirt during the insurrection that left multiple law enforcement officers injured.

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The 37-year-old North Brunswick man was found guilty on July 10 of 14 charges, including 12 felonies and two misdemeanors.

Judge Trevor N. McFadden returned the verdict after a trial, in which Quaglin and the government agreed upon a stipulated set of facts regarding his actions.

Quaglin traveled from his home, then in New Brunswick, to Washington D.C. to attend the “Stop the Steal” rally in D.C. on Jan. 6, 2021 and to obstruct the certification process of the Electoral College, according to details laid out by federal prosecutors.

After attending the rally, Quaglin made his way to the U.S. Capitol grounds, intending to stop or prevent Congress from certifying the Electoral College vote results, they continued.

As clashes increased in violence, he was seen on video spraying officers with a chemical irritant (C.O.) from a canister.

Around 1:08 p.m., Quaglin was seen repeatedly assaulting multiple law enforcement officers guarding and protecting the Capitol from rioters.

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Body-worn-camera footage shows Quaglin, wearing protective gear, including a helmet and gas mask, clashing violently and disruptively with police.

Among body-worn camera footage from that day, Quaglin was heard telling Metro police officers “You don’t want this fight. You do not want this f***ing fight. You are on the wrong f***ing side. You’re going to bring a f***ing pistol, I’m going to bring a f***ing cannon. You wait!”

Later that day, Quaglin also recorded himself describing his outfit on video clips and calling it a “great time.”

A couple weeks later, though, Quaglin’s Google account history shows visits to a web page called, “Countries where you can buy citizenship, residency, or passport.”

He also frequently checked the FBI’s “seeking information” for Capitol violence at the end of that month.

An anonymous tipster eventually shared videos from a Facebook account under the name “Chris Trump” that showed Quaglin at the Capitol and at his hotel afterward, according to the federal affidavit.

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Quaglin has been scheduled to be sentenced on Sept. 26.

By this past winter, 19 defendants with NJ ties had pleaded guilty to charges stemming from the insurrection, as reported by NJ.com.

Several were awaiting sentencing, two were already serving prison terms and more than a dozen others were pending case proceedings.