Local Charlotte News — A Fort Bragg soldier who joined the Army in June has been arrested and charged with attacking law enforcement officers during the January 6 riot at the Capitol.
James Mault of Brockport, NY was taken into custody at Fort Bragg on October 6, according to Col. Joe Buccino with the XVIII Airborne Corp.
Mault, according to his commanding officers, enlisted in the Army in June of 2021, a full six months after the insurrection.
According to recently unsealed documents from the Justice Department, Mault, wearing a red hard hat, sprayed a chemical agent at officers.
The hardhat at a sticker of Ironworkers Local 33 of Rochester, NY.
A spokesperson with the Local says Mault is not a member of the union.
Mault told investigators he wore the hard hat because he “was aware of ANTIFA attacking Trump supporters” and wanted to hard hat for some form of protection.
An anonymous source contacted the FBI to report Mault at the Capitol.
According to prosecutors, Mault’s mother told the FBI her husband, Mault’s father, drove her son and several others down to the capitol.
Anita Mault said she believed her son and husband were going to a peaceful protest and not a riot.
She confirmed to investigators that the man in the photos is indeed her son.
Mault denied assaulting anyone or causing any damage during the riots.
Several images show a man matching Mault’s likeness holding what the FBI says is a chemical spray canister.
He told investigators that he was forced to go into the Capitol building due to a large crowd pushing behind him.
