By Thane Grauel

WESTPORT — A Bayberry Ridge Road man was arrested at his home Wednesday morning by federal agents and charged with taking part in the Jan. 6 riot at the U.S. Capitol.

Benjamin Cohen, 21, was arrested on felony and misdemeanor charges by FBI agents. He made his initial appearance in the District of Connecticut, according to the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the District of Columbia. It didn’t state whether that was at the federal court in Bridgeport, New Haven or Hartford.

Whether Cohen was held or released was not clear. The federal prisoner database did not have a Benjamin Cohen his age listed Thursday morning.

His arrest warrant was filed, and sealed, the day before his arrest. After the warrant was served, it was unsealed, according to court records.

Documents also spell out not only what Cohen is accused of doing on Jan. 6, 2021, but how investigators identified him after so many months.

Cohen had driven to Washington, D.C., with his mother to attend a rally supporting then-President Donald Trump, federal court documents state. She told investigators she became separated from her son outside the perimeter of the Capitol, which was surrounded by a barricade of bike racks, snow fencing and Capitol Police and Metropolitan Police officers.

Federal prosecutors allege Cohen assaulted several officers on the perimeter outside the west side of the Capitol, and participated in a “heave-ho” breach of the west terrace tunnel leading into the Capitol building.

Inside the Capitol, a joint session of Congress was meeting to certify the Electoral College results, in which Joe Biden defeated then-President Donald Trump. Trump’s supporters rioted in an effort to disrupt the transfer of power.

“Video footage shows Cohen standing in the crowd of rioters, where he can be heard shouting, “Our House!” the federal complaint states.

“Cohen then made his way deeper into the mob,” the federal complaint states. “From the vantage point at the mouth of the Tunnel, Cohen could see the large phalanx of police officers defending the tunnel entrance to the Capitol building and could hear a door alarm from the emergency exit blaring. Just before approximately 2:51 p.m., Cohen pushed against the rioter in front of him, and additional rioters joined the pushing effort around and behind him. Together, the mob pushed in a “heave ho” effort
against the police line until about 2:51:20 p.m.”

The heave-ho is sort of the reverse tug-of-war, a concerted back-and-forth human group effort to exert more force forward than people on the opposing side can match. In this case, it was rioters against outnumbered peace officers.

The complaint includes a couple dozen photos prosecutors say shows Cohen outside and inside the Capitol.

Six federal charges, including felonies

According to court documents, Cohen has been charged with:

• Civil disorder, a felony.

• Assaulting, resisting or impeding certain officers, a felony.

• Entering and remaining in a restricted building or grounds, a misdemeanor.

• Disorderly and disruptive conduct in a restricted building or grounds, a misdemeanor.

• Engaging in physical violence in a restricted building or grounds, a misdemeanor.

• Act of physical violence in the Capitol grounds or buildings, a misdemeanor.

Federal felonies generally carry prison terms of a year or more. Misdemeanors, less than a year.

Identifying ‘BOLO AFO-379’

After the assault on the Capitol, the FBI published photographs of a young white male in a black coat, red hat and blue pants. The man was known as “BOLO AFO-379.”

BOLO is an acronym for “be on the lookout.” AFO means “assault on a federal officer.”

In July 2022, the FBI got a tip about saying it might be Cohen. The FBI compared the numerous photos it had of the man to Cohen’s Connecticut Department of Motor Vehicles license photo.

In December, a former co-worker of Cohen’s was interviewed and told investigators that four photos he was shown from the Capitol riot were indeed Cohen.

On Jan. 30, the federal complaint states, the Cohen family was interviewed.

“FBI investigators separately interviewed Cohen’s father, Cohen and Cohen’s mother at Cohen’s Westport, Connecticut residence. Cohen’s father explained that Cohen traveled to Washington, D.C., with his mother on January 6, 2021, in order to attend the political rally taking place that day,” a statement of facts attached to the federal complaint states.

“Cohen’s father learned that after the rally, Cohen joined the march to the Capitol building,” it continued. “Cohen confirmed that he traveled with his mother by car to D.C., attended the January 6, 2021 rally in support of then-President Trump, and then walked to the Capitol building — entering Capitol grounds around 2:00 p.m. Cohen admitted that he joined a crowd on the front steps of the building and got “tear gassed.” Cohen’s mother confirmed that she traveled with Cohen to D.C. for the rally and stated that she lost contact with Cohen after they reached the Capitol grounds’ outer barriers and Cohen proceeded closer to the Capitol building.”

A future court date was not yet posted. Legal representation for Cohen was not known.

“In the 31 months since Jan. 6, 2021, more than 1,106 individuals have been arrested in nearly all 50 states for crimes related to the breach of the U.S. Capitol, including more than 350 individuals charged with assaulting or impeding law enforcement,” the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the District of Columbia stated in a press release.

Thane Grauel grew up in Westport and has been a journalist in Fairfield County and beyond for 35 years. Reach him at editor@westportjournal.com. Learn more about us here.