A Telluride man has been charged with assault and other violent crimes in the Jan. 6 insurrection on the U.S. Capitol, according to the U.S. Attorney’s Office and San Miguel County Sheriff’s Office.
A federal indictment unsealed Tuesday reveals that Avery Carter MacCracken, 68, has been charged with engaging in physical violence in a restricted building or grounds; civil disorder; assaulting, resisting or impeding certain officers; inflicting bodily injury; and other charges.
MacCracken was arrested on Dec. 11 in Norwood and booked into the San Miguel County Jail, a news release said.
He was handed over to the custody of federal authorities and made his initial appearance Tuesday in U.S. District Court in Mesa County. He remains detained pending further court proceedings.
According to court documents, MacCracken approached a police line that was attempting to protect the Capitol building and grounds. He allegedly pushed, shoved and struck a Metropolitan Police Department officer, causing a cut beneath the officer’s eye.
MacCracken also is suspected of moving along the police line and assaulting a second Metropolitan Police officer.
San Miguel County Sheriff Bill Masters said his office assisted the FBI investigation and arrest. MacCracken has a long criminal history and has been living out of his car in different areas of San Miguel County for the past several years, the Sheriff’s Office said.
“I am pleased to see federal authorities continue their obligation and commitment to indict those who committed crimes during that dark day in United States history,” Masters said.
This case is being prosecuted by the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the District of Columbia and the Department of Justice National Security Division’s Counterterrorism Section. Assistance was provided by the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the District of Colorado.
The case is being investigated by the Grand Junction Resident Agency of the FBI division in Denver and the FBI’s Washington Field Office, which identified MacCracken as No. 387 among the suspects photographed at the Capitol. The San Miguel County Sheriff’s Office, Telluride Marshal’s Office, Metropolitan Police Department and the U.S. Capitol Police assisted in the case.
In the 11 months since Jan. 6, more than 700 people from nearly 50 states have been arrested in connection with the breach of the U.S. Capitol. More than 220 people have been charged with assaulting or impeding law enforcement officers.
The investigation remains ongoing.
