A Tennessee man has been arrested on felony and misdemeanor charges related to his actions during the breach of the U.S. Capitol on Jan. 6, 2021. His actions and the actions of others disrupted a joint session of the U.S. Congress convened to ascertain and count the electoral votes related to the 2020 presidential election.
Allan Jennings, 56, of Hillsboro, Tennessee, is charged in a criminal complaint filed in the District of Columbia with a felony offense of civil disorder. Jennings is also charged with several misdemeanor offenses, including entering and remaining in a restricted building or grounds, disorderly and disruptive conduct in a restricted building or grounds, engaging in physical violence in a restricted building or grounds, and destruction of government property.
Jennings was arrested on Sept. 12, 2023, in Hillsboro, Tennessee, and made his initial appearance in the Eastern District of Tennessee.
According to court documents, on Jan. 6, 2021, Jennings attended the “Stop the Steal” rally near the Washington Monument and later walked with a crowd down Constitution Avenue, NW, toward the U.S. Capitol. Jennings was then identified via open-source video, body-worn camera, and U.S. Capitol Police closed circuit television security video (CCTV) among the crowd of rioters that converged at the Lower West Terrace Tunnel.
By approximately 2:41 p.m., Capitol CCTV shows that Jennings was among the first three rioters to enter the Tunnel from the Lower West Terrace in pursuit of retreating police officers. Jennings held up his phone as he entered, apparently filming his and the other rioters’ progress. Upon entering the Tunnel, Jennings darts ahead of all of the other rioters toward the first set of glass doors inside the Tunnel. Rioters further back then began to summon more rioters to join their efforts in pushing forward as Jennings—who was still holding up his phone—looked through the glass at the assembled police officers as rioters poured into the Tunnel behind him.
At approximately 2:42 p.m., body-worn camera footage shows Jennings as he pulled an implement of some kind, which a police officer who witnessed these events identified as a knife with a glass breaking end from his pocket. The police officer whose body-worn camera recorded these events then pointed at Jennings and said, “He’s got a weapon in his hand,” as Jennings raised the implement and tapped the top corner of the glass door in front of him. Jennings then pulled back the implement and quickly struck the glass several times, shattering it on the second attempt.
After the glass door was shattered, rioters moved through the broken set of doors and toward a subsequent set of frosted glass doors. As rioters moved past him, Jennings inspected his hand, which appeared to be injured. Moments later, Jennings made his way back toward the front of the mob, where he put his hands on an officer’s riot shield and pointed at officers. Shortly thereafter, Jennings—whose hand was visibly bleeding by this point—braced himself backward against the line of rioters in front of him to assist their push against the police line.
Jennings then exited the Tunnel and returned to the Lower West Terrace.
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. Valuable assistance was provided by the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Eastern District of Tennessee.
This case is being investigated by the FBI’s Knoxville and Washington Field Offices. Valuable assistance was provided by the U.S. Capitol Police and the Metropolitan Police Department.
In the 32 months since Jan. 6, 2021, more than 1,100 individuals have been charged in nearly all 50 states for crimes related to the breach of the U.S. Capitol, including more than 396 individuals charged with assaulting or impeding law enforcement, a felony. The investigation remains ongoing.
Anyone with tips can call 1-800-CALL-FBI (800-225-5324) or visit tips.fbi.gov.
