The Federal Bureau of Investigation announced Thursday that a Palm Coast man and four others were arrested on charges stemming from their actions during their breach of the U.S. Capitol on January 6, 2021.
Johnathan Rockholt, 38, is charged with interfering with a law officer during civil disorder, a felony. Benjamin Cole, 38, of Leesburg, John Crowley, 50, of Windermere, Tyler Bensch, 20, of Casselberry and Brian Preller, 33, of Mount Dora were also charged.
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According to court documents, the five men self-identified as members of the “B Squad,” a subgroup of a militia-style, Florida based organization known as the “Guardians of Freedom,” which adheres to the ideology of the “Three Percenters.” They traveled to Washington, D.C., with others in the “B Squad” and stayed at a hotel on Jan. 5, 2021. On Jan. 6, the five defendants were among those illegally gathered on the Capitol grounds. Cole wore a tactical vest. Preller wore a tactical vest with a chemical irritant spray attached to the front, as well as large goggles and a green helmet with the word “monster” on the back. He also carried a long black walking stick and wore a shirt that read “waterboarding instructor.” Rockholt wore a tactical vest and carried what appeared to be a knife in his front right pocket; he also wore a baseball helmet. Bensch wore a tactical vest, as well as a military-style helmet with goggles and a black gas mask. He also carried a chemical irritant in front of the vest.
Cole, Crowley, Preller and Rockholt were in a group that engaged in a confrontation with law enforcement officers in the tunnel area of the Capitol’s Lower West Terrace. Bensch remained just outside. While inside the tunnel, Cole, Preller, Crowley and Rockholt confronted and assisted the crowd in confronting the officers that were preventing the tunnel and Capitol from being breached. They added their force, momentum, bodies, and efforts to the other rioters in a “heave-ho” effort that put pressure on the police line. As a direct result of the actions of the rioters in the tunnel at that time, the mob penetrated deeper, pushing the police line back.
Once officers finally were able to repel Cole, Preller, Crowley, Rockholt, and others from the tunnel, Rockholt picked up a clear riot shield with a Capitol Police seal before leaving the area. Bensch, meanwhile, used one of his chemical irritants to spray the face of an individual who was an unknown member of the crowd, even though that person posed no threat to him.
The Palm Coast man made an appearance in federal court in Orlando Wednesday. Rockholt waived a preliminary hearing and was released on his own recognizance.
The case has been transferred to federal court in Washington D.C. Nine people from Northeast Florida have been arrested for their role in the January 6 insurrection.