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Keller man seen with beer can during Jan. 6 U.S. Capitol riot arrested, FBI says

Thomas Paul Conover was arrested in December at his Keller, Texas, home and accused of storming the U.S. Capitol on Jan. 6.

A Keller man who is shown in photos inside the U.S. Capitol during the Jan. 6 riot was arrested Wednesday.

According to an arrest warrant issued by U.S. District Court for the District of Columbia, Thomas Paul Conover is accused of entering and remaining in a restricted building or grounds, disorderly and disruptive conduct in a restricted building or grounds, disorderly conduct in a Capitol building, and parading, demonstrating or picketing in a Capitol building.

In the criminal complaint, an FBI special agent listed a series of statements made by Conover on Facebook as early as Dec. 12, 2020 when he said he was planning on flying to Washington on Jan. 6.

According to the complaint, on Dec. 26, 2020, Conover said, “I’ll be there on the 6th.”

In posts made on Jan. 6, Conover said, “Greetings from Washington D.C. We took the Capital [sic].”

The complaint lists further statements he made on Facebook along with photos and stills from Capitol security footage. Images obtained by the FBI show Conover standing outside the Capitol and posing for photos with a beer can inside the Rotunda.

According to the complaint, Conover continued taking selfies and posing for photos with an empty beer can.

In one video, he said, “I don’t always storm the Capitol of the United States of America. But when I do, I prefer Coors Light.”

Conover appeared in court Wednesday in U.S. District Court for the Northern District of Texas and was released on bond, according to the court records. His initial appearance date in Washington is set for Dec. 16.

More than 650 people have been arrested and charged in the riot. Nearly 200 were charged with assaulting or impeding law enforcement, the Justice Department said. The investigation remains ongoing.

Anyone with information or tips should call 1-800-CALL-FBI or visit tips.fbi.gov.