Victorville gym owner arrested for participation in Capitol insurrection
VICTORVILLE, Calif. (KABC) -- The owner of a Victorville gym is among more than 100 people nationwide facing charges for participating in the insurrection at the U.S. Capitol on Jan. 6.
FBI agents arrested Jacob Lewis, 37, of Victorville on Wednesday and he is now facing charges of knowingly entering a restricted building without lawful authority and violent entry/disorderly conduct on Capitol grounds.
In a federal complaint filed last week, authorities allege that Lewis flew from Southern California to Washington D.C. to participate in the rally that was held to protest the Electoral College certification of Joe Biden's election.
Lewis owns "The Gym" in Victorville and last year he reopened the facility in defiance of public health orders that it be shut down for the COVID-19 pandemic.
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According to the arrest warrant, a tipster told federal agents that Lewis flew from Southern California to Washington D.C. "to attack the Capitol along with many Trump supporters to stop the certification of the electoral college."
Federal agents interviewed Lewis at his Victorville home on Jan. 15 and say he acknowledged attending the rally and breaching the Capitol building. He also told them nobody said he could not enter the building and that police officers "escorted" him inside.
"He stated that he did not partake in any violence while he was in the building and that he believed that some individuals involved in agitating were Antifa members in disguise," the federal complaint states.
Federal agents said they reviewed video that appeared to confirm he entered the building, but say there was no evidence of a police escort.
After his arrest, Lewis was released on $50,000 bond and ordered to appear virtually at a Washington D.C. court hearing on Feb. 10.
Lewis is one of more than a half dozen Californians who have been charged with participating in the Jan. 6 insurrection.
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Federal agents have filed complaints against more than 140 people from across the country in connection with the Capitol riot. A list of defendants and charges is available here.
