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Utah activist faces additional charges for alleged role in Capitol attack

John Sullivan says he was at the Jan. 6 riot to “watch history.”

(Rick Egan | Tribune file photo) John Sullivan, photographed during a solo protest at the Utah Capitol in 2020, was indicted by a grand jury on Monday over his alleged role in the Jan. 6 attack on the U.S. Capitol.

A Utah man accused of taking part in the Jan. 6 riot at the U.S. Capitol was charged Monday with three additional crimes in federal court in Washington, D.C.

John Sullivan was charged last month with civil disorder, being in a restricted area and disorderly conduct. In addition to those charges, court documents show a grand jury indicted Sullivan on Monday with obstruction of an official proceeding, disorderly conduct in a Capitol building and demonstrating in a Capitol building.

Sullivan previously told The Salt Lake Tribune he was at the Capitol that day to observe and “watch history.”

On Jan. 6, Sullivan entered the U.S. Capitol through a broken window wearing a ballistic vest and a gas mask, according to a January affidavit from the Department of Justice. At one point during the riot, he was part of a crowd trying to push their way into a room guarded by police officers, according to the affidavit, and yelled that he had a knife.

In video footage that he shot during the riot, Sullivan can be heard yelling, “We accomplished this s--t. We did this together,” according to court documents. In a YouTube video, Sullivan said he was trying to fit in for his own safety.

Sullivan is the founder of Insurgence USA, a Utah group focused on police reform and racial justice, though a judge has ordered that Sullivan can’t do any work for the organization right now.

He is also facing unrelated charges of rioting and criminal mischief after he allegedly organized a June 30 protest in Provo where a truck driver was shot.