Arlington County ex-firefighter charged with Jan. 6 police assault

A former Arlington County Fire Department employee was arrested Friday in West Virginia on charges of assaulting police and rioting in the Jan. 6, 2021, attack on the U.S. Capitol, accused of joining a charge that overran a key police line and led to the breach of the building, according to court records.

Brian Holmes, a West Virginia resident, was employed for about a year or more with the department, according to two department witnesses cited in an FBI arrest affidavit. On Jan. 6, wearing red sneakers, a gray Virginia Tech hoodie and hard-knuckle gloves, Holmes allegedly assaulted two officers guarding a stairway leading up from the lower West Terrace just as they were bowled over by Florida Proud Boys member Daniel Scott, court records said.

Prosecutors have said the breakthrough helped the mob access a level through which the Capitol was first breached 20 minutes later, forcing the evacuation of Congress and delaying a joint session meeting to certify Joe Biden’s 2020 election victory over Donald Trump.

“Holmes can be seen grabbing Officer CC as he was being pulled toward the crowd,” the arrest affidavit alleged. He appeared to taunt police and gestured rioters behind him to follow him, the FBI alleged.

“Y’all asked for this, you know that right,” the FBI quoted Holmes as saying. “Y’all gonna have a long day, y’all gonna have a long … day,” Holmes added, and “Are you ready to speak Chinese? … Because that’s what’s going to happen, that’s what’s going to happen if you let these [expletives] steal this election.”

Holmes was arrested in Martinsburg, W.Va., and appeared before a U.S. magistrate judge Friday on an arrest warrant issued Aug. 23 in D.C., according to court records.

In a written statement released by Holmes attorney Stanley Woodward, Holmes denied the allegations and said he had immediately advised his department supervisor of his presence at the rally, and resigned after being contacted by law enforcement “so as to avoid being a distraction from the Department’s critical mission. I am proud to have served more than six years among Arlington’s bravest.”

As of April 2023, Holmes was no longer employed by the Arlington Fire Department, a spokesman said. “When made aware of the allegations, the ACFD cooperated fully with investigators,” Capt. Nathaniel C. Hiner said in a statement, referring questions about the case to the FBI.