A Ringgold man pleaded guilty to entering and remaining in a restricted building and disorderly and disruptive conduct in a restricted building for breaching the U.S. Capitol twice on Jan. 6, 2021.
William Frederick Beals II is expected to serve up to six months in prison and pay $500 to the architect of the U.S. Capitol as part of an agreement with federal prosecutors, the May 9 plea deal record shows. Both charges carry a maximum sentence of one year.
“After exiting the Capitol, the defendant recorded himself announcing on TikTok, ‘So we officially took the White House,'” the statement of offense states.
In 2022, Beals attended several protests in Tennessee alongside members of Tennessee Neighbors for Liberty and white supremacist group Patriot Front. He told the Chattanooga Times Free Press last year by phone he wasn’t a white supremacist or a neo-Nazi, and he never went inside the Capitol building.
“I was hoping to see something change and also some form of peace between American citizens, antifa and BLM (the Black Lives Matter movement),” Beals said at the time. “I was hoping that was the resolution of it all.”
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Beals is not in custody. He was contacted by a reporter but hung up during the phone call. He said by text message he would not be talking with the media.
He traveled from Tennessee to Washington, D.C., one day prior to the riot, the offense states. He was seen walking down Pennsylvania Walkway toward restricted grounds Jan. 6, 2021.
The crowd started to overwhelm police officers at the Capitol shortly after 1 p.m.
As bike rack barricades were being taken apart by a mob, Beals walked to the Capitol, the offense states.
He went to the Western Plaza, where he confronted law enforcement members, who had formed a human barricade to counteract the mob, the offense states.
“The defendant yelled at police officers, saying, ‘F—- you! I’ll bet your mama’s proud of your b——a—!” the offense states.
Beals eventually climbed the scaffolding to make his way to the entrance of the U.S. Capitol.
He remained inside the building for about eight minutes and posed for pictures, held up signs and spoke with other rioters, the offense states. He then left the building.
About 30 minutes later, Beals was wearing a gas mask and reentered the Capitol.
He was part of a group of rioters who physically overpowered members of law enforcement, the offense states.
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Beals admitted to his involvement and further admitted he knew the vice president was or would be visiting the U.S. Capitol on the day of the breach, the offense states.
He has been convicted of at least 10 other crimes in the past including larceny, burglary, assault, vehicle prowling and malicious mischief, the plea agreement states.
Beals is scheduled to be sentenced Sept. 10.
Contact Sofia Saric at ssaric@timesfreepress.com or 423-757-6476.