A Ringgold, Georgia, man arrested last month in connection with the Jan. 6, 2021, breach of the U.S. Capitol says he was on the grounds that day but denies entering the building.
Federal investigators allege William Frederick Beals entered the Capitol twice on Jan. 6, for eight and five minutes, amid a riot by supporters of Republican Donald Trump unwilling to accept his 2020 presidential election loss to Democrat Joe Biden.
An FBI report includes stills from video footage inside the building, which investigators say place Beals inside.
“Until you are proven guilty, you are innocent beyond a reasonable doubt, OK?” Beals told the Chattanooga Times Free Press by phone Wednesday. “And when people predominantly come at somebody, especially within the media … I don’t know how anybody has energy for that.”