A man with alleged ties to Tallahassee is facing federal charges after he allegedly assaulted police officers during the January 6, 2021 attack on the US Capitol.
Raymund Joseph Cholod, 52, is charged with assaulting, resisting or obstructing officers, entering and remaining in a building or restricted area with a dangerous weapon and disorderly and disruptive conduct in a building or restricted terrain with a dangerous weapon, according to the United States. Department of Justice.
He was arrested in Miami on Thursday and made his first appearance Friday afternoon in the Southern District of Florida.
Aside from federal court documents, there were few signs in public records of Cholod residing in Tallahassee. He has a North Florida connection — on September 27, he registered to vote in Jefferson County, according to voter registration records.
The address he listed on his voter registration form is the same as a motel and lounge in Monticello. He registered without party affiliation. Records show he recently resided in St. Petersburg and previously lived in Orlando, Houston and New York, among other places.
“This is our house… They (expletive) stole it”
On Jan. 6, 2021, Cholod was part of a crowd illegally gathered on the Lower West Terrace and in an archway and tunnel that leads to the Capitol building, according to court records.
At around 2:41 p.m., Cholod entered the tunnel where law enforcement had formed “a line of protection with riot shields behind a set of glass doors in an effort to keep rioters out” of the Capitol, according to the US Department of Justice.
Cholod advanced “until he was positioned immediately in front of the police line”, according to court records.
“He pointed and waved his finger at officers and shouted, among other things, ‘This is our house… This is our (expletive) home… They stole it and you know it. They ( expletive) stole her,'” court records said.
At around 2:45 p.m., Cholod “shoved his arm and elbow into a police officer’s face and neck,” according to the US Department of Justice.
Less than a minute later, he pushed against a police riot shield, then grabbed it and tried to pull it away from officers, records show.
“Later that day, Cholod was positioned on the steps of the lower west terrace, holding what appears to be a truncheon or baton,” the court records read. “He threw the object towards the entrance to the tunnel, where a line of police officers was positioned.”
FBI links him to St. Petersburg hotel after tip from confidential source
In February, the FBI received a tip from a confidential source, which led them to link Cholod to a motel in St. Petersburg.
In May, an FBI agent interviewed someone who worked at the unnamed hotel and showed him three photos of Cholod on the day of the Jan. 6 attack. The source “said the individual in the photos ‘looks familiar’ and had stayed at the motel in 2019 and before.”
A second hotel employee said Cholod stayed at the motel in 2019.
FBI agents then interviewed a former direct supervisor of Cholod, who identified him as the man in the US Capitol surveillance photos.
In court records, investigators noted that in September 2016, “Raymond Cholod requested that the name on his driver’s license be changed to ‘Raymond’.”
Florida leads the nation in insurgency arrests
There have been more than 880 arrests in all 50 states for crimes related to the breach of the U.S. Capitol, including more than 270 people charged with assault or obstructing law enforcement.
Florida tops the national rankings for capitol riot-related arrests. The latest additions bring the total number of Floridians arrested to 95.
Past:Florida still has the most people charged with the Jan. 6 insurrection. It’s not even close.
Investigative reporter Jeff Burlew contributed to this story. Contact Christopher Cann at [email protected] and follow @ChrisCannFL on Twitter.
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