Michigan Man Faces Federal Charges For Part In Capitol Hill Riots

Detroit MI

21 January, 2021

8:21 AM

Description

GRAND RAPIDS, MI -- A northern Michigan man is accused by U.S. attorneys of partaking in the Jan. 6 riot at the U.S. Capitol, to federal charging documents. Karl Dresch, 40, of Calumet, appeared by video Wednesday in U.S. District Court in Michigan's Western District for arraignment on misdemeanor charges of knowingly entering or remaining in restricted grounds without lawful authority impeding or disrupting official functions and violent entry and disorderly conduct on Capitol grounds, according to federal documents. He also is charged with a felony count of obstructing an official proceeding, a 20-year felony, documents show. Dresch is the first person from Michigan to be charged federally in the Jan. 6 riots at the U.S. Capitol, according to the U.S. Justice Department. Read More: 7 Michigan Residents Among Those Arrested Amid Capitol Hill Riots According to a federal document detailing authorities' probable cause for charges, Dresch on Jan. 6 posted photos to social media, including jokes about police using tear gas at the Capitol, that led authorities to him. "I love masks now," he wrote in one post. Prior to the Jan. 6 riots, Dresch had posted that he was going to D.C. and that he was "prepared for chemical attacks and what not." He also urged others to take similar actions to the Jan. 6 riots, posting, "NO EXCUSES! NO RETREAT! NO SURRENDER! TAKE THE STREETS! TAKE BACK OUR COUNTRY!" according to documents. Authorities said that Dresch while inside the U.S. Capitol had posted a photo of himself holding a Donald Trump flag while standing beside a statue of John C. Calhoun of South Carolina, a vice president from 1825 to 1832 who defended slavery. In separate posts, documents show, Dresch called the day a "Total Victory" and saying "I'm excited!" Dresch is the son of Stephen Dresch, who was a dean at Michigan Technological University and a Republican state lawmaker from 1991-92.