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FBI searching for January 6 Capitol riot defendants

The Federal Bureau of Investigation is searching for a Florida woman who was scheduled to appear in court Monday on charges related to the Jan. 6, 2021 attack at the Capitol, as well as another suspect who also went missing, officials said.

A federal judge in Washington issued arrest warrants for Olivia Pollock and Joseph Hutchinson III last week after the court was notified that they tampered with or removed ankle monitors that track their location, said Joe Boland, the supervising special agent. FBI’s Lakeland, Florida office.

Boland said the FBI found one of the defendants’ ankle monitors after it was removed, but declined to say whether it was Pollock’s or Hutchinson’s. The FBI had not located any of them as of Monday afternoon, he said.

Olivia Pollock, of Lakeland, is the sister of another Jan. 6 defendant, Jonathan Pollock, who has been on the lam for months. The FBI has offered a $30,000 reward for information leading to the arrest and conviction of her brother, who is accused of assaulting several police officers during the riots.

Olivia Pollock and Hutchinson were originally arrested in 2021 and charged in a five-count indictment for assaulting law enforcement officers and other crimes. Hutchinson is representing himself at trial, and an attorney assigned to assist him as standby counsel declined to comment Monday.

Olivia Pollock’s attorney, Elita Amato, said Monday that her client “diligently supported her defense for her upcoming trial prior to her disappearance.”

Authorities encouraged anyone with information about their whereabouts to contact the FBI.

Olivia Pollock, who was wearing a ballistic vest during the standoff, is accused of elbowing the officer in the chest and removing the officer’s baton during the scuffle. Jonathan Pollock is accused of slamming the crash shield into the officer’s face and throat, dragging the officer down the stairs and punching others.

Authorities say Hutchinson pulled back a fence that was allowing other rioters to harass police trying to secure the Capitol, punched one officer and grabbed another by the arm before pushing the officer out of his way.

Hutchinson, who now lives in Georgia, is due in court in August. On Monday, the judge postponed the trial of Olivia Pollock until August.

Also on Monday, a Colorado man pleaded guilty to using chemical spray to attack police who were trying to control the crowd.

Robert Giswine, of Woodland Park, Colorado, is scheduled to be sentenced on June 9. Giswine’s estimated sentencing guidelines suggested a prison sentence of three years and five months to four years and three months, according to his plea agreement.

Giswine was wearing a helmet, jacket and goggles and was carrying a baseball bat when he stormed the Capitol on January 6, 2021. He marched from the Washington Monument to the building with members of the far-right extremist group Proud Boys.

Giswine repeatedly sprayed an “aerosol irritant” at police officers, pushed through a line of officers and was one of the first to enter the Capitol, according to a court filing accompanying the assault charge.

Federal authorities said Giswein appears to have been a supporter of the Three Percent militia movement and ran a private paramilitary training group called the Woodland Wild Dogs.

So far, about 1,000 people have been charged over the riots. Sentences range from probation to 10 years in prison for a retired New York Police Department officer who attacked an officer with a metal flagpole.

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Associated Press reporter Michael Kunzelman in Washington contributed to this report.

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