Capitol Riot Defendant Charged With Sexual Assault in Utah

[Thiệu Ngô]

High-profile Jan. 6 defendant facing charges of kidnapping and sexually assaulting woman

By Scott MacFarlane

A U.S. Capitol riot defendant who was accused of firing a gun into the air while among the mob on Capitol grounds on January 6, 2021, now faces charges of sexual assault and kidnapping in Utah.

Prosecutors allege John Banuelos, 40, attacked a woman in the Salt Lake City area in 2018, three years prior to his alleged involvement in the Capitol siege, according to court filings obtained by CBS News.

A DNA test conducted in August linked Banuelos to the 2018 sex assault, prosecutors allege in a charging document filed in Utah.

Banuelos' charges in his U.S. Capitol riot case were dismissed and he was released from custody in January 2025, after President Trump granted clemency to the more than 1,500 people convicted of charges stemming from the Capitol attack.

According to court filings in Utah, Banuelos allegedly invited the victim of the attack, referred to in the court filings only as S.J., to his home in June 2018, falsely claiming there was a party at the house. According to charging documents, Banuelos beat the victim after she entered his house.

Prosecutors said the victim told investigators that Banuelos "hit her in the face and told her he was going to kill her. Banuelos then grabbed her by the shirt and dropped her on the floor, causing her to hit her head. (The victim) recalled feeling like Banuelos was going to kill her."

The victim also told police that Banuelos sexually accosted her, the court documents say. The victim told investigators, "Banuelos was aggressively kissing her and punched her in the head. She said when she tried to punch him back, he got 'really angry,'" according to the charging documents from prosecutors. The charging papers also said the victim said that Baneulos "grabbed her shorts, pulled them off, and threw her, causing her whole body to fly in the air."

The charging documents allege Banuelos strangled the victim, who told investigators he "used a pressure of '10 out of 10' for a couple of seconds. (The victim) said that while strangling her, he told her that she was 'gonna be quiet' and she thought she was 'gonna die.'"

Banuelos faces charges of aggravated kidnapping and aggravated sexual assault. A warrant was issued in Utah for Banuelos's arrest on Oct. 1.

Police reports obtained by CBS News under the Freedom of Information Act said Cook County, Illinois sheriff's investigators found Banuelos at a Burger King in the Chicago suburb of Cicero on Oct. 17. The sheriff's department said Banuelos acknowledged his identity to officers when they stopped him as a passenger in a ride-share car minutes later.

He has no listed defense attorney in his case in Utah and was not reachable for comment. It was not immediately clear if he was still being held in Illinois or if he had been transferred to Utah.

Banuelos was among the later waves of arrests in the U.S. Capitol siege case. He was charged in his federal Jan. 6 case in March 2024, more than three years after the attack. Banuelos' case was unique among the tonnage of Capitol riot prosecutions, because he was the only defendant accused of pulling and firing a gun while on Capitol grounds.

The Justice Department alleged "Open-source media and CCTV captured Banuelos allegedly raising the gun over his head and, at approximately 2:34 p.m., firing two shots into the air. Banuelos returned the firearm to his waistband and climbed down the scaffolding, rejoining the crowd below."

Banuelos pleaded not guilty in his Jan. 6 case, but never stood trial because of the dropped charges.

During 2024 court proceedings in his Capitol riot case, Banuelos openly and brazenly predicted he'd be cleared of charges because of the reelection of Mr. Trump.

When urged by Washington, D.C., federal judge Tanya Chutkan to be careful about what he said in open court, Banuelos told the judge, "Trump is going to be in office in six months, so I have nothing to worry about."

Banuelos is the latest in a growing series of Jan. 6 defendants to be arrested on unrelated charges after they were released from custody following Mr. Trump's Jan. 20, 2025, pardons.

Zachary Alam, a convicted Capitol rioter from Virginia who was released from prison after the Trump pardons, was arrested in May for breaking and entering at a home near Richmond, Virginia. Alam was found guilty of the charge last month.

Christopher Moynihan, a Capitol siege defendant from upstate New York, was arrested last month for allegedly threatening to murder House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries. Moynihan has pleaded not guilty.