A man with purported Tallahassee ties faces federal charges after he allegedly assaulted police officers during the Jan. 6, 2021 attack on the U.S. Capitol.

Raymund Joseph Cholod, 52, is charged with assaulting, resisting, or impeding officers, entering and remaining in a restricted building or grounds with a dangerous weapon and disorderly and disruptive conduct in a restricted building or grounds with a dangerous weapon, according to the U.S. Justice Department. 

He was arrested in Miami Thursday, and he will make his first appearance Monday in the Southern District of Florida. 

Aside from federal court documents, there was little sign in public records of Cholod residing in Tallahassee. He does have some connection to North Florida – on Sept. 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 with no party affiliation. Records show he most recently resided in St. Petersburg and previously lived in Orlando, Houston and New York, among other places.

“He has had multiple addresses, including Tallahassee,” wrote Bill Miller, a spokesperson for the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the District of Columbia. 

‘This is our house … They (expletive) stole it’

On Jan. 6, 2021, Cholod was among a mob illegally gathered on the Lower West Terrace and in an Archway and tunnel that leads into the Capitol Building, court records said.

At approximately 2:41 p.m., Cholod entered the tunnel where law enforcement officers had formed “a protective line with riot shields behind a set of glass doors in efforts to keep the rioters outside” of the Capitol, according to the U.S. Justice Department. 

Cholod moved forward “until he was positioned immediately in front of the police line,” court records said.

“He pointed and shook his finger at officers and shouted, among other things, ‘This is our house … This is our (expletive) house … They stole it and you know it. They (expletive) stole it’ ” court records stated.

At approximately 2:45 p.m., Cholod “pushed his arm and elbow into a police officer’s face and neck,” according to the according to the U.S. Justice Department. 

Less than a minute later, he pushed against a police riot shield, then grabbed it, and attempted to pull it away from officers, records said. 

“Later in the day, Cholod was positioned on the steps of the Lower West Terrace, holding what appears to be a baton or stick,” read court records. “He threw the item towards the entrance to the tunnel, where a line of police officers was positioned.”

FBI ties him to St. Petersburg motel after tip from confidential source

In February, the FBI received a tip from a confidential source, which led them to tie Cholod to a motel in St. Petersburg.

In May, an FBI agent interviewed someone who worked at the unnamed motel and showed them three photos of Cholod on the day of the Jan. 6 attack. The source “stated that the individual in the pictures ‘looked familiar’ and had stayed at the Motel in 2019 and previously.”

A second motel employee said Cholod was a guest in 2019.

FBI agents then interviewed a former direct supervisor of Cholod, who identified him as the man in surveillance photos at the U.S. Capitol.

In court records, investigators noted that in September 2016, “Raymond Cholod requested that the name on his driver’s license be changed to ‘Raymund.’ ”

Florida leads the nation in insurrection arrests

There have been more than 880 arrests spanning all 50 states for crimes related to the breach of the U.S. Capitol, including over 270 individuals charged with assaulting or impeding law enforcement.

Florida leads the in nation in Capitol riot arrests. The latest additions raise the total of arrested Floridians to 95. 

Back story:Floridspan still hspans the most people fspancing Jspannuspanry 6 insurrection chspanrges. It’s not even close.

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