(Ken Silva, Headline USA) The FBI arrested ex-NFL player Leander Antwione Williams on Thursday for allegedly assaulting police during the Jan. 6, 2021, Capitol Hill uprising.
According to the FBI’s criminal complaint, investigators first identified Williams in early 2021, giving him the monicker “AFO-419.” In late 2022, the FBI received a tip that AFO-419 was Williams—a linebacker drafted in 2016 by the Detroit Lions. Williams played one season with the Lions before serving several stints on various practice squads.
FBI agents said they confirmed Williams’s identity by matching a key fob he carried with various photos on the internet.
According to the FBI, Williams was one of the first rioters to breach the restricted perimeter near Peace Monument. He’s allegedly caught on video pushing through a group of rioters that formed at an interior bike rack line.
The FBI arrested an ex-NFL player today for assaulting police on Jan. 6.
I'm pretty there would have been some severely injured cops if an ex-NFL linebacker actually wanted to commit assault pic.twitter.com/o7si1LrAH8
— Ken Silva (@JD_Cashless) November 14, 2024
“At approximately 1:13 p.m., Williams attempted to take a bike rack from an officer who was clearing the West Plaza,” the FBI alleged.
“On one occasion … Williams moved forward and grabbed the barricade, this time with both hands, and pulled it backwards and away from the police line. MPD officers attempted to push Williams away, and in response, Williams jumped up and brought his hand and arm down forcefully on MPD Officer B.T.’s head. Other officers eventually pushed Williams off Officer B.T. and back down the steps,” the FBI alleged.
“Approximately 18 minutes later, Williams returned to the line of officers. At this point officers no longer had the benefit of the bike rack separating them from the rioters. Williams grabbed and pushed two officers, one from the United States Capitol Police and one from the Metropolitan Police.”
Williams allegedly remained on Capitol grounds until about 4:45 p.m.
His case marks the first arrest in the wake of Donald Trump’s landslide election win. Numerous court cases are still proceedings, even though Trump is expected to issue pardons to J6ers once he’s in office.
Williams’s case has yet to appear on the court docket, and it’s not clear if he’s made an initial appearance in court.
Ken Silva is a staff writer at Headline USA. Follow him at x.com/jd_cashless.
