Capitol riot suspect awaiting trial was detained after police said he tried fleeing a DWI arrest with an AR-15 in his car

• A Capitol riot defendant, James Grant, was ordered back to pretrial detention on Tuesday.
• Grant is charged with assaulting officers at the Capitol barricades on January 6, 2021.

A North Carolina man who was charged with assaulting Capitol Police officers on January 6, 2021, was detained again after authorities said he tried to flee an arrest last month.

Judge Timothy Kelly ordered James Grant back to pretrial detention during a hearing Tuesday. Kelly also revoked Grant's pretrial release, arguing that Grant violated the terms of his initial release and was a threat to those around him.

Court documents cited a police report as saying that Grant was arrested on suspicion of DWI in the early morning of December 7 after a police officer responded to a call at a restaurant in Wake County. The police officer said that Grant initially tried to flee the arrest and that the officer found an AR-15 rifle with 60 rounds of ammunition and accessories, as well as combat fatigues, in his car. The arrest prompted the Justice Department to seek an end to Grant's pretrial release.

BuzzFeed News' Zoe Tillman reported that Kelly told the courtroom that because of Grant's access to firearms, along with concerns over his mental health and a history of substance misuse, he found that Grant violated the conditions of his pretrial release.

Grant had been arrested in North Carolina on October 14 on charges of assaulting Capitol Police officers during the insurrection. He was released the following day.

In court filings, prosecutors said Grant was among the first people spotted harassing officers at the Capitol barricades, as then-President Donald Trump's speech was still going at the "Stop the Steal" rally that preceded the attack on the Capitol.

In his indictment, prosecutors said Grant and another defendant, Ryan Samsel, were among the first to prompt confrontations at the police barricades near the Peace Monument outside the Capitol. The Justice Department alleged that Samsel and others tossed the barricade as Grant waved more people into the grounds.

Prosecutors said in court documents that the riot suspects lifted up the metal barricade and shoved it "forward into the officers pushing them back from their positions and causing at least one officer to fall to the ground into the steps behind her and suffer a head injury and another officer to suffer an ankle injury." They went on to accuse Grant and others of continuing to harass the officers until they were overwhelmed.

Grant is among more than 750 people charged in connection to the insurrection.

In the December 7 incident, the police officer encountered Grant in his car after responding to a report of a suicide threat at the restaurant in Garner, North Carolina, according to court documents. The documents said that the officer suspected Grant of being drunk and that Grant told the officer "they probably called on me" and mentioned January 6.

The police report said Grant attempted to flee while the officer arrested him.

"He then dropped to the ground and stated something to the effect of 'Just kill me now,'" the court filing said Grant told the officer. "He then stated, 'It's over.'"

In the Justice Department's filing ahead of Tuesday's hearing, prosecutors wrote, "Grant's statements are of such a concerning nature that there is reason to believe he is a danger not only to the community, but also to himself."

They added that Grant had also twice failed drug tests, which he had agreed to be subjected to as part of the conditions of his initial release.

Following the judge's decision, Grant is set to remain in custody as his case is pending.