Texas man charged in Jan 6 riot shoots at local police as FBI moved to have him surrender

A Texas man facing federal charges in connection to the Jan. 6 Capitol riot has been arrested for shooting at local law enforcement the day he was supposed to surrender to the F.B.I, federal prosecutors said Thursday. 

The shooting occurred Tuesday when Nathan Donald Pelham, 40, opened fire on police in North Texas who went to check on him following a report he had a gun, according to the Dallas Morning News.

Last week, Pelham was charged in a federal District Court in Washington., D.C., with four misdemeanors in connection with illegally entering the Capitol on Jan. 6 2021. He was in the building for approximately seven minutes. 

Court papers state Pelham was dressed in goggles, a neck gaiter and a baseball hat bearing the logo of the Proud Boys, a far-right group.

Two months later, he confessed to being inside the Capitol, while being stopped at the U.S. border in Port Huron, Michigan, trying to enter Canada. 

The FBI intended to investigate Pelham on Monday. But that same evening one of his relatives called the sheriff’s office in Hunt County, Texas, to alert deputies that Pelham had flashed a gun. 

When the deputies checked on Pelham at around 8:30 p.m., his daughter ran out of the house and seconds later, gunfire rang from inside, prosecutors said.

An hour later, Pelham walked onto his porch and shot several rounds at the deputies, according to prosecutors. 

The deputies were not hit. Pelham was arrested, and when authorities searched his house, they found four boxes of ammunition and several bullet holes in walls, prosecutors also said.

Pelham was charged on several counts in connection with this week's incident including possessing a firearm. He faces up to five years in prison in addition to any punishment he may receive for entering the Capitol.