Kansas Marine veteran charged in Capitol riot. He had a flag painted on his head
A Wichita man who prosecutors say wore a patriotic face mask and had an American flag painted on his head when he entered the Capitol on Jan. 6, 2021, has been charged in connection with the riot.
Chad Dustin Suenram, a U.S. Marine veteran, was arrested Monday in Haysville, south of Wichita, after being charged July 6 with four misdemeanors. The criminal complaint was unsealed Tuesday.
The charges, filed in U.S. District Court for the District of Columbia: knowingly entering or remaining in any restricted building or grounds without lawful authority; disorderly and disruptive conduct in a restricted building or grounds; disorderly conduct in a Capitol building; and parading, demonstrating or picketing in a Capitol building.
Suenram, 43, appeared in U.S. District Court for the District of Kansas on Wednesday and was released on a $5,000 unsecured bond, court records show. His next court appearance is via video conference on Aug. 1 in federal court in Washington, D.C.
His attorney, Michael Studtmann, said in an email Thursday afternoon that “we don’t (have) any comment at this time as he was in court for the first time just yesterday.”
Suenram had been dubbed #FlagFaceMarine by the “Sedition Hunters,” a network of online investigators helping identify and locate those involved in the Capitol attack. He is the 10th Kansas resident to face such charges.
His arrest comes as the massive Capitol riot investigation has picked up the pace, two-and-a-half years after the Jan. 6 breach. The arrest tally now stands at nearly 1,100, on charges ranging from demonstrating in a Capitol building to seditious conspiracy.
According to the probable cause affidavit, the FBI tracked down Suenram after search warrant results showed that a cellphone associated with his company Gmail account was inside and outside the Capitol on Jan. 6, 2021, between 2:43 p.m. and 4:09 p.m. The business, New Look Companies Landscaping, is owned by Suenram, the document said.
Through open sources, the FBI said it learned that Suenram traveled to Washington on Jan. 5, 2021, through a private bus charter company.
The FBI ran biometric facial recognition software on photographs and video footage taken on Jan. 6, the document said, and results showed that Suenram was at the Capitol that day.
“In the photographs, Suenram had a painted American flag on the right side of his head, just above his ear,” the affidavit said. “Suenram was wearing a long-sleeved black hoodie with a black t-shirt over the hoodie. The black t-shirt had ‘USMC’ on the front and back in red letters and the back also displayed a metallic eagle.”
Suenram also wore a plastic face mask decorated like an American flag, it said.
A review of U.S. Capitol Police images and surveillance footage showed Suenram entering the building through the Senate fire door about 2:45 p.m., the affidavit said. Roughly nine minutes later, it said, Suenram was seen on the footage in a large crowd being forced out of the Capitol through the same door.
Other surveillance footage showed that Suenram then re-entered the building through the Senate Wing Door around 3:05 p.m., according to the affidavit. Video footage from cellphones of others inside the Capitol showed Suenram walking through the Crypt, then joining a group that was shouting, “USA! USA!” while recording the scene on his phone, it said.
Suenram left the Capitol through the south door vestibule after spending 25 to 27 minutes inside, the document said. But instead of leaving the grounds, it said, at 3:40 p.m. he stood in front of a mob that had gathered outside the north door and was confronting police.
“After repeated attacks by the mob, police officers retreated inside the U.S. Capitol building,” the affidavit said. “Suenram kept his place at the front of the mob, and even after the officers’ retreat inside the building, Suenram stood directly in front of the north door for several minutes, filming and cheering as police officers deployed tear gas in an attempt to clear the area.
“Suenram remained a few feet away from the North Door as other rioters tried to use a bike rack and other objects to force entry into the building,” the affidavit said.
On July 12, 2022, two FBI agents contacted Suenram at his home and talked to him for about 10 minutes, the document said. He refused to be interviewed and said he was going to get an attorney. The agents confirmed that Suenram was the man in the Capitol riot photos, it said.
This story was originally published July 20, 2023 at 1:22 PM with the headline "Kansas Marine veteran charged in Capitol riot. He had a flag painted on his head."
