KC church staffer who took mom to Capitol on Jan. 6 is latest Missourian charged in riot
A Kansas City church staffer who authorities say took his mom to the Capitol on Jan. 6 and participated in a concerted “heave-ho” movement against a line of officers during the riot has been charged with a felony and three misdemeanors.
Kyle Kumer, 43, was arrested Wednesday and made his initial appearance in U.S. District Court for the Western District of Missouri. He is charged with civil disorder, a felony; and three misdemeanors — entering and remaining in a restricted building or grounds; disorderly and disruptive conduct in a restricted building or grounds; and impeding passage through the Capitol grounds or buildings. The criminal complaint was filed in the District of Columbia.
Kumer was released on a personal recognizance bond, and his next court hearing is scheduled for July 6 in federal court in Washington, D.C.
He is the 28th Missouri resident to be charged in connection with the Capitol riot.
According to the probable cause affidavit, when reviewing closed-circuit TV and other video footage from Jan. 6, 2021, the FBI saw a man on the front lines of rioters facing off with law enforcement officers at the Capitol’s lower west terrace entryway, which is known as “the tunnel.”
“The individual appeared to push in a concerted effort with other rioters against the police defending the entrance to the U.S. Capitol multiple times over the course of approximately 25 minutes,” the document said. Photos of the man were posted on the FBI’s website under the title BOLO 126, asking for information about his identity. Bolo stands for “be on the lookout.”
A review of officers’ body-worn camera footage showed the man was on the west front of the Capitol around 2:30 p.m., the affidavit said. The man could be seen in the footage embracing another person, who authorities believed was his mother.
Around 2:50 p.m., the document said, a public video showed BOLO 126 near the entrance to the tunnel.
“BOLO 126 is depicted as he raised his fist in the air and chanted along with the crowd, ‘OUR HOUSE! WHOSE HOUSE?! OUR HOUSE!’” the affidavit said.
A video recorded by another rioter showed BOLO 126 walking up the steps toward the tunnel entrance, it said.
“As BOLO 126 walked toward the tunnel, other members of the crowd called out, ‘PATRIOTS!’ and ‘DOORS ARE OPEN! WHO HAS BODY ARMOR?!’” the document said. “As BOLO 126 approached the entrance to the tunnel, he reached out and passed a stolen police riot shield back into the crowd.”
Capitol security footage showed BOLO 126 entering the tunnel about 2:56 p.m., the affidavit said, adding that it appeared his mother entered along with him.
“While in the tunnel, BOLO 126 appeared to shield his mother from the crowd using his body,” the affidavit said. “However, despite a number of opportunities to leave the tunnel, BOLO 126 and his mother remained.”
About 3:04 p.m., the document said, the crowd in the tunnel began to push against the police line. BOLO 126 turned around and pushed the rioters with his back to aid in the group effort to force police out of the way.
“BOLO 126’s mother was in front of him, facing the wall of the tunnel as BOLO 126 pushed against other rioters and yelled animatedly, ‘LET’S GO! C’MON! LET’S GO!’” the affidavit said.
Around 3:10 p.m., it said, police were moving rioters out of the tunnel, but BOLO 126 and his mother remained. Two minutes later, BOLO 126 and other rioters still in the tunnel began another push against the police line.
About 3:15 p.m., the affidavit said, many rioters left the tunnel. But BOLO 126 lingered, pulling his mother closer to the police line. At 3:16 p.m., the remaining rioters conducted another push against police. Body-worn camera footage showed that BOLO 126 and his mother were among the last rioters to leave the tunnel when officers cleared it around 3:20 pm., the document said.
“At approximately 3:19 p.m., a Metropolitan Police Department Officer (Officer M.F.) was dragged into the crowd by members of the mob,” the affidavit said. “BOLO 126 remained near the entrance to the tunnel at this time and as Officer M.F. made his way back to his fellow officers, BOLO 126 put his arms around Officer M.F.”
While the affidavit gives only the officer’s initials, the number on his helmet in a photo included with the affidavit is the badge number of Michael Fanone, who was beaten, tased and robbed of his badge, police radio and 17-round magazine as rioters tried to remove his gun from its holster. Fanone suffered a heart attack and traumatic brain injury from the assault.
After the riot, the affidavit said, the FBI received two tips identifying BOLO 126 as Kyle Kumer. One tipster was a relative who said Kumer had posted photos and video from the Capitol on his Facebook page but took them down a few days later. The tipster gave authorities screenshots taken from Kumer’s Facebook page that discussed his experience at the Capitol, along with a video of the lower west terrace.
Another tipster, an acquaintance of Kumer, was supposed to see him on Jan. 6 but told the FBI he did not show up. The tipster later learned that Kumer didn’t appear because he was at the Capitol.
“Law enforcement showed Tipster 2 a photograph of BOLO 126 and Tipster 2 confirmed that the individual depicted was Kyle Kumer,” the affidavit said.
Around Nov. 17, 2021, it said, authorities interviewed Kumer at his home in Kansas City. Kumer admitted to being at the Capitol on Jan. 6 and showed them videos and photos taken on his cellphone, the document said. He also admitted to entering the tunnel and to helping the crowd push against the police line, it said, but he denied entering the Capitol.
“Kumer claimed he was pushing against the crowd to protect his elderly mother from injury,” the affidavit said. “Kumer stated he brought his elderly mother to the tunnel to fully experience the moment.”
Kumer is on the staff at Northland Church KC, according to the church’s website. On Wednesday afternoon, the website contained a photo of Kumer in a section called “Meet Our Team.”
“Kyle has been a member of Northland since 2017 and has been on staff since 2020,” it said.
By Wednesday night, that section had been taken down. Neither the church nor Kumer responded to requests for comment.
This story was originally published June 29, 2023 at 10:25 AM.
