John Banuelos

Banuelos was never tried or convicted on his January 6 charges. He was charged in March 2024 — more than three years after the Capitol attack — on four federal felony counts: civil disorder (18 U.S.C. § 231(a)(3)), entering and remaining in a restricted building with a deadly or dangerous weapon, carrying a firearm on Capitol grounds, and discharging a firearm on Capitol grounds, plus a misdemeanor count of disorderly conduct in a Capitol building. Federal prosecutors alleged that on January 6, 2021, Banuelos kicked metal barricades, made finger-gun gestures at officers, pushed against the police line while revealing a firearm in his waistband, and at approximately 2:34 p.m. climbed the inaugural stage scaffolding, fired two shots into the air, holstered his gun, and descended back into the crowd. He was the only January 6 defendant charged with firing a gun on Capitol grounds. Banuelos pleaded not guilty to all counts and was held in pretrial detention. Trump's blanket pardon on January 20, 2025 dismissed all charges before trial.