Jessica Mathews / news@whmi.com


A Linden man has pleaded guilty to assaulting a police officer during the January 2021 attack on the U.S. Capitol.

64-year-old Matthew Thomas Krol entered the plea in the District of Columbia to one felony count of assaulting, resisting, or impeding certain officers using a dangerous weapon.

Krol’s actions and the actions of others disrupted a joint session of the U.S. Congress convened to ascertain and count the electoral votes related to the 2020 presidential election.

According to court documents, Krol traveled from his home in Linden to Washington, D.C., in order to attend the “Stop the Steal” rally on January 6th, 2021. After the rally had ended, Krol marched toward the U.S. Capitol building.

At approximately 2:28pm, court documents say that Krol pushed forward through a crowd of rioters on the Lower West Plaza of the Capitol grounds, threw a water bottle at police officers attempting to hold a defensive perimeter around the building, and then attacked the line of police officers. During that time, Krol grappled with a police officer, stole the officer’s baton, and used the baton to strike at least two other officers.

Court documents state that Krol first grabbed a Metropolitan Police Department or MPD officer and attempted to pull away the officer’s baton. During the struggle, Krol spun the officer around multiple times and eventually wrestled the baton free from the officer’s hand. Krol then held up the baton and showed it to the crowd in celebration.

Documents say Krol then moved forward toward the police line, held the stolen baton above his head, and swung the baton down, striking a MPD officer as the officer held his own baton in both hands in a defensive position. Documents state Krol then turned and struck at a police shield held by another officer. As the line of police officers attempted to retreat from the surging crowd of rioters, Krol allegedly again moved forward and attacked a United States Capitol Police Officer with the stolen baton.

Krol was arrested last February in Linden. He is a self-professed past leader of the Genesee County Volunteer Militia.

Krol’s attorney, Michael Cronkright of Lansing, told the Detroit Free Press that his client is “very remorseful” and said all of his wrongdoing occurred in the space of “less than a minute” after he got caught up in the crowd.

Krol is scheduled to be sentenced on December 15th.

In the 31 months since the attack, the Justice Department says more than 1,106 individuals have been arrested in nearly all 50 states for crimes related to the breach of the U.S. Capitol - including more than 350 individuals charged with assaulting or impeding law enforcement.