A Texas man who was facing charges for taking part in the storming of the Capitol opened fire on local sheriff’s deputies this week as they went to check on him on the day he was scheduled to surrender to the F.B.I., federal prosecutors said on Thursday.
The man, Nathan Donald Pelham, of Greenville, Texas, was arrested in connection with the shooting on Tuesday and was charged with an additional count of being a felon in possession of a firearm.
Last week, Mr. Pelham, 40, was charged in Federal District Court in Washington with four misdemeanors for illegally entering the Capitol on Jan. 6, 2021, through a door on the Senate side of the building and remaining inside for a little more than seven minutes. At the time, court papers say, Mr. Pelham was wearing a pair of goggles, a neck gaiter and a baseball hat emblazoned with a logo associated with the Proud Boys, a far-right group.
Two months later, he was stopped by border officials in Port Huron, Mich., trying to enter Canada. He eventually confessed that he had been inside the Capitol during the attack.
Authorities said Pelham’s family called the sheriff’s office for a welfare check, telling dispatchers he had a gun. When officers arrived, they found the house was dark. After officers turned on their emergency lights, Pelham’s juvenile daughter exited the home, according to the news release. Officers then heard gunshots from the house and took cover. About an hour later, Pelham walked onto the porch and fired toward officers, according to the news release. Sheriff’s deputies told him to put the gun down, but Pelham continued to wave it around until he went back into the home. Another hour later, Pelham came out of the house again and fired multiple rounds, authorities said.
