New Jersey Man Arrested for Alleged Assault on Law Enforcement During Capitol Riot
WASHINGTON — Authorities have arrested a New Jersey man in connection with the January 6, 2021, breach of the U.S. Capitol. The incident disrupted a joint session of Congress that was convened to certify the 2020 presidential election results.
Predrag Jovanovic, 64, from Pilesgrove, New Jersey, faces serious charges in a criminal complaint filed in the District of Columbia. He is accused of felony offenses including assaulting, resisting, or impeding certain officers and obstruction of law enforcement during a civil disorder.
In addition to these felonies, Jovanovic also faces four misdemeanor charges. These include entering and remaining in a restricted building or grounds, disorderly and disruptive conduct in restricted and Capitol areas, and impeding passage through Capitol grounds or buildings.
The FBI apprehended Jovanovic on October 3, 2024, in New Jersey. He made his first court appearance in the District of New Jersey.
Court documents reveal that Jovanovic was identified through body-worn camera footage, open-source material, and surveillance videos near the Lower West Terrace Tunnel of the U.S. Capitol on January 6, 2021. This area was the scene of some of the most violent confrontations with law enforcement that day.
Prior to these events, Jovanovic attended the “Stop the Steal” rally near the Ellipse. He then proceeded towards the Capitol, climbing the scaffolding on the northwest side of the building and reaching the Inauguration platform outside the Tunnel.
Surveillance footage from approximately 2:41 p.m. shows Jovanovic entering the Tunnel and moving towards the inner doorway leading into the Capitol building. By 2:43 p.m., he was seen rushing a line of police officers on the opposite side of the doorway. During the encounter, an officer used a baton against a rioter near Jovanovic.
In the chaos that followed, Jovanovic was pushed back behind a glass door. Moments later, he forcibly opened one of the doors, enabling rioters to advance and attack the police line. Jovanovic then moved deeper into the Tunnel, pressing against a police officer’s riot shield. Despite commands from officers for the rioters to retreat, the confrontation escalated, with police using batons and shields for defense. At one point, Jovanovic grabbed an officer’s baton, pulling the officer toward the crowd.
Jovanovic remained in the Tunnel for around 15 minutes, persistently pushing against the police line before exiting around 3:01 p.m. He stayed unlawfully in the restricted area on the West Side of the U.S. Capitol for about two more hours until law enforcement cleared the vicinity.
The U.S. Attorney’s Office for the District of Columbia and the Department of Justice National Security Division’s Counterterrorism Section are prosecuting the case, with support from the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the District of New Jersey.
The investigation is led by the FBI’s Philadelphia and Washington Field Offices, with assistance from the U.S. Capitol Police and the Metropolitan Police Department.
In the 44 months following January 6, 2021, over 1,504 individuals across nearly all 50 states have been charged with crimes related to the Capitol breach. This includes more than 560 individuals accused of assaulting or impeding law enforcement, a felony. The investigation remains active.
A complaint is merely an allegation, and all defendants are presumed innocent until proven guilty beyond a reasonable doubt in a court of law.
