Cary man found guilty of assault, was at leading edge of Jan. 6 attack on US Capitol

James Tate Grant, 31, of Cary, was among five men found guilty Friday for actions at the U.S. Capitol on Jan. 6, 2021.

All five men – Grant, Ryan Samsel, 40, of Bristol, Pennsylvania; Paul Russell Johnson, 38, of Lanexa, Virginia; Stephen Chase Randolph, 34, of Harrodsburg, Kentucky; and Jason Benjamin Blythe, 28, of Fort Worth, Texas – were convicted of civil disorder.

Grant was also found guilty of assaulting an officer with a deadly or dangerous weapon (a metal crowd control barrier), committing an act of physical violence on the Capitol grounds, disorderly and disruptive conduct on the Capitol grounds and obstruction of an official proceeding.

He previously pleaded guilty to two additional misdemeanor charges of entering and remaining in certain rooms in the Capitol building and parading, demonstrating or picketing in a Capitol building.

According to evidence presented during the trial, the group participated in the first breach of the restricted Capitol grounds on Jan. 6, 2021, and led the initial attack on United States Capitol Police (USCP) officers. Their attack paved the way for thousands of rioters to storm the Capitol grounds.

Grant and a co-defendant, Ryan Samsel, were among the first rioters to approach Capitol police officers guarding the building, according to prosecutors. Video captured Grant and Samsel leading the first crowd of rioters to enter a restricted area toward a metal barricade where several officers were positioned.

“The two defendants are among those who used violence to set off a chain of events that involved thousands of rioters invading the U.S. Capitol, injuries, deaths, property damage, havoc, and the delay of the certification of a presidential election,” prosecutors wrote.

The five men will learn what sentence they will serve in a hearing on June 13, 2024.