Princeton student faces charges in connection with Jan. 6 Capitol riot

Princeton University student Larry Giberson was arrested Tuesday on charges he encouraged rioters to push and attack police officers guarding the Capitol entrance in the Jan. 6 riot, according to the Justice Department.

Giberson was charged with civil disorder and related misdemeanor offenses.

Photos released by law enforcement appear to show him engaged in violence against law enforcement officers guarding the Lower West Terrace tunnel entrance into the Capitol building.  

Giberson allegedly helped coordinate a "heave-ho’ pushing effort" to force his way into the building and allegedly started the chant "DRAG THEM OUT!" regarding officers that caught on among fellow rioters. 

During an interview with the FBI, Giberson confirmed he was the individual in the photographs. He will appear in federal court on March 21, according to the Justice Department. 

Giberson is majoring in politics at at the Ivy League school in Princeton, N.J, according to the student directory. A school spokesperson confirmed to the Daily Princetonian that he is currently enrolled as an undergraduate.

Over 1,000 people have been charged with crimes related to the 2021 riot. 

In June 2020, Giberson wrote an open letter to the student body criticizing the university’s decision to remove the name of former President Woodrow Wilson from the its public policy school.

"If our university can be intimidated by the transient impulses of the mob mentality to disregard their own esteemed standards, what guarantee is there that the university will stand firm against those who would seek to undermine the Nation, or indeed, Humanity itself?," he wrote.