Benjamin Bowden is allegedly seen on surveillance video entering the U.S. Capitol on Jan. 6, 2021. Photo taken from court documents

An Orrington man is the latest Mainer to be charged with storming the U.S. Capitol on Jan. 6, 2021.

Benjamin Bowden Courtesy FBI

Benjamin Bowden, 26, was arrested Friday and faces five misdemeanor charges including being in a restricted building, disorderly conduct, parading at the Capitol and destroying government property, according to federal court records.

Bowden, the youngest of the 11 Jan. 6 defendants from Maine, was in the Capitol that afternoon for roughly 40 minutes, investigators say, and in that time he kicked a closed door and hit former Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell’s door with a large brass stanchion.

At his first court appearance in Maine on Friday, he was released on $5,000 unsecured bond and his case will be transferred to D.C. He faces up to four years in prison, based on sentencing guidelines in court records, as well as probation and fines.

The case against Bowden was laid out in an affidavit signed Monday by an FBI agent whose name was redacted. The affidavit includes a dozen photographs of a man believed to be Bowden, captured from surveillance cameras and social media videos taken inside the Capitol during the riots.

Investigators said they confirmed the man in the images was Bowden after speaking with two people who knew him and another person who was illegally in the Capitol that day. They first identified him in October 2021, the affidavit states, when a member of the public reached out after seeing the image on the FBI’s “wanted” page.

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The affidavit also cites Bowden’s debit card activity, which showed several purchases at gas stations from Maine to the D.C. area beginning the night of Jan. 5, 2021, and the next morning.

Police said videos show Bowden entering the Capitol through the Senate wing door shortly before 2:20 p.m., wearing a dark flannel shirt, jeans and a neck gaiter that at times covered half his face.

He is also seen kicking a closed door and striking McConnell’s closed office before making his way to the rotunda around 2:35 p.m., the affidavit states. There, he posed for a photo and talked to other members of the growing mob.

One person could be seen handing Bowden a water bottle, the affidavit states, which he used to rinse his eyes. The affidavit doesn’t suggest why, but prosecutors have said in other cases that both Capitol police and rioters were deploying chemical agents and other substances that cause irritation that day.

Bowden left the Capitol building out the East Rotunda door shortly before 3 p.m., the affidavit states.

Only one other case with ties to Maine is still awaiting trial. Christopher Maurer of Biddeford was arrested and charged with felony and misdemeanor counts for allegedly assaulting an officer at the Capitol. He has pleaded not guilty and is scheduled for trial in December.

Kyle Fitzsimmons of Lebanon is the only other Mainer to have sought a trial. He was found guilty on 11 counts, including three felony charges for assaulting police officers, and was sentenced to more than seven years behind bars in June.

All the other Mainers have pleaded guilty, including most recently Michael Gerard Fournier, who pleaded guilty on Wednesday to two misdemeanor charges for parading and disorderly conduct.

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