Austin man accused of participating in U.S. Capitol riot, feds say
Federal authorities have accused an Austin real estate executive of taking part in the Jan. 6 riots at the U.S. Capitol, according to court documents filed Monday.
According to the complaint, filed in the U.S. District Court for the District of Columbia, the FBI said a man later identified as Joseph Cable Barnes was captured in camera footage shared by London-based news outlet ITV News while Barnes yelled, “This is our house. This is our country. This is our country.”
At least three witnesses identified Barnes as the man in the footage, according to the complaint. One of the witnesses told FBI agents they had gone to school with Barnes at Anderson High School in Northwest Austin. Another said they had visited him multiple times at Barnes' Austin home.
The American-Statesman left messages for Barnes late Thursday but did not immediately get a response. A man answered, "Hello, this is Joe," during a call Friday morning but hung up without commenting when a Statesman reporter identified himself.
Barnes is facing multiple charges related to the Capitol riot, including obstruction of Congress, unlawfully entering restricted building or grounds, and violent entry and disorderly conduct on Capitol grounds, according to court documents.
Five people died in the riot, including U.S. Capitol police officer Brian Sicknick and four rioters. More than a hundred officers were injured.
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Barnes is described as an Austin-area real estate agent in the indictment. Until Friday morning, Barnes was listed as a vice president of the Austin branch of a real estate company called Jones Lang LaSalle, or JLL, on the firm's website. A Google search showed that the company, which has an international presence, has an office location on Fifth Street in downtown Austin.
A spokesperson from the real estate firm said Friday that Barnes no longer works with the company.
A search of public records Thursday showed that Barnes had an active real estate license in Texas that was scheduled to expire at the end of April. But by Friday afternoon, the Texas Real Estate Commission website showed his status had changed to "inactive."
Barnes is also believed to have an art business, court documents stated. A September Facebook post on a page associated with the website showed a "Come and Take It" flag, accompanied by a quote attributed to Thomas Jefferson: "I hold it that a little rebellion now and then is a good thing, and as necessary in the political world as storms in the physical," the quote on the post read.
Authorities said they also found on the Facebook page a 2017 photo of Barnes holding an assault-style rifle in front of what appeared to be one of his paintings. However, an acquaintance of Barnes told the Statesman on Friday that photo is actually of his brother.
More than a dozen Texans so far have been accused of taking part in the Jan. 6 riot, which spurred the second impeachment of Donald Trump.