WASHINGTON — According to a Department of Justice press release, a former NFL, Georgia Southern football player has been charged with allegedly assaulting law enforcement and other offenses related to his alleged conduct during the Jan. 6, 2021, breach of the U.S. Capitol. His alleged actions and the actions of others disrupted a joint session of the U.S. Congress convened to ascertain and count the electoral votes related to the 2020 presidential election.
The DOJ states Leander Antwione Williams, 31, of Savannah is charged in a criminal complaint filed in the District of Columbia with a felony offense of assaulting, resisting, or impeding certain officers and obstruction of law enforcement during a civil disorder.
In addition to the felonies, Williams is charged with misdemeanor offenses of entering and remaining in a restricted building or grounds, disorderly and disruptive conduct in a restricted building or grounds, engaging in physical violence in a restricted building or grounds, disorderly conduct in a Capitol building, act of physical violence in the Capitol grounds or buildings.
The release stated that FBI arrested Williams in Savannah and he will make his initial appearance in the Southern District of Georgia.
Williams played for three NFL teams after being drafted by the Detroit Lions in the fifth round by the Detroit Lions out of Georgia Southern. He has also played for the Minnesota Vikings and the Carolina Panthers.