SALISBURY, MD - The U.S. Attorney’s Office, District of Columbia has announced the arrest of Carlos Ayala, of Salisbury, for his alleged involvement in the January 6th, 2021 breach of the U.S. Capitol.
According to the Attorney’s Office, Ayala was arrested yesterday, January 9th, and charged with civil disorder, a felony. The Attorney’s Office says Ayala also faces related misdemeanor charges.
Ayala was identified in a group of rioters illegally congregating on restricted grounds at the Capitol on January 6th, 2021, according to prosecutors. The U.S. Attorney’s Office says Ayala can be seen in video footage climbing over police barricades as he made his way to the Upper West Terrace of the Capitol, as well as waving a PVC flagpole with a flag featuring an image of an M-16 rifle inside a window near a Senate Wing Door.
Prosecutors say Ayala then proceeded towards the Senate Wing door, which had been breached by other rioters and where U.S. Capitol Police had erected a barricade. Video footage, according to the Attorney’s Office, shows someone jabbing a flag and flagpole at a USCP officer from the same area Ayala was present. The officer reportedly pulled the flag into the building to prevent the rioter from knocking his shield away or injuring other officers. Court documents allege the flag matched the description of Ayala’s flag.
The Senate Wing door was then breached, and prosecutors say a PVC pipe without a flag attached was thrown through the door, striking at least one officer.
Carlos Ayala, 52, was formerly listed as an employee at Perdue Farms in Salisbury. In 2019, he was moved to the role of Vice President of New Business Ventures, according to an archived version of Perdue’s website.
When WBOC reached out to Perdue to confirm Ayala was an employee, a Perdue spokesperson said Ayala had resigned in May of 2021. WBOC also asked about the allegations against and arrest of Ayala, but were told it was a personal family matter.
In a promotional video shared by Perdue Farms on Facebook in 2019, Ayala says his mother, Mitzi, married Frank Perdue, former president and CEO of Perdue Farms, in the late 80s.
That video was publicly posted on Perdue’s Facebook page this morning, January 10th. As of 2 p.m. Wednesday, it had been removed from social media.
A Carlos Ayala is also currently listed as a member of the Administrative Charging Committee of the Law Enforcement Review Board of Wicomico County. County Executive Julie Giordano told WBOC she was not aware of the charges and had no comment, and that she did not appoint Ayala to the Board.
Court documents obtained by WBOC show Ayala was arrested on the following offenses:
-Knowingly entering or remaining in any restricted building or grounds without lawful authority
-Knowingly, and with intent to impede or disrupt the orderly conduct of Government business
-Disorderly conduct in a Capitol Building
-Parading, demonstrating, or picketing in a Capitol Building
-Obstruction of law enforcement during civil disorder
The case against Ayala is being prosecuted by the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the District of Columbia and the Department of Justice National Security Division’s Counterterrorism Section. The FBI’s Baltimore and Washington Field Offices are investigating.
