A Sanford man has been arrested and charged in connection with the Jan. 6, 2021, breach of the U.S. Capitol.

Christopher Belliveau, 38, of Sanford, is accused of assaulting law enforcement during the Jan. 6, 2021, breach of the U.S. Capitol. Photo courtesy of FBI

Christopher Belliveau, 38, is accused of spraying a canister of bear deterrent at a U.S. Capitol police officer on the Northwest Lawn and entering the building with rioters, the U.S. Department of Justice said in a statement.

The FBI arrested Belliveau in Berwick on Wednesday and charged him with five felonies, including assaulting an officer and entering a restricted building with a deadly or dangerous weapon, and three misdemeanors, including disorderly conduct.

Christopher Belliveau, 38, of Sanford, was arrested on felony and misdemeanor charges, including for allegedly assaulting law enforcement during the Jan. 6, 2021, breach of the U.S. Capitol. Photo courtesy of FBI

Belliveau is the 13th person from Maine charged in connection with the Jan. 6 riot. Eight have pleaded guilty and been sentenced and one more was found guilty at trial.

After Joe Biden defeated then-President Donald Trump in the November 2020 election, Trump refused to admit defeat, falsely claiming that the election had been stolen. On Jan. 6, rioters stormed the Capitol, temporarily halting the electoral count. Congress finished the electoral count on the evening of Jan. 6 after the rioting had ended, and Biden assumed the presidency on Jan. 20.

Belliveau, whom the FBI reported seeing on surveillance footage, wore a brown hooded jacket, khaki cargo pants, a black helmet and a red scarf underneath his helmet, the FBI complaint said. He held a bullhorn in his left hand and a green canister of bear spray in his right, the complaint states.

After crossing the temporary bicycle rack fencing, Belliveau discharged the spray at an officer and fled when she was knocked to the ground by another rioter, according to court records. He allegedly followed a group of rioters over the police line, up the stairs and through the Senate Wing door. He carried a flag wrapped around a hockey stick and a bullhorn while in the building for about 15 minutes, records show.

The FBI also documented Belliveau in a “publicly available” video recorded during the riot, when he allegedly says, “I’m here to make sure the Chinese Communist Party does not take over this country through Joe Biden.”

One night earlier, FBI agents spotted Belliveau in a video recording carrying the same bullhorn and flag wrapped around a hockey stick.

The U.S. Department of Justice reports that more than 1,450 people in almost all 50 states have been charged and arrested in the breach of the Capitol. More than 500 of those individuals have been charged with assaulting or impeding law enforcement, according to the department.