HENRICO COUNTY, Va. — A Virginia man has been charged with felony burglary after being pardoned for his role in the U.S. Capitol riot, which included smashing the door panel that rioter Ashli Babbitt tried to breach before police shot her.
Zachary Jordan Alam, 33, of Centreville, was arrested May 9, Henrico County police said in a statement.
Officers had responded to a call of breaking and entering along Arthurwood Place near Creighton Road, where the homeowner said an unknown man came in through a back door, police said.
“The man took several items before he was observed by people in the home and was asked to leave,” police said. “Officers located the man in a nearby neighborhood and arrested him.”
The attorney listed in court documents for Alam, Dannie Sutton, did not immediately respond to an email seeking comment.
Alam was charged with residential breaking and entering and vandalism. A preliminary hearing for the burglary case is scheduled for late June in Henrico County court.
On his first day back in office in January, President Trump pardoned, commuted the prison sentences or vowed to dismiss the cases of all of the 1,500-plus people charged with crimes in the Jan. 6, 2021, U.S. Capitol riot, including people convicted of assaulting police officers.
They included Alam, who was sentenced to eight years in prison in November.
The federal judge who handed down the punishment described Alam as one of the most violent and aggressive rioters.
“Those are not the actions of a patriot," U.S. District Judge Dabney Friedrich said at Alam's sentencing. “To say otherwise is delusional.”
Alam, who attended then-President Trump’s “Stop the Steal” rally near the White House, helped other rioters scale barriers outside the Capitol before entering the building through a broken window.
On his journey through the Capitol, Alam screamed obscenities at police, tried to kick in a hallway door and threw a red velvet rope at officers from a balcony.
He joined other rioters in trying to breach doors leading to the House chamber, but the entrances were barricaded with furniture and guarded by police.
Pushing past officers, Alam punched and shattered three window panes on the doors of the Speaker’s Lobby.
Another rioter handed him a helmet, which he used to smash the door and glass panes.
Other rioters yelled that police officers behind the door had drawn their guns, but Alam continued to smash the last glass pane
Alam had asked for a pardon at his sentencing hearing, telling the judge he believed in his heart that he was doing the right thing.
“Sometimes you have to break the rules to do what’s right,” he said.
Alam graduated from the University of Virginia before dropping out of the Alabama College of Osteopathic Medicine.
His defense attorney for the Capitol riot trial, Steven Metcalf, described Alam as a troubled loner who “just wanted to fit in somewhere because he has been rejected by everyone else in his life.”
In a letter to the court, Alam's mother said his father disowned him after he didn't become a doctor and worked various jobs, including unloading trucks and bussing tables.
“Zachary had turned to alcohol and drug use and associated with people who were negative influences; he began committing misdemeanor crimes to survive,” she wrote.
——
Associated Press reporter Michael Kunzelman in Washington contributed to this report.
CBS 6 is committed to sharing community voices on this important topic. Email your thoughts to the CBS 6 Newsroom.
📲: CONNECT WITH US
Facebook|Instagram|X|Threads|TikTok
