SALT LAKE CITY, Utah — John Banuelos, 40, a former U.S. Capitol riot defendant accused of firing a gun during the January 6, 2021 attack, now faces new charges of aggravated kidnapping and sexual assault in Utah. Prosecutors allege Banuelos assaulted a woman in 2018, years before his involvement in the Capitol riot. According to court filings obtained by CBS News, a DNA test conducted in August connected him to the crime.
Banuelos was released from federal custody in January 2025 after receiving a pardon from President Donald Trump. Utah prosecutors say the victim, identified as S.J., was lured to Banuelos’ home under false pretenses in June 2018, where he allegedly beat, strangled, and sexually assaulted her. A warrant for his arrest was issued on October 1.
Cook County, Illinois authorities located Banuelos in Cicero on October 17. He was detained after acknowledging his identity to officers. Court records show he has no listed attorney and it remains unclear if he has been extradited to Utah.
Banuelos’ Capitol case was dismissed following Trump’s mass clemency for January 6 defendants. He had been among the few accused of discharging a firearm during the riot. Banuelos’ arrest adds to a growing list of pardoned rioters later facing new criminal charges, including Zachary Alam in Virginia and Christopher Moynihan in New York.
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