MORGANTOWN, W.Va. — Interim Morgantown Police Chief Eric Powell said a man charged with attacking law enforcement during the Jan. 6 insurrection at the U.S. Capitol had a history of making calls.
Powell said 39-year-old George Tanios had called police on issues relating to harassment and destruction of property, but the few incidents involving Tanios were not serious.
“A traffic citation here and a couple of other incidents,” he said. “Nothing that really stood out to me.”
Tanios and 32-year-old Julian Elie Khater, of Pennsylvania, have been charged for attacking two Capitol Police officers and a Washington, D.C. officer during the Capitol riot. The two also face charges of civil disorder and obstruction of a congressional proceeding.
The violence halted Congress’s efforts to certify the presidential election results.
Tanios, who owns Sandwich U in Morgantown, filed a vandalism report in October after someone threw a brick through the window of his Beechurst Avenue business. Tanios told MetroNews affiliate WAJR-AM he believed the window was broken because of the display of a sign supporting Donald Trump.
“A lot of people had problems with him business-wise and personally,” he said. “There were quite a few reports that he made of harassment and destruction of property.”
One of the officers attacked by Tanios and Khater was Capitol Police officer Brian Sicknick; the two allegedly sprayed Sicknick and other officers with bear spray.
Sicknick died a day after the riot. Tanios and Khater have not been charged for Sicknick’s death as autopsy results are pending.