Federal authorities stated in court papers filed Wednesday that a Bristol Borough man arrested for attacking police and entering a restricted area during the January 6 insurrection has a violent history.
Ryan Stephen Samsel, 37, was seeking a release from federal custody after being arrested in late January, but the U.S. Department of Justice opposes that request and called him among the “most dangerous category of offenders.” He has been jailed awaiting further court hearings for charges relating to his role in the January 6 attack.
Last week, Samsel’s attorney, Elisabeth Pasqualini, wrote in a motion for release that her client, as previously reported by this news organization, was allegedly attacked and “severely” injured in a Washington D.C. jail in March by a corrections officer. She said the attack left him with injuries and inflamed existing conditions that have not been properly treated while in custody.
If released from federal custody, Samsel, according to his attorney, would end up behind bars in Pennsylvania on a state parole detainer until at least April 2022.
During the January 6 attack, Samsel, who wore a “Make America Great Again” cap at the time, is accused of forcing his way onto the closed U.S. Capitol grounds and attacking a female police officer. She was rescued by fellow cops and reported to be in a semi-conscious state following the assault and passed out due to her injuries hours later. She was taken to a hospital and found to have have suffered a concussion, according to the FBI.
Samsel is also accused of confronting other cops and attempting to steal gear from a uniformed U.S. Capitol police officer, the FBI said.
“The forensic examination of Samsel’s phone revealed that he discussed his plans to go to Washington D.C. several days before the trip, that he took numerous videos and photographs utilizing his phone while in the vicinity of the U.S. Capitol (some of which depicted him in the restricted area), and that he sent others newspaper articles about the media coverage of him approaching the barriers at Peace Circle, bragging about his role in the incident,” investigators wrote in court papers.
Samsel went to the U.S. Capitol with a Bristol Township woman, who was also charged by federal authorities.
In the response to Samsel’s late May request for release from federal custody, the government said Wednesday that he should not be released. Authorities said even his release with conditions would leave them unable to “effectively ensure the safety of any other person.” In their argument, federal prosecutors said Samsel helped lead attackers on the closed campus, confronted law enforcement, and damaged federal property. Federal prosecutors pointed to Samsel’s “extensive criminal history of assaultive and violent behavior,” noting his criminal history dates back to 2006.
Among the past incidents were Samsel attempting to pull someone off the road because they owned him $60. He punched the woman’s windshield and threatened to kill her, prosecutors said.
In 2007, Samsel reportedly got into a man’s car and started hitting him the face. The man was left missing teeth and bloodied, police wrote in a report.
In 2009, Samsel was convicted of simple assault and reckless endangerment after he held a victim against her will for five hours, choking her to the point of unconsciousness, pushing her, beating her, and chipping her teeth, prosecutors said.
Samsel was convicted in 2011 of simple assault, reckless endangerment, disorderly conduct, and unlawful restraint for choking and attacking his pregnant girlfriend. He was reported to have smashed a hot pizza in the woman’s face, beat the woman, poured a beer over her head, and eventually threw her into the canal. While in the water, Samsel held her head under. She was eventually able to escape and found a police officer. Samsel tried to interfere with testimony about the attack, prosecutors said.
Then in 2015, Samsel was again convicted of simple assault. A new victim came forward to state he choked her to the point of unconsciousness and hit her once so hard that she had a hematoma.
Another woman came forward in 2019 to allege Samsel choked her to the point of unconsciousness and broke into her house and assaulted her. She also alleged Samsel raped her multiple times and violated a restraining order.
“Samsel has an extensive history of violent and assaultive behavior and of intimidation of witnesses. Reviewing the police reports from these prior incidents reveals a pattern of Samsel not only threatening to kill others, but coming extremely close to actually doing so. The courts have repeatedly failed the public and these victims when it comes to Samsel. No condition or combination of conditions that could ensure the safety of the community if he were to be released. This Court should deny Samsel’s motion,” Assistant U.S. Attorney April Russo wrote in the Wednesday memo to the court.
The federal court in Washington D.C. has not yet scheduled a hearing on Samsel’s request for release.
As of Wednesday, six Bucks Countians have been charged by federal authorities in connection with the Capitol riots. The county is among the top in the country for highest number of residents charged in connection with January 6.
See also:
FBI Capitol Riot Investigators Arrest Another Person From Bucks County
Wife’s Facebook Posts Helped FBI Nab Bucks County Man On Capitol Riot-Related Charges
Lawyer For Bucks Co. Man Accused Of Capitol Riot Assault Claims He Was Beaten By Prison Staff
Bucks County Woman Charged As Part Of Capitol Insurrection Investigation
Federal Agents Take Accused Montco Terrorist Into Custody, New Charges To Be Unsealed Friday
