Fifth suicide linked to Jan. 6: David Homol, who was arrested for his participation at the Capitol

The number of suicides linked to the events of Jan. 6 at the Capitol has increased. David Kennedy Homol, one of those arrested on charges related to his alleged role on the day of the incident, died due to a self-inflicted gunshot wound as he was awaiting trial.

According to the Department of Justice (DOJ) , Homol was arrested on Jan. 10, 2024 in Orlando, Fla., and charged with "felony offenses of obstruction of an official proceeding, civil disorder, and assaulting, resisting, or impeding certain officers" in a criminal complaint filed in the District of Columbia.

Alleged assault of two police officers

Homol, 55, allegedly attacked – with a plastic flagpole – two police officers at the Capitol. The FBI noted in a statement that "[bodycam] footage from the second officer assaulted by [Homol] shows the officer being struck, then grappling with [Homol] in an attempt to take away his PVC flagpole."

homol_sof_0 by Veronica Silveri

The DOJ also noted that "in addition to the felonies, Homol is charged with several misdemeanor offenses, including knowingly entering or remaining in any restricted building or grounds without lawful authority, disorderly and disruptive conduct in a restricted building or grounds, engaging in physical violence in a restricted building or ground, disorderly conduct in a Capitol building, and act of physical violence on Capitol grounds."

Official DOJ documents indicated that "in the 36 months since Jan. 6, 2021, more than 1,265 individuals have been charged in nearly all 50 states for crimes related to the breach of the U.S. Capitol, including more than 440 individuals charged with assaulting or impeding law enforcement, a felony. The investigation remains ongoing."

Homol, the fifth person linked to Jan. 6 to commit suicide

Homol is the fifth person linked to the events of Jan. 6 to commit suicide. Four police officers who were at the scene died from the same cause (no official statement specifies in depth how they took their lives):

- Howard Liebengood -Capitol Police (USCP) officer, committed suicide on Jan. 9, 2021 (three days after the event). He was 51 years old and was assigned to the department in 2005 (15 years of service).

- Jeffrey Smith -Metropolitan Police (MPD) officer, took his own life on Jan. 15, 2021 (nine days after the event). He was 35 years old and served in the police force for 12 years.

-Kyle DeFreytag -MPD officer, found dead on July 10, 2021. He was 26 years old and had worked in the department for five years.

- Gunther Hashida -MPD officer, found dead in his home on July 29, 2021. He was 43 years old and had worked 18 years in the department.