FBI Arrests Jan. 6 ‘Seditious Panda’
You won’t find this panda at the national zoo. Jesse James Rumson, the man who allegedly breached the Capitol on Jan. 6 while wearing a costume panda head, was arrested Monday by federal authorities. The FBI arrested Rumson on charges of assaulting, resisting or impeding an officer, disorderly conduct in a Capitol building, as well as engaging in physical violence in a restricted building or grounds.
Rumson was filmed entering the Capitol via a fire escape exit that had been broken through by rioters who then fought with police officers inside the building. Rumson can be seen entering alongside a group of individuals after law enforcement were forced to retreat.
According to an FBI affidavit, Rumson, dubbed “Seditious Panda” online, removed his panda head at various points in and around the Capitol. Rumson exited the Capitol after about 15 minutes while wearing a pair of handcuffs. Rioters outside the building helped remove the cuffs, after which Rumson was filmed near the Senate Wing Door as protesters attempted to bash it open. Rumson can be heard yelling “get a ram” in the audio. The affidavit states that Rumson “assaulted at least one law enforcement officer […] after running through the crowd towards the officer, reaching out, and grabbing the officer’s face shield, which forced the officer’s head and neck back and upwards.”
His garb during the events did less to anonymize him than it did to draw attention from online sleuths and law enforcement. Rumson is one of more than 1000 people charged in relation to the certification-day attack on the Capitol.
As Rumson’s case makes its way to the courts he may choose to adopt one of the defense strategies leveled by other Jan. 6 defendants. A recent example is Michael Daniele, a New Jersey man charged with two felonies and a misdemeanor in relation to the attack who claims he only entered the Capitol because he was “looking for a bathroom.” Another man who leveled a similar bathroom defense, Robert Reederm, was sentenced to three months jail time in Oct. 2021 (likely because, despite his claim, there is footage of him shoving a police officer).
While the rioters of Jan. 6 may have behaved like a bunch of wild beasts, the beloved pandas of the Smithsonian remain the best pandas in Washington, D.C..