Authorities say the 2018 case was revived this fall; he remains jailed in Illinois pending extradition.
CICERO, Ill. — John Emanuel Banuelos, a 40-year-old former Jan. 6 defendant accused of firing a gun during the Capitol riot, was arrested Oct. 17 in the west Chicago suburb of Cicero on a Utah warrant alleging aggravated kidnapping and aggravated sexual assault, according to law enforcement officials and court records.
The arrest brings a high-profile Capitol case figure back into custody, this time on unrelated state charges from 2018. Prosecutors in Salt Lake County say new attention to the file this year led to the warrant issued Oct. 1. Banuelos previously faced federal charges connected to the 2021 attack on the U.S. Capitol, but that case was dismissed after presidential clemency actions earlier this year. He is being held at the Cook County Jail as Utah authorities seek to bring him to court.
Cook County deputies with the sheriff’s Fugitive Apprehension Unit, working alongside the U.S. Marshals Great Lakes Regional Fugitive Task Force, took Banuelos into custody without incident in Cicero, officials said. The Utah warrant stems from a report by a woman who told police that in June 2018, after she met Banuelos in the Salt Lake City area, he lured her to a residence, assaulted her over several hours and threatened to kill her. In a sworn statement, the woman said she was strangled and that he told her she was “gonna be quiet,” adding that she feared she was “gonna die,” according to charging documents. The court records describing the allegations were unsealed last week. The sheriff’s office said Banuelos was booked into the county jail after the arrest.
Utah charging papers list counts of aggravated kidnapping and multiple counts of aggravated sexual assault. Investigators say the encounter lasted roughly half a day and included beatings and threats. The woman reported she had newly become homeless when Banuelos approached her at a station and offered help before driving her to a home, where the attack happened, according to the records. Authorities in Illinois said Banuelos had been wanted since Oct. 1; the warrant was entered into national databases and flagged when the fugitive task force developed a lead on his whereabouts this month. Court officials in Utah said the case had remained open for years and that additional forensic review and witness follow-up prompted the renewed push to locate him. It was not immediately clear whether Banuelos had retained an attorney to speak on his behalf.
Banuelos came to national attention after Jan. 6, 2021, when investigators identified him in video at the Capitol, including climbing scaffolding and firing a handgun into the air on restricted grounds, according to prior federal filings. He was arrested in 2024 on felony and misdemeanor counts tied to the riot. The federal case ended earlier this year after clemency actions covering a large group of Jan. 6 defendants, including Banuelos. No injuries were publicly attributed to the gunfire captured on video, but the incident was among the rare instances in which prosecutors alleged a rioter discharged a firearm during the breach. Records show Banuelos has prior arrests in Illinois and Utah, though not all ended in convictions.
Following the Oct. 17 arrest in Illinois, Utah prosecutors initiated extradition proceedings. A judge in Cook County ordered Banuelos held while Utah authorities complete the paperwork required to transport him to Salt Lake City. The Utah case is expected to be assigned to a state district court judge upon his arrival, with an initial appearance to follow. Filings indicate the warrant was approved Oct. 1 and the supporting affidavit was unsealed Nov. 6. As of Thursday, no Utah court date had been set on the docket available to the public. If convicted, aggravated kidnapping and aggravated sexual assault in Utah carry potential prison terms under state sentencing guidelines.
Residents in Cicero said they saw unmarked vehicles and deputies near an apartment building on the day of the arrest, but the operation ended quickly. “They moved in and it was over fast,” said a neighbor who declined to be named for fear of drawing attention. A Cook County sheriff’s spokesperson said arrests with out-of-state warrants often happen with federal partners to streamline extradition. In Salt Lake City, a victim advocacy group said cases that resurface years later can be difficult but not unusual when new review brings older files forward. Officials have not released additional details about evidence recovered in 2018 or this fall, and investigators did not discuss whether any new forensic testing prompted the renewed warrant.
Banuelos remains in the Cook County Jail on the Utah warrant while authorities coordinate his transfer. Prosecutors in Salt Lake County are expected to file formal charging documents in open court after he is returned to Utah, with an initial appearance anticipated next week if transport schedules hold.
Author note: Last updated November 13, 2025.