'Flash bombs going off, tear gas everywhere': Madera County man describes being part of Capitol siege

Eddie Block was arrested for a DUI last January when he lost control of his car, crashing into a home before leaving the scene.

ByDan Noyes, ABC30 staff KFSN logo
Saturday, January 9, 2021
Madera County man describes being part of Capitol siege
Madera County man describes being part of Capitol siegeEddie Block, who ran for Madera County Supervisor last year but lost, shared video he livestreamed from inside a crowd of Proud Boys who stormed the U.S. Capitol on Wednesday.

FRESNO, Calif. (KFSN) -- The FBI is actively making arrests, trying to identify people who stormed the U.S. Capitol Wednesday.

At least one of those people was from the Central Valley.

Video shared by Eddie Block himself shows the chaos from inside the crowd.

Just last year, Block ran for Madera County Supervisor in District 4 but lost.

Months before voters went to the polls, Action News reported Block was arrested for a DUI.

RELATED: Madera Co. Supervisor candidate arrested for DUI after crashing truck into home

CHP officers say he was driving down Avenue 12 near Loren Way last January, when he lost control of his Dodge Ram, crashing into a parked car and home, before leaving the scene.

Since then, Block has been active in the Proud Boys community, and seen at several Trump rallies, and this latest riot in Washington, D.C.

Block has difficulty walking, so he live-streams events from his scooter; but make no mistake, he's a full-fledged Proud Boy, earning his 4th degree of initiation into the group for this fight.

Block flew to the nation's capital to attend the Trump rally Wednesday, met a large contingent of Proud Boys from across the country, and drove his scooter along with them to the Capitol building.

The Capitol complex stairs were a challenge for Block's scooter, but Proud Boys lifted it down.

Video shows how, ahead of Block, pandemonium broke out.

"And all of a sudden, people just started rushing by me and rushing in there," Block told reporter Dan Noyes.

"Flash bombs going off. Rubber pellets were flying everywhere. Tear gas was everywhere."

You can see on Block's video how rioters climbed the Capitol's scaffolding.

Several Proud Boys lifted his scooter up more stairs to give him a perch on the second balcony from the top.

He was able to live-stream from there, as the chaos inside turned deadly.

As the sun went down, police regained control.

Block was the last of the mob on the balcony.

Police did not arrest him, but offered to help him down three stairs. He declined and took a tumble.

Finally, riding off into the night, back to his hotel.

Block is now back home; he says he expects more protests on Inauguration Day.

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