Five Florida men — and "self-styled militia members" — have been arrested in connection with the Jan. 6, 2020, attack on the U.S. Capitol, the Department of Justice announced Wednesday.

The men were identified as Benjamin Cole, 38, of Leesburg; John Edward Crowley, 50, of Windermere; Brian Preller, 33, of Mount Dora; Jonathan Rockholt, 38, of Palm Coast; and Tyler Bensch, 20, of Casselberry.

According to court documents, Cole, Crowley, Preller and Rockholt have been charged with interfering with a law enforcement officer during a civil disorder. All five are facing misdemeanor charges of entering and remaining in a restricted building or grounds, and disorderly and disruptive conduct in a restricted building or grounds.

Officials have accused them of trying to disrupt the session of Congress that was underway to count electoral votes from the 2020 presidential election — which ultimately saw President Joe Biden beat incumbent President Donald Trump in the electoral count, 306-232.

DOJ investigators said the men were allegedly operating as self-identified members of "B Squad" — the name referring to "an alternate plan to be in place if they do not get the desired electoral outcome (i.e., the former president remaining in power)," a statement of facts court filing in the case said.

Cole, Crowley, Preller and Rockholt allegedly "participated in at least one attempt by rioters to force their way into the Capitol through the line of police officers," a statement of facts court filing in the case said. The document also included three photos, purported to be of Cole on the day of the Jan. 6, 2020, riots, wearing a green baseball cap with the words "pedophile hunter" and a backpack with the words "Three Percenter" on it.

Photos of men identified by investigators as Rockholt and Bensch also showed patches court documents say are associated with the "violent extremist" Three Percenters movement.

Photos allegedly of Preller were also included, which showed an individual wearing a blue shirt with the words "Waterboarding Instructor" on it, a helmet bearing the word "monster" and a tactical vest with "chemical irritant spray attached to the front."

Further photos included in court documents allegedly show Cole, Crowley, Preller and Rockholt included in a crowd of rioters trying to force their way into a tunnel "that provides immediate and unobstructed access to sensitive areas and offices used by members of Congress."

"During the siege of The Tunnel that stretched from 2:41 p.m. for more than two hours, rioters pushed into The Tunnel and were repelled in a constant back-and-forth of heave-ho efforts by the rioters and resistance by the officers," the statement of facts filing said. "Some members of Congress were sheltering in place near that entrance. The effort ultimately failed."

Court documents described the alleged scene that led to the charges against the five men Wednesday:

"A full review of the applicable surveillance footage, including video of such individuals approaching the entrance to the tunnel, shows that Cole, Preller, Crowley, and Rockholt went into The Tunnel while Bensch remained only just outside. While inside The Tunnel, Cole, Preller, Crowley, and Rockholt confronted and assisted the crowd in confronting the police officers that were preventing The Tunnel and the Capitol from being breached. Specifically, while inside The Tunnel, Cole, Preller, Crowley, and Rockholt added their force, momentum, bodies, and efforts to the other rioters in a “heave-ho” effort. This put intense aggregate pressure on the police line in front of the rioters."

In response to the ongoing investigation into his alleged actions, court documents show that Cole made a Facebook post on Jan. 25, 2022, that directly addressed the agents involved:

"This isn’t really a post I want to make, but I will make it because it’s funny to me . . . . . . . . .

I just want the FBI agent that’s still investing [sic] me know . . . . . most anyone you call knows absolutely nothing about what I did in January of 2021. I also did nothing wrong while I was where I was. I would further like to add that you are wasting tax payer dollars by continuing to investigate something that will lead you to absolutely nothing.

My closing arguments are will forever include that, you are a joke and you’re [sic] bureau is a joke. Why don’t you do something productive with your time and investigate the members of Congress for insider trading? Because I really want to know how someone who’s [sic] salary is $174,000 a year, was able to increase their net worth into the millions in less than a decade. Thank you for your time. I’m glad it was wasted on me."

All five men made their initial court appearances Wednesday — Crowley, Rockholt and Bensch were arrested in Florida and made their appearances in the Middle District of Florida; Cole was arrested in Louisville, Ky., and made his first appearance in the Western District of Kentucky; and Preller, who was arrested in Rutledge, Vt., made his appearance in the District of Vermont.

Alleged "B Leader" involvement

A sixth individual, identified only as "B Leader" in court documents, is accused of coordinating the group's travel and reserving a block of rooms at a hotel near the U.S. Capitol, where he, the five men arrested Wednesday and about 40 other members of the B Squad stayed the night before the Jan. 6 riots.

In a Jan. 3, 2020, video posted to his Facebook page, B Leader — while wearing a black tactical vest displaying the words B Squad and a "patch associated with the 'There Percenters' movement" — addressed "all of you patriots out there going to Washington D.C." and claimed that "we are going to have four more years of Trump, we all know that."

In his message, he allegedly described "defensive tools" that viewers should take with them to the Capitol — "all items that B Leader incorrectly claimed were legal in Washington D.C." — which included "the strongest pepper spray commercially available to use" an expandable metal baton, knives with blades three inches or less, a walking cane and a Taser, the statement of facts filing said.