An Illinois man, previously implicated in the January 6 Capitol riots for allegedly firing a gun into the air, has been taken into custody again following his arrest on a felony warrant from Utah.

The Cook County Sheriff’s Office announced on Friday via a social media update that 40-year-old John Banuelos was apprehended on October 17. This arrest follows a warrant issued by Salt Lake County, charging Banuelos with aggravated kidnapping and aggravated sexual assault.

Authorities, including deputies and the U.S. Marshals Great Lakes Regional Fugitive Task Force, started monitoring the vicinity of 9th Street and Cicero Avenue in Cicero, a suburb of Chicago, after receiving information that Banuelos might be nearby. They identified him entering a fast-food restaurant and later saw him get into the back seat of a ride-share vehicle.

After conducting a traffic stop, U.S. Marshals took Banuelos into custody. Specifics concerning the alleged kidnapping and sexual assault have not been disclosed at this time.

Last year, Banuelos faced charges related to the Capitol riots, including trespassing with a deadly or dangerous weapon, carrying and discharging a firearm, and civil disorder.

In their pretrial detention memo, prosecutors emphasized the gravity of his actions, stating, “This conduct is mind-numbingly dangerous. Any number of life-threatening events could have transpired, for example, the threat of an active shooter at the Capitol on January 6 could have triggered a lethal response from law enforcement or a stampede of other rioters. Fortunately, none of these events came to pass, but the fact that no such harm ensued does nothing to mitigate the seriousness of Banuelos’s actions.”

Banuelos, who said he’d have “nothing to worry about” because he correctly predicted President Donald Trump’s election win, skirted the charges after Trump pardoned all the rioters after he was sworn into office on Jan. 20.

As Law&Crime has previously reported, Banuelos was allegedly among thousands of Trump supporters who attended the “Stop the Steal” rally that day. When facing off against a line of police, Banuelos allegedly held up his gloved hand to form the shape of a “finger gun” and simulated “firing” multiple times in the direction of officers.

At one point, he also allegedly lifted his jacket and flashed his gun. He then allegedly helped the crowd push against police lines, climbed the scaffolding of the inaugural stage, pulled out a pistol and fired two shots into the air. He then put the gun back into his waistband, climbed down the scaffolding, and rejoined the crowd below, court documents said.

He surfaced as a suspect in February 2021 after a witness called in a tip identifying him as the individual seen flashing the firearm. But he wasn’t immediately arrested.

In July 2021, Banuelos was investigated but not charged for the fatal stabbing of a 19-year-old man in Utah, court documents said.

The bloodshed stemmed from a dispute about money, Salt Lake City’s NBC affiliate KSL reported. Banuelos stabbed the man after the man hit him in the head with a skateboard, leaving Banuelos with a head wound, the station reported.

“All I know is I did it to defend my life, man,” the station reported, citing a transcript of the interview obtained through a public records request. “I have the right to defend my life, man, OK? They were trying to hurt me, man, for $150 that I did not take. They were accusing my wife and me and yelling and swearing and trying to hurt me, man.”

During further questioning about the stabbing, Banuelos allegedly told local police about going inside the Capitol on Jan. 6 and said he was the person seen in a video with a gun.

“Man, should I just tell the FBI to come get me or what …?” Banuelos asked detectives, according to KSL’s report about the transcript.

“Do you have a warrant?” one detective asked.

“Probably,” he said. “I was in the D.C. riots.”

“On Jan. 6?” the other detective asked. “Did you go inside the Capitol?”

“Yeah, I went inside, and I’m the one with the video with the gun right here,” Banuelos said, the station reported.

Prosecutors did not press charges against him in the stabbing, but he was arrested on a warrant for an assault in 2019 in Utah and ultimately sentenced to 180 days in jail for the offense, court documents said.

In March 2022, the FBI called Banuelos regarding the insurrection. They wanted to know more about his claims that he went into the Capitol, court documents said. He told agents he wouldn’t speak with them and denied going inside the building before hanging up, authorities allege.

He then called agents back and made “incoherent sentences,” saying people “were trying to trick him and were messing with his mind,” court documents said.

In January 2024, FBI agents interviewed Banuelos after he allegedly made threatening social media posts, including one in which he appears to be racking the slide of a semi-automatic pistol.

He allegedly said he did not make the posts, denied intending to threaten anyone and claimed “many” of his posts were done by artificial intelligence. Any weapons seen in the video posts, authorities said he told agents, were fake or made by artificial intelligence.

He was arrested in the Capitol breach case on March 8 at his mother’s home in Summit, Illinois. During a search, agents found a BB gun starter pistol in a basement closet but not the weapon authorities believe he fired at the Capitol.

Prosecutors said he had been arrested 19 times.

He has five convictions in Illinois and Utah dating back to 2003 for crimes including misdemeanor assault, misdemeanor resisting arrest, fleeing law enforcement and possession of marijuana, court documents said.