Man who carried Trump flag inside Capitol during riot is arrested at Orlando airport after being identified by people watching the news who then contacted the FBI
A man who was caught on camera carrying a Trump flag inside the Capitol building during last month's deadly riot has been arrested after being recognized by people watching the news who turned him in to the FBI.
Steven Omar Maldonado was apprehended by FBI agents on Wednesday morning at Orlando International Airport as he was preparing to fly to Puerto Rico.
Maldonado was identified after being recognized in news footage that was widely publicized in the days following the siege. His name was reported by a couple who then informed the FBI.
Steven Omar Maldonado is accused of participating in last month’s riots in DC
Maldonado admitted to being the person featured in a photo showing a man breaking into the Senate Chamber during the Capitol riot and carrying a Trump flag
The FBI said it cross-referenced that information with Maldonado's driver's license, social media photos and surveillance footage from U.S. Capitol police.
In eight pages of charging documents Maldonado can be clearly seen wearing a white hat with the 'Make America Great Again' slogan alongside former President Trump's name, all while carrying a blue Trump flag.
A photo that was posted to the FBI's website shows him holding his hand up with his mouth open while pointing forwards as if he were yelling.
Maldonado was pictured in news footage and cellphone video filmed by other rioters that was recorded while inside the Senate.
Maldonado's distinctive white cap made it easy for him to be identified in photographs
Maldonado can be seen confidently strolling through the corridors of the Capitol
Surveillance footage also shows Maldonado walking in front of a man dressed as Captain America.
Maldonado was interviewed at his home on Saturday whereupon he admitted that he and his friend attended the Stop the Steal rally. He confirmed that he was the man seen in news reports and surveillance.
He appeared before a judge Wednesday afternoon and was charged with violent entry and disorderly conduct on Capitol grounds and restricted building or grounds.
The judge said the case will likely be transferred to D.C.
In the meantime, he ordered Maldonado released on a $25,000 appearance bond, that he surrender his gun, passport and not travel outside of the Middle District of Florida, except for court proceedings.
He was identified after being featured on TV news footage while the FBI was contacted by someone who had been sent footage of the siege by him
He is at least the thirteenth person from Florida to have been arrested in connection with the deadly riot on January 6th, including a firefighter from Sandford near Orlando and a local organizer of the far right group, Proud Boys.
Dozens of those arrested are alleged to have ties to or share sympathies with far-right groups or militias.
In addition to a focus on the Proud Boys, the government has charged several alleged members of the Oath Keepers, an anti-government militia, with conspiring to storm the Capitol.
Authorities have arrested more than 150 people for their alleged role in the siege according to law enforcement.
Authorities have arrested more than 150 people for their alleged role in the siege according law enforcement but there are still more to come
But the investigation recently shifted gears with federal officials now attempting to prosecute those who allegedly took part.
As more information is gathered on the suspects, investigators are attempting to determine whether a larger conspiracy case might also be able to be pursued.
Steven D'Antuono, FBI Assistant Director in Charge had revealed the FBI has received more than 200,000 digital media tips from the public.
Though a combination of tips and research, 400 suspects allegedly involved with the riots have been identified and about 150 arrested.
Some officials said many of the pro-Trump protestors who broke into the offices of top legislators like House Speaker Nancy Pelosi appeared to know how to navigate the maze-like Capitol.
Trump supporters clash with police and security forces as they storm the US Capitol in Washington, DC on January 6. Authorities are sifting through more than 200,000 digital tips gathered from social media, the public, confidential informants, news and surveillance footage
Groups of Trump supporters had toured the Capitol for 'reconnaissance' a day before the attack.
But analysts say much of the activity on January 6 was chaotic, disorganized and more typical of a spontaneous riot.
Matthew Feldman of the Center for Analysis of the Radical Right in Britain said that's typical of political violence.
At the moment, with limited evidence on communications and other links, he said, 'It is impossible to establish causality.'
'Those people who made up the herd did not appear organized, but within them clearly there were people who were organized.'
At the same time, he noted that the crowd included members of the violent Three Percenters, Oath Keepers and Proud Boys, some who traveled to Washington from as far as Hawaii.
The FBI has hundreds of agents on the case looking at the Capitol attack. Pictured, Jacob Anthony Chansley, also known as Jake Angeli, of Arizona, is one of those charged
Their presence, the discovery of pipe bombs planted nearby, and the apparent threats to capture members of Congress or the vice president, were signs of 'terror' plotting, he said.
'You had a riotous mob... and within that you had domestic terrorists' who were 'clearly planning something.'
Lawyers defending the suspects are using a common defense saying their clients took their instructions from former President Trump, who called on his supporters to flock to D.C. to protest Congress's certification of President Biden's election win.
President Trump is on trial this week in the U.S. Senate after being impeached in the House, for the second time in his one-term presidency.
House prosecutors say Trump incited the rally crowd to march on the Capitol and then did nothing to stem the violence.
Violent protesters loyal to President Donald Trump, including Kevin Seefried, center, are confronted by U.S. Capitol Police officers outside the Senate Chamber inside the Capitol
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