The FBI on Monday announced charges against more alleged Capitol attackers, including a Texas member of a far-right militia.
The feds have previously sealed criminal charges against dozens of people accused of storming the Capitol in a January 6 pro-Trump uprising. Among the new names are Nicolas Moncada, who was arrested by the FBI office in New York, and Guy Reffitt, a Texan. Reffitt was allegedly a member of the “Texas Freedom Force” militia group and threatened to shoot his children if they became “traitors” who handed him over.
Reffitt, the Texas man busted for his alleged involvement in the attack, also had extremist ties, the FBI said. Reffitt attended the riot with a helmet equipped with a camera and what looked like a tactical vest, according to images included in the court records.
According to prosecutors, Reffitt was part of the Texas Freedom Fighters, a militant group that is pushing to protect Confederate symbols and has spent the past few weeks on Twitter accusing the left of being the real riots.
Reffitt allegedly admitted to his family that he had been involved in the attacks and told the family that “we” (probably the TFF, according to a criminal record) had “assaulted the Capitol.” He allegedly also told the family that he had brought a gun with him to DC
Reffitt’s children were allegedly “upset” by his “extreme” statements. When they sounded the alarm, he allegedly told them that “if you free me, you are a traitor and you know what happens to the traitors … the traitors are shot.”
His wife provided information to investigators about the fight.
Moncada, 20, is a student at the Fashion Institute of Technology in New York, Gothamist reported. Like others arrested in the attack, Moncada allegedly broadcast live his actions at the Capitol and posted on Instagram about involvement in “the storm,” a popular term among followers of the conspiracy theory of the extreme. right QAnon. Moncada, a Staten Island resident, appears to have backed an island bar that was notoriously defying COVID-19 restrictions before temporarily closing after its owner was accused of hitting his deputy with a car. sheriff.
Moncada is the latest of several men arrested in New York in connection with the riots. In a statement, the FBI said it was “now in custody for its role in the assault on the United States Capitol while our representatives were inside exercising their constitutional functions.” Other New Yorkers arrested for their alleged involvement in the attack include Dominic “Spaz” Pezzola, who was wearing a Proud Boys T-shirt while sneaking into the building.