Long Island man arrested in connection to Capitol riot
Police use tear gas around Capitol building where pro-Trump supporters riot and breached the Capitol. Rioters broke windows and breached the Capitol building in an attempt to overthrow the results of the 2020 election.
NEW YORK - A 39-year-old man from Long Island has become the latest person from the area to be arrested in connection to the January 6 riot at the U.S. Capitol.
Authorities say Justin McAuliffe of Bellmore was arrested by the FBI New York Joint Terrorism Task Force Thursday morning.
Law enforcement received multiple tips about McAuliffe's involvement based on posts McAuliffe made on social media during and after the riots, including photos McAuliffe took of himself at the U.S. Capitol the day of the siege.
Credit: U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Eastern District of New York
An article published on the website "Slate" also showed McAuliffe and another man inside of a congress member's office with a Trump flag. According to the FBI, McAuliffe also used a cropped version of the photograph as his profile picture on the messaging app Telegram.
Credit: U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Eastern District of New York
Another member of the public provided the FBI with screenshots of McAuliffe's Facebook page that indicate he was close to or inside Senate offices.
""yeah I was in one of the offices. Some people were smoking a joint in the room, lol. Cops came in and weee like. Okay guys really? They didn’t even ask us to leave right away. They let us sit down and hang out and relax," McAuliffe wrote.
Credit: U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Eastern District of New York
McAuliffe has been charged with knowingly entering or remaining in any restricted building or grounds without lawful authority and knowingly impeding or disrupting the orderly conduct of Government business or official functions.
McAuliffe will appear in court Thursday afternoon at the Central Islip Federal Courthouse via videoconference.