A Pennsylvania man was arrested on suspicion of participating in the Capitol riot after his ex-girlfriend turned him in to authorities.
Richard Michetti, of Ridley Park, was arrested on charges related to his alleged involvement in the riot. He and an unnamed former romantic partner were texting while it was ongoing, and a day later, she turned him in to the FBI, providing them with the texts and videos that he sent her, court documents allege.
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He was charged with knowingly entering a restricted building, violent entry and disorderly conduct on Capitol grounds, and obstruction of Congress, which could land him in jail for up to 20 years, according to the Philadelphia Inquirer. He was arraigned Tuesday in federal court in Philadelphia. His arrest date is unclear.
Shortly after 2 p.m. on Jan. 6, the day of the riot, which coincided with Congress’s intent to certify the election results for President Biden, he allegedly texted her, “ … it’s going down here we stormed the building they held us back with spray and teargas and paintballs,” and added, “Gotta stop the vote it’s fraud this is our country.”
Later that afternoon, Michetti allegedly texted his ex, “If you can’t see the election was stolen you’re a moron,” and, “This is our country do you think we live like kings because no one sacrificed anything?” He continued, “ … [T]he vote was fraud and [T]rump won but they won’t audit the votes. We are patriots we are not revolutionaries the other side is revolutionaries they want to destroy this country and they say it openly.”
He allegedly pushed former President Donald Trump’s claims that the election had been rigged against him. The former commander in chief, his campaign, and other GOP-affiliated groups initiated dozens of lawsuits challenging the election results and they were widely dismissed. The former president has continued to promote the claims into Biden’s presidency.
“I understand your point but what I’m saying is [ex-girlfriend’s name] the election was rigged and everyone knows it. All’s we wanted was an investigation that’s it. And they couldn’t investigate the biggest presidential race in history with mail in ballots who everyone knows is easy to fraud”; “This is tyranny they say there and told us ‘we rigged the election and there’s nuthin you can do about it’ what do you think should be done?” the texts read, according to court documents.
Trump was impeached in the House of Representatives on Jan. 13 for “incitement of insurrection.” House Democrats claimed the former president incited the riot both in the weeks before and the morning of the incident during a rally in the nation’s capital. During the speech, he encouraged attendees to march to the Capitol to express their displeasure with Congress’s intent to certify Biden’s victory.
During the attack, rioters clashed with police officers outside the Capitol before many were able to break their way inside.
Ashli Babbitt, a 35-year-old veteran, was shot and killed by a law enforcement officer as she allegedly tried breaching a door that led to the House Chamber. Another, a Capitol police officer, Brian Sicknick, died shortly after the events at the Capitol unfolded, but there are a number of questions that remain unanswered regarding his cause of death.
Michael Sherwin, acting U.S. attorney for the nation’s capital, previously said 400 subject case files have been opened so far, and there are more than 150 cases with federal charges.
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The Senate voted to acquit Trump, after he had been out of office, because the 57-43 vote did not reach the two-thirds threshold for a conviction. Trump is the only president in the country’s history to be impeached in the House multiple times. His lawyers argued that the impeachment of a private citizen was unconstitutional and that his speech was protected under the First Amendment.
