A California man is accused of nabbing a handful of documents from Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell’s desk during the Jan. 6 unrest.
A criminal complaint filed in federal court shows Tommy Frederick Allan, 52, was arrested by authorities last week after two people tipped off the FBI of his alleged activities during the Capitol riot that resulted in five deaths, including one police officer. He faces charges of violent entry on Capitol grounds, entering a restricted building, and theft of federal property.
Allan was allegedly seen on video stuffing documents from the Republican’s desk into his pocket while he hoisted a stolen American flag, according to court documents. The Golden State native, who was stopped from exiting the building with the flag, posed for a picture with one piece of paper that reportedly read, “Senate of the United States, One Hundred Seventeenth Congress, Calendar of Business, Wednesday, January 6, 2021.”
When asked by someone why he escaped the Capitol with the documents, he said he was a “taxpayer,” according to footage.
One of the tipsters forwarded photos and videos of the 52-year-old during the siege, and the other informant reported that Allan had deleted his Facebook account and subsequently destroyed the documents he procured from McConnell’s office, an arrest affidavit detailed.
More than 100 people have been arrested in connection to the Jan. 6 breach. More than 200 cases have been opened since the violent event, and federal prosecutors have begun building a case for sedition and conspiracy charges for some alleged to be involved in the riot.
Another suspected rioter, 22-year-old Riley June Williams, was arrested on Jan. 18 and accused of stealing House Speaker Nancy Pelosi’s laptop during the chaos. Similarly, a pair of Ohio men were arrested earlier in the week, one of whom was alleged to have stolen a Capitol coat rack.
Allan appeared in court and was released, according to court documents cited by NBC News. He is scheduled to be back in court on Friday.
