A Connecticut man was arrested and charged Thursday for his involvement in the Jan. 6 riot at the U.S. Capitol. Richard T. Crosby Jr. was charged with six federal offenses, including felony obstruction of justice. That has a maximum sentence of 20 years in prison.
The 25-year-old man from Harwinton appeared before a federal judge in Connecticut via Zoom. The complaint against him, released by the U.S. Department of Justice, says he was identified via cellphone footage of events inside the Senate chamber on Jan. 6.
Video from that day depicts Crosby on the Senate dais, shortly after the evacuation of Vice President Mike Pence and senators from the chamber, standing with Jacob A. Chansley, who’s been dubbed the “QAnon Shaman.”
Footage filmed by a reporter from The New Yorker shows Crosby listening while Chansley offered a prayer saying, “Thank you for allowing the United States of America to be reborn, thank you for allowing us to get rid of the communists, globalists and traitors within our government.” At points during the prayer, Crosby raised his hand, and as Chansley finished, Crosby yelled “Amen!”
Federal agents interviewed Crosby and his parents at their Harwinton home in April. According to the FBI’s statement, Crosby told them how he traveled to Washington, D.C., after he had learned about the event on social media.
He confirmed to agents that he is the person pictured standing at the center of the dais in the video footage.
Crosby was released without bail to the custody of his father, whom he lives with.
Prosecutors say he cooperated with the investigation.
His case will be moved to the U.S. District Court for the District of Columbia, and he’s scheduled to appear virtually before a judge there next week.
Harriet Jones contributed to this report.
