A Huntington man has been arrested in connection with the Jan. 6 storming of the U.S. Capitol building, which left five dead, including a police officer, federal prosecutors said.
The FBI’s Joint Terrorism Task Force arrested Christopher Ortiz, 27, on Wednesday morning based on several FBI tips they received in the days following the riots and social media posts presented by two witnesses, including a video allegedly taken by Ortiz, authorities said.
“During the video, a male was seen scaling the U.S. Capitol building and a male voice was heard screaming ‘Yeah!’ At another point the camera shows a large crowd at the U.S. Capitol door; the same male voice yelled ‘Yeah! We’re at the door!’ At yet another point the same male voice was heard yelling, ‘Onward, Onward!’ while entering the U.S. Capitol building. The male voice was recognized, and confirmed, by Witness-2, to be the voice of Ortiz,” authorities alleged in court documents.
His arrest comes a week after a Freeport man was also charged for his alleged role in the storming of the Capitol.
The witness had screen recorded the video from the Instagram handle @chrispy0ats. Federal investigators received subscriber information from the account indicating that it was registered to a “Chris Ortiz,” the court documents claim.
The witness, who knows Ortiz from high school, also provided screenshots of a conversation they had with Ortiz through Instagram, in which Ortiz allegedly said “Lol they can come and get me; I didn’t break or vandalize or steal; I walked through and out” and “I’d storm the Capitol for you any day.”
According to the documents, Ortiz is charged with knowingly entering or remaining in any restricted building or grounds without lawful permission, engaging in disorderly conduct with intent to impede or disrupt government business or official functions, uttering loud, threatening, or abusive language in any of the Capitol buildings with the intent to impede, disrupt, or disturb a session of Congress or either House of Congress, and parading, demonstrating, or picketing in any of the Capitol buildings.
Ortiz is expected to be arraigned Wednesday afternoon. His attorney information was not immediately available.
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