Ex-government employee charged with falsely accusing co-workers of joining Capitol riot
A former government official has been charged with repeatedly submitting false tips to the FBI and reporting that several of his colleagues in the intelligence community were part of a mob that attacked the U.S. Capitol on Jan. 6, 2021, according to court filings released Friday. .
Miguel Eugenio Zapata, 37, was arrested Thursday in Chantilly, Virginia, on charges that he made false statements to police.
Zapata submitted at least seven anonymous tips to the FBI’s website alleging that seven government employees and contractors were involved in the riot at the Capitol, according to a statement from an FBI task force officer.
Court records do not indicate which government agency hired Zapata, but the affidavit shows the Chantilly resident previously worked with all seven people named in his false tips to the FBI. One of them had hired Zapata and was his program manager.
“None of the seven government employees and contractors were in Washington DC or attacked the Capitol on January 6,” the affidavit said.
The tips contained similar language and were submitted from four IP addresses. The affidavit states that Zapata used a company’s “web anonymization” service to submit the tips.
The unidentified company’s logs showed that Zapata’s user account accessed the FBI’s FBI site, researched two of his targets, searched Google or the term “FBI mole” and accessed an agency website of inspector general for an intelligence agency, the affidavit says.
The document does not identify a possible motive for making the false reports.
Zapata’s first tip, filed on Feb. 10, 2021, says a former colleague attempted to overthrow the U.S. government, espouses conspiracy theories and retaliates against colleagues who do not share their political views, the affidavit said.
Another tip that month accused an intelligence agency contractor of sharing classified information with far-right extremist groups, including the Proud Boys and Oath Keepers, “to stoke terror and incite violence.” Zapata worked with that person from 2017 to 2019, the affidavit said.
The FBI confirmed that all seven people named in the tips were working in Virginia when a mob of Donald Trump supporters stormed the Capitol, disrupting congressional certification of President Joe Biden’s 2020 election victory.
An email seeking comment was sent to an attorney for Zapata.
After the January 6 insurrection, the FBI received tens of thousands of tips from friends, family members and colleagues of suspected rioters. More than 1,300 people have been charged with taking part in the attack.