A Virginia man was arrested Wednesday on charges that he stormed the U.S. Capitol while wearing a Captain America backpack and stole items from senators’ desks on the Senate floor during the Jan. 6, 2021, riot, court records show.
Ryan Joseph Orlando grabbed a pen from the desk of Sen. Susan Collins, R-Maine, and a drink coaster from the desk of Sen. Joe Manchin, D-West Virginia, according to an FBI agent’s affidavit.
Orlando, 28, of Arlington, Virginia, was arrested in his hometown on charges including theft of government property, disorderly conduct and unauthorized access to the floor of a House of Congress, according to an arrest warrant.
Online court records did not immediately list an attorney for Orlando.
Surveillance footage shows Orlando entering the Capitol through a fire door on the west side of the building. Wearing a black mask and a circular Captain America-themed backpack, he appeared to be recording video on his phone as he walked through the Capitol.
Orlando and other rioters entered the Senate chamber around 3 p.m. on January 6, after senators evacuated the room. C-SPAN footage shows Orlando sifting through and possibly photographing documents from senators’ desks, including one belonging to then-Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell, R-Kentucky.
C-SPAN video also shows Orlando grabbing a pen from Collins’ desk and putting it in his pocket, and grabbing a white coaster from Manchin’s desk before police led him from the room, the FBI affidavit said. Police also removed him from the building, but he reentered the Capitol through a broken window and remained inside for several more minutes, according to the affidavit.
About 1,200 people have been charged with federal crimes related to the Capitol riot. Nearly 900 of them have pleaded guilty or been convicted by a judge or jury after a trial. More than 700 of them have been convicted, of which about two-thirds receive a prison sentence ranging from three days to 22 years.