January 6 rioter, Martin Cudo, is charged after old high school classmates tipped off the Feds to a selfie taken inside the Capitol he posted online
A Minnesota man was arrested and charged in connection with the Jan. 6 riots after a high school classmate and his employer tipped off the FBI.
Martin James Cudo, 43, was taken into custody Monday, nearly three years after law enforcement first interviewed him.
According to a criminal complaint filed in federal court in Washington, D.C., the FBI received a tip from a high school classmate a day after the insurrection, indicating that the Lakeville resident was inside the Capitol on January 6, 2021.
The tip included an incriminating selfie that Cudo posted on social media shortly after his trip to DC
The complaint notes that the agency received additional information from Cudo's employer, who identified him in photos taken inside the Capitol.
Martin James Cudo, 43, was arrested Monday, three years after the FBI questioned him about his role in the 2021 Capitol riots
The agency was tipped off a day after the riot by a former high school classmate of Cudo
When federal agents interviewed Cudo, he identified himself as a person wearing a red, white and blue hat in photos taken inside the U.S. Capitol.
FBI agents interviewed Cudo in Minnesota, where he identified himself in a photo taken during the riot.
He specifically identified himself as a person wearing a “red, white and blue hat with the number '45' in a circle in the center,” the complaint reads.
Cudo told officers he had traveled to Washington by commercial flight with his mother and stepfather two days before the riots.
He claimed the trio attended the 'Stop the Steal' rally during in which Trump and other speakers urged the former president's supporters to march on the Capitol as Congress certified the results of November's presidential election.
After saying goodbye to his mother and stepfather, Cudo joined a crowd that broke through police barricades before parading through the Capitol, investigators said.
The 43-year-old eventually left the Capitol with other rioters shortly before 3 p.m., but remained on the grounds until about 5 p.m., the complaint said.
It wasn't until he returned to his hotel room, Cudo told the FBI, that he realized “the kind of trouble he might be in.”
In a telephone interview with the Star Tribune, Cudo said he was out of custody and has an attorney. He declined to comment further on the allegations against him.
It's unclear why it took officers three years to charge Cudo.
Cudo said he flew to Washington with his mother and father to attend Trump's “Stop the Steal” rally, but was later seen breaking into the Capitol with other rioters.
It wasn't until he returned to his hotel room that Cudo realized “what trouble he's in,” he later told the FBI
The 43-year-old is the 14th Minnesotan charged in connection with the riots, and one of more than 1,230 people nationwide
The U.S. Supreme Court will hear an appeal over a federal obstruction law used to prosecute hundreds of rioters and the 45th president.
The Lakeville man's Facebook page is mostly empty, save for a bio that reads: “Defender of Freedom.”
He is the 14th Minnesota resident charged in connection with the Capitol riots, according to the U.S. Department of Justice.
More than 1,230 people have been charged for their roles in the insurrection, and more than 440 of them are charged with crimes for assaulting or obstructing law enforcement.
According to the complaint, Cudo was accused of entering a restricted building without lawful authority; disorderly and disruptive behavior in a confined building; disorderly conduct in a Capitol building; and parading, demonstrating or picketing a Capitol building.
Last week, the U.S. Supreme Court announced it will hear an appeal related to a federal obstruction law used to prosecute hundreds of rioters.
The judges will consider a charge of obstructing or disrupting an official proceeding brought against more than 300 people, including Donald Trump.
The former president has pleaded not guilty to this charge and three others he faces in connection with his efforts to overturn the results of the 2020 presidential election.
A trial for his case is expected to begin in March 2024.