Aaron Mostofsky, 34, was arrested after identifying himself in a camera interview during the Capitol invasion.
Saul Loeb / Getty Images
Aaron Mostofsky is seen wearing furs and holding a stick and riot police equipment during the attack on the Capitol.
The son of a Brooklyn judge was arrested for taking part in last week’s attempted mortal coup on Capitol Hill, prosecutors said on Tuesday.
Aaron Mostofsky, 34, is due to appear in federal court on Tuesday afternoon on several charges, including theft of government property, a crime. He faces up to 10 years in prison if convicted.
The police allowed him to simply leave the Capitol on Wednesday and return home to New York.
On Tuesday, the FBI took him into custody at his home in Brooklyn’s Midwood neighborhood.
BREAKING: Aaron Mostofsky, the son of a NY Supreme Court judge, was arrested in Midwood Brooklyn early Tuesday for his alleged involvement in the Capitol riot.
Her father is Steven “Shlomo” Mostofsky, reported Gothamist, a Kings County Supreme Court judge and a prominent figure in Brooklyn’s modern Orthodox Jewish community. (Requests for comment from the judge were not immediately returned.)
Aaron Mostofsky did not try very hard to hide his identity during the violent rebellion in the corridors of Congress, according to a criminal complaint provided to BuzzFeed News.
He was arrested thanks to a camera interview he gave the New York Post from inside the Capitol, where he identified himself as Aaron from Brooklyn, and was seen wearing a bulletproof vest and riot shield with the US Capitol Police insignia. USA, which he claimed to have found on the ground.
Wearing the vest with the “POLICE” label and bizarre fur, he told the Post that he broke into the Capitol because he believed President Donald Trump’s lies that the election was rigged against him.
“We were deceived. I don’t think 75 million people voted for Trump – I think it was close to 85 million, “said Mostofsky in the interview.” I think certain states that were red for a long time turned blue and were stolen, like New York. “
He also appeared in several of the most widely publicized photos of the uprising, including this one, where he can be seen behind the horned hat of “QAnon Shaman” Jake Angeli.
Mostofsky went even further to showcase his crimes, posting videos of the coup attempt on his Instagram account, “@aaron_mostofsky_official.” (The account appears to have been deleted or banned.)
His brother Nachman Mostofsky – the vice president of the South Brooklyn Conservative Club and an elected district leader, who previously claimed to have “very high connections in [the Trump] administration “- defended Aaron in an interview with Gothamist, spewing absurd explanations for his actions.
“My brother did nothing illegal,” said Nachman. “He was definitely not part of the riot.”
As an explanation as to why Aaron was actually inside the Capitol during the riot, Nachman said he was “pushed inside”.
Nachman was also in DC the day of the coup attempt and said he had attended Trump’s rally, but left before the Capitol attack.
“You are a liar. You are a dishonest person. My brother became a citizen of America,” Nachman told Gothamist. “You find me one [Black Lives Matter] riot or an antifa riot during the summer that didn’t have much more damage. “
A lawyer representing Aaron Mostofsky did not immediately respond to a request for comment from BuzzFeed News.
In a statement on Tuesday, William F. Sweeney Jr., the assistant director in charge of the FBI’s New York office, confirmed that the FBI arrested Mostofsky and thanked the public for sending tips that helped identify the people who participated in the Attack. of the Capitol.
“For those in this area considering participating in future activities similar to Mr. Mostofsky’s alleged behavior, let me be clear,” said Sweeney. “The FBI will find you, arrest you and do our part to ensure that you stand up to the full force of the federal criminal justice system.”