A South Carolina man was accused of participating in the deadly riot at the United States Capitol earlier this month, according to federal officials whose investigation was based on GPS data and a selfie the man allegedly took inside the building.
In a January 15 complaint, the FBI alleged that Andrew Hatley drove a red Ford Mustang from his South Carolina home to Washington, DC, to join the thousands of supporters of President Donald Trump who planned to protest the election results. 2020 presidential candidate who was Democrat Joe Biden won.
Hatley joined the violent mob that attacked the police and overtook the Capitol building, the seat of the US government, while Congress certified the election results, according to the complaint.
The FBI says this is a selfie that Andrew Hatley took in front of the John C. Calhoun statue in the US Capitol building. Source: screenshot of FBI complaint
Hatley is the first South Carolinian known to be charged with a crime related to the January 6 uprising, which briefly delayed Congressional certification of the election.
The consequences of the rebellion continue to expand. Last week, Trump became the first president in U.S. history to face two charges of impeachment, after the U.S. House accused him of inciting violence against the government.
State houses across the country, including that of South Carolina, stepped up security measures before Biden’s inauguration on January 20, in response to the FBI’s warning of possible armed protests.
A man was arrested on Sunday and charged with illegal possession of a firearm just two blocks from the capital of SC. Also on Sunday, the State Law Enforcement Division arrested a man from Pickens County on charges of possessing a deadly explosive. Authorities did not say whether any of the prisons were linked to possession protests, but came amid increased surveillance by authorities ahead of Wednesday’s historic event in the country’s capital.
The charges against Hatley come at a time when federal authorities continue to surround dozens of people across the country who participated in the January 6 rebellion.
The FBI asked the public for help in identifying people who posted photos or videos of themselves on social media while attacking the police and looting the Capitol building.
Hatley was first identified by an informant, according to the FBI complaint.
The informant provided the agency with a selfie that Hatley allegedly took in front of the statue of former Vice President John C. Calhoun, a South Carolina pro-slavery who defended state rights before the Civil War, the FBI complaint said. .
The man in the photo wears a mask that makes it difficult to confirm his identity. But he is also wearing a cowboy hat that looks similar to a hat Hatley is wearing in another photograph obtained by the FBI, according to the complaint.
The day after the turmoil, Hatley went to Facebook to deny participation. He posted that someone who looks like him was seen on Capitol Hill, but added that he “doesn’t have that kind of motivation for lost causes”.
“I just don’t care enough anymore, certainly not enough for all of this,” wrote Hatley.
But the FBI also used data from a GPS tracking app that Hatley used to locate him inside the Capitol building during the riot, according to his documents.
When the FBI called Hatley and asked about the January 6 riot, he said he was “not sure how much he should say without a lawyer because he could be in trouble,” according to the complaint.
A trio of potential numbers for Hatley had been disconnected on Monday morning. He did not return a message left on his Facebook account. Hatley’s hometown was not listed in the FBI documents.
A man who answered the phone at Senn Freight Lines, the Newberry truck company listed by Hatley as his employer on Facebook, said “we will have no comments” before hanging up.
The arrest follows a promise by the US attorney for South Carolina, Peter McCoy, that any South Carolina who traveled to Washington, DC, to participate in the riot would be prosecuted.
It was not clear on Monday morning what involvement McCoy’s office had in Hatley’s arrest or will have in his indictment. An office spokesman declined to comment on Hatley’s case. The investigation was conducted outside the FBI’s Washington field office, said an FBI spokesman in Columbia.
It is not clear whether Hatley is in federal custody. Washington FBI officials declined to comment.
Hatley was charged with four federal crimes. These alleged crimes are:
- Consciously entering or staying in any restricted building or land without legal authority
- Consciously, with the intention of preventing government business or official functions, engaging in disorderly conduct for Capitol reasons
- Engage in disorderly or disturbing conduct in Capitol buildings or grounds
- Parade, demonstration or pickets in the Capitol buildings.
Reach Avery Wilks at 803-374-3115. Follow him on Twitter at @AveryGWilks.