A retired New York police officer who allegedly played the tambourine in the halls of the United States Capitol during the January 6 rebellion was accused of several misdemeanors, the FBI said.
Former police officer Sara Carpenter, 51, turned herself over to federal authorities and appeared before a federal judge in Brooklyn on Tuesday, NBC New York reported.
Carpenter is accused of intentionally entering or staying in any restricted building or land without legal authority, disorderly or disturbing conduct in a restricted building or land and violent entry and disorderly conduct on Capitol grounds.
The misdemeanors stem from the Washington riot on January 6, when a crowd of supporters of Donald Trump invaded the Capitol to try to prevent the counting of electoral votes in the presidential election. Five people died as a result of the violence, including a Capitol police officer.
The FBI claimed that Carpenter was seen playing a tambourine as she walked through the Capitol, according to NBC in New York.
FBI agents interviewed Carpenter in January, and a judge authorized a search warrant this month. Capitol security video and text messages allegedly sent by Carpenter related her to the crimes, NBC New York reported.
Carpenter joined the New York Police Department in 1994 and retired in 2004, said Detective Sophia Mason, a police spokeswoman.
Several former police officers were accused of participating in the Capitol riot.
Federal prosecutors accused another former New York policeman, Thomas Webster, in February, of using a flagpole as a weapon during the riot.
Carpenter did not immediately respond to a request for comment.
