- Ruben Verastigui was arrested on charges of receiving and carrying child pornography on Friday.
- Verastigui’s LinkedIn shows that he worked for the Senate Republican Conference until July.
- He has also previously worked for the Republican National Committee, creating advertisements for Trump.
- Visit the Insider Business section for more stories.
A former Republican Party official, who previously created campaign ads for Trump, was arrested on child pornography charges.
According to a press release from the Washington DC Metropolitan Police Department, Ruben Verastigui, 27, was arrested on Friday on charges of distributing, receiving and possessing child pornography images after an investigation started in March past.
Verastigui’s LinkedIn page shows a long history of working for Republicans and conservative causes.
When the investigation began, he worked as a digital strategist for the Senate Republican Conference, stepping down in July to become communications manager for Citizens for Responsible Energy Solutions, a conservative nonprofit green energy organization.
Verastigui appears to have been fired after his arrest.
“The details of the charges against Mr. Verastigui are tragic and shocking,” a spokesman for the nonprofit told The Daily Beast on Saturday. “He is no longer an employee of the organization and we are prepared to cooperate fully with law enforcement requests in this matter to any extent necessary.”
He also previously worked as a senior designer for the Republican National Committee from May 2017 to July 2018. Part of his role involved designing ads for then President Donald Trump’s reelection campaign.
His work history also includes stints at various anti-abortion organizations.
The Daily Beast and The Washington Post obtained court documents about Verastigui’s arrest, giving more information about the charges.
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The documents detail how Special Homeland Security agents found Verastigui while looking for a group of at least 18 people who were negotiating child pornography on an unidentified website.
Verastigui sent messages to the group, saying that he wanted to see “hardcore” videos, the records say.
At one point, Verastigui was accused of having asked another member of the group to come to DC “for the purpose of sexually abusing a minor,” according to the records.
Verastigui admitted to being active on the site after his arrest on Friday, according to court documents.
When contacted by The Post for comment, a spokesman for the Senate Republican Conference said: “We just heard about this investigation and arrest. The individual has not worked at SRC since July 2, 2020.”
Insider contacted the United States Congressional Joint Economic Committee and the Republican National Committee, where Verastigui previously worked, but did not receive an immediate response on either Sunday morning.
An email to Verastigui’s lawyer went unanswered on Sunday morning.