A Riverside man who believes in QAnon and other conspiracy theories was arrested Thursday for participating in the January 6 siege of the U.S. Capitol, officials said.
Andrew Alan Hernandez, 44, was identified by a co-worker who recognized him in a newspaper photo of protesters who invaded the Capitol in an attempt to prevent Congress from certifying Joe Biden’s victory over incumbent Donald Trump in the November presidential election , according to an FBI statement. filed with the US District Court in Washington.
Hernandez was fired from his job after his employer in Riverside confronted him about wearing clothes that identified the company when he joined the crowd’s violent entrance to the Capitol, the FBI statement said. The company received a complaint from someone who noticed the outfit in a photo on the cover of the New York Times magazine, according to the FBI.
The statement included several photos that purported to show Hernandez inside the Capitol on January 6, along with social media posts about his beliefs in various conspiracy theories. In a Twitter post, Hernandez said the United States would become “a tyrannical dictatorship” if the Americans failed to fight attempts to “steal the vote” from Trump.
“Fight Fight Fight,” he wrote.
Social media posts show that Hernandez believes in “Q-Anon conspiracies, health and science, financial conspiracies and various conspiracies associated with US political figures,” wrote FBI agent Richard Migliara in the court’s statement.
The statement included Hernandez’s tweet of a photo of a burning “Q” – a symbol associated with QAnon – on a United States stamp. He also cited Hernandez’s posts praising Trump. “You are the greatest president these United States of America have ever had!” said one of them.
Hernandez was accused of obstructing justice or Congress, two counts of entering a restricted building without legal authorization, and two counts of violent entry and disorderly conduct on Capitol grounds.
Andrew Byrd, Hernandez’s lawyer, had no immediate response to a request for comment.