WASHINGTON – Over the course of several hours on January 6, Richard Michetti sent text messages and videos to his ex-girlfriend that documented his “assault” experience on the United States Capitol, according to court documents. He also sent a message saying that she was an “idiot” if he did not believe that the election had been “stolen”.
She handed it over to the police the next day.
The texts were presented in prosecution papers recently opened against Michetti this week. He was arrested on Tuesday and then released for house arrest at a residence in Ridley Park, Pennsylvania, south of Philadelphia, while his case moves on. He is accused of obstructing official Congressional procedures – a felony – as well as of various misdemeanors for illegally entering a restricted building or land and violent entry and disorderly conduct on Capitol grounds.
The FBI has received thousands of tips in the weeks since a crowd of hundreds of supporters of now ex-President Donald Trump descended on Capitol Hill while lawmakers met to certify the results of the presidential election. The prosecution’s papers show that the alleged friends, family, co-workers, former colleagues and, yes, former colleagues of the alleged protesters have played a key role in helping investigators identify and track suspects.
Michetti’s prosecution papers describe in detail how his ex gave the FBI everything it needed to build the case against him. In addition to the texts and videos, which created a timeline of his alleged involvement in the insurrection from start to finish, the ex also provided his date of birth, address, phone number and other information about his phone.
The ex-girlfriend, who is not named in the file but is identified as a woman, went to the police on January 7. The collection papers do not specify which police agency she contacted. She then gave a full interview to the FBI on January 11, telling agents that Michetti had gone to Washington because “he believed the election was stolen from President Trump”.
The texts she produced for the FBI begin on January 5, with Michetti sending a message to her that he was getting on a train and would call as soon as he arrived in Washington. Around 2:06 pm on January 6 – just after waves of rioters broke through the police barricades and entered the building – Michetti sent a message: “… it’s happening here, we broke into the building and they held us with spray, gas tear and paintball. “Three minutes later, he sent a message confirming that he had gone to the Capitol to” stop the vote, it’s fraud, this is our country “.
Almost half an hour later, Michetti’s ex received two videos from him, both of which seemed to show scenes of rioters inside the Capitol.
Around 4:26 pm, Michetti sent a message: “If you can’t see, the election was
stolen you are an idiot. “He complained about the police using tear gas and pepper spray, saying the Capitol was” public property “.
The bill papers do not say whether the ex responded to any of his messages, but at 6:04 pm Michetti sent messages that suggested she was involved with something he said.
“I understand your point, but what I’m saying is [W1’s name] the election was rigged and everyone knows it. All we wanted was an investigation, that’s it, “he wrote, followed by more messages that echoed lies that former President Donald Trump and his supporter pressed after the election that expanding postal voting during the pandemic resulted in fraud widespread.
FBI agents showed Michetti’s ex a picture of a crowd of people outside the Capitol, and she identified him as a man wearing a dark baseball cap with the Chicago White Sox logo and a backpack with shiny blue straps. . A blue mask is pulled down below his chin, revealing his face, and he appears to be looking at a phone. The prosecution’s papers show how the FBI then identified him in surveillance camera images from inside the Capitol, matching the clothes he was wearing outside. The FBI also obtained a receipt from a hotel located near the Capitol, where Michetti checked in on January 5 and checked out the next day.
Michetti’s lawyer did not immediately return a request for comment. He is due to make his next appearance in court on March 1. It is unlikely that he will send more messages to his ex in the meantime – one of his release conditions is that he will not be able to contact “potential witnesses” while his case is pending.