Two South Carolina men who volunteer for the Civil Air Patrol were accused this week of illegally entering the United States Capitol during the January 6 riot, which resulted in the death of a Capitol police officer and four others.
The Post and Courier reported that Elliot Bishai and Elias Irizarry appeared in federal court in Columbia, SC, on Tuesday and were released on $ 25,000 bail. Irizarry is a student at the Citadel, according to the newspaper, and both planned to join the army.
Their identities were obtained by FBI agents from a complaint sent by an unidentified person who knew them both as members of the Civil Air Patrol of Gastonia. They are accused of illegal entry, disorderly conduct in a restricted area and violent entry to the United States Capitol, according to a local news agency.
The Hill contacted the National Civil Air Patrol headquarters for comment.
Family members told the newspaper that the two men were being unjustly mistaken for the worst elements of the Capitol siege. Dozens of police officers suffered serious injuries during the riot, including one who lost an eye, while two other police officers died of suicide in the days immediately after the attack.
“When you hear them say things about their son like that, and he is put together with others who have done the wrong thing, it is difficult,” Lorraine Irizarry told the Post and Courier.
Hundreds of individuals suspected of involvement in the Capitol riot have been arrested in the months since it occurred, and the FBI website still lists many photos of protesters who have yet to be identified.
The agency also worked in the weeks and months following the attack to unmask right-wing conspiracies that blame the antifa or left-wing activists for the violence.