Samuel Camargo, 26, was arrested Wednesday in Washington, prosecutors said. The name of Camargo’s lawyer was not immediately released on Thursday. He has not yet formally filed an appeal.
Camargo faces four charges related to the January 6 riots, which include civil unrest; intentionally entering or staying in any restricted building or land without legal authority; consciously engage in disorderly or disturbing conduct in any restricted building or land; and violent entry and disorderly conduct on the Capitol grounds, according to the criminal complaint.
Camargo appeared Thursday in DC District Court, where a judge ordered him to remain in detention pending trial. The judge agreed with the Justice that Camargo was a risk of escape.
“Frankly, this country is very big and there are many different places where a defendant can hide,” said Judge Zia Faruqui at the hearing.
Washington prosecutors wrote in a lawsuit on Thursday that Camargo was seen on video at one of the Capitol doors on January 6 “using his cell phone to record his fight with the United States Capitol Police for opening a door of the United States Capitol. ”
Camargo later apologized on social media for his actions that day “while on Capitol Hill in DC,” prosecutors wrote.
On January 7, when contacted by an FBI agent about his actions, Camargo admitted that he was in Washington on the day of the riot and returned to his home in Broward County, Florida.
“So he stopped cooperating and questioned the agent’s loyalty to the constitution before saying he had no more information to provide,” prosecutors wrote. “After this interview, the defendant posted on social media, ‘I just spoke to an FBI agent, I think I was cleared.'”
Authorities tried to arrest Camargo on Tuesday at his Florida home, but he had disappeared, prosecutors said. He was found the next day in Washington.
Camargo told investigators after his arrest that he knew he was wanted by the Department of Justice in connection with his actions on Capitol Hill and “decided that he should try to appear in office instead of becoming an official,” prosecutors wrote in the court case on Thursday .