The FBI has arrested an Oath Keepers leader that was filmed hanging out near Roger Stone outside a DC hotel on January 6.
Roberto Minuta of Newburgh, N.Y., had become a subject of many viral tweets from the left, simply because he was seen with Stone on the day of the Capitol protest.
Minuta was arrested on Saturday, according to a report from ABC News.
“Minuta and others affiliated with the Oath Keepers breached the U.S. Capitol grounds, where Minuta aggressively berated and taunted U.S. Capitol police officers responsible for protecting the Capitol and the representatives inside of the Capitol,” according to charging documents obtained by ABC.
Minuta’s wife told ABC that her husband was at the Capitol, but said that he never went inside and was just “another patriot outside the Capitol Building … standing up for freedom.”
In their effort to hold Minuta without bail until trial, they cited him opening his tattoo parlor in defiance of the lockdown, saying that “there’s evidence this man does not respect the law.”
Minuta’s attorney’s argued that he would not abandon his children or community.
Magistrate Judge Andrew Krause released Minuta on bail saying “Mr. Minuta was not engaged in any acts of violence on Jan. 6. I think it is an overstatement of the situation to say that because Mr. Minuta was wearing particular gear he is predisposed to particular acts of violence.”
In a statement to ABC News, Stone said that he does not know Minuta, nor was he “familiar with his name prior to his being identified in earlier media stories where it was alleged that he was involved in illegal events up at the Capitol.”
“If he was indeed among those who volunteered to provide security while I visited Washington DC I was unaware of it,” Stone said.
At least five people associated with the Oath Keepers have been arrested over the January 6 protest, three of them have been charged with conspiracy.
