Prosecutors charge Minnesota man in Capitol siege

MINNEAPOLIS (AP) — A Minnesota man was charged with disorderly conduct and trespassing in connection to the U.S. Capitol siege, federal prosecutors said Friday.

Jordan K. Stotts, 31, was arrested Friday by Minnealplois FBI agents, the agency said in a tweet. He is the first Minnesotan charged in the Capitol attack, according to a database maintained by federal prosecutors.

Online court records indicate Stotts made his initial court appearance in Bemidji on Friday afternoon. His case was moved to federal court in Washington, D.C.

Stotts was released on conditions to be supervised by U.S. probation authorities, not try to obtain documents allowing him to leave the country and not to use alcohol excessively. Court records did not list an attorney for him.

Stotts told an agent during an interview at the Moorhead Police Department on Jan. 18 that he works in greenhouses during the summer and decided to drive alone in his van to Washington for then-President Donald Trump’s rally at the Capitol on Jan. 6. He spent the night before the rally in his van, attended the rally, walked to the Capitol with other protesters and went inside, taking video with his cellphone. The agent noted he was wearing the same hat, coat and glasses during the interview as he was in the photos he posted.

One of Stotts’ former classmates contacted Minneapolis FBI agents on Jan. 9 and said Stotts had posted photos of himself in the U.S. Capitol and commented that Satan had run the country for too long and that he had scaled a wall and was inside the building, according to court documents.

“We were peaceful but the police were not,” he wrote. “Police were aggressive and on the wrong side! They got us out but it’s far from over! 1776!”

More than 300 people have been charged in connection with the siege. Former President Donald Trump was accused of triggering the Capitol attack in a failed attempt to prevent Congress from certifying Democrat Joe Biden’s victory.