A Virginia man was arrested Wednesday on charges that he stormed the U.S. Capitol while wearing a Captain America backpack and stole items from senators’ desks on the Senate floor during the Jan. 6, 2021, riot, court records show.
Ryan Joseph Orlando took a pen from the desk of Sen. Susan Collins, R-Maine, and a drink coaster from the desk of Sen. Joe Manchin, D-West Virginia, according to an FBI agent’s affidavit.
Orlando, 28, of Arlington, Virginia, was arrested in his hometown on charges including theft of government property, disorderly conduct and unauthorized entry on the floor of a House of Congress, an arrest warrant says.
Online court records didn’t immediately list an attorney for Orlando.
Surveillance video captured Orlando entering the Capitol through a fire door on the west side of the building. He was wearing a black mask and a round Captain America-themed backpack and appeared to be recording video on his phone as he walked around the Capitol.
Orlando and other rioters entered the Senate chamber around 3 p.m. on Jan. 6, after senators evacuated the floor. C-SPAN footage shows Orlando rifling through and possibly photographing documents from senators’ desks, including one belonging to then-Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell, R-Kentucky.
C-SPAN video also captured Orlando remove a pen from Collins’ desk and stick it in his pocket and take a white coaster from Manchin’s desk before police led him out of the chamber, the FBI affidavit says. Police also removed him from the building, but he reentered the Capitol through a broken window and remained inside for several more minutes, according to the affidavit.
Approximately 1,200 people have been charged with Capitol riot-related federal crimes. Nearly 900 of them have pleaded guilty or been convicted by a judge or jury after trials. Over 700 of them have been sentenced, with roughly two-thirds receiving prison sentences ranging from three days to 22 years.
