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Left: Isabella Maria DeLuca allegedly appears though a window during the Jan. 6, 2021, U.S. Capitol riots. Right: an Instagram selfie (federal criminal complaint).
A conservative influencer and two-time congressional staffer from upstate New York has been arrested and charged for her role in the Jan. 6, 2021, attack on the U.S. Capitol.
Isabella Maria DeLuca, 24, faces five federal charges, including one count each of theft of government property, disorderly or disruptive conduct and entering a restricted area, according to charging documents filed in Washington, D.C., District Court.
Federal prosecutors allege DeLuca was part of the pro-Donald Trump mob that stormed the national seat of legislative government, took pictures and videos there, then made her way through a broken window into a U.S. Senate room where she helped other rioters remove a table and pass it outside another window “where it was subsequently used as a weapon against law enforcement officers.”
DeLuca previously worked for former Empire State representative Lee Zeldin, a Republican. She later worked for Rep. Paul Gosar, a far-right Arizona Republican and dentist who has referred to the Jan. 6 rioters as “peaceful patriots.”
Federal authorities began investigating her on Jan. 9, 2021, after receiving a tip that she was involved in the riots, the charging documents say. DeLuca allegedly told FBI agents in an initial phone interview that she was in the area with friends but that she never entered the Capitol building. A subsequent investigation led to warrants being executed against her Twitter and Instagram accounts.
A captioned selfie from DeLuca’s Instagram shows some Amtrak trouble on the way to Washington, D.C. on Jan. 5, 2021.
The defendant has nearly 500,000 followers between Instagram and X (formerly Twitter). Delving into social media led investigators to multiple apparently incriminating exchanges and posts.
In Instagram messages, DeLuca allegedly confirms she made it to the Capitol sometime around 3:45 p.m. on the day in question.
Authorities allege DeLuca found her way into “the restricted area on the temporary inaugural platform constructed on the Lower West Terrace of the U.S. Capitol” where she used her phone for a bit.
By 4:30 p.m. that day, DeLuca allegedly made it just outside of a Senate conference room “available for members of congress and their staffs” which was unoccupied but “considered a sensitive location that is not open to members of the public.”
An image in the complaint allegedly shows DeLuca entering the conference room “through one of the lower windows that had been broken by rioters.” She allegedly quickly — in under two minutes — then helped others pass “a table out of one of the broken windows.”
Authorities estimate the coffee table cost just shy of $638.
“It’s insanity here,” the defendant allegedly message someone on Instagram identified as an acquaintance at around 6 p.m. on Jan. 6, 2021. “I got maced and had a sound bomb go off right next to me.”
On Jan. 7, 2021, an Instagram user messaged DeLuca: “I’m wondering why you support the breaking into the capitol.”
On Jan. 8. 2021, DeLuca allegedly mused about being pepper-sprayed and/or tear-gassed by law enforcement in two Instagram comments.
“I got maced pretty bad about three times, and on top of that it was extremely windy, so it was blowing everywhere,” the first post reads. “While I do believe some people were placed there to cause chaos I don’t believe that people were faking being maced. Even if they were not directly hit, the wind was carrying it and affecting everyone.”
The second post discusses popular remedies for dulling the chemical weapon’s effects, like milk and raw onions. In the post, DeLuca allegedly expresses some doubts about those remedies’ efficacy but says she did use milk to try and remove the substance from her eyes.
“I used milk to get the mace/tear gas out of my eyes,” the second post reads. “I’ve heard for some people holding onions near their eyes and nose can protect them from the tear gas. I’m not 100% sure tbh.”
On Jan. 14, 2022, DeLuca allegedly made a directly incriminating statement on “social media,” the charging document says — without identifying which social network was used to relay the message.
“I was there on Jan. 6,” the post reads. “I have mixed feelings. People went to the Capitol building because that’s Our House and that’s where we go to take our grievances. People feel, as do I that an election was stolen from them and it was allowed.”
A blond woman identified as DeLuca is seen in numerous still images embedded in the charging documents. Authorities say they were able to identify the defendant because in each image she is “wearing a brown jacket, black pants, white shoes, and at times is wearing a red, white, and blue neck gaiter partially covering her face.”
In December 2023, an FBI agent allegedly presented a photo array of the defendant to an employee who works at DeLuca’s apartment complex and “regularly sees” her. That array allegedly showed the defendant in seven images: one from her Instagram account and six sourced from the Capitol riots. The employee positively identified the defendant in each instance, according to the charging documents.
The defendant was charged on Feb. 28. She was arrested on Friday. The court papers in her case were unsealed on Monday.
