Violent rioters supporting President Donald Trump storm the Capitol in Washington, Wednesday, Jan. 6, 2021. A Florida man, Joseph Julius Lapoint, faces charges for his alleged role in the U.S. Capitol riot, officials said. (AP Photo/John Minchillo, File)
A Florida man who posed for a selfie on a window ledge in a U.S. Capitol office during the Jan. 6 insurrection and was identified when a relative tipped off the FBI that he posted about being there on social media has been arrested.
Joseph Julius Lapoint, 43, faces charges of trespassing and disorderly conduct, according to a complaint unsealed on Tuesday. The charges — all misdemeanors — carry a potential combined sentence of three years behind bars.
Authorities allege he was among thousands of Donald Trump supporters attending the “Stop the Steal” rally that day, authorities said.
He allegedly went with his girlfriend into the Capitol building at 3:07 p.m. According to prosecutors, Lapoint climbed on a windowsill in an office and posed for a photo before the couple left at 3:27 p.m. — spending about 20 minutes inside, court documents said.
According to a probable cause affidavit, Lapoint emerged as a suspect in January 2021 when a relative tipped off FBI agents that he had posted videos of himself claiming he entered the Capitol building that day.
The tipster told agents Lapoint had videos of himself and his girlfriend approaching and entering the Capitol, documents say.
Authorities said Lapoint also marked the anniversary of the riots in a TikTok video called “HAD A BLAST one year ago.”
“Me and babe stormed the Capitol with the rest of America,” the caption read.
Law enforcement used facial recognition software to compare videos and photos of the riots online and found additional images of Lapoint and his girlfriend on the Capitol grounds and inside the building, court documents said.
Lapoint was booked into the Broward County Jail and released to the U.S. Marshals, officials said.
In the 38 months since the attack, more than 1,358 people have been charged in cases related to the insurrection, according to the DOJ. About 1,276 people have been charged with entering or remaining in a restricted federal building or grounds.
