While federal law enforcement continues to locate individuals involved in last week’s riot at the U.S. Capitol building, the FBI arrested Aaron Mostofsky, the son of a prominent Brooklyn Supreme Court judge.
The 34-year-old appeared in several photographs taken during the insurrection, including one where he’s wearing a Capitol Police bulletproof vest and riot shield, and another where he’s standing behind "QAnon Shaman" Jake Angeli.
The photos, along with coverage by the New York Post, helped FBI agents identify Mostofsky, who is the son of Shlomo Mostofsky, a Kings County Supreme Court judge and prominent figure in the Orthodox Jewish community. Mostofsky told the Post he went to D.C. on Jan. 6 to protest a “stolen election.”
“We were cheated. I don’t think 75 million people voted for Trump — I think it was close to 85 million," he said in the interview, where he identified himself as Aaron from Brooklyn. "I think certain states that have been red for a long time turned blue and were stolen, like New York.”
Agents arrested Mostofsky on Tuesday. Video of the arrest shows them entering his home and removing the fur pelts and walking stick he was photographed with inside the Capitol building.
Mostofsky will appear in Brooklyn federal court on Tuesday afternoon to face four criminal charges, including theft of government property, which is a felony. If convicted, he could be sentenced to 10 years in prison.
According to the criminal complaint obtained by Complex, the FBI also found an abundant record of Mostofsky’s activity inside the Capitol thanks to social media. On his own Instagram account @aaron_mostofsky_official, which has since been removed, Mostofsky posted videos “both inside and outside” the Capitol building.
He joins Angeli and the growing number of other rioters who have been arrested following their participation in the violent coup that left five people dead.
"For those in this area considering participating in future activity similar to Mr. Mostofsky's alleged behavior, let me be clear," FBI assistant director William F. Sweeney said in a statement following the arrest, "The FBI will find you, arrest you, and do our part to ensure you face the full force of the federal criminal justice system."
