A retired NYPD officer surrendered to the FBI on Tuesday and has subsequently been charged for participating in the Capitol insurrection on Jan. 6.
Court documents obtained by Complex include still images from security footage, which show 51-year-old Sara Carpenter shaking a tambourine inside the Rotunda. The Queens, New York native has now been charged with one count each of knowingly entering or remaining in a restricted building, disorderly conduct or disruptive conduct in a restricted building, and disorderly conduct on Capitol grounds.
Carpenter is seen wearing a red hat, green coat, and black boots in the footage, as she spins around and shakes the tambourine. The FBI were initially tipped off to her on Jan, 7, after she told a relative that she had been present at the riot and had been teargassed. She came back to New York that night.
Carpenter was interviewed by the FBI on Jan. 18, telling authorities she had driven to Washington D.C. to take part in Trump’s rally. “Carpenter stated that at the rally point, she heard President Trump’s words on the jumbo televisions and speakers instructing people to rally back, not leave, and march to the Capitol,” the complaint claims.
The former cop then joined the march to the Capitol and said she was trampled and pepper-sprayed inside the Rotunda, as police demanded the insurrectionists leave. She also took video of the event, which she shared with the feds. Upon searching her home, agents found the clothing she wore to the riot and the tambourine she wielded.
