Two people from Mathews County arrested after riot

A man and a woman from Mathews County were arrested this week on federal charges stemming from the riot at the U.S. Capitol last week.

Cindy Sue Fitchett, 59, of Cobbs Creek; Douglas Sweet, 58, of Grimstead; and Robert Keith Packer, 56, of Newport News were arrested on federal charges by the FBI Norfolk Joint Terrorism Task Force, according to FBI spokeswoman Christina Pullen. They are the only three arrests the Norfolk office has made in connection with the riot.

Fitchett and Sweet were among the 13 people charged last week in federal court in the District of Columbia after a mob climbed over barricades and breached the Capitol as lawmakers were voting to certify the presidential election.

The two Mathews County residents were arrested Jan. 6 at the Capitol as part of the group that refused to leave after it was ordered to do so, according to court documents. They were issued citations and released.

Fitchett was arrested again Tuesday, according to Pullen. She is in custody at the Western Tidewater Regional Jail, according to the jail’s online records. Sweet was arrested Wednesday.

Pullen said they were arrested on federal charges but did not comment beyond that.

Fitchett and Sweet were charged with knowingly entering or remaining in any restricted building or grounds without lawful authority, and engaging in disorderly conduct on Capitol grounds, according to federal court documents.

Fitchett and Sweet were arrested at the Capitol along with four others, according to federal court documents. The documents say the crowd did not leave and instead responded by shouting and cursing at the officers.