No Trump signs at home of Conn. residents charged in D.C. protest
GROTON — A small house sits tucked behind some trees along busy Route 117 that cuts through the center of town.
No one answered the door Friday at the address listed in the Washington Metropolitan Police records for the 40-year-old Groton residents who were among the dozens of people arrested Wednesday in the aftermath of a mob storming the U.S. Capitol building.
Victoria Bergeson and Maurcio Mendez, the only Connecticut residents listed in the arrests logs in connection with the protest, have each pleaded not guilty to curfew violation and unlawful entry.
While there was a car parked in their driveway, the only sounds came from dogs barking from inside the home. Outside, there were no signs supporting President Donald Trump.
One neighbor said he knew Bergeson and Mendez went to Washington to attend the demonstration, but he declined to say anything more about them.
Others who lived nearby either declined to comment or said they didn’t know Bergeson and Mendez.
Facebook and LinkedIn accounts associated with Bergeson appeared to have been taken down by Friday evening.
In an email Friday evening, Bergeson declined to comment and referred questions to her attorney.
Bergeson and Mendez were arrested after the Washington mayor set a 6 p.m. curfew Wednesday to help disperse the thousands who protested the certification of Joe Biden as the next president.
Police said Bergeson and Mendez were each taken into custody around 7:15 p.m. in the 100 block of First Street Northwest — less than five minutes from the Capitol building.
Court records show the Metropolitan police chief “issued at least three warnings for the individuals to disperse and go inside,” according to court documents regarding their arrests. Those warnings were given at 7:15 p.m., 7:16 p.m. and 7:17 p.m., more than an hour after the curfew went into effect.
“The listed individuals did not obey the warnings,” the documents stated. “They were stopped and placed under arrest for violation of mayor’s curfew order.”
The documents said that while Metropolitan police were issuing warnings, the Capitol police “through audio-amplification devices around the U.S. Capitol grounds broadcasted numerous warnings related to the closing of the Capitol grounds to unau
thorized persons.”
Bergeson’s attorney, Samuel Bogash, said his client and others may not have heard the police announcements to disperse. He said his client may also not have realized she was on Capitol grounds.
It remains unknown what role Bergeson and Mendez, who are each due back in court on June 10, played in the protest.
An attorney listed for Mendez has not responded to requests for comment.
Metropolitan police said its agency only made two arrests of people from Connecticut.
Roughly 40 people have been charged in Superior Court — where Mendez and Bergeson’s cases are being heard — in connection with the demonstration, according to the Department of Justice.
Those cases include “unlawful entry, curfew violations, and firearms-related crimes,” among others, according to a press release.
As of Friday, another 13 people have been charged in Federal Court, according to the Department of Justice. Those arrests include 60-year-old Richard Barnett, of Gravette, Ark., who authorities say was photographed with his feet up on House Speaker Nancy Pelosi’s desk in her office.
The Metropolitan Transit Authority has also suspended one of its employees, Will Pepe, of Beacon, N.Y., the New York Post reported. The FBI is investigating Pepe’s role in the protest, the Post reported.
Aspokesman for the MTA confirmed the suspension in a tweet Friday.
“Effective immediately, this individual has been suspended from Metro-North without pay and will be disciplined in accordance with his collective bargaining agreement pending an investigation,” spokesman Ken Lovett said. “This alleged conduct is abhorrent and goes against the values of MNR, NY and the nation.”