Lehigh man arrested in Capitol riot
Craig Bingert accused of shoving a barricade into police officers
A 29-year-old Lehigh
County man has been arrested for his alleged involvement in the
Jan. 6 U.S. Capitol riot, where authorities say he shoved a barricade into police officers and tried to break through a police line.
The FBI has charged Craig M. Bingert, of Washington Township, with obstructing the police. He turned himself in to federal authorities Sunday and identified himself in photos circulated online that federal investigators are using to identify participants in the attack.
According to court records, Bingert worked with other protesters to shove a barricade into D.C. Metropolitan
Police Department officers. He then helped them lift it up in an apparent attempt to break through the police line.
One of the officers guarding the barricade provided body camera footage on which Bingert is captured. He held an American flag, and wore a camouflage over a hoodie, as well as a blue knit hat with “American” embroidered on it. Footage shows him waving the flag while the crowd around him chants, “F—the police.”
Bingert studied criminal justice and law enforcement administration at Lehigh-Carbon Community College and Mansfield University of Pennsylvania, graduating in 2013, according to his LinkedIn page.
He could not be reached for comment.
Federal authorities identify Bingert as living in Slatington.
According to Nexis records, he lives just outside the borough.
The criminal complaint was filed in the U.S. District Court for the District of Columbia.
Bingert’s arrest comes a few days after Andrew Wrigley, 49, of Jim Thorpe, was arrested and charged with knowingly entering or remaining in a restricted building or grounds without lawful authority, as well as violent entry and disorderly conduct on Capitol grounds.
Authorities allege Wrigley, among other incriminating acts, posted a selfie to his Facebook page Jan. 6, which showed him in the Capitol Building.
At least 70 people from all over the country have been charged in federal court related to crimes committed at the U.S. Capitol, according to a running list on the Justice Department’s website.
Several Pennsylvania residents are on the list, including Robert Sanford, a retired Chester firefighter who was being held in Lehigh County Jail after being charged with hurling a fire extinguisher at Capitol Police officers, and Terry Brown of Myerstown, Lebanon County.
In addition, federal authorities are looking for a Harrisburg woman they suspect stole House Speaker Nancy Pelosi’s laptop during the Jan. 6 Capitol siege with the intent of selling the device to Russia’s foreign intelligence services. They say Riley June Williams, 22, fled before investigators were able to track her down to the apartment she shares with her mother.