Selfie at Capitol insurrection leads to Houston man’s arrest

A Houston man faces multiple charges related to the Jan. 6, 2021, insurrection after he admitted entering the U.S. Capitol building twice during the riots and taking a selfie of himself wearing a red “Make America Great Again” baseball cap, federal officials said.

Alexander Fan was arrested Thursday in Houston on four counts related to his alleged participation in the breach. The 27-yearold was charged with entering and remaining in a restricted building or grounds, disorderly and disruptive conduct in a restricted building or grounds, disorderly conduct in a Capitol building or grounds and parading, demonstrating or picketing in a Capitol building, court records state.

FBI agents became aware of Fan’s participation in the siege when they interviewed a person who told them they received a photo sent from Fan of a hat sitting on a desk inside the U.S. Capitol building, court documents said. The agents then interviewed Fan on May 11, 2021, and he confirmed flying to Washington, D.C. on Jan. 6, 2021, to attend a Donald Trump rally.

Fan told the federal agents he entered the Capitol building twice, once when he was turned around by police, and the second time, he crawled through a broken window into an office, according to court records. He then provided the FBI with a selfie of himself smiling while inside the Capitol building.

“Mr. Fan shouldn’t have been arrested; they should’ve issued a summons,” Mark Thering, Fan’s attorney, said. “He’s charged with misdemeanor offenses.”

Thering called Fan “a good kid” with no criminal history. He added that Fan wasn’t wielding any weapons and didn’t assault anyone.

“It’s kind of unfortunate that they had to arrest him to get his attention,” Thering said. “They already had his attention when they spoke to him a year ago. I think now they’re just trying to tie up loose ends.”

Court documents also show Capitol police officers escorting Fan, Juan Rodriguez of Rhode Island and an unidentified third man out of an office. Rodriguez, wearing a yellow Batman hat in the pictures, was also charged after the FBI used a search warrant to get Google location data showing that his phone had been at the U.S. Capitol from 1:18 p.m. to 4:45 p.m. on Jan. 6.

As of March 2, 74 people from Texas have been arrested for their alleged involvement, according to data compiled by George Washington University. Nearly 1,000 people across the country are facing charges, the data shows.