A pro-Trump rioter who said he got 'caught up in the moment' while dangling from a Senate chamber balcony during the Capitol siege has been taken into custody
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Kelly McLaughlin
Jan 14, 2021, 03:53 IST
A protester supporting President Donald Trump moves to the floor of the Senate chamber on January 06, 2021.Win McNamee/Getty Images
Josiah Colt, a rioter who said he got 'caught up in the moment' while dangling from a Senate chamber balcony during the Capitol insurrection, has been taken into custody.
Colt faces charges of knowingly entering or remaining in any restricted building or grounds without lawful authority and violent entry and disorderly conduct on Capitol grounds, according to a charging sheet seen by Insider.
He turned himself in to the Ada County Sheriff's Office in Boise on Tuesday.
Josiah Colt, of Boise, Idaho, faces charges of knowingly entering or remaining in any restricted building or grounds without lawful authority and violent entry and disorderly conduct on Capitol grounds, according to a charging sheet seen by Insider.
He voluntarily surrendered to the Ada County Sheriff's Office in Boise on Tuesday, Andrea Dearden, director of communications for the Ada County Sheriff's Office told Insider.
In a sworn affidavit filed in court on Tuesday, FBI special agent Matthew J. Gano confirmed that Colt was photographed in the Senate chamber, saying he entered the capitol between 2 p.m. and 4 p.m. on January 6 "without authorization to do so."
Three photographs in the affidavit show Colt dangling from a Senate chamber balcony, running across the Senate floor, and sitting in dais chair that Vice President Mike Pence had occupied moments earlier.
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The affidavit says Colt violated two laws, including entering a public building without lawful authority and engaging in "disorderly or disruptive conduct" on the grounds of the Capitol.
The FBI affidavit said Colt was "mistaken" - he did not in fact sit in Pelosi's chair, which is not in the Senate but in the House of Representatives. Photos show Colt sitting in Pence's chair instead.
Colt later tried apologizing for taking part in the riot, telling the local CBS News affiliate in Idaho that he got "caught up in the moment."
"I got caught up in the moment and when I saw the door to the Chamber open, I walked in, hopped down, and sat on the chair. I said my peace then I helped a gentleman get to safety that was injured then left," he said. "While in the Chamber I told the other protesters that this is a sacred place and not to do any damage. Some of them wanted to trash the place and steal stuff but I told them not to and to leave everything in its place. We're still on sacred ground."
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Colt did not respond to Insider's request for comment before he was taken into custody.
He is now in jail in Boise on a hold for the US Marshals Service. It's unclear if he has a lawyer.
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