Actor arrested in connection with Capitol riot; FBI cites evidence from his Instagram

An actor who was arrested last week and charged with breaching the U.S. Capitol during the Jan. 6 riot was recorded on video singing "The Star Spangled Banner," court records showed.

The man, Michael Aaron Carico, 33, is charged with several counts related to allegations that he participated in the riot, according to a federal criminal complaint. Evidence against Carico included photos and videos of him on the Capitol grounds that were obtained from a confidential source, GPS data and additional photos and videos secured through a search warrant of Carico's Gmail account, according to the complaint written by an FBI special agent.

One such video from Carico's email, according to records, showed him taking part in the national anthem before he mentions House Speaker Nancy Pelosi, D-Calif., by her first name.

Carico was in a crowd singing or yelling the words "the land of the free and the home of the brave" from "The Star-Spangled Banner," the complaint said. He then looked at a camera and said, "Hey Nancy, go f--- yourself," according to the complaint.

"Based on the proximity to the U.S. Capitol and the congressional proceedings occurring that day, I understand 'Nancy' to be a reference to Speaker of the House Nancy Pelosi," the agent said in the complaint.

Authorities also obtained video of Carico and another person, listed only as "SUBJECT 2," climbing a ladder to the platform on top of the media tower, court records said.

Neither Carico nor his attorney could be reached for comment Monday afternoon.

Carico was arrested in California on Wednesday.

A confidential source gave the FBI a nine-second video alleged to show the hands and arms of a man later identified as Carico, records said. The man identified as Carico wore a camouflage shirt and brown and black gloves as he held a camera and a stabilizer, court records said. The confidential informant also provided the FBI with a video, recorded by the informant, which is alleged to show Carico telling others on the Capitol grounds that he had just been inside the building.

The confidential source also took a photo that is alleged to show Carico wearing a green hat that read "Navy" on its front, according to the FBI.

The FBI determined that Carico was a member of neither the Navy nor any other U.S. military branch, records said.

The FBI also reviewed Carico's Instagram account, which displayed "several videos or photos of a person wearing black and brown gloves and camouflage clothing with an American flag patch on his shoulder," which matches the clothing Carico was alleged to have been seen wearing on Capitol grounds, the complaint said.

Investigators determined that a device associated with Carico's Gmail account was within the Capitol or restricted grounds from about 2:18 p.m. to shortly before 4 p.m. on Jan. 6, court records said.

Authorities have been using suspects' digital footprints against them in the Capitol riot cases.

Andrew Quentin Taake, 32, who is accused of pepper-spraying and assaulting police officers, came on the radar of federal investigators when a witness told authorities about a message exchange on the dating app Bumble. Taake is alleged to have told the witness that he was in the Capitol for about 30 minutes.

Carico's IMDb credits include roles in the British sitcom "The Inbetweeners" and the 2019 movie "In Full Bloom."

He has been 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; and parading, demonstrating or picketing in a Capitol building, according to the criminal complaint.

As of earlier this month, more than 570 people from across the country had been arrested after the Jan. 6 attack.