Upstate New York man who bragged about smoking in the Capitol charged in Jan. 6 siege
An upstate New York man who bragged in a Facebook video that he was in the “Capitol building smoking with all my people!” has been charged in the Jan. 6 siege, federal court documents show.
James Bonet, of Glens Falls, N.Y., was “smoking what appears to be a marijuana cigarette inside the U.S. Capitol” in the now-deleted video, according to the criminal complaint.
One of Bonet’s co-workers sent the video to colleagues on the evening of Jan. 6 before tipping off the FBI about Bonet’s involvement in the insurrection, the complaint said.
Another video posted on social media showed Bonet calling out to other Trump-supporters inside the halls of Congress.
“We made it in the building b-----s!” he said, according to court papers. “We’re taking it back! We are taking it back, we made it in the building!”
Bonet also uploaded a photo of a Trump flag as supporters marched toward the Capitol with the caption, “Right in the doorsteps this is our house we will take it back.”
One co-worker described Bonet as a government conspiracy theorist who often tried to convince other employees that the “2020 presidential election was ‘stolen,’” the complaint said.
Bonet was charged with disorderly conduct on U.S. Capitol grounds, and knowingly entering or remaining in a restricted building.
FBI officials said Tuesday that the agency has received more than 200,000 digital media tips, and has identified a list of over 400 suspects in the Jan. 6 insurrection.
Federal authorities have filed more than 150 federal cases and over 50 superior court cases, and secured more than 500 grand jury subpoenas and search warrants, officials said.
Nearly all 150 of those cases carry felony charges.
