WASHINGTON — A supporter of Donald Trump who allegedly “blind-sided” and pushed a Capitol Police officer over a ledge during the Jan. 6, 2021 riot was arrested by the FBI at his home in Queens on Wednesday.
Ralph Joseph Celentano, 54, is charged with assaulting an officer in the performance of their duties, impeding officers during a civil disorder, engaging in physical violence on Capitol grounds, an act of physical violence on Capitol grounds, and disorderly conduct on restricted grounds, according to court documents. A law enforcement source said that Celentano is unemployed.
Celentano, who had a “very distinct folding chair strapped to his back” and a Trump hat on his head, was seen on video shoving a Capitol Police officer from behind, causing them to fall over a ledge, according to authorities. Online sleuths seeking to identify Jan. 6 suspects had dubbed the man #ChairGuy, and he was listed as individual #107 on the FBI’s Capitol Violence website.
The Capitol Police officer, identified by the initials “K.E.,” told the FBI he recalled being “blind-sided” from behind in a “football-type tackle,” and fell to the terrace below.
“Officer K.E. said he probably sustained injuries during the fall, but he had so much adrenaline at that time that he could not be sure,” the FBI affidavit states. “Officer K.E., an Iraq war veteran, recalled thinking ‘I didn’t survive a war to go out like this.'”
Celentano also got in several other physical confrontations with officers on Jan. 6, the FBI affidavit alleges.
It appears that online sleuths played a role in the case against Celentano. The FBI affidavit stated that Celentano was “found in a photograph publicly posted to a social media account.” The bureau said they confirmed Celentano’s identity by interviewing another person featured in the social media photos, who had known Celentano for more than 13 years.
The FBI then got EZ Pass toll information from a vehicle operated by Celentano’s significant other showing that the car left Broad Channel, New York, at 3 a.m. ET the morning of the riot and returned at around 7:30 p.m. ET on Jan. 7.
NBC New York first reported on Celentano’s arrest and said there was a heavy law enforcement presence at the scene of his home.
The arrest on Wednesday followed the Justice Department’s victory in its case against Guy Reffitt, the first Jan. 6 defendant case brought to trial. After deliberating for barely two hours on Tuesday, jurors convicted Reffitt on all five charges he faced.
The FBI has made over 775 arrests in connection with the Jan. 6 attack, federal authorities say. Online sleuths investigating the Jan. 6 attack, who have successfully identified hundreds of defendants, counted more than 2,500 people who either unlawfully entered the Capitol building or assaulted law enforcement officers outside the building. Hundreds of people on the FBI’s website remain at large.
Source: | This article originally belongs to Nbcnews.com
