Current:Home > MySocial media influencer is charged with joining the Jan. 6 attack on the US Capitol -AlphaFinance Experts
Social media influencer is charged with joining the Jan. 6 attack on the US Capitol
View
Date:2025-04-19 18:31:08
A conservative social media influencer has been charged with storming the U.S. Capitol and passing a stolen table out of a broken window, allowing other rioters to use it as a weapon against police, according to court records unsealed on Monday.
Isabella Maria DeLuca was arrested last Friday in Irvine, California, on misdemeanor charges, including theft of government property, disorderly conduct and entering a restricted area.
DeLuca, who has more than 333,000 followers on the platform formerly known as Twitter, is a former congressional intern who works as a media associate for The Gold Institute for International Strategy. DeLuca’s profile on the institute’s website says she served as an ambassador for the conservative youth organization Turning Point USA.
DeLuca also interned for former U.S. Rep. Lee Zeldin of New York and Rep. Paul Gosar of Arizona, both of whom are Republicans who have supported former President Donald Trump.
DeLuca, 24, of Setauket, New York, didn’t immediately respond to an email seeking comment. Online court records don’t list an attorney representing her.
During the Jan. 6 riot, DeLuca replied to a Twitter post by writing, “Fight back or let politicians steal and election? Fight back!”
Videos captured her entering a suite of conference rooms inside the Capitol through a broken window on the Lower West Terrace. She passed a table out of the window and then climbed back outside through the same window. A table that another rioter threw at police resembled the one that DeLuca passed out the window, according to an FBI agent’s affidavit.
DeLuca posted about the riot for days after the Jan. 6 attack. When an Instagram user asked her why she supported breaking into the Capitol, she responded, “According to the constitution it’s our house.”
Several days later, she posted on social media that she was at the Capitol on Jan. 6 and had “mixed feelings.”
“People went to the Capitol building because that’s Our House and that’s where we go to take our grievances. People feel, as do I that an election was stolen from them and it was allowed,” she wrote.
When the FBI questioned her roughly two weeks after the Capitol attack, DeLuca denied entering the building on Jan. 6, the agent’s affidavit says.
More than 1,300 people have been charged with Capitol riot-related crimes. Over 800 of them have been sentenced, with roughly two-thirds getting a term of imprisonment ranging from a few days to 22 years.
veryGood! (716)
Related
- Kylie Jenner Shows Off Sweet Notes From Nieces Dream Kardashian & Chicago West
- Honda recalls 300,000 cars and SUVs over missing seat belt component
- Michigan-Ohio State: Wolverines outlast Buckeyes for third win in a row against rivals
- Linda Evangelista Says She Hasn't Dated Since Before CoolSculpting Incident
- Rolling Loud 2024: Lineup, how to stream the world's largest hip hop music festival
- Barnes’ TD, Weitz three field goals lift Clemson to 16-7 victory over rival South Carolina
- Watch: Alabama beats Auburn behind miracle 31-yard touchdown on fourth-and-goal
- Stray dogs might be euthanized due to overcrowding at Georgia animal shelters
- Person accused of accosting Rep. Nancy Mace at Capitol pleads not guilty to assault charge
- Florida's Jamari Lyons ejected after spitting at Florida State's Keiondre Jones
Ranking
- A steeplechase record at the 2024 Paris Olympics. Then a proposal. (He said yes.)
- Honda recalls 300,000 cars and SUVs over missing seat belt component
- Wild goaltender Marc-Andre Fleury in mask issue shows he's better than NHL leadership
- Former UK leader Boris Johnson joins a march against antisemitism in London
- Elon Musk's skyrocketing net worth: He's the first person with over $400 billion
- College football Week 13 winners and losers: Michigan again gets best of Ohio State
- Ohio State coach Ryan Day should consider Texas A&M job after latest loss to Michigan
- Dallas Cowboys Quarterback Dak Prescott and Sarah Jane Ramos Expecting First Baby
Recommendation
Breaking debut in Olympics raises question: Are breakers artists or athletes?
The body of an abducted anti-mining activist is found in western Mexico
Georgia case over railroad’s use of eminent domain could have property law implications
A stampede during a music festival at a southern India university has killed at least 4 students
DoorDash steps up driver ID checks after traffic safety complaints
Beijing court begins hearings for Chinese relatives of people on Malaysia Airlines plane
4 found dead near North Carolina homeless camp; 3 shot before shooter killed self, police say
Flight data recorder recovered from US Navy plane that overshot the runway near Honolulu