The FBI has detained the first person to enter the tunnel on the Lower West Terrace, the scene of some of the most savage events during the U.S. Capitol siege, more than two and a half years after the attack on Jan. 6.
North Carolina resident Brett Rena Rotella was detained on Tuesday and will appear in court for the first time there on Wednesday. Rotella was famous for wearing shorts despite the weather being in the 40s when he was first discovered by internet “Sedition Hunters” in early 2021. Rotella went by the alias #SleevelessRedTattoos. Along with minor charges, he is accused of obstructing law enforcement during a civil disturbance and of attacking, restraining, or impeding specific officers.
The video demonstrates that Rotella broke through the tunnel that day as the first rioter. After being overpowered by the crowd on the inaugural stage, police personnel withdrew inside the Capitol, but at least one officer shot pepper balls at Rotella to stop him from advancing. Rotella, carrying a flagpole and donning a red Trump beanie, turns around and walks straight toward the police. Twenty seconds later, hundreds of people pour into the tunnel, starting a brawl that lasts for several hours.
According to an FBI affidavit, Rotella assisted in directing the crowd that was pursuing police toward the structure and engaged in a “heave ho” maneuver with other rioters. In response to tips concerning his identification, federal law officials visited Rotella’s residence in July, according to the affidavit. They took pictures of Rotella inside an Aldi supermarket, looked at his tattoos, and determined his identity.
Online detectives have located hundreds of extra rioters who have not yet been apprehended, and the FBI has made around 1,100 arrests in relation to the Capitol attack. Most crimes committed at the Capitol are subject to a five-year statute of limitations, which ends in the early months of 2026.
The St. Louis Cardinals mascot known as Rally Runner was taken into custody by the FBI earlier this month. Runner was described as “clearly a law enforcement officer” and an “agent provocateur” on Tucker Carlson’s previous Fox News program. The speaker claimed that Runner was acting to discredit Trump supporters.