Man Arrested After Wife's Facebook Posts Identified Him as a Capitol Rioter

Image via Getty/Kent Nishimura / Los Angeles Times

A Pennsylvania man was arrested this week in connection to the Jan. 6 Capitol riots, after his wife took to Facebook to brag about his involvement.

According to the Washington Post, 68-year-old Gary Edwards was taken into custody Tuesday, less than two months after the FBI received a tip about his alleged role in the deadly insurrection. Federal authorities say the tip included screenshots of Facebook posts shared by Edwards’ wife, Lynn Feiler Edwards, who described her husband’s actions during the siege.

“Okay ladies let me tell you what happened as my husband was there inside the Capitol Rotunda,” one post read, according to legal documents. “There was a small group of young men dressed in military garb who yelled ‘we r going in!’ They broke the barricade down, ran up the steps, broke a window and climbed in. They broke some furniture. Then proceeded to storm the floors … Gary walked around the back of the building and climbed the stairs walking right into the rotunda. He stood there and heard and saw teargas blasts. The police were right next to him as Gary poured water on their eyes. He stayed to chat w the police who were calm. Prior to Gary getting in evidently one woman was shot ...”

According to the court filing, federal agents matched Facebook photos of Edwards to the one on his driver’s license. They also reviewed Jan. 6 video footage taken inside the Capitol building, where Edwards appeared to be seen wearing a Make America Great Again hat.

YET ANOTHER PENNSYLVANIAN charged in US Capitol Insurrection.

Feds say Gary Edwards was inside Capitol on Jan 6 & cite Facebook posts by his wife in charging documents

Beginning with “Okay ladies, let me tell you...” pic.twitter.com/RKgIflQPgY

— Scott MacFarlane (@MacFarlaneNews) May 5, 2021

The Facebook posts have since been deleted.

Edwards is now facing a handful of charges, including entering a restricted building without authority, disruption of official business, violent entry on Capitol grounds, and disorderly conduct. He has been released on $100,000 bond.

The man is among the hundreds of people who have been charged in connection to the Capitol riot. The attack, which resulted in multiple deaths, took place shortly after former president Donald Trump urged his supporters to protest the certification of Joe Biden’s presidential win.

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