A New York DJ was arrested Tuesday after the FBI said he was seen on a Snapchat video smoking marijuana in the rotunda of the U.S. Capitol by supporters of then-President Donald Trump during the Jan. 6 riot.
“Holy s —! This is history! We took the Capitol!” A man believed to be a DJ said Greg Rubenacker in a Snapchat video that Rubenacker’s account posted during the invasion, according to a federal prosecutor’s complaint.
“Smoke out the Capitol, baby,” says Rubenacker, standing in front of a camera in a subsequent video while he “smokes what looks like a marijuana cigarette (or” joint “),” while he and other people The Rotunda Mill occupied an FBI agent wrote in the complaint.
“Hell yes”, says Rubenacker, before he exhales smoke into the rotunda after one of his colleagues said: “How many joints do we have?” the complaint says.
The file states that a witness submitted a recording of Snapchat history that Rubenacker posted from his account.
The complaint contains stills of Rubenacker smoking a joint and smoking a blue steamer.
“In an interview with the FBI, the witness stated that he had seen the Snapchat story and knew that the person portrayed in the videos was Greg Rubenacker from New York,” the file said.
“The witness stated [they] had known Rubenacker for several years and had gone to school with Rubenacker. “
Rubenacker, who lives in Farmingdale, Long Island, appeared on videoconference Tuesday afternoon at the U.S. District Court in Central Islip, New York, on charges of misdemeanor-related misconduct in the Capitol building and demonstrations in a Capitol building.
Rubenacker was warned several times by his own defense attorney to stop speaking during a break in the hearing when both could still be heard on a phone line open to reporters.
“It’s really frustrating,” Rubenacker once said. “Tired of government corruption.”
His lawyer Michaelangelo Matera reprimanded him, saying, “This is not the time to talk about the case.”
“Trying to protect the country,” Rubenacker continued.
He later asked Judge Steven Locke, “Can I take my mask off?” Locke noticed that there were other people in a room with him and declined the request.
When Locke went through a series of conditions that Rubernacker had to adhere to when he was released on an unsecured loan of $ 50,000, the defendant said, “Is there any way I can get a list of these?”
“My memory is not that good. You say a lot,” added Rubenacker.
Locke assured him that he would receive the release conditions in writing.
The case against Rubenacker was filed in federal court in Washington, as have other criminal cases against dozen of other people charged with the riot that resulted in five deaths, including a Capitol police officer.
Future proceedings in this case will take place in Washington.
A woman who answered the phone at Rubenacker’s apartment hung up on a CNBC reporter when asked to comment.
Rubenacker’s charge came during the opening arguments of Trump’s second impeachment trial in the Senate.
Trump was charged by the House of Representatives last month for instigating the uprising of his supporters.
Just before the violence outside and inside the Capitol complex began, Trump called a large crowd to rally outside the White House to help him get Congress to effectively overthrow the election of Joe Biden as president.
The uprising disrupted an ongoing joint congressional session that officially confirmed Biden’s victory.
Trump refused for months to admit that he lost the election to Biden, making unsubstantiated claims that he won the election himself and that this widespread electoral fraud got him out of that victory.
