Man Pictured Carrying Confederate Battle Flag In Capitol Riot Is Arrested With Son
A Delaware father and son were arrested Thursday on federal charges in connection to the violent riot in the U.S. Capitol last week. But one particular photo of one of them during the chaos has come to be one of the primary images of the deadly siege.
Kevin and Hunter Seefried were taken into custody in Delaware by federal authorities, and both were charged with violently illegally entering and attacking government property. A U.S. Attorney says the two men entered the Capitol through a broken window, and Keven Seefried was photographed carrying a Confederate battle flag through the building.
Video footage posted on Twitter shows Hunter Seefried punching through a window after others near him bashed it with a 2x4. He allegedly later bragged about it, according to a U.S. Department of Justice criminal complaint. A coworker heard his boasting and reported it to authorities.
Both men admitted to the FBI that they had participated in the riot during interviews. Kevin Seefried said that he had brought the Confederate battle flag from his Delaware home. He told officials that he had traveled to Washington D.C. to hear President Trump speak and that he and his son were in the march from the White House to the Capitol, and were led by an unidentified person using a bullhorn.
More than 70 people have been charged with crimes connected to the riot, a federal attorney says, and that is expected to increase significantly. .
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Among the major arrestees are Richard “Bigo” Barnett, who was photographed sitting at House Speaker Nancy Pelosi’s desk and later boasted about stealing an envelope from her office; Larry Brock, who was photographed walking through the Senate chamber holding plastic zip-tie flex cuffs, indicating the possibility of an intention to take hostages; Jacob Chansley (aka Jake Angeli), who was in multiple pictures and videos wearing a furry horned costume and face paint; Jenny Cudd, who livestreamed herself in the siege and admitted bursting into Pelosi’s office and stealing her gavel; and Derrick Evans, who before the violence was a West Virginia state legislator, but resigned after his participation in the fracas became public.
“I feel it's best at this point to resign my seat in the House and focus on my personal situation and those I love," Evans said in a press release posted on the West Virginia legislature's website. "I take full responsibility for my actions and deeply regret any hurt, pain, or embarrassment I may have caused my family, friends, constituents, and fellow West Virginians.
Five people died due to the violence, including a Capitol Hill police officer, who died of injuries after being beaten by rioters. It prompted Democrats and Republicans in the House to impeach Trump, making him the only president to be impeached twice. A Senate trial will not occur before Jan. 19, the day before Trump is set to leave office.