A man from Maine was arrested Thursday in connection with the deadly Capitol Hill riot on Jan. 6.
The FBI says Kyle Fitzsimons, 37, of Lebanon, was taken into custody in Maine on charges of knowingly entering a restricted building without lawful authority, violent entry and disorderly conduct and assault on a federal officer, stemming from a moment when he charged a police line in an entrance to the Capitol Building.
An FBI affidavit describes him as being dressed in a butcher’s coat and carrying an unstrung bow as he was hit by police batons. A photo included in the court documents shows his bloodied face.
According to the FBI, before the riot Fitzsimons posted on Facebook that the November election had been “stolen.” The day after the riot, Fitzsimons called into a meeting of the Lebanon Board of Selectmen to give his account of the uprising.
In a YouTube recording of the meeting, Fitzsimons calls former President Donald Trump a “lion leading lambs.” He says the Jan. 6 event mostly had a fraternitylike and peaceful feel, but then turned ugly with tear gas and pepper spray in the air. And he says the violence should not be blamed on Trump’s followers.
“I do not believe what I saw was the Make America Great movement, I do believe I saw agent provocateurs, and a bunch of people who were really just trying to avoid pain,” Fitzsimons says.
He later refers to himself as a “pawn” in a “great game being played.” The FBI says he was arrested without incident.