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Putnam County resident Robert Chapman was arrested after allegedly bragging about his involvement in the Jan. 6 insurrection in Washington, DC, admitting that he was there and made it to Statuary Hall to a would-be match on the popular dating app.
“I did storm the capitol (sic) … I made it all the way into Statuary Hall! … Did an interview with Robert O’Morrow of the Washington Post … Also did online interview with jess Brevins of the WSJ,” Chapman allegedly said.
The other Bumble user was unimpressed, stating simply “We are not a match” before turning Chapman in to federal authorities. Chapman was arrested last week in his hometown of Carmel.
According to the FBI, Chapman was caught on a body camera being worn by Capitol Police during the riot, and cellphone photos of him were shared by tipsters.
The FBI was also alerted to a Facebook post published a day after the attacks in which a user shared an image of someone believed to be Chapman inside the Capitol wearing the same jacket and multi-colored bandana he was sporting in previously shared police footage.
According to the complaint, Facebook user Lisa Jeanne Vunk stated: “My Dear friend and BroStar Robert made it in the Capitol building at the protest yesterday… Woo Hooooooooo!!!!”
In those comments of the Facebook post, someone using the name “Robert Erick,” who is believed to be Chapman, responded to some who were critical of his participation in the riot.
“Lisa Jeanne Vunk these are your peers? Colleagues? They are a bunch of little b - - - h trolls. Keyboard warriors who don’t do a (expletive deleted) thing.”
That same account also posted on the day of the riot stating “I’M (expletive deleted) INSIDE THE CRAPITOL!!!” and included several photos of him inside the Capitol.
Chapman, age 50, is facing two counts each of knowingly entering or remaining in a restricted building without lawful authority, and violent entry and disorderly conduct on Capitol grounds.
Following his initial court appearance, Chapman was released and is currently restricted from traveling to Washington, DC, with exceptions for legal proceedings, and a pretrial hearing is scheduled for Thursday, May 19.
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