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Roberto Minuta, 36, of Hackettstown, was seen with former President Donald Trump’s longtime advisor Roger Stone before the deadly riots at the U.S. Capitol.
Minuta, who reportedly served as Stone's bodyguard, was wearing a baseball hat and military-style vest with the Oath Keeper logo prior to the violent insurrection on Jan. 6, prosecutors said.
After his greeting with Stone, Minuta can be seen among the crowd that approached the Capitol and interacting with Capitol Police officers while wearing goggles.
Minuta, who owns a tattoo parlor in Newburgh, NY, was charged with obstruction of Congress and unlawful entry.
Minuta was carrying a firearm and pepper or bear spray on Jan. 6, according to prosecutors. Minuta also was armed when he was arrested at his New York tattoo parlor after his arrest on Saturday, March 6, they said.
“Minuta and others affiliated with the Oath Keepers breached the U.S. Capitol grounds, where Minuta aggressively berated and taunted U.S. Capitol police officers responsible for protecting the Capitol and the representatives inside of the Capitol,” prosecutors said.
Video footage of the riot shows Minuta harassing officers along with other rioters before exiting a damaged Capitol door.
“Specifically, Minuta yells at an officer, among other things, ‘All that’s left is the Second Amendment!’ while holding up two fingers, apparently referencing the right to keep and bear firearms,” the complaint states.
Prosecutors said that Minute was a flight risk, and asked that he be held until his trial. Minuta also was cited last spring for opening his tattoo parlor in defiance of the state’s COVID-19 guidance, which prosecutors said is evidence “this man does not respect the law.”
U.S. Attorney Ben Gianforti noted that Minuta “had provided freelance security for various high profile individuals."
- Related story - Area Native Roger Stone Found Guilty Of Witness Tampering, Lying To Congress
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Minuta’s court-appointed lawyer, Benjamin Gold, described Minuta as a husband, father and exemplary member of the community who held charity fundraisers and served as an active member of his New Jersey church before a recent move to Texas. A pastor from the church wrote a letter advocating for his release, as did a state court judge related to Minuta.
“If he was evading arrest like the government did suggest, he would not have gone to work,” Gold said.
U.S. Magistrate Judge Andrew Krause granted Minuta’s bid for release, requiring him to surrender all 10 of his registered weapons. He will be allowed to fly to New York for business.
Krause said that Minuta “was not engaged in any acts of violence on Jan. 6. I think it is an overstatement of the situation to say that because Mr. Minuta was wearing particular gear he is predisposed to particular acts of violence.”
Stone, a Fairfield County, Connecticut, native who attended high school in Northern Westchester County (John Jay in Lewisboro), made a statement to ABC News alleging that he does not know Minuta, nor was he “familiar with his name prior to his being identified in earlier media stories where it was alleged that he was involved in illegal events up at the Capitol."
“If he was indeed among those who volunteered to provide security while I visited Washington DC I was unaware of it.”
ALSO SEE: Capitol Riot Suspect From Camden County Arrested
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