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Hector Vargas unlawfully and abusively entered the Capitol with other rioters on Jan. 6 and posted videos from inside, including a selfie, an FBI complaint on file in the District of Columbia charges.
“We took over this motherf***er, bro,” Vargas says into the camera in one of the FBI-obtained videos. “We took over this f***ing capitol, tell them.”
Evidence detailed in the federal complaint also includes Vargas tagging himself on Facebook at the Capitol and posting photos, including from beneath the rotunda and of rioters scaling an exterior wall.
One post says: “Guys we’re INSIDE the chamber. #Trump 2020.”
Another says: “WE THE PEOPLE TOOK OVER THE U.S. CAPITOL. #HOLDTHELINE.”
Vargas identifies himself as a U.S. Marine Corps veteran, but that couldn’t be corroborated.
A resident who knows Vargas from a Jersey City neighborhood watch group tipped off the feds, Task Force Officer John M. Mocello of the Washington, D.C. Field Office wrote in the complaint, adding that another citizen also assisted in identifying him.
FBI COMPLAINT: Hector Vargas
Microsoft Word - Vargas - Statement of Facts- FINAL.docx (gwu.edu)
Vargas made a name for himself last year, first for reportedly delivering meals to the homeless as the COVID-19 pandemic spread.
Then came accusations by a city activist that he’d been stealing donations, the FBI complaint filed by Officer Mocello says.
An alleged domestic violence incident followed that. The case apparently is still pending.
In addition to other evidence, Mocello reported that Vargas tried launching a GoFundMe campaign to help “get down there to fight for our democracy.” That page was soon taken down, the complaint says.
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