Dawsonville Man Invaded Senator's Office During Capitol Riot: FBI

ATLANTA — A Dawsonville man was arrested Tuesday for his alleged part in the U.S. Capitol riot, according to the FBI.

Benjamin Harry Torre, 23, is charged with violent entry, entering or remaining in a restricted building or grounds without permission, and disorderly conduct in connection with the Jan. 6 insurrection at the Capitol, federal authorities said.

In a court affidavit from an interview with federal investigators, Torre admitted that he entered the Capitol that day through a broken window after other rioters had gone inside. He told investigators on more than one occasion that Capitol Police officers he encountered actually helped or were accommodating to rioters who wandered the building, at one point saying that officers didn’t “stop, hinder, or do anything to keep people from inside the Capitol.”

Federal investigators described a pair of videos on social media of Torre in two different rooms in the Capitol building. In one he was seen looking out a window as Capitol Police officers formed a line to hold off oncoming protestors. Another video showed him inside an office used by Democratic Sen. Jeff Merkley, of Oregon.

FBI investigators determined that Torre went to the Capitol after leaving the “Stop The Steal” rally at the Elipse with the “intent to impede or disrupt the orderly conduct of Government business or official functions,” according to the affidavit.