Hackettstown Man Charged In Capitol Insurrection

HACKETTSTOWN, NJ — He began Jan. 6 serving as a bodyguard to former President Donald Trump's political adviser Roger Stone, but in the afternoon he stormed the Capitol Building in tactical gear armed with a firearm and bear spray, authorities said. And on Saturday Hackettstown resident Roberto Minuta, 36, was arrested and charged.

Minuta, who owns a tattoo parlor in Newburgh, NY, was charged with criminal involvement in the riot, according to a report submitted by FBI Agent Marc Esposito. He was also accused of obstructing the counting of presidential election votes, trespassing and trying to cover up his crimes.

Over the objections of federal prosecutors, one of whom said he thought Minuta would again participate in an armed rebellion even if released on bail, Minuta was ordered released on a $125,000 bond, The Washington Post said.

On Jan. 6, prosecutors said he was carrying a firearm and bear or pepper spray and was armed at the time of his arrest at his Newburgh tattoo parlor Saturday, the report said.

Federal officials said Minuta is a lifetime member of the Oath Keepers, a far-right militia organization, and was wearing tactical gear on the day of the Capitol Hill riot and attempted takeover of the building, according to Esposito's affidavit.

Prosecutors said Minuta canceled his iPhone account March 1 and got rid of the phone sometime between visits to a home in Texas and his tattoo parlor, authorities said.

Defiant History

In May, Minuta reopened the doors to his business in defiance of Gov. Andrew Cuomo's stay-at-home executive order in the midst of the coronavirus pandemic.

His shop, called Casa Di Dolore, was not considered an essential business under "New York State on PAUSE" regulations.

In a Facebook video that is no longer accessible to the public, Minuta called on his longtime customers, including many in state and local law enforcement, to support him in his protest.

He urged them to not enforce "these supposed laws. They are not laws."

Minuta told the Times of Hudson Valley that he did the reopening in compliance with local law enforcement. He said he made sure the reopening didn’t violate any local laws.

“We are not breaking one single law by being here,” said Minuta. “We are defying executive orders. “I will not stand for any executive orders though. I am in complete defiance of those executive orders. I am standing here as an American citizen to defend those rights, and I will do it until the death.”

That rally was attended by Stewart Rhodes, founder of the Oath Keepers, who came from Texas to speak on his Minuta's behalf. Federal authorities allege Rhodes directed other Oath Keepers at the Capitol on Jan. 6.

Rhodes has not been charged in the attack.

Minuta is not the only north Jersey man charged in the riot. Sussex County resident Scott Fairlamb, 43, has been in jail in Hudson County awaiting trial for his alleged participation in the Trump Insurrection, after prosecutors successfully lobbied to keep him from being released after his arrest.

Federal investigators reviewed now-deleted social media videos and compared them with body footage from officers on duty at the Capitol on Jan. 6. A video submitted to the FBI captured a white man in a brown camouflage jacket that they identified as Fairlamb shove and punch an officer from behind on the West Front of the Capitol, documents show.

This post contains reporting by Michael Woyton

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