BK Plumber, Failed Candidate Indicted In Capitol Insurrection

BROOKLYN, NY — A Brooklyn plumber and failed political candidate livestreamed himself storming the U.S. Capitol with other insurrectionists on Jan. 6, authorities said.

The incriminating posts led to federal charges against Daniel Christmann, 38, who was arrested, according to a release.

Christmann, who could not be reached for comment, is expected to make his first court appearance Wednesday.

The case against Christmann is outlined in an FBI agent's report. It details direct message conversations on the now-nonexistent Instagram account "dannyforsenate" — which Facebook confirmed to investigators is registered to Christmann — that Christmann said he participated in the insurrection.

"So you stormed the capitol, huh?" an Instagram user asked him on Jan. 7, according to the report.

"Yeah im not going to lie," dannyforsenate responded, the report states. "I wasn't one of the first people in. When realized it was happening I was scaling walls and sh*t."

Christmann is employed as a plumber and ran for the New York State Senate District 18 seat last fall, earning just over 2 percent of the vote. He also registered to run for the City Council District 34 seat in June, but is listed as a "non-participant" on the New York City Campaign Finance Board.

A Facebook page called "Danny For City Council" identifies Christmann as a "plumber from Brooklyn now an activist taking on these full of cr*p politicians."

At some point, if authorities are correct, Christmann's political path took him to the U.S. Capitol on Jan. 6, when a pro-Trump mob assaulted police officers, smashed windows and sent lawmakers into hiding as they swarmed the building and tried to stop the certification of now-President Joe Biden's legitimate election.

That day, a social media user asked Christmann if he went inside, to which he responded, "How could I not?"

On Jan. 18, Christmann sent a message on his Facebook account, "Daniel.Christmann.14," asking the recipient to "delete" and "remove those videos" after people he knows were arrested, court documents show.

Additionally, tipsters sent screenshots to authorities of an Instagram livestream from "dannyforsenate" that depicted what appeared to be several locations inside the U.S. Capitol building, including the main corridor on the first floor, an interior room and a window overlooking an exterior plaza/terrace on the Capitol grounds.

A U.S. Capitol Police agent with knowledge of the Capitol grounds was shown the screenshots and believed they were taken from inside the Capitol building, according to court documents, and authorities located Christmann both outside and inside the U.S. Capitol building in video footage of the insurrection.

Christmann faces charges of knowingly entering or remaining in any restricted buildings or grounds without lawful authority, impeding government business or official functions, and engaging in disorderly or disruptive conduct with the intent to impede, disrupt or disturb a session of Congress.