BK Anti-Vaxxer Charged In Jan. 6 Insurrection

BROOKLYN, NY — A Brooklyn man assaulted a Washington, D.C., cop while he led a breach into the U.S. Capitol during the Jan. 6 insurrection at the U.S. Capitol, federal officials said.

Mitchell Bosch, 44, who ran an unsuccessful campaign in District 37 last year, was arrested Wednesday on a slew of criminal charges connected to the riots, spurred in support of former President Donald Trump's false election claims.

Video from body-worn cameras showed Bosch participating in a violent melee against cops, prosecutors said.

“Hold the line!” Bosch shouted as he charged into police officers, according to the open-source video and prosecutors.

In the months following the incident, Bosch was also detained several times during anti-vaccination demonstrations at the Museum of Natural History and neighboring eateries.

Prosecutors leveled charges in a criminal complaint for several felonies, including obstruction of an official proceeding and civil disorder.

In addition to the felonies, he was charged with misdemeanor offenses, including knowingly entering or remaining in any restricted building or grounds, disorderly and disruptive conduct in a restricted building or grounds, engaging in any act of physical violence against any person or property in any restricted building or grounds, and engaging in an act of physical violence in the Capitol building or grounds, according to prosecutors.

Bosch was identified by a mix of open-source video footage and police body-worn camera footage as being among a collection of rioters gathered inside the Capitol grounds' restricted boundary, officials said.

As police tried to disperse rioters from the Northwest Courtyard and Capitol grounds, Bosch was observed actively resisting law enforcement efforts, prosecutors said. He pushed against officers, assisted other rioters in doing so, and encouraged further resistance among the crowd, according to authorities.

Roughly one minute into the officers’ advance, open-source video shows Bosch joining rioters as they moved forward to confront the police line, chanting “U.S.A. U.S.A.” As Bosch approached the police line, he raised his hands toward an officer's riot shield and pushed into it with his body, mimicking the actions of other rioters nearby.

Bosch remained at the forefront of the crowd as they collectively exerted pressure, successfully pushing back that section of the police line several feet.

At about 4:26 p.m., officers re-established their defensive line and resumed efforts to push the mob out of the Northwest Courtyard.

Prosecutors said Bosch was captured on body-worn camera footage as he moved up in the crowd and braced himself behind another rioter before quickly advancing again to the front of the crowd as another confrontation between officers and the mob ensued.

At the same time, video footage from several sources shows police using chemical sprays and other crowd control equipment on the mob, while the mob used their own sprays and tossed various objects at cops, documents state.

Federal authorities reported that records obtained through a search warrant showed that two devices linked to "Mitchell Bosch" and "Men Instant Advice" were on the Capitol grounds during the insurrection.

The FBI also reviewed images reportedly posted by an individual believed to be Bosch via the Instagram account “men_instant_advice.” One post, dated Jan. 19, 2021, showed an image of a hamburger and restaurant menu with the caption, “Enjoying my last meal before the FBI comes for me.”

Records provided by Meta for the Instagram account “men_instant_advice,” showed it was registered to Bosch, authorities said.

On Aug. 27, 2021, the FBI conducted an interview with Bosch, during which he was asked if he attended the rally in D.C. on Jan. 6, 2021. Bosch stated “yes” and said that he drove down to D.C. by himself, authorities said.

While being interviewed, Bosch became agitated when investigators asked about his travel to D.C. and said that “law enforcement’s efforts should be on what’s going on in Afghanistan, and not what happened in D.C,” documents state.

Bosch didn't seem pleased he was being questioned, at least according to the documents. He said there were not enough “men like him around” who would “challenge leadership," authorities said.

The violent siege on the Capitol was an attempt to stop the certification of electoral votes, declaring Joe Biden the winner of the 2020 presidential election.

It resulted in the deaths of five people during or soon after the attack, including two Capitol police officers and one rioter. Around 140 police officers from the U.S. Capitol Police and Metropolitan Police Department were assaulted in the attack, according to the Justice Department.

In the 37 months since Jan. 6, 2021, more than 1,313 individuals have been charged in nearly all 50 states for crimes related to the breach of the U.S. Capitol, including more than 469 individuals charged with assaulting or impeding law enforcement, a felony.

The investigation remains ongoing, authorities said.