Brooklyn's Alleged Insurrectionists: Where Cases Stand 1 Yr Later

BROOKLYN, NY — A year after President Donald Trump supporters stormed the U.S. Capitol, eight Brooklynites charged in the riot are still waiting for their cases to move through the courts, records show.

More than a dozen New Yorkers have been charged for participating in the Jan. 6 riot in the last 12 months as tips from Facebook, Reddit, Instagram and even alleged insurrectionists' own livestreams flooded to investigators, according to officials.

In Brooklyn, residents have been accused of stealing police gear, spraying pepper spray at security officers and hanging out in senators' offices, according to court records.

The riot — which aimed to prevent Congress from certifying Joe Biden's victory — left five people dead either before, during or shortly after the insurrection. One person was shot by Capitol police, another died from a drug overdose and three perished from natural causes.

Four officers who responded to the attack died by suicide within seven months.

As New York leaders set to denounce the insurrection on its one-year anniversary, Patch is checking in on the cases of the eight Brooklynites who face charges. Here's where they stand:

Aaron Mostofsky

One of the first New Yorkers to face charges, just days after the Jan. 6 riot, was a Brooklyn judge's son, whose fur-clad outfit became the focus of a viral meme, according to court documents.

The meme — which shows Aaron Mostofsky standing inside the Capitol with the police vest and shield he is now accused of stealing — became one of the final pieces of evidence that helped federal officials identify the Brooklynite before arresting him on Jan. 12, according to the documents.

The meme is captioned "Imagine coming off 10 hits of acid and u look around and ur in the U.S. Capitol like s***," according to the documents.

Since his arrest, Mostofsky has pleaded not guilty to all eight charges, which theft of government property and disorderly conduct in a Capitol Building, records show.

His trial is set to begin later this month, records show. Mostofsky has been released from custody on a personal recognizance bond, records show.

Dominick Madden

A week later, a New York City sanitation worker from Brooklyn who attended the riot wearing a QAnon sweatshirt was arrested, according to federal officials.

Dominick Madden, 43, was arrested at his home in Sheepshead Bay after investigators caught him on surveillance video walking through the Senate Wing and the Crypt area of the U.S. Capitol building during the Jan. 6 siege, according to court documents and reports.

Madden — who has been suspended from the Department of Sanitation — first appeared on the FBI's radar after a New York Post story revealed videos of him waving a Trump flag and shouting QAnon slogans outside the Capitol, according to the documents.

He has since reached a deal with prosecutors after initially pleading not guilty to all charges, records show. Under the agreement, Madden pleaded guilty to "Parading, Demonstrating, or Picketing in a Capitol Building" and will be sentenced in February, according to the records.

Dovid Schwartzberg

In April, the FBI received photos of a Kensington man who later turned himself in to authorities, according to officials.

Dovid Schwartzberg, at the time 19, told investigators that he was the person in photos showing people leaving the U.S. Capitol on Jan. 6, prosecutors said.

Schwartzberg later pleaded not guilty to all charges, which include entering restricted grounds and violent entry and disorderly conduct on Capitol grounds, records show. He last appeared in court in October and was released from custody on a $20,000 bond, provided he avoids state capital buildings and surrender his passport, records show.

Anton Lunyk

Also free from custody as his case moves through the courts is a 25-year-old Midwood man who was caught on video inside a senator's office, according to court documents.

Anton Lunyk, who was arrested in May, was charged after at least two tipsters told the FBI they spotted him in photos and videos from articles about the riots, including a livestream posted by a since-arrested social media influencer who goes by "Baked Alaska," according to the documents.

As a requirement of his release, Lunyk is barred from going to D.C. except for court and lawyer visits, records show.

Daniel Christmann

A Brooklynite charged more recently is also barred from going to D.C. except for court and lawyer visits, records show.

Daniel Christmann — a Brooklyn plumber and failed political candidate — was arrested in July and has had little movement on his case since August, when information on his charges were filed with the courts, records show.

Christmann is accused of livestreaming himself storming the Capitol, but later asked users on Facebook to remove the videos of himself after people he knows were arrested, court documents show.

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.

Edward Rodriguez

One Brooklyn man is facing "physical violence" charges stemming from the riot after investigators caught him on a Reddit video spraying police officers with Mace, according to court documents and reports.

Edward Rodriguez, who was arrested in July, is accused of spraying the officers as they manned a barricade on the lower-level terrace of the Capitol building, according to documents.

He is charged with engaging in physical violence in a restricted building or grounds, as well as disorderly conduct in a capitol building and assaulting, resisting or impeding certain officers, records show.

Rodriguez was also released from law enforcement custody, records show.

Antonio Ferrigno Jr. and Francis Connor

Another two Brooklyn men connected to Lunyk were charged on the same day in August, records show.

Francis Connor, 23, and Antonio Ferrigno, 26, were arrested in Brooklyn after FBI agents found text messages, social media and security footage linking them to the insurrection, according to federal court documents.

The evidence includes text messages to and from Lunyk, according to the 13-page complaint filed in District of Columbia's federal court. Both Connor and Ferrigno were also spotted inside the office of an unidentified senator, the suit contends.

Both of the men have been released from custody as their case moves through the courts, records show.

None of the defendants could be reached for comment.