A conservative social media influencer is facing federal charges for allegedly breaching the US Capitol on Jan. 6, 2021 and helping pass a stolen table out a broken window, according to court records made public Monday.
Isabella Maria DeLuca, who boasts more than 333,000 followers on X, was arrested last Friday in California, more than three years after the chaos at the Capitol.
The 24-year-old Long Island native and former congressional intern was one of several rioters that allegedly passed a table from a US Senate terrace room to others outside the building that was then used against law enforcement, according to the feds.
Isabella Maria Deluca was arrested Friday. Isabella Maria Deluca/X
“This table was subsequently used to assault law enforcement officers guarding the Lower West Terrace Tunnel,” an affidavit written by an FBI agent states.
Footage shows DeLuca entering the suite of conference rooms inside the Capitol through the same broken window before she climbed back where the table passed through, the FBI alleged.
Other images show DeLuca in restricted areas around the Capitol on Jan. 6, the FBI agent wrote in the affidavit.
She was charged with theft of government property, disorderly conduct and entering a restricted area, all misdemeanors.
One of the posts from DeLuca.
DeLuca posted on social media about the violent scene the day of the Capitol riot and in the days afterward, including how she was maced, according to the court docs.
Around 3 p.m. on Jan. 6, DeLuca replied to a Twitter post stating, “Fight back or let politicians steal and election? Fight back!”
When an Instagram user messaged her on Jan. 7, 2021 why she supported breaking into the capitol, DeLuca allegedly replied, “According to the constitution it’s our house.”
She is accused of breaching the US Capitol. Department of Justice
She said in a later post she had “mixed feeling” about Jan. 6.
“People went to the Capitol building because that’s Our House and that’s where we go to take our grievances,” she wrote on Jan. 14, 2021, per the court docs. “People feel, as do I, that an election was stolen from them and it was allowed.”
When she was interviewed by the feds weeks after the riot, she denied entering the Capitol, according to the affidavit.
DeLuca wasn’t silent on social media Monday as her legal troubles became public.
The social media influencer has more than 330,000 followers on X. AP
“Thank you everyone for all the kind messages and the support,” she tweeted with a heart emoji. “I appreciate it all.”
She also shared a legal defense fund that raised close to $1,800 as of Monday night.
DeLuca, of Setauket, interned for ex-Rep. Lee Zeldin, who represented part of Long Island, and Rep. Paul Gosar, who reps part of Arizona. She also worked as a media associate for The Gold Institute for International Strategy until the organization cut ties with her Monday.
She is one of 1,300 people charged in connection to the attack on the Capitol.
With Post wires
Source link: https://nypost.com/2024/03/18/us-news/social-media-influencer-isabella-deluca-charged-in-jan-6-capitol-riot/