A tip from a high school classmate led the FBI to arrest a Lakeville man who has been charged with invading the U.S. Capitol during the violent and destructive Jan. 6 insurrection in 2021.
High school classmate's tip leads to Lakeville man, 43, being charged with role in Jan. 6 riot
He took a selfie while he was in the Capitol after breaching police barricades, according to charges.
December 19, 2023 at 11:34PM
Martin James Cudo, 43, was charged with illegal entry of the Capitol with the intent to impede or disrupt the U.S. House of Representatives as it was about to formally accept the election of Joe Biden as president over incumbent Donald Trump.
Cudo was arrested Monday in Lakeville. In a brief telephone interview late Tuesday afternoon, Cudo said he is now out of custody, has an attorney but otherwise has no comment about the allegations against him. Court records do not yet show when he is due to appear in U.S. District Court for the District of Columbia.
The case against Cudo comes as the U.S. Supreme Court said last week it will hear an appeal that could upend hundreds of charges stemming from the Capitol riot, including those against Trump.
The justices will review a charge of impeding or disrupting an official proceeding that has been brought against more than 300 people, including Cudo. That allegation is among four counts brought against Trump in special counsel Jack Smith's case that accuses the 2024 Republican presidential front-runner of conspiring to overturn the results of his election defeat. Trump is also charged with conspiracy to obstruct an official proceeding.
The criminal complaint against Cudo said the classmate's tip included a selfie that Cudo posted shortly after the insurrection showing him in the Capitol.
Questioned in the Twin Cities by the FBI one week after the riot, Cudo was shown the photo and "confirmed that he was the individual" depicted, the complaint continued.
He also told FBI agents that he traveled by commercial air on Jan. 4, 2021, with his mother and stepfather to Washington, where they attended the "Stop the Steal" protest, which featured Trump and other speakers who touted the false claim that the 45th president had been cheated out of a second term.
The complaint, filed under seal last week in U.S. District Court in the District of Columbia, doesn't explain why the charges were not filed until nearly three years after the FBI questioned him.
The charging document is laden with photographs that prosecutors say capture Cudo walking toward the Capitol grounds from the Ellipse near the White House, where Trump encouraged tens of thousands of protesters to march to the Capitol and call out House Republicans who he said were poised to join Democrats in certifying the election for Biden.
After parting with his mother and stepfather at the Ellipse, Cudo and many others breached police barricades before entering the Capitol, the complaint continued.
Along with interior video surveillance images of Cudo's movements, the complaint includes what the prosecution says is the selfie he took while wearing a COVID mask designed as the American flag and a red, white and blue "Trump 45" cap.
Cudo eventually gave in to police demands and left the Capitol with other rioters shortly before 3 p.m., but he remained on the grounds until about 5 p.m., the complaint read.
He later told the FBI that he realized once he got back to his hotel room that he might be in trouble for his participation in the riot, the complaint continued.
Last month, Victoria C. White, 41, of Rochester, who pleaded guilty to one felony count of interfering with law enforcement on Jan. 6, was sentenced to 10 days in prison. White's sentence also included three months of home confinement and two years of supervised release.
In the nearly three years since Jan. 6, 2021, more than 1,230 people have been charged in nearly every state with crimes related to the breach of the U.S. Capitol, including more than 440 who have been charged with felonies for assaulting or impeding law enforcement.
Some among those in the crowd who broke into the building spawned the destructive mayhem that sent members of Congress, staff members and others running for their lives but failed to stop the House from signing off on Biden's victory in the Electoral College.
Federal law enforcement continues to accept tips about others who may have had a role in the insurrection. Information can be submitted at 800-CALL-FBI (800-225-5324) or online at tips.fbi.gov.
The Associated Press contributed to this report.
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