A second person has been arrested in Delaware this week on federal charges associated with the insurrectionist riots at the U.S. Capitol last year.
Court records state that Jeffrey Schaefer was arrested Thursday on four charges related to trespassing in the U.S. Capitol on Jan. 6. Court documents also state that Schaefer is associated with an address outside of Milton. He is the fifth person with ties to Delaware charged in connection with riots at the U.S. Capitol.
An affidavit signed by a Baltimore-based FBI agent states that anonymous tipsters first pointed to Schaefer as one of those who flooded into the U.S. Capitol that day.
Editor’s Note: Read the agent’s affidavit at the end of this story.
One tipster provided Facebook posts of photographs depicting the inside of the U.S. Capitol during the riots that were posted by an account investigators tied to Schaefer, according to court documents.
Investigators also executed a search warrant on the Facebook account and found photos of Schaefer wearing a green, Realtree-branded hat. The agent wrote that the hat matches the one worn by a man they believe to be Schaefer and depicted on surveillance footage inside the U.S. Capitol.
The agent wrote that Schaefer entered the building through a smashed window and remained inside for 28 minutes.
Investigators also subpoenaed location data for a phone number associated with Schaefer, which the agent said evidenced his proximity to the building during the time he is accused of trespassing.
No attorney was listed for Schaefer in court records as of Friday. His charges carry potential prison time.
He is the second Delawarean this week to be charged with trespassing in the U.S. Capitol. Federal authorities arrested Nicholas Lattanzi, of Milford, on Tuesday on the same charges.
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They join three other Delawareans waiting for the resolution of their charges associated with the Jan. 6 insurrection.
Five people died in or shortly after the attack on the U.S. Capitol, including a police officer. Two other officers killed themselves afterward and dozens of police officers were injured that day. Hundreds of people have been charged with federal offenses.
Anthony Antonio, a Delaware native who now works out of state, has pleaded not guilty to multiple crimes associated with the insurrection.
An affidavit signed by an FBI agent seeking charges against Antonio states that the Delaware native climbed scaffolding outside the Capitol, briefly entered the building through a broken window, poured water toward an officer being dragged down steps by rioters, got hold of a riot shield and gas mask, and made threatening statements toward officers.
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In public statements following his arrest, Antonio said he went to Washington motivated by false news coverage on networks like Fox News and Newsmax peddling Republican lies that the election had been stolen. He said when violence began to grow around him on the steps of the Capitol, he sought to tamp it down, causing the crowd to turn on him.
Hunter and Kevin Seefried, a father and son from Laurel, are also charged with crimes associated with trespassing on U.S. Capitol grounds. Kevin Seefried, the father, was famously photographed parading a Confederate flag in the building, prosecutors stated in court documents. Both have pleaded not guilty to federal charges.
Contact Xerxes Wilson at (302) 324-2787 or xwilson@delawareon
