ATLANTA — A Dawsonville man is now the latest arrest in the attack on the U.S Capitol.
The FBI says Benjamin Torre told them he crawled through a broken window to get inside the Capitol during the riots in January. He also told them officers helped him and other protesters get inside.
[READ: FBI Atlanta arrests 18-year-old on charges connected to U.S. Capitol riots]
“Torre stated that he drove to Washington, D.C., with his family, including his parents, on January 4, 2021. According to Torre, he did not go to the rally as part of any group, but because he is a ‘patriot.’ Torre stated that he attended the ‘Stop the Steal’ rally, during which he heard President Trump tell the crowd to ‘peacefully march to the Capitol,’” the criminal complaint against Torre said.
Torre told the FBI when he got to the Capitol Building, he saw people break the window of a door which someone then reached through and opened.
“While this happened, someone — possibly Torre — yelled to stop and not break anything,” the complaint said.
Around that same time, the Capitol police showed up and Torre told the FBI “things got a little heated,” as the Capitol police blocked people from climbing on the scaffolding and getting into the building.
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“Torre admitted that he entered the U.S. Capitol building by climbing through a broken window. He stated that the window had been broken previously. According to Torre, after he climbed through the window and entered the building he noticed a piece of large furniture that had ‘fallen over,’ and officers standing nearby. Torre reported that the officers ‘helped us in Capitol,’ in that they did not shout or try to stop them from coming into the Capitol. Torre further stated that he nodded at the officers, and continued into the building,” the complaint said.
Once he got inside the building and walked around a bit, Torre said he found himself in room with “what appeared to be a conference table in the middle and a white couch.”
That room was later determined to be the Senate Spouse’s lounge.
That’s when he said he watched someone pull out and light a cigarette.
“Torre reported that he thought to himself, ‘If we were really as violent as people think we are we could take that and light the sofa.’”
Torre said after that, he saw a line of officers and told them, “We are here in support of you and we back the blue.”
“Torre reiterated that the officers did not ‘stop, hinder, or do anything to keep people from inside the Capitol.’”
The complaint says Torre was also caught on video in a smaller room that was identified as belonging to Sen. Jeff Merkley (D-OR).
According to the complaint, Torre said he left the Capitol Building through the same broken window he entered from.
People who knew Torre identified him through video and images from Jan. 6 posted by the FBI.
Cox Media Group
