UPDATED: Bellmore man charged for alleged participation in Capitol riot

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A Bellmore man has been charged for his alleged participation in the deadly riot at the U.S. Capitol on Jan. 6. According to officials from the U.S. Attorney’s Office, Justin McAuliffe, 39, was arrested Thursday morning by the Joint Terrorism Taskforce at a residence in Bellmore following an investigation into criminal activity on Capitol grounds.

A report by special FBI agent Gary Battista determined that McAuliffe was among the individuals who stormed the Capitol the day federal lawmakers met to certify the results of the 2020 presidential election. McAuliffe is an accountant and the founder of a Mineola-based accounting firm. 

The FBI received tips from multiple individuals alleging that McAuliffe was at the Capitol on the day of the riot. One witness emailed screenshots to the FBI of what appears to be a post from McAuliffe’s Facebook page. The post included a selfie of McAuliffe outside the building in a red and blue Trump beanie.

Around Jan. 14, Battista found an article published on slate.com containing a picture of McAuliffe and another individual that was allegedly taken inside the office of an unknown congressmember. McAuliffe is wearing the same beanie in that photo.

A second witness also provided the FBI with snapshots from McAuliffe’s Facebook. The first photo appears to be a screenshot of McAuliffe’s smartphone settings, which showed he had access to Wi-Fi at the U.S. Senate. The public network name listed was “SENATE_OFFICIAL.” The second photo is a screenshot of a conversation McAuliffe had with another individual on Facebook.

In one message, McAuliffe wrote, “Yeah I was in one of the offices. Some people were smoking a joint in the room, lol. Cops came in and [were] like, ‘Okay guys really?’ They didn’t even ask us to leave right away. They let us sit down and hang out and relax.”

Battista reported that McAuliffe deleted his Facebook account following the riot. His Twitter account, @CPAjmac, however, is still active. The Herald called McAuliffe’s firm to request a comment, which has yet to be returned.

McAuliffe’s attorney, Randi Chavis, of the Long Island Federal Defenders office, declined to comment. 

McAuliffe was arraigned by United States Magistrate Judge A. Kathleen Tomlinson in Central Islip federal court Thursday afternoon. He is charged with illegally entering a restricted building with the intent to impede or disrupt the orderly conduct of government business or official functions.