Fringe NY candidate who stormed the Capitol gets busted by his own campaign’s Instagram account

The Instagram account "Dannyforsenate" didn't do anything to get Daniel Christmann elected in 2020. But it was helpful to the FBI in identifying him as an alleged Capitol rioter.

Christmann, of Brooklyn, was arrested Wednesday on charges that include unlawful entry and disorderly conduct, according to an FBI criminal complaint. Christmann was a 2020 state senate candidate of sorts in 2020, garnering 2.3% of the vote against incumbent Sen. Julia Salazar.

His campaign Instagram account apparently did have followers, however, as two of them contacted the FBI about posts he made to it on January 6, the complaint stated.

"Two tipsters provided information about posts purportedly made by DANIEL CHRISTMANN to Instagram account 'Dannyforsenate,' including screenshots from videos depicting images inside the U.S. Capitol on January 6. (They were) depicting what appears to be an interior room of the U.S. Capitol, as well as the view from an interior window of the U.S. Capitol overlooking an exterior plaza/terrace on the U.S. Capitol grounds (numerous law enforcement personnel and protesters are also visible in the background)."

The complaint included captured screen shots. One said, "So you stormed the capitol, huh?" Christmann said, "Yeah I'm not going to lie. I wasn't one of the first people in. When realized it was happening, I was scaling walls and shit."

In another conversation, Christmann is asked, "You went inside?" He responded, "How could I not?"

And in still another, Christmann is congratulated by a poster saying, "Niceee dude u actually went in! He answers, "Yup. Scaled a wall on a garden hose."

By January 18, Christmann was sending private message to recipients on his Facebook account "directing recipients 'to delete and removed this videos' after two individuals he knew were recently arrested," according to the FBI complaint.

"Delete these videos. It's actually the only place I sent them, so delete them," Christmann wrote. "My friend Jake got taken in and my campaign manager for the summer got taken in. So it's go time on the end of times."

Christmann attempted to run against the progressive Salazar on the ticket of the "New Moderate Party," which he claimed to have founded.

You can read the FBI complaint here.