The Freedom 250 Wheel operates during the opening of The Great American State Fair on the National Mall, with the U.S. Capitol in the background, in Washington D.C., U.S., June 25, 2026. REUTERS/Elizabeth Frantz TPX IMAGES OF THE DAY
A Baltimore man in what witnesses called an "Uncle Sam costume" was arrested on opening day of President Donald Trump's Great American State Fair for allegedly performing lewd acts in front of a circus audience.
Gian Rachtelli, 54, was taken into custody Thursday on the National Mall, where President Donald Trump's Freedom250 nonprofit had launched its 16-day patriotic celebration just hours before.
The day's theme: "The American Canon."
According to court records, Rachtelli was spotted behind a performing stage during a Cirque Mechanics acrobatic show near 12th Street and Jefferson Drive SW.
In a voluntary statement to police, one witness wrote that they were standing behind a man in overalls during the June 25 Cirque Mechanics performance. The witness said he was vaping and filming the female performers before putting his hand down his pants in what appeared to be a sex act.
A second witness, Cirque Mechanics founder Chris Lashua, told police he had seen Rachtelli return for a second show.
"He returned for the second show, and I saw him with his hand in his pants likely doing what we all thought he was doing," Lashua wrote in a police statement.
A third witness said a female member of the acrobatic team flagged him down during the performance to report that a man appeared to be making lewd gestures inside his pants.
D.C. activist Brianne Chapman posted on X that the man was "wearing an Uncle Sam costume" when he was busted.
Rachtelli was charged with lewd, indecent, or obscene acts — in plain terms, public indecency — a misdemeanor under D.C. Code. He was booked into the D.C. Department of Corrections' Central Cellblock just before midnight.
Rachtelli was arraigned Friday in D.C. Superior Court.