The FBI has arrested a man dubbed the "Spider Nazi" who the bureau says was photographed scaling a wall of the U.S. Capitol building during the 2021 insurrection.
An FBI affidavit for an arrest warrant signed in December credited online "citizen sleuths" with helping to identify Brandon Kelly Dillard, of Las Vegas, who it says earned his social media nickname for his climbing skills and a hoodie decorated with spider webs that he wore that day.
He appears in photographs in the affidavit climbing a Capitol wall, walking inside the building, and slipping through a broken window in the Senate.
He was arrested Monday and faces charges of entering and remaining in a building without lawful authority, disorderly conduct of government business, and uttering “loud, threatening, or abusive” language at the Capitol building with the intent to disturb a congressional session, according to the complaint against him, The Daily Beast reported Monday.
In another Jan. 6 development a Colorado man allegedly linked to the right-wing Three Percenters group pleaded guilty Monday to two counts of assaulting police during the 2021 siege of the U.S. Capitol building.
Robert Gieswein, 26, who brandished a riot shield and a piece of lumber, was among the lead group that was the first to breach the building. He faces up to 51 months in prison when he's sentenced in June as part of a plea deal with prosecutors, The Washington Post reported. As part of a deal, officials agreed to drop the remainder of an 11-count indictment against Gieswein that included four other police assault charges.
Gieswein said in filed plea papers that he aimed that day to keep former President Donald Trump in office even though he had lost the presidential election. He admitted he marched with the Proud Boys for three hours near the Capitol before breaching a protective police line while spraying an "aerosol irritant" at officers, injuring at least two. He also attempted to punch another officer, Gieswein recounted.
More than 900 people have so far been arrested for actions at the Capitol during the 2021 riot.
