Crime & Safety
Actor Arrested In Capitol Riot Faces 4 Charges
A paid FBI informant tipped off investigators, who arrested 33-year-old Michael Aaron Carico in Burbank.
LOS ANGELES, CA — An actor is awaiting today arraignment on charges of breaching the Capitol during the Jan. 6 attack.
Michael Aaron Carico, 33, was arrested in Burbank Wednesday, and the Department of Justice released charging documents Sunday, outlining the case against Carico. Tipped off by a paid FBI informant, much of the case stems from social media photos that document Carico's journey into and through the Capitol, federal prosecutors allege. The arrest is the latest among hundreds of cases stemming from the Capitol breach aimed at overturning the 2020 presidential election.
Carico, 33, has been charged with four federal counts, including entering and remaining in a restricted building or grounds, disorderly conduct in a Capitol building and parading, demonstrating or picketing in a Capitol building, according to a criminal complaint filed last week in federal court in the District of Columbia.
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It was not immediately known when Carico will be arraigned in the District of Columbia.
The Department of Justice filing documents include 13 photos that document Carico's whereabouts through the day of Jan. 6, including purported photos of him taking a selfie in front of the Capitol, breaching the Capitol and traversing the Capitol rotunda.
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According to the complaint, the informant who was among the mob that swarmed the Capitol on Jan. 6 told authorities that Carico identified himself to others and said he had been inside the Capitol. When asked how he could be found on social media, Carico gave his full name, court documents allege.
The complaint ties Carico's social media accounts to security footage at the U.S Capitol and videos filmed by other rioters through his clothes. Investigators searched Carico's Instagram account and found pictures that appeared to match a person wearing a backwards Navy baseball hat and camouflage shirt with an American flag patch seen in video taken at the Capitol that day, court documents stated.
Investigators served a search warrant to access Carico's email and allegedly found photos and videos suspected to have been taken during the Jan. 6 breach.
One of the videos allegedly found on Carico's email account shows the defendant and others singing the final line of the national anthem, according to the criminal complaint. At the end, Carico appears to use an expletive to insult House Speaker Nancy Pelosi. Other photos show him climbing
Carico's Facebook page lists him as an actor, and an IMDb profile says he appeared in the films "The Inbetweeners," "In Full Bloom" and "My Daddy's in Heaven."
The Justice Department's investigation into the Capitol attack has led to criminal charges against more than 570 people in nearly all 50 states for crimes, including over 170 individuals charged with assaulting or impeding law enforcement. The investigation remains ongoing.
City News Service contributed to this report.
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