Mahopac Man Charged with Participating in U.S. Capitol Riot
By Rick Pezzullo
A Mahopac man was charged last week as one of the individuals that stormed the U.S. Capitol in Washington D.C. on Jan. 6 and unlawfully entered the building.
Anthony Vuksanaj, 52, was arrested by the FBI on September 30 in Mahopac and was arraigned in federal court in White Plains.
Vuksanaj, who in video footage inside the Capitol was wearing a Trump sweatshirt, was identified by authorities through cellphone records that allegedly placed him at the scene. His cellphone information was obtained by Westchester County Police when he and two other individuals were arrested on June 6 on charges of first-degree robbery for an alleged knife point incident that occurred that day in Mount Vernon.
According to a complaint and arrest warrant signed by U.S, Magistrate Judge G. Michael Harvey on September 28, there is probable cause that Vuksanaj violated laws “which make it a crime to willfully and knowingly utter loud, threatening, or abusive language, or engage in disorderly or disruptive conduct, at any place in the Grounds or in any of the Capitol Buildings with the intent to impede, disrupt, or disturb the orderly conduct of a session in Congress or either House of Congress, or the orderly conduct in that building of a hearing before, or any deliberations of, a committee of Congress or either House of Congress; and parade, demonstrate, or picket in any of the Capitol Buildings.”
At the time of the riot, the House of Representatives and Senate were meeting in separate chambers of the Capitol to certify the vote count of the Electoral College of the Nov. 3 2020 Presidential Election in which Democrat Joe Biden unseated President Donald Trump. As the proceedings continued, a large crowd gathered, and at about 2 p.m. on Jan. 6, individuals forced entry into the Capitol by breaking windows and assaulting police officers.
The chaos forced members of the House and Senate and Vice President Mike Pence to evacuate the chambers.
Rick has more than 40 years’ experience covering local news in Westchester and Putnam counties, running the gamut from politics and crime to sports and human interest. He has been an editor at Examiner Media since 2012. Read more from Rick’s editor-author bio here. Read Rick’s work here: https://www.theexaminernews.com/author/pezzullo_rick-writer/
