The FBI on Wednesday arrested two more Floridians on charges tied to the Jan. 6 breach of the U.S. Capitol.
They are Samuel Camargo, of Deerfield Beach, who was charged with civil disorder, unlawfully entering the Capitol and disorderly conduct, and Joseph Randall Biggs, a Proud Boys member who was arrested in Central Florida on similar charges.
The two men’s arrests came a day after other South Floridians were taken into custody.
The FBI on Tuesday took into custody Felipe Marquez, of Coral Springs, and Gabriel Augstin Garcia, of Miami, on charges of illegally entering the Capitol grounds and disorderly conduct. Both men were charged after tipsters sent the FBI social media footage that the two men posted, in which they documented their actions while inside the Capitol Building.
According to a criminal complaint, a former classmate and social media friend of Camargo, 26, tipped off the FBI after Camargo’s Instagram content on Jan. 6 showed him participating in the riot.
The tipster provided screenshots from various Instagram stories, which show Camargo participating in planned rallies on Jan. 6 and later breaking off with an angry crowd to storm the Capitol Building.
One of the Instagram stories shows him at one of the doorways to the Capitol, using his phone to tape himself pushing Capitol Police as a crowd tries to burst into the building, according to the complaint.
Later an Instagram story shows Camargo holding a piece of metal that looks like it may have been ripped off a door. Camargo admitted in the post that he “got some [memorabilia], did it myself.”
By Jan. 7, Camargo deleted most of the content on social media and posted an apology on his Facebook page, according to the complaint. He acknowledged he had taken part in the riot and said he would cooperate with any investigations.
“To all my friends, family, and people of the United States of America I apologize for my actions today at the Capitol in D.C.,” he wrote. “I was involved in the events that transpired earlier today. I will be getting off all social media for the foreseeable future and will cooperate with all investigations that may arise from my involvement. I’m sorry to all the people I’ve disappointed as this is not who I am nor what I stand for.”
On Jan. 8 he was interviewed by an FBI agent and admitted that he participated in protests in Washington, D.C., and had since returned to Deerfield Beach, where he lives. He also became uncooperative, questioning the FBI agent’s loyalty to the Constitution, and telling the agent he had no information to provide, according to the complaint.
Later that day, he took to Facebook again. “Just finished speaking to an FBI agent,” he wrote. “I believe I’ve been cleared.”
Before his arrest, Camargo’s posts on Facebook showed that he frequently reshared President Donald Trump’s claims that the election was “corrupt.”
A spokesman for the FBI said Camargo was arrested on Wednesday in Alexandria, Virginia.
Proud Boys member
Biggs, the second Florida man arrested on Wednesday, was captured in photos and videos Jan. 6 among those who stormed the Capitol, and was involved in organizing Proud Boys activities in the period leading up to the riot, according to an FBI affidavit.
The FBI affidavit traced Biggs’ role in organizing the Proud Boys in the weeks leading up to the Capitol riot, as well as his movements through Washington, D.C., on the day that the attempted insurrection occurred.
The FBI said Biggs, 37, and Henry “Enrique” Tarrio, the South Florida-based chairman of the Proud Boys, posted messages in late December to the social media site Parler, which had become popular as a right-wing alternative to mainstream social media sites, urging members to turn out in D.C. on Jan. 6.
Unlike at past events, Tarrio and Biggs urged Proud Boys adherents to show up without the black-and-yellow attire they typically wear.
“[W]e will not be attending DC in colors. We will be blending in as one of you,” Biggs allegedly said, in a message directed at Antifa, the anti-fascist protest movement. “You won’t see us. You’ll even think we are you. … We are going to smell like you, move like you, and look like you.”
Jan. 6, Biggs added, “is gonna be epic.”
On that date, agents said Biggs was spotted among other Proud Boys members on the east side of the U.S. Capitol.
The affidavit said the group Biggs was with marched through the area chanting “[expletive] Antifa!” and “Whose streets? Our streets!” The throng eventually came upon barricades that had been erected along the Capitol’s exterior plaza, which was closed to the public.
The crowd “within minutes” overwhelmed the U.S. Capitol Police officers guarding the gates, agents said. The affidavit indicated that Biggs was not among those who initiated the conflict, but was with the crowd.
The affidavit also shed new light on the organization agents say Proud Boys members displayed during the riot. Some members appeared to be wearing earpieces for communication, and Biggs appeared to have a walkie-talkie or similar device on his chest, agents said.
In an interview with FBI agents, Biggs said he entered the Capitol, but said he hadn’t forced his way inside, according to the affidavit. He said the doors were “wide open” and claimed he had no knowledge of any pre-existing plan to storm the Capitol, according to investigators.
Andrew Boryga can be reached at 954-356-4533 or aboryga@sunsentinel.com. Follow on Twitter @borywrites.
