FBI
Screenshot of GoPro video of Anthony Michael Puma crawling through a broken window at the U.S. Capitol on Jan. 6.
A Brownstown Township man who declared on Facebook that “war was coming” and “we might have to start killing some commie bastards” was charged with storming the U.S. Capitol during the deadly Jan. 6 riot.
The FBI arrested Anthony Michael Puma, 48, Thursday on charges of obstruction of Congress and violent entry/disorderly conduct on Capitol grounds.
Puma is the ninth Michigan resident to be charged with participating in the insurrection.
Agents first interviewed Puma on Jan. 17 and seized a SanDisk SD card containing eight videos he recorded on a GoPro camera on the day of the riot. The videos show Puma scaling a wall at the Capitol and climbing through a broken window to get inside the building.
Puma also left a trail of evidence on Facebook. On Dec. 31, Puma wrote that he planned to attend the Stop the Steal rally in Washington, D.C., where he said “we might have to start killing some commie bastards.”
On the eve of the insurrection, he wrote that he planned to “storm the House of Representatives,” which was planning to formally count the votes of the Electoral College.
“Tomorrow is the big day. Rig for Red. War is coming,” he wrote.
On the day of the riot, Puma called the police “assholes” and said, “the stormtroopers flash banged us and shot rubber bullets into the crowd.”
“They were flash banging us. Tear gassing us. Pepper spraying us,” he wrote. “We were outside. Don’t believe the NEWS. I have hours of video on my go pro.”
Puma was released from jail on a $10,000 unsecured bond. His next court hearing is June 2 in Washington, D.C.
The FBI arrested more than 300 people for participating in the insurrection, which led to the deaths of five people who died either during or immediately after the event. About 140 officers also were injured.
Karl Dresch, 40, of Calumet, was the first Michigan resident to be charged in connection with the insurrection. He collected and sold right-wing paraphernalia out of his Calumet home and threatened “war everywhere if we let this election get stolen.”
Michael Joseph Foy, a 30-year-old former Marine from Wixom, was charged less than a week later. Video footage shows him attacking police with a hockey stick.
James “Jimmy” Mels, 56, of Shelby Township, was arrested on Feb. 11 and charged with entering the Capitol.
Two Macomb County men – Daniel Herendeen, 43, of Chesterfield Township, and Robert Schornak, 39, of Roseville – were charged on March 18 with storming the Capitol.
Anthony Robert Williams, 45, of Southgate, was arrested on March 23. He bragged on social media that the insurrection was “the proudest day of my life.”
Jeramiah Caplinger, 25, of Taylor, was arrested on April 6 and charged with participating in the riot.
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