Jan. 6 Capitol riot suspect nicknamed ‘Shield Grampy’ is arrested by FBI
WASHINGTON — A Capitol rioter known to online sleuths as "Shield Grampy" — a reference to his age and his use of a police shield during the battle at the lower west tunnel on Jan. 6, 2021 — has been arrested by the FBI, according to court documents.
Anthony Mastanduno, who was No. 397 on the FBI's Capitol Violence website, was charged with a variety of federal crimes, including assaulting law enforcement. The FBI said he used a stolen police shield to assault officers, as well as a baton and a blue pole.
The FBI found that Mastanduno's publicly accessible Facebook page included an image of the "Trump 2020 Keep America Great!" hat that he appears to have worn to the Capitol, which included a patch on the bill "containing half of an American flag and half of the Marines insignia." His Facebook page also including a post: "Biden has not won anything under the electors in December then. and only then he will have won/stole."
"I hated Obama and hated his politics but still considered him my president because he won honestly but Biden and future president within a year commiemia never!!!" he wrote, an apparent reference to Vice President Kamala Harris. "My Trump flag [will] fly high and proud in my front yard till 1/20/2025."
After it contacted Mastanduno's employer, the FBI said, it learned he had been absent from work on Jan. 6 and Jan. 7.
Federal authorities have charged roughly 1,100 of the more than 3,000 people who could ultimately face charges in connection with the attack on the Capitol. Online "Sedition Hunters" have identified hundreds of rioters who have not yet been arrested by the FBI. The statute of limitations on most of the crimes committed that day expires in about 28 months, in January 2026.
This article was originally published on NBCNews.com