A New Jersey business owner was wearing a jacket with his name and phone number on it when he stormed the U.S. Capitol on January 6, 2021, federal prosecutors said.
Robert Copotelli, 27, was arrested Wednesday and charged with four misdemeanor counts of unlawfully entering the Capitol with intent to disrupt Congressional proceedings.
According to a federal arrest warrant, he has been on the FBI's radar since July 2021, when an anonymous tipster identified Coppotelli because of his trademark jacket, which was linked to his business. It is said that it advertised “Coppotelli Heavy Equipment Sales & Service Co.''
Coppotelli's face was largely obscured by a mask and hat, but the business owner's name was clearly visible on his left chest and plastered across his back.
Copotelli, still wearing his jacket, allegedly climbed the northwest staircase and entered the Capitol through a door that had been kicked down with a crowd of Donald Trump supporters, an incident that was caught on surveillance video. said the official.
“The rioters overran multiple police lines on the west side of the Capitol grounds and scaled the northwest staircase to reach the exterior of the first floor of the Capitol at the entrance to the Senate wing door,” the warrant states.
“The rioters then used wooden planks, stolen police shields, and other blunt weapons to smash the windows to the left and right of the Senate Building door.”
The business owner is said to have walked around the attacked building for 12 minutes before disappearing by crawling through a broken window.
Investigators easily tracked down Copotelli's business. The business is registered with the U.S. Department of Transportation at the same Toms River address where Copotelli lives.
Notably, the company's logo matched text and artwork on the suspect's jacket, including a large American flag.
Coppotelli could not be reached for comment.
Mr. Coppotelli joins more than 1,300 defendants charged in connection with the Capitol riot.
About 900 of them have now pleaded guilty or been sentenced at trial.
