The FBI has arrested a Capitol rioter thanks to his inability to keep his mouth shut to his Uber driver on the night of the riot, NBC News reports.
Just after 7pm on Jan. 6, Jerry Braun jumped in his Uber ride and struck up a conversation with the driver about the events earlier that day — all while the driver’s dashcam was recording.
“So, has it been violent all day?” the driver asked.
“Well, it started around, right when I got there. I tore down the barricades,” the man replied.
“You did?” the driver asked. “Why?”
“Well, because, so we could get to the Capitol,” the man replied.
“Well, how’d that work out for ya?” the driver asked.
“Well,” he replied, “it looks like, uh, Biden’s gonna be our president.”
Braun was arrested in El Monte, California, earlier this month and faces charges of obstruction during civil disorder, entering and remaining on restricted grounds, and violent or disorderly conduct.
From NBC News:
The Uber driver tipped off the FBI right after the Capitol attack and was interviewed by a special agent in January and February 2021, according to an FBI affidavit unsealed Tuesday. The driver also provided the footage captured by their dashcam, the FBI said. Uber did not immediately respond to a request for comment.
The Uber driver took the man across the river to a Holiday Inn in Arlington, Virginia, where Braun was checked in under the name J.D. Braun, according to the court filing.
According to an FBI affidavit, video footage shows Braun “physically struggling with law-enforcement officers using a barricade.” He was also caught on video using a wooden plank to strike a photographer wearing a “PRESS” helmet.
“After being asked by the agents if BRAUN had anything he wanted to tell them before he departed the search location, BRAUN responded, ‘Guilty,'” the FBI affidavit stated. “When asked what he was guilty of, BRAUN responded, ‘Everything.'”
On Braun’s cellphone, the FBI found a selfie showing his eye injury, which he called a “Souvenir from DC.” Text messages in the days after Jan. 6, Braun told someone that he “Occupied the capitol” and described “Hand to hand combat,” according to the affidavit.
