A New York man who filmed himself smoking a joint inside the U.S. Capitol building amid the Jan. 6 storming of the federal building has been arrested after his co-workers ratted him out to federal authorities.
James Bonet of Glen Falls has been charged with knowingly entering or remaining in in any restricted building or grounds without lawful authorities and disorderly conduct on Capitol grounds.
Bonet's Co-Workers Alerted FBI after Video Shared on Group Chat
"Capitol building smoking with all my people!" Bonet says while smoking a joint with other rioters in one of the videos he filmed inside the federal building.
"We made it in the building bi*ches! We're taking it back! We are taking it back, we made it in the building," he says in another clip.
According to the criminal complaint, the videos, that have since been deleted, were shared on his Facebook profile. A screen-recorded video of the footage was later posted on a group chat shared between Bonet's co-workers on the evening of the Jan. 6. After seeing several other videos showing Bonet at the Capitol with fellow MAGA supporters his co-workers decided to alert the federal authorities.
Bonet was a Conspiracy Theorist Who Believed the Election was 'Stolen'
Bonet's co-workers said he openly talked about government conspiracy theories at work and tried to convince others to subscribe to his beliefs, including one that claimed the 2020 election was rigged in favor of Joe Biden. His baseless beliefs even prompted him to drive to Washington, D.C. to protest the results of the election in November.
On Nov. 14, there was a large "Million MAGA March" in D.C. aimed at protesting the results of the election. However, it is not yet confirmed whether Bonet attended the protest but several Trump supporters from different states converged on the American city to claim the election was "rigged."
Bonet was not the only man filmed smoking weed on the Capitol grounds on the day of the insurrection. A man identified as Ronnie Sandlin was also caught on camera smoking a joint in the Rotunda of the federal property. It is not yet known if he has been arrested.
