SOUTH CAROLINA — The FBI has filed a criminal complaint against a South Carolina man who authorities say was photographed storming the U.S. Capitol earlier this month.
A complaint filed Friday in U.S. District Court alleged Andrew Hatley drove to Washington from his home in South Carolina to attend protests against Congress’ formal certification of President-elect Joe Biden’s election victory over President Donald Trump
According to an FBI special agent, officials received a tip that Hatley had entered the federal building that day. Hatley, who lives in South Carolina, was identified thanks to his cell phone and an image of his hat, the FBI said.
According to a federal criminal complaint, a witness sent FBI agents a photo of Hatley standing next to a statue of John Caldwell Calhoun, a former vice president and fierce slavery advocate, inside the Capitol.
“The FBI received confirmation from United States Capitol Police that the subject wearing the hat in the picture in front of the John Calhoun statute, reproduced above, was observed on U.S. Capitol Police surveillance video inside of the crypt at the U.S. Capitol,” the document reads.
Federal agents then took the image and cross-referenced it with other images of Hatley on Facebook and found he was wearing the same hat in several pictures.
A post on Hatley’s Facebook page denied being at the Capitol, saying: “It has come to my attention that there was someone who looks like me at the Capitol. I’d like to set the record straight. I don’t have that kind of motivation for lost causes. I just don’t care enough anymore, certainly not enough for all that.”
The first comment on that post stated, “Welcome back.”
The FBI dug deeper, and thanks to witness tips learned that Hatley allegedly was using a geo-locater app to track his cell phone’s movements while in Washington.
The FBI then got a warrant from the geo-locating company and it confirmed that “Hatley’s cellular telephone was at the U.S. Capitol building during the events.”
According to the FBI, officials then spoke to the person who provided the photo to the first witness. That person gave agents multiple photos that they said were sent by Hatley, including the one below:
Authorities contacted Hatley, who confirmed that the number associated with the geolocation-sharing app was his only phone number. When asked about the events at the Capitol that day, officials stated that Hatley said “he was not sure how much he should say without legal counsel because he could be in a great deal of trouble.”
The FBI concluded that there is probable cause to believe that Hatley violated multiple laws that day at the Capitol.
The full court documents on the investigation can be read in the widget below or by clicking here.
Cox Media Group
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