Capitol rioter gave FBI footage that featured himself, authorities say

A man who took part in the deadly Capitol riot turned over video evidence of himself to an FBI agent just days after the event occurred, according to an FBI affidavit.

Business Insider reports that Kevin Lyons was contacted by federal agents Friday, due to photos he posted on his Instagram account showing a map of the route from his Chicago home to D.C. as well as a wooden sign that said “Speaker of the House Nancy Pelosi.”

Lyons was arrested on federal charges this week, Insider reports, and was released on a $10,000 recognizance bond.

According to Insider, the FBI affidavit stated that Lyons was surprised that authorities had found the photos as they had been up for only a few hours before being taken down. He reportedly said he could not “guarantee that he posted it,” but then showed agents the same photos saved on his phone.

Lyons provided three videos to the FBI, Insider reports, showing people inside and outside the Capitol. Lyons’s voice can reportedly be heard in all three videos.

According to an affidavit, Lyons wrote to an FBI special agent “Hello Nice FBI Lady, Here are the links to the videos,” when sending over the video links. 

Lyons was apparently “evasive” when asked if he had entered the Capitol, notes Insider, instead telling agents that had experienced a “dream” in which he saw “a lot of banging on doors, paper being throwing about, and a mob of people.”

During his interview with the FBI, Lyons gave a detailed description of traveling to D.C., marching into the Capitol and walking around the building, Insider reports. At one point he described entering the “big boss” office. When asked if this was a reference to Speaker Nancy Pelosi’s (D-Calif.) office, he said yes.

Due to his descriptions of the event, the FBI believed there was probably cause to charge him for entering a restricted building without the lawful authority to do so as well as violating a law that prohibits violent entry and disorderly conduct on Capitol grounds.

Dozens of people have been arrested so far in connection with their suspected involvement in the Capitol breach. Kevin Seefried, the man seen inside the Capitol building carrying a Confederate flag, was arrested Thursday in Delaware. The FBI also arrested a former school therapist, Christine Priola, who was seen in a viral photo standing next to the vice president’s chair in the Senate chambers.