Federal authorities on Tuesday arrested a Virginia school board member who boasted of drinking Fireball and Coors light during the Jan. 6, 2021, Capitol insurrection, according to court documents.
Miles Adkins, a member of the Frederick County School Board in Virginia, is facing four misdemeanor charges for his alleged involvement in the Capitol insurrection, according to the FBI affidavit.
His participation in the insurrection was confirmed through messages he sent to Facebook friends about his travel plans to Washington, D.C., along with photos he sent on social media while inside the Capitol, the FBI said. He was also seen in open-source videos taken inside the Capitol.
Through the FBI’s investigation of Adkins’s movements during the riots, authorities discovered a message he sent on social media in which he bragged about drinking a Coors light beer and Fireball at the scene of the riot.
“I drank fireball and coors lite in the capitol,” Adkins’s message wrote, per the affidavit.
He was photographed holding a “large, canned beverage” and was later observed in a video leaving the Capitol building while shouting, “Let’s go get a beer, let’s go get a beer.”
In an interview with the FBI before his arrest, Adkins told authorities he went to D.C. on Jan. 6, 2021, to hear Trump speak and admitted he walked with a group to the Capitol after Trump’s rally at the Ellipse, the affidavit stated. The FBI said Adkins claimed there were no barriers when he arrived at the Capitol, but would not discuss his actions inside the Capitol.
Adkins also admitted to traveling to D.C. before the insurrection to serve as an escort for people involved with the right-wing militia Oath Keepers and “communicated with an Oath Keeper on January 6, 2021, through the Signal cellular phone application,” the FBI said.
Video from inside the Capitol showed Adkins helping a person enter the Capitol through a broken window and “danc[ing] around in the middle of a group,” where he “appeared to be yelling and chanting,” the FBI also said.
He is facing four misdemeanor counts, including entering and remaining in a restricted building, disruptive conduct in a restricted building, disorderly conduct in a Capitol building and unlawful picketing in a Capitol building.
Adkins told The Hill he will “take responsibility for his actions,” noting he believes there is a two-tiered justice system.
“I do believe we have that First Amendment right to protest and you see that other folks have been able to do it. The hammer hasn’t come down on them like it has on the Jan. 6 folks,” Adkins said Thursday.
Adkins was elected to the school board in November 2021 and faced calls last year to resign after he was arrested for allegedly driving under the influence, The Northern Virginia Daily reported. In the wake of criticism, Adkins at the time of his arrest said he was “going to do better,” the newspaper reported.
A spokesperson for the Frederick County Public Schools confirmed to The Hill they are aware of the allegations.
“However, Frederick County Public Schools remains committed to our primary goal, which is to foster the growth and well-being of our students. We will continue to focus on moving forward with our goals and mission,” the spokesperson said.
Adkins is one of more than 1,300 individuals who have been charged with crimes related to their alleged involvement in the Capitol riots.
–Updated on Feb. 29 at 11:26 a.m.