Crime & Arrests

As Joe Biden's inauguration looms -- and as many expect civil unrest -- a number of the Capitol Police's rank and file fear they won't be supported by leadership if they have to use deadly force to protect themselves.

Capitol Police sources tell TMZ ... there's been a lot of chatter lately about officers tasked with guarding the Capitol come Wednesday and whether they're allowed to use deadly force if push comes to shove ... and if so, will they be backed by the Department?

Our sources say the issue came up at a roll call meeting last week, where one USCP officer asked his sergeants in the room, if they find themselves in a life or death situation -- like several cops did on Jan. 6 -- can they do whatever it takes to save their own lives, including the use of deadly force?

And, just as important ... would USCP brass have their backs in the aftermath? We're told the answer they got was NOT reassuring -- more of a wishy-washy response that catered more to optics and the need to accommodate peaceful protesters. In other words, the answer they got was vague and, many say, unhelpful.

There've been several suspensions, firings and resignations from the fallout Jan. 6. Some of the rank and file feel they've been made scapegoats ... and much of the discipline was unfair. All of this, we're told, has negatively affected morale.

It's not lost on the officers that they lost one of their own during the insurrection -- Brian Sicknick, who suffered a fatal injury. And, they heard the story of the officer who was dragged down Capitol steps and beaten. These cops want a clear policy on the right to use lethal force.

The daughter who publicly ID'd her own mother as a bloodied participant in the Capitol riots feels some guilt for calling her mom out ... but says she doesn't regret it, for several reasons.

Helena Duke joined "TMZ Live" Monday to add some context to why she decided to out her mother, Therese Duke, in a viral clip where Therese gets punched by a security guard outside the Capitol after the insurrection.

Helena says her mom lied to her about her whereabouts on January 6 -- claiming she was getting a medical procedure -- so she wouldn't have known Therese attended the riots ... if not for the video of her getting punched.

As for why Therese was in D.C. ... Helena believes Donald Trump radicalized her mother about a year into his Presidency. She says it was "unsettling" how her mom flipped from lifelong Democrat to far-right Republican.

If you missed it ... the day after the riots, Helena commented on the vid of her mother getting punched -- "hi mom remember the time you told me I shouldn’t go to BLM protests bc they could get violent...this you?"

Shortly afterward she went a step further by publicly ID'ing her mom, aunt and uncle as attending the riot.

Therese has since been fired from her job at a Massachusetts hospital ... which stated her termination was linked to her being involved in the Capitol violence.

Move over Tom Hanks, there's a new Viktor Navorski here to awkwardly (and illegally) live inside an American airport for months on end ... so say authorities out of Chicago, anyway.

A California man named Aditya Singh was arrested this weekend when prosecutors say United employees discovered he'd secretly made O'Hare Airport his home for 3 whopping months ... by using a legit staffer's credentials.

Singh claims he was afraid to fly for fear of catching COVID-19. He’s been charged with felony criminal trespass to a restricted area of an airport and misdemeanor theft.

Prosecutors say Singh had arrived at O'Hare from Orange County in October 2020 ... and, at some point, swiped someone's discarded credentials and shacked up in the restricted secure zones, where only employees are allowed.

Other passengers who shuffled in and out over the next few months apparently gave the guy money and food to survive.

Singh's reportedly a college graduate with a master's degree in hospitality. It's unclear why he'd flown to Chi-Town in the first place, but the judge presiding over his case finds it as bizarre as you do right now.

His bail was set at $1,000, and IF he posts it, he's also barred him from stepping foot in the airport for the time being. So, even if he can get himself out between now and his next court date in late January ... it doesn’t sound like he can hop on a flight home.

The Trump supporter who spit on a Black Lives Matter protester on camera during an argument has a big problem ... he's now a criminal defendant.

Prosecutors in Massachusetts charged Scott Marberblatt with assault and battery. An officer on duty at last month's protest said he witnessed Marberblatt spitting and coughing on a BLM protester.

The alleged victim, Marcus Johnson, tells TMZ ... he was with his mom, who was holding a BLM sign, when the guy started arguing with them that "all lives matter" ... then suddenly, he was on the receiving end of the gross discharge.

Aside from the obvious, Marcus had a deeper concern -- coronavirus. He says he couldn't get a COVID test immediately after the incident, so he self-isolated for days. He says he was finally able to get a COVID test, which came back negative.

Jon Schaffer -- the founder of heavy metal group Iced Earth -- is now in federal custody, and as it turns out, he was one of the more hardcore rioters who raided the Capitol ... according to the FBI, anyway.

The feds say Schaffer turned himself in Sunday in Indiana, where he faces six charges in connection to the Capitol insurrection ... including engaging in an act of physical violence in a Capitol building, violent entry and disorderly conduct in a capitol building, among others.

There's also this ... the FBI say, "Schaffer was allegedly among rioters who sprayed Capitol police with 'bear spray.'" You might've seen some of that going on Jan. 6 -- members of the Trump crowd were getting hosed with pepper spray, but were dishing it right back.

One such individual who was caught on camera unloading his bear spray nozzle has been dubbed #BearSprayMan, but it doesn't appear to be Schaffer in the video. In any case, law enforcement believes he used some on the Capitol police at some point.

As we reported ... Schaffer was named as one of the rioters shortly after the chaos in D.C., and he was one of the many wanted individuals on the FBI's list. The guy didn't exactly try hiding his presence either ... even leading up to the Jan. 6 storming, he'd been in and around different protests, voicing his support for Trump as part of the #StopTheSteal crowd.

And, on the day itself, he was photographed all over the place too ... with his face fully revealed.

As for Iced Earth, they put out a statement a couple weeks ago ... but didn't mention Jon by name. What they did say ... "We absolutely DO NOT condone nor do we support riots or the acts of violence that the rioters were involved in on January 6th at the US Capitol building. We hope that all those involved that day are brought to justice to be investigated and answer for their actions."

Interestingly enough, they didn't include a photo of Jon in their collage art for that IG post.

Andrew Zimmern says folks in custody need better food options ... even the bare-chested insurrectionist with animal horns and face paint complaining about a lack of organic grub.

We caught up with the 'Bizarre Foods' host this week and talked Jake Angeli, the Capitol attack suspect who complained about not being able to eat in federal custody because there were no organic options meeting his strict diet.

Andrew says Angeli's beef shines a light on an issue he believes runs deep in America ... the food being served in public hospitals, schools and prisons is in desperate need of an upgrade.

While Andrew says Angeli is an "evil, disgusting, human" who should be served nothing but bread and water, he admits it's not fair to single the guy out of his crusade for better prison food for all.

Even for maskless Karens, this arrest is bizarre ... a woman -- decked out in animal print -- accused cops of violating her "personhood" and trying to kidnap her and steal her purse.

Cindy Falco-DiCorrado was arrested Thursday in Palm Beach County, Florida where she was filmed maskless inside an Einstein Bros. bagel joint ... after management says she refused to leave. She claimed it was her constitutional right to not wear a mask.

According to the arrest affidavit ... Falco-DiCorrado told cops she was within her constitutional right to not wear a mask, but when cops tried to arrest her for trespassing, the 61-year-old accused the cop of violating her "personhood." A second cop eventually comes in to help get her out of the bagel shop.

Falco-DiCorrado's finally taken outside where she's arrested. She then starts accusing the cops of trying to steal her purse. Then ... she starts praying. You can see the cops are amused.

She was eventually arrested and booked for trespassing and resisting arrest. BTW, it's not the first time she's been embroiled in controversy.

Falco-DiCorrado, a staunch Trump supporter, was forced to resign from her volunteer seat on the County's Community Redevelopment Agency Advisory Board in 2017, following controversial remarks made during a meeting to designate Boynton Beach a sanctuary city.

The insurrectionists who breached the U.S. Capitol absolutely had murder on their minds ... according to federal prosecutors who want one of the most notorious rioters to remain in custody.

In docs, obtained by TMZ, the feds say there's strong evidence supporting that "the intent of the Capitol rioters was to capture and assassinate elected officials in the United States government."

That disturbing statement refers to the case of Arizona man and so-called "QAnon Shaman" Jacob Chansley -- the bare-chested rioter with animal horns and face paint who stormed into the Capitol.

Prosecutors say an FBI investigation revealed Chansley -- who was photographed standing at Vice President Mike Pence's desk in the Senate chamber -- also left a threatening note for the VP saying, "It’s only a matter of time, justice is coming."

The feds say Chansley's own words support the rioters' intentions were much more nefarious than simply occupying the Capitol Building, and warn that "the insurrection is still in progress."

The 911 call that led to the felony murder warrant for YFN Lucci's arrest is disturbing ... a woman describing a man clinging to a moving SUV before he was left for dead.

TMZ's obtained audio of the 911 call a woman made in Atlanta last month when she saw a white SUV speeding by "with a man hanging out of the car." She says she eventually saw the man get shoved out onto the street.

The witness told the operator the victim appeared to have suffered a gunshot wound to the head, and she desperately tried to get an ambulance to the location because the man was "still trying to fight for his life."

She remained on the scene while waiting for the ambulance, standing near the victim -- and said he was "taking his last breath" and he died moments later.

As we reported ... Lucci is wanted by Atlanta PD's homicide unit for his alleged role in the man’s death. We're told cops are looking to bring him in on multiple charges ... including felony murder, aggravated assault, participation in criminal street gang activity, and possession of a firearm during the commission of a felony.

Atlanta PD's offering a $5k award for info leading to his arrest and indictment.

Jacob Blake says George Floyd's death was front and center in his mind when confronted by the Kenosha PD pulled ... as he explains, in his own words, what went down when an officer shot him 7 times in the back.

Jacob told 'GMA' anchor Michael Strahan, "I resisted to getting beat on. What I mean by that is not falling, not letting them put their head on my neck. That's all I was thinking."

For the first time, Jacob revealed why he was walking around his car, away from the Kenosha PD officer, Rusten Sheskey. As you know, Sheskey opened fire last August when Jacob opened his driver side door. His 2 children were in the backseat, and Jacob says he was sure he was about to die.

"I said 'Daddy loves you no matter what.' I thought it was going to be the last thing I said to them. Thank God it wasn't. I didn't want to be the next George Floyd. I didn't want to die."

Jacob, who remains partially paralyzed, says he was not fleeing from police, and points out his hands were up ... even after they tased him. He believes the video of his shooting speaks for itself.

Law enforcement officials arrested longtime Seattle Seahawks employee Aaron Miyasato on Tuesday after they claim he was found in possession of child pornography.

According to jail records, 41-year-old Miyasato, who had been working as the Hawks' security manager, was booked at 11:07 a.m. Tuesday on three charges of possessing and dealing child porn.

According to legal documents, obtained by KING 5, authorities claim they confiscated around 25,000 images of child porn during a raid at Miyasato's home.

According to the report, they also "confiscated videos of children as young as the age of one being sexually exploited in extremely graphic ways."

Miyasato had reportedly been employed by the Seahawks since 2011 ... and recently took the team's security manager position back in 2018.

Seahawks officials, though, said in a statement Wednesday that Miyasato is no longer an employee with the team after his arrest.

"We are aware of the situation and in accordance with the NFL personal conduct policy, we have notified the league of his arrest," the Seahawks said. "This individual is no longer employed by our organization."

If the insurrectionists had a bite to eat, a rental car or a pillow to lay on while in D.C. last week before storming the Capitol, the feds just might find out about it ... because they're digging through a laundry list of receipts to track down the culprits.

Federal law enforcement sources tell TMZ ... the FBI has gone well beyond just resorting to flight manifests to find the people they suspect took part in Wednesday's siege -- they're looking at any and everything the rioters might've put their name to while in town.

That includes sifting through restaurant bills, hotel ledgers and rental car records in the days leading up to and following the attack on the Capitol ... and linking that up with intel of their own.

Here's another thing ... our sources say much of the legwork for this comprehensive approach is being done by the FBI-NYPD Joint Terrorism Task Force ... a group founded in NYC in the '80s.

Of course, there have been several high-profile arrests all over the country since last week's insurrection. Law enforcement says they nabbed the horn guy, the shield guy, the feet-on-desk guy, the two zip tie guys, the Auschwitz sweater guy, the lectern guy ... and others.

Granted ... there are literally hundreds more who didn't stick out so clearly ... so there's a lot more work to be done in the weeks and months to come as law enforcement attempts to bring all these people to justice.

TMZ broke the story ... they're investigating certain Capitol police officers and others who work at the Capitol, because there's evidence this could be an inside job. Our sources say 10 to 15 cops are under the microscope and the investigation is far along.

We've seen law enforcement in D.C. mobilized like never before -- the Capitol swarmed by thousands of National Guard members, FBI, Secret Service, Capitol Police and on and on.

Nancy Pelosi's lectern is back at the U.S. Capitol ... a week after a Florida man gleefully carried it out during a failed coup.

The House Speaker's lectern was wheeled into the building Wednesday and, as we reported, it did not suffer any damage. Still, pretty sure the lectern was or will be sanitized like hell. No word yet if the gavel was also returned.

As you know by now ... Adam Johnson is the man picked up last week on a federal warrant in Florida for his role in the Capitol riots, which, of course, included him taking the lectern. Images of the 36-year-old were plastered online and on TV during and after the insurrection. Goes without saying, it wasn't hard to ID him.

Johnson, a married man and stay-at-home father of 5, is slated to appear later this month in D.C. but already Johnson's lawyer told reporters earlier this week the case is going to be an uphill battle 'cause, ya know, there are pictures of the guy taking the lectern!

Johnson's attorneys, Dan Eckhart and David Bigney, acknowledged as much during a news conference this week outside a Tampa courthouse. Eckhart said, "You have a photograph of our client in a building, unauthorized to be there, with what appears to be a podium or a lectern."

When a reporter told Eckhart how the photo will be problematic, he said, "Yeah, I don't know how to explain that. But, that would be a problem. I'm not a magician."

The guy who authorities say was the one wearing a "Camp Auschwitz" hoodie during the Capitol riots has been arrested ... TMZ has confirmed

Robert Keith Packer was busted Wednesday morning in Newport News, VA and he's been charged with knowingly entering restricted grounds and disorderly conduct. He'd already drawn outrage for his hoodie, flippantly referencing the Nazi concentration camp where more than 1 million Jews were killed during World War II.

As if that wasn't disturbing enough ... the back of the hoodie also had the word "Staff" emblazoned on it. The bottom of his hoodie had the words, "Work brings freedom" ... a rough translation of "Arbeit macht frei" ... words inscribed on the concentration camp gates.

This apparently is not the first time Packer's run into trouble with the law. According to CNN, Packer's criminal history includes 3 convictions for driving under the influence and a felony conviction for forging public records.

The authorities say Parker was among hundreds who stormed the Capitol in a failed coup last week.

The FBI is honing in on 10 to 15 members of the Capitol Police, investigating whether they facilitated the insurrection by assisting in the planning of the riot and/or clearing the path for the rioters to overtake the Capitol.

Sources with direct knowledge tell TMZ, the FBI has made "considerable headway" in its investigation of the officers in question, and -- as it was put to us -- the conduct of the cops in question "ranges from getting out of the way of the rioters to something much more nefarious."

As for what's "more nefarious," as TMZ reported, the FBI believes some of the officers and other staffers in the building may have facilitated the takeover by helping the rioters navigate the building. The FBI believes certain moves were extremely suspicious, like almost instantly finding Nancy Pelosi's office even though a member of the public would probably have to search for an hour or more to find it. Something else suspicious ... how did rioters beeline for Rep. Jim Clyburn's office when the door does not even have a nameplate?

Our sources say the FBI looked at all the video and honed in on cops who were not blocking the path of the rioters. That isn't in itself a criminal offense, but the FBI believes people who didn't block the rioters may have more involvement. Two officers have already been suspended by the Department, but the FBI's conducting a criminal investigation.

To be fair to the officers ... as one source put it, some of them who stepped back from the riot may have done so because members of Congress had already been moved to a secure location, and the cops felt they would have gotten killed if they tried protecting property.

Our sources say the FBI investigation is far along, and they're not just looking at Capitol cops. They're looking at other staffers in the building as well.

Miya Ponsetto was allegedly wreaking havoc at a vacant NYC apartment before her notorious hotel incident ... and TMZ's got photos of the damage.

As we reported ... when "SoHo Karen" was charged Saturday in her attack of 14-year-old Keyon Harrold Jr. at the Arlo Hotel, prosecutors briefly detailed another incident from earlier that day in which she allegedly damaged an apartment door.

Sources familiar with the apartment incident tell TMZ ... Ponsetto entered the building by using a fire extinguisher she found to destroy the doorknob and smash her way in.

We're told a tenant of the building confronted her, and Ponsetto allegedly claimed she rented the vacant unit through Airbnb and locked her keys inside. Our sources say Airbnb isn’t allowed to operate in the building, and we're told Miya never contacted management about renting it.

Once she got in ... Ponsetto allegedly stayed for several hours, did damage to the curtains, left mail scattered on the floor and dirtied up the bathroom. We're told she also left debris in the hallway outside the apartment.

Our sources say police were called, but when they arrived they could not access the vacant apartment because the door was so badly damaged it wouldn't open ... and Miya was long gone.

Law enforcement sources tell us ... a police report was filed, and Ponsetto is currently under investigation for criminal mischief. We're told there was at least $250 in damage.

We reached out to Miya's NYC attorney, Paul D'Emilia, who declined to comment.

Of course, this bizarre incident might be the least of her worries. As you know ... Ponsetto was arrested last week in SoCal, flown back to NYC where she was charged with attempted assault, attempted robbery, grand larceny and endangering the welfare of a child for her altercation with the teenager at the Arlo Hotel.