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Missouri Man Charged In Connection With U.S. Capitol Riot

Photo Illustration-Carlos Moreno/KCUR 89.3

A Missouri man arrested Thursday in connection with the riot in the U.S. Capitol on Jan. 6 was observed livestreaming himself in the building on Facebook, according to charging documents.

A criminal complaint filed on Jan. 21 in federal court in Washington, D.C., charges Zachary Hayes Martin with accessing restricted buildings or grounds, unlawful activities on Capitol grounds, disorderly conduct and demonstrating in the Capitol building.

The FBI said in a brief statement Thursday that Martin had been taken into custody without incident in Springfield, Missouri.

A probable cause affidavit filed by an unidentified FBI agent in support of the criminal complaint cited five witnesses as saying they observed Martin livestreaming a video of himself in the Capitol building on Jan. 6. The Facebook account is no longer available, and the affidavit said that Martin’s Facebook account “was likely closed” after Jan. 6.

Some of the witnesses, however, took screenshots of Martin’s livestream video. The FBI said it was able to match up his driver’s license photograph with the person shown in the screenshots.

In some of the screenshots, Martin is shown standing in front of a painting. The FBI said it determined through a Google search that the painting, which depicts former U.S. Rep. Shirley Chisholm, is located in the Capitol building.

The affidavit said the FBI became aware of Martin’s alleged involvement in the Capitol riot after a witness, identified only as W-1, “stated that he/she had observed public posts on Facebook indicating that Martin was present at the U.S. Capitol during the riots and had ‘livestreamed’ a video of himself in the U.S. Capitol building on Facebook.”

Four other witnesses said they had watched at least some of the livestreamed video, according to the affidavit. A witness identified as W-4 said they had spoken to Martin in a Springfield bar in the week leading up to Jan. 6 and that Martin told them he was planning to travel to Washington.

It's not clear if Martin is represented by an attorney. Attempts to reach him were unsuccessful.

USA Today reports that 162 people have been charged so far in connection with the Capitol riot, which left five people, including a member of the Capitol Police, dead.

Missouri court records show Martin, a resident of Rogersville, Missouri, sought a divorce in September from his wife, whom he married in August 2002. They have three minor children.

Copyright 2021 KCUR 89.3

Dan was born in Brooklyn, N.Y. and moved to Kansas City with his family when he was eight years old. He majored in philosophy at Washington University in St. Louis and holds law and journalism degrees from Boston University. He has been an avid public radio listener for as long as he can remember – which these days isn’t very long… Dan has been a two-time finalist in The Gerald Loeb Awards for Distinguished Business and Financial Journalism, and has won multiple regional awards for his legal and health care coverage. Dan doesn't have any hobbies as such, but devours one to three books a week, assiduously works The New York Times Crossword puzzle Thursdays through Sundays and, for physical exercise, tries to get in a couple of rounds of racquetball per week.