Conservative Influencer Isabella Maria DeLuca Charged With Breaching Capitol During Jan. 6 Riot
Conservative social media influencer Isabella Maria DeLuca was charged with breaching the U.S. Capitol building and helping pass a stolen table out of a broken window.
DeLuca’s charges were confirmed in court records made public last week after she was arrested in Irvine, California.
The native of Setauket, New York, interned for former Rep. Lee Zeldin, who represented part of Long Island, and right-wing Rep. Paul Gosar (R-Arizona).
She was employed as a media associate for the Gold Institute for International Strategy until they cut ties with her on March 18. Her profile on the institute’s website mentions she served as an ambassador for the conservative youth organization Turning Point USA.
A spokesperson for the Gold Institute for International Strategy stated that it learned on March 18 that DeLuca, who had an unpaid position to update the organization’s social media presence, was facing criminal charges and said that after “further internal investigation,” they decided that it was “necessary to sever” their relationship with her.
According to the feds, the influencer, who has over 333,000 followers on X, was one of several rioters who passed a table from a U.S. Senate terrace room to others outside the Capitol that was used against law enforcement.
“This table was subsequently used to assault law enforcement officers guarding the Lower West Terrace Tunnel,” an affidavit written by an FBI agent said.
The FBI asserted that it has footage showing DeLuca entering the suite of conference rooms inside the Capitol through the broken window before she climbed back where the table was passed through.
Over a dozen images show her in restricted areas around the building on January 6, 2021.
She was charged with three misdemeanors: theft of government property, disorderly conduct and entering a restricted area.
On January 5, 2021, DeLuca’s Amtrak train broke down near Baltimore, and, according to court records, she messaged others on Instagram, “My train isn’t working” and “I need a ride to DC.”
An image of the Instagram post was in the affidavit, which pointed out that she later got a ride to her hotel in Alexandria, Virginia.
The court documents state that DeLuca posted on social media about the violent scene on January 6, 2021, and in the days afterward, including how she had been maced.
“Fight back or let politicians steal an election,” DeLuca asked in a reply made on the day of the Capitol attack to a Twitter post.
“Fight back,” she then stated in the same reply.
An Instagram user messaged her on Jan. 7, 2021, about why she supported breaking into the U.S. Capitol.
“According to the constitution it’s our house,” she responded.
The influencer mentioned in a later post she had “mixed feelings” about the Capitol attack.
“People went to the Capitol building because that’s Our House and that’s where we go to take our grievances,” she wrote on January 14, 2021, per court documents. “People feel, as do I, that an election was stolen from them and it was allowed.”
According to the affidavit, when DeLuca was interviewed by the feds weeks after the riot, she denied having entered the Capitol.
DeLuca spoke up on X on March 18 as her legal problems were made public.
“Thank you everyone for all the kind messages and the support,” she wrote in an X post. “I appreciate it all.”
She shared a link to a legal defense fund with a goal of $55,000 that raised over $19,000 as of March 20.
In January, Florida Proud Boys member Chris Worrell was sentenced to ten years in prison for assaulting police officers during the Capitol riot. He was on the run and accused of faking an overdose to avoid imprisonment.
Worrell had appeared before U.S. District Judge Royce Lamberth in Washington, D.C., for his bench trial.
He was found guilty of charges such as civil disorder, assault, resistance and obstruction of officers using a dangerous weapon, as well as physical violence and additional offenses.
Lamberth also put Worrell on 36 months of supervised release which included restitution of $2,000 and a $610 special assessment.
The FBI sparked outrage among supporters of Donald Trump after arresting investigative reporter Steve Baker.
Baker, who worked for conservative news outlet Blaze Media, was arrested on March 1 for his actions during the Capitol attack. According to a court filing, his current charges included illegally entering a restricted building/grounds and disorderly conduct in a Capitol building.
Many conservatives expressed their displeasure with Baker’s arrest, stating that he was simply doing his job as a reporter.
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