Baltimore couple arrested for alleged role in Jan. 6 Capitol riot
BALTIMORE -- An engaged couple from Baltimore was arrested Tuesday on charges related to their role in the Jan. 6 Capitol riot, according to federal court records.
Carrie Ann Williams and Tyrone McFadden Jr. are charged with disorderly conduct in a restricted building, disorderly conduct in a Capitol Building and related charges.
The couple spoke to WJZ Thursday and said they did nothing wrong.
Tyrone McFadden Junior and Carrie Ann Williams, the Baltimore couple charged in connection with the January 6th riot at the US Capitol, tell WJZ they are not Trump supporters but were visiting and got swept up in the chaos. More at 5,6,7 on @wjz pic.twitter.com/Fy1eaTdtlT
— Mike Hellgren (@HellgrenWJZ) September 1, 2022
"We went out there to have a good time, a good day. And like I said, all hell broke loose. We didn't go up there to start anything, to hurt anybody," Williams said.
They told WJZ they're not political and not supporters of former President Trump. They blame him, in part, for the chaos.
"He was the president at one point in time. That's a powerful position. So you can pretty much get anyone to do anything for you if you're president," McFadden said.
Williams added, "I believe he needs to take partial blame on it because if it wasn't for him saying let's go to the Capitol, let's do this and that, none of this would have happened. ...You had the Proud Boys there, you had all these other people there who had malicious intent to do stuff, and it was just crazy."
Williams and McFadden face charges for disorderly conduct and entering a restricted building on January 6th. McFadden on Trump: “That’s a powerful position. So you can pretty much get anyone to do anything for you if you’re president.” https://t.co/AQznlfN4QY pic.twitter.com/Cg1LcrQMHz
— Mike Hellgren (@HellgrenWJZ) September 1, 2022
Williams and McFadden became people of interest after Williams was tagged in a Facebook post by a man identified as her cousin, Aaron Mileur, according to an affidavit by an FBI Agent investigating the riot. The duo's arrest triggered the release of the affidavit.
Mileur had posted multiple images and videos from inside the Capitol on Jan. 6, including a photo with Williams and a man who was later identified as McFadden.
Mileur was arrested in March 2021. In an interview with the FBI in 2021, Williams and McFadden told agents they never went inside the Capitol.
"I believe this was false and that Williams and McFadden were untruthful in that interview," the agent said in the affidavit.
The affidavit then described how Williams and McFadden were seen on the Capitol grounds and entering the building.
Using CCTV footage, the agent determined the couple entered the building through the Rotunda doors, entered the Rotunda, and then left after about six minutes.
The two were then interviewed in a YouTube video by the Young Patriots Society outside the Capitol, in which they bragged about being early through the doors.
"They were going to lock us in there, you know what I'm saying? They bombed us twice." McFadden said.
"We made it out safe," Williams said in the interview. "We're good. We made history. We was not expecting this mess at all today. But we did it."
Cell phone data also placed the couple inside the Capitol on Jan. 6, according to the affidavit.
In a review of Williams' Facebook account, the agent said he found messages between Williams and Mileur discussing taking down their Facebook posts.
The agent also described another exchange between Williams and a Facebook contact about the riot.
"Wtf did you turn Tyrone [MCFADDEN] into? He fell completely apart even more," the contact said. "Why yall down there representing Trump."
"His mind is just fine my cousin was here visiting and he want to see trump speak then all hell broke loose not cuz of us," Williams replied.
According to court records, the couple has been released on personal recognizance. A status hearing has been set for November 17.