Natick Woman, Malden Man Arrested In Connection With Capitol Hill Riot
BOSTON (CBS) -- A Natick woman and a Malden man were arrested Tuesday morning in connection with the Capitol Hill riot. Suzanne Ianni, 59, of Natick, and Mark Sahady, 46, of Malden, faced a judge in U.S. District Court in Boston.
Both were charged by the U.S. Attorney in Washington D.C. with knowingly entering or remaining in a restriction building or grounds without lawful authority and disorderly conduct on Capitol grounds.
Ianni was released after her court appearance. Sahady is being detained until a hearing on Thursday.
The FBI identified Ianni as the woman on the left in an image tweeted by the group Super Happy Fun America. Sahady was identified as the man in the grey shirt to the right of Ianni.
Bus 1 of 11 coming to Washington DC. See you there! pic.twitter.com/66ktWpwZKL
— SuperHappyFunAmerica (@SuperHappyFunA) January 6, 2021
It was determined through a public report that Ianni organized 11 busses for Super Happy Fun America to transport people to D.C. for the Jan. 6 event.
Sahady identifies himself as the vice-president of Super Happy Fun America on his Twitter account. According to the FBI, his account "contains multiple statements evincing a belief that the 2020 election was stolen and that people need to gather in D.C. to respond to this theft on January 6, 2021."
Ianni and Sahady were later identified in photos of rioters inside the Capitol building, the FBI said.
John Hugo, president of Super Happy Fun America, said neither Ianni or Sahady engaged in any violence on January 6. "They did what they thought was the right thing to do," Hugo said. "They're both absolutely fiercely patriotic and Americans they love their country and I support them 100 percent."
Sahady's attorneys said he never entered restricted areas of the Capitol building and left when police asked him too.
Last week, the Massachusetts U.S. Attorney said that his office was reviewing a flood of information on individuals who went to the Capitol, but in order to charge them, he would have to prove they left the state with the intent to do damage and cause violence.