2 Northwest Suburban Men Among Dozens Arrested After Storming U.S. Capitol
ROSELLE, Ill. (CBS) -- Two men from Chicago's northwest suburbs are among the dozens of people arrested in Washington, D.C., after a mob of rioters stormed the U.S. Capitol on Wednesday.
As CBS 2's Charlie De Mar reported, the U.S. Attorney in D.C. said nothing is off the table when it comes to charging those involved in the events at the Capitol. That includes sedition, which comes with a possible prison sentence of 20 years.
United States Capitol Police said Bradley Rukstales, of Inverness, was arrested for unlawful entry. Capitol Police have reported at least 14 arrests from the assault on the Capitol so far.
"Absolutely atrocious, awful, sad," said a neighbor of Rukstales'. "That's not a good thing."
Rukstales is the chief executive officer of the tech company Cogensia, based in Schaumburg.
A vice president at Cogensia said, "Brad was acting as an individual and not an employee of the company."
Rukstales was arrested for unlawful entry.
RELATED: Brad Rukstales Of Inverness, Arrested At U.S. Capitol Riot, Apologizes And Expresses Embarrassment
Online campaign contributions show he has donated more than $2,800 to Republican causes - including $12,000 to President Donald Trump through various committees.
We stopped by Rukstales' home, which appeared empty. Nobody answered.
David Fitzgerald from Roselle was also arrested during the chaos in D.C. He posted several times to Facebook Wednesday.
His wife declined to go on camera, but she did say off camera that her husband did not storm the Capitol despite the charges.
He faces charges of curfew violations and unlawful entry.
From CBS News: Police Release Photos Of People Sought For Rioting In The Capitol
CBS News reports the D.C. Metropolitan Police Department has reported another 68 arrests in connection with efforts to quell a mob that stormed the Capitol Wednesday, most as a result of breaking curfew. All but one were from out of town, according to Metropolitan Police Chief Robert Contee. David Fitzgerald, 48, of Illinois, was arrested on the U.S. Capitol grounds for unlawful entry and violating the 6 p.m. curfew imposed by the District. The police information did not list a hometown.
Washington, D.C., Mayor Muriel Bowser on Thursday criticized the federal Capitol police for their response. "Obviously it was a failure or you would not have had police lines breached and people entering the building by breaking windows," Bowser said.
Four people died during the assault. Authorities said one woman was shot and killed by police and three people died from medical emergencies. The woman who was killed was identified as 35-year-old Ashley Babbitt, by Capitol Police Chief Steven Sund.
The mayor said she believes federal law enforcement responded more forcefully to Black Lives Matter civil rights protests in the city last summer than they did to violence inside and around the perimeter of the Capitol. She called for an investigation into that apparent disparity.
"We must also understand why the federal law enforcement response was much stronger" during the Black Lives Matter protests, Bowser said.
In a press release Thursday, Sund defended his agency's response to the attack, which led to a lockdown of the Senate and House of Representatives.
"The USCP had a robust plan established to address anticipated First Amendment activities. But make no mistake – these mass riots were not First Amendment activities; they were criminal riotous behavior. The actions of the USCP officers were heroic given the situation they faced," Sund said.
The National Guard will install a seven-foot fence around the Capitol for at least 30 days in response to the incident.
The mayor ordered an overnight curfew on Wednesday in response to the violence and declared a public emergency, which has been extended for 15 days.
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