Beverly Hills Salon Owner Gina Bisignano, 2 Others Arrested For Capitol Riots
BEVERLY HILLS (CBSLA) – Three people from Beverly Hills, including a salon owner, have been arrested in connection with the storming of the U.S. Capitol earlier this month.
Gina Bisignano, 52, was taken into custody by FBI agents at around 7 a.m. Tuesday at her apartment in the 300 block of North Palm Drive in Beverly Hills, FBI spokeswoman Laura Eimiller confirmed to CBSLA.
The FBI, with the help of Beverly Hills police, also arrested 37-year-old John Strand and 55-year-old Simone Gold on Monday. Their charges were not immediately available.
All three made their first federal court appearances Tuesday. Bisignano is charged with civil disorder, destruction of government property and aiding and abetting.
She was ordered released on a $170,000 bond and is subject to home detention. A preliminary hearing was set in her case on Feb. 4 in Los Angeles.
A $20,000 bond was set for Strand, but he will remain in custody until a surety is approved. Once released, Strand also will be subject to home detention. Gold was released on a $15,000 bond and is also subject to home detention. Her next court appearance is a virtual hearing with the District of Columbia on Thursday.
"These are serious charges, and they could absolutely rack up in terms of seeing federal prison time," Jessica Levinson, a Loyola Law School professor, told CBSLA.
Bisignano owns Gina's Eyelashes And Skincare. Last week, Bisignano confirmed to the Beverly Hills Courier that she traveled to Washington, D.C., where she found herself among the mob who stormed the Capitol building on Jan. 6.
In a cell phone video obtained by the Courier, a woman believed to be Bisignano holds a megaphone on a ledge of the Capitol and yells, "Everybody, we need gas masks, we need weapons. We need strong, angry patriots to help our boys, they don't want to leave. We need protection."
Last week, a 20-year-old Glendora man was arrested for breaking a window during the Capitol riots. Hunter Allen Ehmke was detained by Capitol police at the scene, but because they were outnumbered by the mob, they were forced to let him go. He was arrested in Southern California on Jan. 13.
Former USC swimmer and two-time Olympic gold medalist Klete Keller was also arrested after he was reportedly caught on video inside the Capitol Rotunda.
The pro-Trump rioters stormed the Capitol on Jan. 6 while the House and Senate was meeting to certify the Electoral College results. The rioters entered the House and Senate chambers and broke into several offices. One of the rioters, a woman from San Diego, was shot and killed by Capitol police, and two others died of medical emergencies.
Two Capitol police officers who responded to the breach also died. Officer Brian Sicknick died of injuries he sustained during the attack. Officer Howard Liebengood died of unknown causes while off-duty.
According to CBS News, federal authorities have arrested at least 100 people in the Capitol riot, with charges ranging from curfew violations to felonies related to theft and weapons possession.