Huntington Beach Resident Arrested For Involvement in Capitol Riots
HUNTINGTON BEACH (CBSLA) - The FBI arrested a Huntington Beach man on Monday for involvement in the Capitol Riots that occurred on January 6 of this year.
Well known for spreading his political opinions, Kim Michael Sorgente was arrested in Santa Ana, according to Rukelt Dalberis of the FBI's Los Angeles field office.
The FBI has both videos and photo evidence to prove his involvement in the insurrection.
Sorgente, 50, was charged with obstruction of law enforcement during a civil disorder, knowingly entering a restricted building without legal authority and disorderly and disruptive conduct in a restricted building.
While he could face up to 15 years for these charges, recent federal court cases against other capitol rioters have been on the more lenient side when it comes to punishment. That is, unless they were directly connected to a physical attack.
He was reportedly one of the many individuals involved in a two-hour long battle in the tunnels with officers who were protecting the capitol from said rioters.
The Los Angeles Times reports that an FBI affidavit in a 27-page criminal complaint filed with the U.S. District Court can detail his actions over the three hours in which the rioting occurred.
They have footage of him yelling into a bullhorn, attempting to dismantle barricades, joining in altercations with officers and attempting to breach their line of riot shields to gain access to the building. The complaint also reports that he was repeatedly making statements to capitol police, such as: "We're not gonna hurt any of you. But you hurt us. And you're hurting the country if you don't stop. You let us in, we'll behave. If you keep fighting and pepper spraying us, we're gonna get upset."
Sorgente was also charged with assault with a deadly weapon in December 2020 at a "Stop the Steal" rally in Santa Ana, where video shows him hitting a man over the head with a bullhorn.He was released on a $100,000 bond.
Sorgente was recognized by a detective with the Santa Ana Police Department who previously interrogated him over his involvement in the same "Stop the Steal" rally, in which he was charged with armed assault.
He is now awaiting trial for both this previous incident, and his involvement in the riot. He is scheduled for preliminary hearing on January 26, 2022 for his previous charge, in which he has plead not guilty two felony counts of assault with a deadly weapon other than a firearm.
Sorgente was also released following his Monday arrest, but was ordered to appear in federal court scheduled for November 4.