Chicago area defendants charged in the Jan. 6, 2021 Capitol assault and the status of their cases

Trudy Castle and Kimberly DiFrancesco of Elmhurst were arrested earlier this month.

According to the charges, federal investigators believe the two women are related, but the feds don't know the exact nature of their relationship. Castle has also gone by the names Trudy DiFrancesco and Trudy von Keudell. Both women have cell phone accounts with the same subscriber address in Elmhurst.

The feds say, nine days after the Jan. 6, 2021, riot at the U.S. Capitol, the FBI office in Dallas got a tip from someone who received a text message from DiFrancesco, with photos of the riot inside the Capitol.

Investigators later obtained video footage showing DiFrancesco wearing a red hooded sweatshirt, green pants, gray gym shoes, black jacket, black backpack, and black hat or gaiter as she entered the U.S. Capitol through the Senate Wing door around 2:20 p.m. on Jan. 6, 2021.

Alongside her in the footage was Castle, seen wearing a white jacket; dark pants; and a red, white, and blue knit "Trump" hat with a pom-pom. Castle also was carrying several small American flags and a black satchel, according to the charges.

Video footage shows the two women walking around inside the Capitol, while DiFrancesco appeared to be talking on a handheld radio, before both of them left the building shortly after 3 p.m.

The feds say the two women did not immediately leave the area but instead met with Castle's adult son while outside. Then, around 4:20 p.m. Castle and DiFrancesco tried to go back inside the Capitol, but by that time police were pushing away rioters, and the two women left around 4:33 p.m.

While investigating, federal investigators questioned one of DiFrancesco's neighbors in September 2021, and the neighbor identified DiFrancesco in the video footage. Agents also questioned an employee at the apartment complex where Castle lived from 2014 through June 2021, and that employee recognized Castle in the video footage.

DiFrancesco and Castle's case is pending.

Matthew Bokoski of Chicago and his father, Bradley Bokoski of Utah, were arrested in May.

According to federal charges, the two entered the Capitol through the Senate Parliamentarian door around 2:45 p.m. as a crowd of hundreds of rioters broke into the building on Jan. 6, 2021, as a joint session of Congress was meeting to certify the vote count for the Electoral College of the 2020 presidential election.

Surveillance cameras recorded both men inside the Capitol, including as Matthew Bokoski had draped a blue "Trump 2020" flag over his shoulders, while wearing a red and blue knit Trump cap.

According to the charges, surveillance video showed the two "moved with a crowd down a corridor where the crowd met with a police line of approximately 10-15 officers," and then turned around and left through the same door they came in, about 5 min A tipster later sent the FBI screenshots of comments, videos, and photos Matthew Bokoski had posed on Facebook on the day of the riot, including a comment stating, "I was with my dad and walked right up the capital steps and inside with others."

Federal investigators were able to obtain a search warrant for Matthew Bokoski's Facebook account, which contained photos and videos taken inside the Capitol, as well as a Jan. 7 post in which he wrote, "this all happened before I went up to the capital. So only thing I'm guilty of is trespassing on federal property if you want to get down to it. I kept my distance from police and even thanked them for being out and making sure things don't get insane."

When they were questioned by federal investigators, both men admitted to entering the Capitol and taking photos and videos of themselves while inside. According to the feds, Matthew Bokoski told agents "that the January 6, 2021 rally was effective because the participants were able to 'shut down' the government."

Their case is pending.

Athanasios Zoyganeles of Chicago was arrested in February in a case that took the FBI more than a year to build on social media.

A criminal complaint indicated that a tipster provided the FBI with a screenshot of Zoyganeles' Facebook page, and the tipster also said "this guy" went inside the Capitol and posted a "very creepy video of him in the Capitol saying, "Nazis, where are you?"

The tipster said Zoyganeles was in a group that went into offices during the riot, and was seen in the video saying, "Let's clean up," before going through books and files, the complaint said.

On Jan. 17 of last year, a second tipster directed the FBI to video on Zoyganeles' Facebook page and sent a screenshot, the complaint said. The tipster said the video was taken on the Capitol steps and the screen shot showed faces in the crowd, the complaint said.

A third tipster then called the FBI said Zoyganeles went into the Capitol on Jan. 6, 2021, the complaint said.

Meanwhile, an investigation showed Zoyganeles had made reference to the events at the Capitol on Jan. 6 in public Facebook posts, the complaint said.

The complaint further said records obtained from Facebook also revealed that on two separate live videos posted by other users, Zoyganeles commented, "We need to take over the capital (sic) building tomorrow," while the following day in response to a concerned Facebook user, he wrote that he "rushed the capital (sic) and lost everyone I was with[.]"

The complaint said in the same conversation, Zoyganeles said further: "No im done i was teargassed maced and they were throwing flash bangs at me but I still stayed on the front lines.It wasn't easy but we did it."

The FBI also found a publicly available video in which Zoyganeles is seen standing outside the Parliamentarian Doors in the Capitol while smoking a cigarette and holding a piece of wood, the complaint said. Video also shows him going through the Parliamentarian Doors and taking photos or video on the other side, prosecutors said.

His case is pending.

Jeremiah Carollo, 45, of downstate Glen Carbon; Anthony Carollo, 23, of Lockport; and their cousin Cody Vollan 31, of Flossmoor were all arrested in January of this year.

Law enforcement became aware through geolocation data that mobile devices associated with Google accounts associated with the defendants' names were found in and around the restricted area of the U.S. Capitol on Jan. 6, 2021.

Agents were able to track the Carollos and Vollan's phone numbers and addresses. Meanwhile, agents reviewed video footage that appeared to show Vollan and Anthony and Jeremiah Carollo based on comparisons with their driver's license photos.

An agent later interviewed Anthony Carollo, and he admitted to traveling to Washington, D.C. with his brother and cousin, a complaint said. Vollan also admitted the same, the agent said.

Jeremiah Carollo also admitted to an FBI agent that he entered the Capitol with his brother and cousin, the complaint said.

All three pleaded guilty in April to taking part in the riot. They are to be sentenced in September,

James Robert Elliot was arrested in December 2021. Elliot, of Aurora, who also goes by the name "Jim Bob," faces six federal charges in connection to the attack on the Capitol.

Elliott was arrested on Monday in Batavia, and is schedule to make his first court appearance on Tuesday in federal court in Chicago.

The indictment against Elliott, filed in D.C., accuses Elliott of using a flagpole to assault officers after trespassing at the Capitol during the riot.

Elliott's case is pending.

Lawrence Ligas of Chicago was arrested in December 2021.

On Jan. 11, 2021, just five days after the insurrection, the FBI received a tip from an informant who pointed out that Ligas was quoted in a National Public Radio web article titled "Trump Supporters Storm U.S. Capitol, Clash with Police."

Ligas is quoted as follows in that article:

"'We're not moving on,' said Lawrence Ligas, a 55-year-old from Chicago who said he used to be a Democrat before Trump 'earned' his vote.

"'We are not Republicans. We are the MAGA party. We are patriots,' he said."

The informant identified Ligas from an Illinois driver's license photo, but reported not having seen Ligas in about 10 years. But federal authorities did discover a mobile device associated with a specific Gmail account was present inside the Capitol on Jan. 6, and the email account was traced to a Google account registered in the name "Lorenzo Ligas," with a recovery phone number that belonged to Lawrence Ligas, according to a criminal complaint.

Meanwhile, video footage inside the Capitol on Jan. 6 shows a man also believed to be Ligas wearing a red "Make America Great Again" hat, a blue jacket, a light blue surgical mask, beige and black hiking shoes, and a blue scar with white stars that looks to be the same one as was seen on the YouTube video the day before, the complaint said.

The video footage shows the man entering the Capitol through the East Rotunda doors at 2:40 p.m. Eastern time, walking in the Rotunda, and leaving the Capitol through the same doors eight minutes later, the complaint said. He appears to be holding a cellphone while inside the Capitol, the complaint said.

Ligas' case is pending.

David Wiersma and Dawn Frankowski were arrested in September 2021. They were named in the same federal complaints.

Prosecutors said on Jan. 12, six days after the riot, a colleague of Wiersma's submitted an online tip to the FBI National Threat Operations Center. The witness said they had worked with Wiersma at PCI Energy Center in Lake Bluff for about 10 to 15 years, prosecutors said.

The witness also said reported they were friends on Facebook with Wiersma, and had noticed that Wiersma reported on Facebook that he went inside the Capitol, prosecutors said. Wiersma posted the same message on two different accounts, prosecutors said.

The Facebook post says in part, "We went to the rally and were lucky enough to get within 20 rows of the stage. From there we marched to the Capitol where we joined the protest inside. From what we know and experienced two people were shot one fatally. Many were tear gassed. We only experienced a little of that. Spent about 30 minutes inside and got out before the swat team went in."

As seen in the screen grab, when someone asked for an explanation of what happened at the Capitol, a comment apparently made by Wiersma says in part: "It was staged by ANTIFA, BLM and Capitol police. The police moved barricades and encouraged people to go in. There are videos and I spoke with people. By the time we got there it was like going to the shopping mall. People talking and with police just coming and going. If I had thought anytime we were in danger we would have left."

An anonymous tipster also flagged a third Facebook account with Wiersma's name on it, which showed a Facebook Live video depicting a man wearing a red and blue baseball cap with an American-flag-style scarf around his neck, prosecutors said. That man is believed to be Wiersma, prosecutors said.

Live video also shows Wiersma inside the Capitol – including an area identified by Capitol Police as the Senate wise room on the first floor, prosecutors said.

On April 12, a search warrant was authorized and agents interviewed Wiersma at his Illinois home, prosecutors said. He admitted to attending the Jan. 6 protest in Washington, D.C., but refused to provide information about the social media posts without an attorney present, prosecutors said.

Meanwhile, agents also noticed a woman who appeared inside the Capitol with Wiersma in one of the incidents. She was tagged on Facebook as "Dawn Maga," and was believed to have accompanied Wiersma to Washington, D.C., prosecutors said.

Agents reviewed Wiersma's cellphone records to determine that "Dawn Maga" was Dawn Frankowski, who had an address in Naperville, prosecutors said. Agents interviewed Frankowski at her home, and she admitted to traveling to Washington, D.C. to support President Donald Trump, but not to disrupt the election, prosecutors said.

Wiersma and Frankowski's cases are pending.

Marcos Gleffe was arrested in September 20121 and is accused of entering the U.S. Capitol during the insurrection and waving a Trump flag.

Gleffe's Facebook picture shows him outside the Capitol.

The U.S. Department of Justice has identified and charged 13 people from Illinois with participating in the Jan. 6 insurrection at the Capitol.

Gleffe pleaded not guilty and his case is pending.

Amy and John Schubert of southwest suburban Crest Hill were arrested in July 2021 and charged with taking part in the Capitol assault following an anonymous tip to the FBI four months earlier. The tip regarded a YouTube video titled "The Insurrection of The United States Capitol," showing a woman wearing a black jacket with the text "Plumbers & Pipefitters Local Union 422 Joliet IL."

The FBI was able to use geolocation data to identify six Google accounts associated with the 815 area code, where Joliet is located, two of them belonging to women, including Amy Schubert's Google account, according to the charges. Agents then tracked down Amy Schubert's Facebook account and Illinois Secretary of State records, and matched her Facebook pictures and driver's license photo with the images of the woman in the video.

After obtaining a search warrant for her Google account, the feds were able to confirm her phone pinged at the U.S. Capitol on Jan. 6, and found images and videos on her phone showing her husband, John, inside the Capitol during the insurrection on Jan. 6. The feds matched those images with photos of John Schubert from his wife's Facebook account and his Illinois driver's license photo.

The Schuberts both pleaded guilty in December to a misdemeanor count of parading, demonstrating or picketing in a Capitol building. They had faced up to six months in jail, but instead in March of this year were sentenced to 18 months of probation.

Chicago Police Officer Karol Chwiesiuk, was arrested in June 2021 and charged with participating in the riot. Chwiesiuk, who worked in the Harrison (11th) District, has been on leave.

He became infamous for photos of him inside the Capitol wearing a Chicago Police Department hoodie.

Chicago Police Supt. David Brown said at the time of Cuwiesiuk's arrest that happened in Washington, D.C. on Jan. 6, 2021 was "an absolute disgrace."

"The fact that Chicago police officer has been charged in that attack on American democracy, makes my blood boil. Makes me sick to my stomach," Brown said at the time. "If the allegations are true, it breaks my heart."

According to the charges filed in U.S. District Court in D.C., Chwiesiuk sent a friend a text message on Jan. 6 saying he was in D.C., and claiming:

"Knocked out a commie last night. Don't tell."

Other messages he sent that day included:

"There's so many blacks here I'm actually in disbelief."

"We inside the capitol lmfao"

"N**** don't snitch"

Also in the federal charges, authorities said photos show he entered the office of Senator Jeff Merkley (D-Oregon.)

Chwiesiuk's case is still pending.

Christian Kulas of north suburban Kenilworth was arrested in June 2021, and an indictment against his brother, Mark Kulas Jr., was filed five months later.

Federal prosecutors have said the brothers stayed at the Trump International Hotel in D.C. the night before the riot at the U.S. Capitol. 

Christian Kulas later took video of the "Stop the Steal" rally at which President Trump was speaking, and posting the video on his Instagram account.

The video shows Christian Kulas laughing, wearing a dark baseball-type cap with the words "Keep America Great" in bright orange letters, and a dark Burberry coat.

Another video clip from his Instagram account shows the inside of the Capitol, and a man is heard saying, "Storming the Capitol."

The brothers pleaded guilty last December to misdemeanor charges of parading, demonstrating or picketing in a Capitol building. Both were sentenced to six months of probation, including 60 days of home confinement.

Kevin Lyons, 40, was arrested at his home in Chicago's Gladstone Park neighborhood in January 2021, the week after the riot. A criminal complaint said he admitted to entering House Speaker Nancy Pelosi's office.

In a criminal complaint, an FBI agent reported that after the Capitol riot, law enforcement reviewed an Instagram account that they confirmed belonged to Lyons.

The Instagram account included a screenshot of a map tracing the route to Lyons' home to the Washington, D.C. area, with a post beside it reading, "I refuse to tell my children that I sat back and did nothing. I am heading to DC to STOP THE STEAL!"

Lyons told FBI agents he had gone to Washington, D.C. to attend President Trump's rally and described himself as a tourist, the complaint said. He said he took an Uber to the Washington Monument where the rally was held, and had only planned to attend the rally, the complaint said.

But he said while walking along Pennsylvania Avenue, he heard "flash bangs" and saw people walking toward him with red faces, the complaint said. He said the crowd pushed toward the Capitol building, and there was not much he could do to escape because he only weighs 140 pounds, the complaint said.

He said near the Capitol, he saw people tearing up scaffolding and climbing the walls, and he said he went up the stairs and walked in a door, the complaint said.

Inside the Capitol, Lyons said he first walked around the Rotunda and took a moment to look at the statues and gather his bearings, the complaint said. He said he then walked upstairs to the second floor, but did not go to the House of Representatives' Chamber because he did not know where it was, the complaint said.

But Lyons admitted to going into the "big boss" office, referring to Pelosi's office, the complaint said. He said he did take that picture of the plaque outside Pelosi's office and uploaded the photo to Instagram, the complaint said.

Lyons said Pelosi's office was a "good size" office and there were about 20 to 30 people already inside when he walked in. He said he saw a broken mirror, but was told it was broken before he entered, the complaint said.

Lyons said while he was in Pelosi's office, a Capitol Police officer entered with his 40mm pistol drawn. Lyons he raised his arms above his head as the officer told him to get out, and he left, the complaint said.

Lyons pleaded not guilty. His case is still pending with no recent updates.

Kash Lee Kelly of Hammond, Indiana, was arrested in January 2021 and was charged with taking part in the riot.

The FBI says pictures show Kelly waving a flag on the wall of the Capitol building and posing with a statue inside.

Kelly also appeared on a social media website titled, "Storming the Capitol - Street Interviews," in which a man prosecutors say is Kelly says: "We feel like our voices weren't being heard which is why we ran through that Capitol Building. To let them know this is our house, and we were united, Black, brown, red, yellow, didn't matter…white, everybody stood together, we ran through that building, and let them know this is our house, this is our country, and that's our President. And we are not going to let them f**k with us, man, fuck with our liberty and our freedoms, we're going to keep doing what we are doing."

In February 2021, Kelly was sentenced to four years in prison and three years' supervised release after pleading guilty in a drug conspiracy case.

His case associated with the Capitol assault is still pending.

Bradley Rukstales of Inverness was one of the first Chicago area residents to be charged in the Capitol riot. He had been the chief executive officer of Schaumburg-based tech company Cogensia, but he was fired by the company the same day he was hit with federal charges for his role in the riot.

Rukstales, of Inverness, talked exclusively with CBS 2's Charlie De Mar the day after the insurrection – Jan. 7, 2021.

"I had nothing to do with charging anybody or anything or doing any of that," he said. "I was in the wrong place at the wrong time, and I regret my part in that."

As Capitol Police retreated down a flight of stairs that winter day, federal prosecutors said chairs tumbled down behind them. Rukstales is accused of throwing one of those chairs. He pleaded guilty to charges in August.

He was sentenced to 30 days in prison, $500 restitution, and $10 special assessment.

A Roselle man, David Fitzgerald, was also arrested for curfew violations in Washington, D.C. around the same time as Rukstales. He is not accused of entering the Capitol, but was booked for breaking the 6 p.m curfew, and he was on federal property.

"Unfortunately I got arrested," he told CBS 2's De Mar. "OK, yeah. Guilty of curfew violation. OK. I'm a sinner, you know."