Lawrence Ligas Of Chicago Becomes Latest Illinois Resident Charged In Jan. 6 Capitol Insurrection
CHICAGO (CBS) -- Another Illinois resident has been charged with participating in the insurrection at the U.S. Capitol on Jan. 6.
Lawrence Ligas of Chicago is facing federal charges of entering and remaining in a restricted building, disorderly and disruptive conduct in a restricted building, disorderly conduct in a capitol building, an parading, demonstrating, or picketing in a capitol building.
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On Jan. 11, 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.
FBI records also revealed that in and around March and April 2019, Ligas had used the same number to report voter fraud to the FBI's National Threat Operations Center, the complaint said. The FBI also discovered that a YouTube video titled, "Lots of cops downtown Washington DC" was livestreamed by a user named "Political Trance Tribune" on Jan. 5, and showed someone who appeared to be Ligas in Washington, D.C.
A screen shot showed the man believed to be Ligas wearing an American flag-style scarf.
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.
Records from Google also showed numerous photos timestamped Jan. 5 and 6, which appeared to show Ligas in and around the Capitol, the complaint said.
An FBI special agent had interviewed Ligas as a witness in a separate matter back around October 2017. The special agent looked at the photos and video the FBI obtained and said they showed Ligas, the complaint said.
The FBI also learned that Southwest Airlines showed Ligas had flown to Ronald Reagan National Airport from Midway International Airport on Tuesday, Jan. 5, and had returned to Chicago by way of St. Louis on Thursday, Jan. 7.
Ligas is one of more than a dozen Illinois residents charged in the Capitol riot.
