Two Western Pa. men charged in connection with the riots at the U.S. Capitol

Pennsylvania — Two area men are facing charges of participating in the siege on the U.S. Capitol on Jan. 6.

Jorden Mink, of Oakdale, and Matthew Perna, of Sharon, made their initial appearances this afternoon in the Western District of Pennsylvania federal court.

According to authorities, Mink’s charges include unlawfully entering the Capitol while carrying a deadly weapon, violent entry and participating in physical violence on Capitol grounds, destruction of government property valued at more than $1,000, theft of government property and aiding and abetting.

Perna is facing charges of entering a restricted building without authority and disorderly conduct on Capitol grounds. Police say he stormed the Capitol building with the crowd of rioters and bragged about it on social media.

According to police, Mink climbed through a broken window, took a chair from inside the U.S. Capitol building and attempted to smash a window with a baseball bat. FBI agents in Pittsburgh were tipped off about Mink, who was spotted in numerous social media posts from the riot. Authorities said they used Mink’s neck and finger tattoos to confirm his identity in the footage.

On Election Day, Mink posted a photo of himself holding a firearm with the caption “The ballot is stronger than the bullet,” attributing the quote to Abraham Lincoln. “Well...my magazines will be fully loaded just in case it’s not.”

Perna was seen in a video on social media wearing a red hoodie with “Make America Great Again” written on it. He posted a video to his Facebook page of he and others in a hotel talking about what they did, and Perna is recorded saying, “Steve and I, we walked right into the Capitol building.”

Perna told police he’d been at the rally President Trump held before the riots and that he walked to the Capitol building and went in through an open door. He said the crowd pushed him inside and that he only stayed for a few minutes.

Authorities have charged hundreds of people in the past two weeks with taking part in the siege during a joint session of Congress to affirm Joe Biden’s presidential election win. Five people were dead in connection with the rioting.

“The U.S. Attorney’s Office is working closely with the FBI and the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the District of Columbia to identify those residents of western Pennsylvania who violated federal law in our nation’s Capitol on Jan. 6,” said Scott Brady, U.S. Attorney for the Western District of Pennsylvania. “The charges announced today against Jorden Mink and Matthew Perna are the result of this collaboration. Together with our federal, state and local partners, we will ensure that our community is safe from those who would incite or commit further violent acts. Such criminal activity will be met with swift justice.”

Chaos at the Capitol: What you need to know (NCD)

Cox Media Group