So far only one Louisianan has been arrested for participating in the riot at the Capitol last week, 50-year-old Vaughn Gordon of Lafayette. Gordon was charged Thursday with one count of knowingly entering or remaining in a restricted building without lawful authority, and one count of demonstrating in the Capitol.
Gordon isn’t accused of being violent, only of misdemeanors, but legal analyst Tim Meche said everyone at the Capitol that day who gets caught will pay a price.
“When a law enforcement officer dies, everyone in the law enforcement community takes it seriously and they are going to make sure that everybody who is identified as being at the Capitol will be held accountable,” said Meche.
One police officer was beaten to death with a fire extinguisher and another committed suicide several days after. Federal prosecutors also allege some involved in the riot were actively plotting to assassinate elected officials.
Gordon got charged after admitting to the Advocate that he was inside the Capitol that day as part of the protest. There’s also a video circulating of Gordon discussing the day.
“They are going to make a point of identifying people who were stupid enough to post pictures of themselves at this event, they don’t want that happening,” said Meche.
Gordon told the Advocate that he was able to wander the Capitol for nearly two hours, but says he didn’t vandalize anything and remained peaceful.
Meche said Gordon may not be the only Bayou State native who gets arrested.
“Law enforcement is actively scouring the internet every day looking for images of people and if they see them they are going to identify and arrest the people who are posting pictures of themselves at the event,” said Meche.
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