Two Wisconsin Men Charged in Capitol Riot
FBI charges Brandon Nelson and Abram Markofski with entering Capitol.

Tear gas outside the United States Capitol on 6 January 2021. Photo by Tyler Merbler from USA, (CC BY 2.0), via Wikimedia Commons
Two Wisconsin men have been arrested and charged with entering the U.S. Capitol during the Jan. 6 insurrection.
Brandon Nelson, of Dane County, and Abram Markofski, of La Crosse County, have been charged with four counts, including entering and remaining in a restricted building and disorderly or disruptive conduct in a restricted building or grounds.
According to a sworn statement from the FBI, an anonymous tipster told the agency the day after the insurrection Nelson had been inside the U.S. Capitol on Jan 6.
The FBI said Nelson later told agents he and Markofski drove from Madison to Washington on Jan 5, arriving there the morning of Jan. 6. Nelson told the FBI they attended former President Donald Trump‘s speech outside the White House that day before they walked to the Capitol.
The FBI said it was able to confirm Markofski was inside the Capitol by tracking his cell phone location data, which it obtained from Google through a search warrant. The Google data showed Markofski’s phone was at least partially within the U.S. Capitol between 2:15 p.m. and 3:41 p.m. Jan. 6.
Both men admitted to entering the Capitol. Nelson said some police officers were guiding people into the building. Markofski said a police officer inside the building told them they should leave for their own safety.
Markowski is a member of the Army National Guard, where a spokesperson confirmed he enlisted in July 2019.
“He is under no prohibition at this time,” Crocker said.
A spokesperson for the Guard declined to discuss the case, saying that as a matter of policy, it could not discuss personnel matters.
In the early days after the insurrection, NPR reported a disproportionate number of those arrested were military veterans.
Listen to the WPR report here.
2 Wisconsin Men Charged With Entering US Capitol During Jan. 6 Insurrection was originally published by Wisconsin Public Radio.
More about the Chaos at the Capitol
- Democrats File Suit Against State Republicans Who Posed As Electors - Shawn Johnson - May 17th, 2022
- Plover Man Charged in U.S. Capital Attack - Deneen Smith - May 14th, 2022
- Ron Johnson Attended Meeting To Oppose Election Certification - Henry Redman - Feb 5th, 2022
- Op Ed: Wisconsin’s January 6 Collaborators - Matt Rothschild - Jan 9th, 2022
- Rep. Robyn Vining Statement on the One-Year Anniversary of the United States Capitol Insurrection - State Rep. Robyn Vining - Jan 6th, 2022
- Op Ed: Hold Wisconsin’s Fraudulent Electors Accountable - Jeffrey Mandell - Jan 6th, 2022
- Joint Statement on the One-Year Anniversary of the Capitol Insurrection - State Rep. Jonathan Brostoff - Jan 6th, 2022
- One Year After January 6th Insurrection, Wisconsinites Haven’t Forgotten Ron Johnson’s Dangerous Efforts to Undermine U.S. Democracy - Democratic Party of Wisconsin - Jan 6th, 2022
- Six Wisconsinites Charged in Capitol Insurrection - Rob Mentzer - Jan 6th, 2022
- AG Kaul Issues Statement on One-Year Anniversary of U.S. Capitol Insurrection - Wisconsin Department of Justice - Jan 6th, 2022
Read more about Chaos at the Capitol here