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](https://urbanmilwaukee.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/01/Tear_Gas_outside_United_States_Capitol_20210106-1024x528.jpg)
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
- Hayward, WI Man Sentenced for Jan. 6 Attack - Frank Zufall - Jul 17th, 2024
- Police Officer Who Survived Jan. 6 Has a Warning for America - Erik Gunn - Apr 10th, 2024
- 3 Years After Jan. 6 Insurrection Where Do Wisconsin Cases Stand? - Sarah Lehr - Jan 7th, 2024
- Wisconsin Man Arrested for Assaulting Law Enforcement During Jan. 6 Capitol Breach - U.S. Department of Justice - Sep 7th, 2023
- State’s Top Elections Official Interviewed By Jan. 6 Investigators - Anya van Wagtendonk - Jul 19th, 2023
- Op Ed: Kaul Should Charge Ron Johnson, 10 Fake Electors - Matt Rothschild - Jan 8th, 2023
- WisDems Chair Ben Wikler Statement on the Anniversary of 1/6 - Democratic Party of Wisconsin - Jan 6th, 2023
- Congresswoman Gwen Moore Statement on Two-Year Anniversary of January 6th - U.S. Rep. Gwen Moore - Jan 6th, 2023
- Wisconsin GOP Chair Expressed Concern About Fake Electors Plan, Then Joined In - Shawn Johnson - Dec 23rd, 2022
- Report Calls For Criminally Charging State’s Fake Electors - Henry Redman - Dec 19th, 2022
Read more about Chaos at the Capitol here