WASHINGTON — A Minnesota man has been arrested on felony and misdemeanor charges related to his conduct during the breach of the U.S. Capitol on Jan. 6, 2021. His actions and the actions of others disrupted a joint session of the U.S. Congress convened to ascertain and count the electoral votes related to the 2020 presidential election.
Paul Orta Jr., 34, of Blue Earth, Minnesota, is charged in a criminal complaint filed in the District of Columbia with a felony offense of obstruction of law enforcement during civil disorder. In addition to the felony, Orta is charged with misdemeanor offenses of entering or remaining in a restricted building or grounds and disorderly and disruptive conduct in a restricted building or grounds.
Orta was arrested on Nov. 14, 2023, in Minnesota and will make his initial appearance in the District of Minnesota tomorrow.
According to court documents, a review of open-source videos and body-worn camera footage from Jan. 6, 2021, at the U.S. Capitol grounds and building, shows a man, later identified as Orta, wearing, at times, a dark-colored balaclava, and brown/green gloves, present inside the restricted perimeter on the west side of the Capitol. Open-source video shows Orta just inside the security fencing and barricades that formed the restricted perimeter of the Capitol grounds. In the video, the person is shown tossing a section of black metal barricade onto the ground and beckoning to the remaining crowd beyond the perimeter to move forward.
At approximately 12:53 p.m., rioters overwhelmed officers at the Peace Monument entrance and began to move onto Capitol grounds. Law enforcement attempted to stop the crowd from advancing but were forced to retreat. Orta joined this crowd of rioters as they moved up the Pennsylvania Walkway toward the Capitol. Orta is seen in an open-source video removing his balaclava over his nose and exclaiming, “We’re taking that s— today!”
Law enforcement authorities then attempted to form a new police line closer to the Capitol and took a position behind temporary metal bike racks used for crowd control. Orta approached the line of officers and joined with others in the crowd as they pulled the bike racks away from law enforcement. Orta removed at least two sections of the bike rack and threw them over a concrete wall. Court records say that Orta’s actions deprived the officers of barricades that were being used to control the crowd and made it easier for the crowd to unlawfully advance toward the Capitol. Within minutes, the crowd broke through the line of law enforcement officers, and Orta continued to move forward with the crowd as they entered the West Plaza of the Capitol. Around approximately 1:00 p.m., Orta made his way to the front of the crowd.
By approximately 1:22 p.m., law enforcement had begun to push the crowd back away from the Capitol and reclaim some of the area of the West Plaza. At this time, Orta is seen throwing an unknown, dark-colored object towards the police line on the west side of the Capitol. Between approximately 2:07 and 2:08 p.m., Orta was still present on the West Plaza of the Capitol. Authorities had formed a police line and were using the bike rack barricades to prevent the crowd from advancing further toward the Capitol. Orta then joined with other members of the crowd and can be seen using his lowered left shoulder to push the line of officers at the barricade.
The crowd on the West Plaza eventually broke through the police line and some rioters made their way to the Lower West Terrace and the Upper West Terrace while some members of the crowd broke into the Capitol building. After the crowd had breached the police line and made it to the Lower and Upper West Terraces, Orta climbed on top of a concrete wall and raised his fist in the air.
This case is being prosecuted by the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the District of Columbia and the Department of Justice National Security Division’s Counterterrorism Section. Valuable assistance was provided by the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the District of Minnesota.
The case is being investigated by the FBI’s Minneapolis and Washington Field Offices. Valuable assistance was provided by the U.S. Capitol Police and the Metropolitan Police Department.
In the 34 months since Jan. 6, 2021, more than 1,200 individuals have been charged in nearly all 50 states for crimes related to the breach of the U.S. Capitol, including more than 400 individuals charged with assaulting or impeding law enforcement, a felony. The investigation remains ongoing.
Anyone with tips can call 1-800-CALL-FBI (800-225-5324) or visit tips.fbi.gov.
A complaint is merely an allegation, and all defendants are presumed innocent until proven guilty beyond a reasonable doubt in a court of law.