Citadel cadet one of 2 men arrested in connection with Capitol riot

CHARLESTON, S.C. (WCSC) - The Citadel has confirmed a cadet is one of two people facing federal charges in connection with the Jan. 6 riot at the United States Capitol.

Elias Irizarry and Elliot Bishai are accused of knowingly entering or remaining in any restricted building or grounds without lawful authority; knowingly engaging in disorderly or disruptive conduct in any restricted buildings or grounds and violent entry and disorderly conduct on Capitol grounds, according to FBI documents.

Irizarry is currently a second-semester freshman at The Citadel, spokesperson Kim Keelor-Parker confirmed.

Court documents state the FBI released multiple photos taken from surveillance footage showing rioters who entered the U.S. Capitol on Jan. 6 during deadly riots.

One of the photos depicted three men and witnesses helped the FBI identity Irizarry and Bishai as two of the men in that image, an affidavit states.

The documents state Irizarry and Bishai are both “cadets in a Civil Air Patrol Unit” with which the witness is associated. Additional witnesses also recognized and identified the two men, the FBI said. Those witnesses also saw footage from The New Yorker and recognized the pair in that footage, the documents state.

The FBI said the third person shown, Grayson Sherrill, was arrested on March 1.

The court documents show a variety of photos and stills taken from footage. One of them, the FBI said, featured Irizarry’s face “clearly visible looking down over a wall” wearing the same clothing as in other photos. He is also shown holding the same metal pipe, the documents state.

The documents include arrest warrants filed Tuesday for Bishai and Irizarry.

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