A man accused of participating in the Jan. 6, 2021 insurrection at the U.S. Capitol was arrested in Van Nuys, California Thursday morning after refusing to comply with a federal warrant, officials said.
Eric Christie was taken into custody at Willis Avenue and Burbank Boulevard after an hourslong standoff with law enforcement.
Christie “did not comply” with a search warrant, leading to his arrest at about 12:30 p.m., according to Laura Eimiller of the FBI.
Prosecutors said Christie was identified as a rainbow-flag-clad insurrectionist by Twitter user @chadloder, who worked to publicly identify those at the Capitol riot before his suspension from the platform.
In a criminal complaint, the FBI said they have established he was at the Capitol riot where he donned a Make American Great Again hat and a shirt supportive of former President Donald Trump that contained a pejorative term for members of the LGBTQ community.
Christie, whom the Associated Press said is 56 years old, also carried a bullhorn and a hammer, images shared in the criminal complaint show.
Christie faces charges of entering and remaining in a restricted building or grounds with a deadly weapon and disorderly or disruptive conduct in a restricted building or grounds with a deadly weapon.
While serving the warrant Thursday, federal agents were heckled by supporters of Christie, as shown in video posted to Twitter by NBC News justice reporter Ryan J. Reilly.
The arrest was also condemned by actor and conservative Nick Searcy, who decried the Christie’s arrest “TWO YEARS after the event, for the crime of being in DC on Jan 6.”
Searcy posted a photo of the two together at what appears to be a conservative rally, adding that the FBI “is a criminal organization.”
“This is not America,” the “Justified” and “The Shape of Water” actor wrote.
Additionally, Searcy posted a link to Right Now Views News, which bemoaned the arrest and said Christie never actually set foot inside the Capitol.
In an email to the Associated Press, Christie’s attorney, George Newhouse, said they bemoaned a federal judge’s decision on Friday that Christie remain in custody.
“We disagreed with the judge’s findings that he is a flight risk,” Newhouse said. “Mr. Christie will defend himself in Washington D.C. as he believes that his actions were within the zone of protection provided by the First Amendment.”
The U.S. Department of Justice still has Christie’s case under seal, though the criminal complaint reveals some of Christie’s alleged actions that day.
According to prosecutors, he ran toward the Capitol after a crowd pushed through barriers, then ran up steps on the east side of the building while repeating “This is our Capitol” on the bullhorn.
He later stood atop a government vehicle parked near the Capitol and added more chants to his bullhorn, including “It’s a MAGA party, it’s a MAGA party,” “Welcome to MAGA country, District of Columbia” and “Beverly Hills is in the house,” prosecutors said.
Christie, an attendee of Trump rallies in Beverly Hills, also encouraged others to storm the Capitol, saying “Come on, you can come up … It’s your house … You’re invited, it’s your house,” the complaint said.
Before his arrest, Christie had been identified by name by a defense attorney in another Jan. 6 case, NBC News reported.
A court filing from that case asked why Christie had not been arrested yet.
Nidia Becerra contributed to this report.