CHESAPEAKE, Va. (AP) - A Virginia man charged with being part of the rioters who stormed the U.S. Capitol posted on Facebook that he was “Feelin cute” and “might start a revolution later” on the morning of the violent siege, according to court documents.
Jacob Hiles, of Virginia Beach, surrendered Tuesday morning at the FBI office in Chesapeake, FBI spokeswoman Christina Pullen told The Virginian-Pilot. He was then released on a personal recognizance bond after making a federal court appearance over a video call.
Hiles, a boat captain who runs a fishing charter in Virginia Beach, was charged last week with knowingly entering or remaining in any restricted building without lawful authority, knowingly engaging in disorderly conduct on Capitol grounds with intent to impede government business, and parading, demonstrating, or picketing in the Capitol Building.
According to court documents, he posted the “Feelin cute … might start a revolution later, IDK – in Capitol Hill” caption on Facebook with a photo of a man wearing a cap, sunglasses, gaiter and a sweatshirt that includes an expletive directed at Antifa, an umbrella term for far-left-leaning militant groups President Donald Trump routinely references.
Another screenshot showed the man identified as Hiles wearing goggles and a gaiter inside the Capitol. In one Facebook post later that day, Hiles wrote he entered the Capitol after being tear gassed and “followed the trail” of blood out of the building. He said the blood came from a woman who was shot.
Five people died amid the chaos that day. One woman, Ashli Babbitt, was fatally shot inside the building.
An unidentified person who knew Hiles helped FBI agents identify him.
Hiles, who made news earlier last year for catching a 708-pound Blue Fin Tuna, described himself to WAVY-TV in August as a conservative who supports police, the military, believes in God and loves America.
A prosecutor has requested the judge to order Hiles to stay away from Washington, except for court appearances, and to surrender his guns while the case is pending. He is set to have a remote court appearance in Washington on Friday.
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