ORLANDO, Fla. – A Volusia County man arrested in connection with the insurrection at the U.S. Capitol was identified by someone who recognized him on television.
Howard Berton Adams, of Edgewater, surrendered to federal authorities on Wednesday and was spared detention by federal prosecutors during a court hearing that afternoon.
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According to new documents filed in federal court, Adams was identified by someone who recognized him in a video clip taken inside the U.S. Capitol Building, which was aired on Inside Edition locally on News 6.
The clip showed a man, identified as Adams, entering the Capitol building on Jan. 6 screaming and carrying a flag.
Investigators said agents then used surveillance cameras to map where he went inside the building.
At one point, he was pictured with a large group of others confronting a member of law enforcement.
Investigators said they interviewed Adams and his wife at their home on Jan. 22.
They said they showed a picture of the Inside Edition segment to Adams, and he did not deny it was him.
“This was not anything I had planned at all,” he told investigators, according to federal documents. “I went… to go hang out with the rest of the crowd, got up too close to the front, and wound up just, just getting caught up. I’ll be honest. I would never, I was actually even praying for some of the cops when I was in there. Um, so you already have the picture.”
Adams faces charges of civil disorder, intimidation or force against a witness, entering a restricted building or grounds and violent entry and disorderly conduct on Capitol grounds.
In court on Friday, federal prosecutors told a judge more than 300 people have been arrested in connection with the Jan. 6 insurrection, and they expect at least 100 more arrests.
They said they’ve executed more than 900 search warrants, collected more than 15,000 hours of surveillance and body-worn camera footage and received more than 210,000 tips from the public.
They said the Capitol attack is likely the most complex investigation ever prosecuted by the Department of Justice.
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