Geoffrey Shough: Capitol rioter arrested after ex-girlfriend identifies him to FBI
A Texas man was arrested on Tuesday and charged in connection to the January 6, 2021, Capitol riot after his ex-girlfriend and other anonymous tipsters identified him to the FBI. Geoffrey Shough, 37, has been charged with civil disorder, and if convicted, he could face up to five years in federal prison, according to the Justice Department.
Although it has been more than a year since a mob of Donald Trump supporters marched up to the Capitol and caused havoc, the Justice Department is investigating the case seriously and is diligently arresting rioters. Shough was allegedly one of the first few people to breach a line of Capitol Police and cross into the building.
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Court documents say that there is a video wherein a man, believed to be Shough, is seen waving a Texas flag while wearing a 'ballistic-style' helmet, as well as goggles, hard-knuckle gloves and what appeared to be a body armor vest under his jacket.
In March 2021, shortly after the FBI released images of the man, an individual referred to in the court documents as Tipster 1 came forward, saying while they did not personally know Shough, they were submitting the tip on behalf of another person, referred to as Tipster 2, who had met him several times.
Tipster 1 provided the FBI with contact information for Tipster 2 and Shough's former girlfriend, identified in the documents as LT.
In May 2021,the FBI interviewed LT; she told the investigators she and Shough had broken up the week before and that he had gone to see friends in Washington, D.C., at the time of the riot. She also said she recognized the jacket he was wearing in the images and that she was fairly certain it was him based on an image of the man without the helmet on, the court documents added.
The FBI also checked Shough's financial records and found that he had purchased a Texas flag that looked the same as the one in the pictures from the Capitol. The records also showed he made a $129.99 payment to the Oath Keepers, a far-right anti-government group that claims to be defending the US Constitution. According to the Justice Department, the founder and leader of the Oath Keepers was among a group of 11 people charged earlier this year with seditious conspiracy and other offenses related to the riot.
The US Attorney's Office for the District of Columbia and the Department of Justice National Security Division's Counterterrorism Section will be prosecuting the case against Shough. And if convicted of civil disorder charges, Shough can face up to five years in federal prison and be fined up to $10,000. Court records list no attorney for Shough.
The investigation relating to the Capitol riots is still going on, and according to the Justice Department, from the day of the event until now, in a span of 13 months, more than 750 individuals have been arrested in nearly all 50 states for crimes related to the breach.