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Metro-North Worker Suspended After Raiding U.S. Capitol Building
By
Jen Chung
Published Jan 9, 2021
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Metropolitan Police Department
By
Jen Chung
Published Jan 9, 2021
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An MTA worker has been suspended after participating in the mob that stormed the U.S. Capitol building on Wednesday.
William Pepe, who works at a Metro-North rail yard in Brewster, "called out sick Wednesday to attend the event," according to the NY Post, citing an unnamed source.
"Effective immediately this individual has been suspended from Metro-North without pay and will be disciplined in accordance with his collective bargaining agreement pending an investigation," MTA spokesperson Ken Lovett said. "This alleged conduct is abhorrent and goes against the values of Metro-North Railroad, NY and the nation."
The violent raid on the Capitol, following President Donald Trump's rally to spread misinformation about election fraud, left five people dead, including a Capitol Police officer who sustained injuries from the mob; a Trump supporter who was shot trying to breach a room inside the Capitol; and three other Trump supporters who had medical episodes. Thousands of protesters descended on the Capitol, breaching police lines and breaking down windows and doors to enter while Congress was certifying the 2020 elections results that sealed President-elect Joe Biden's victory.
The chaos and trespassers forced hundreds of lawmakers—including Vice President Mike Pence, House Speaker Nancy Pelosi, and Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell—and their staffs and journalists to flee and shelter in place.
Pepe's image has been circulated by the FBI and Metropolitan Police Department among dozens, if not hundreds, of others who are wanted for questioning related to "Violence at the United States Capitol," as the FBI's poster seeking information puts it. The FBI notes the individuals "made unlawful entry," while the MPD says that "federal charges are pending due to insurrection at the U.S. Capitol."
Many of these people are being sought since there were only 13 arrests immediately after the raid; everyone else was allowed to walk away.
Also seen in the FBI's and MPD's posters of people wanted for questioning is Brooklyn resident Aaron Mostofsky, who was photographed and filmed while wearing fur pelts and carrying around a police officer's apparently abandoned riot shield.
People wanted for questioning, including Aaron Mostofsky (far right)
Metropolitan Police Department
Mostofsky, the brother of Brooklyn district leader Nachman Mostofsky and son of Kings County Supreme Court judge, told the Post that he was in the Capitol because "the election was stolen." Nachman Mostofsky insisted to Gothamist that his brother had been "pushed inside" the building.
Before finding out his brother was inside the Capitol, the Jewish Telegraphic Agency reports that the district leader "condemned the violence at the Capitol but suggested that it was carried out by the anti-fascist group Antifa." The FBI has said there's "no indication" that Antifa was involved on Wednesday.
The Justice Department announced on Saturday that the "QAnon Shaman," Jacob Anthony Chansley, a.k.a, Jake Angeli, was arrested and charged with knowingly entering or remaining in any restricted building or grounds without lawful authority, and with violent entry and disorderly conduct on Capitol grounds, while Adam Johnson, who was seen taking the House Speaker's lectern, is in custody and charged with knowingly entering or remaining in any restricted building or grounds without lawful authority; one count of theft of government property; and one count of violent entry and disorderly conduct on Capitol grounds.
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Jen Chung
Jen Chung is a former WNYC and Gothamist editor.
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Gothamist is funded by sponsors and member donations
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