Chesapeake man accused of attempting to disrupt 2020 presidential vote count now charged in Jan. 6 riot
A Chesapeake man accused of driving to Philadelphia in November 2020 in a vehicle filled with weapons and ammunition in an attempt to disrupt the presidential vote count, was arrested again this week and charged with taking part in the U.S. Capitol riot.
Antonio Paredes LaMotta was taken into custody Tuesday in Chesapeake, about a week after a federal magistrate judge in Washington, D.C., issued an arrest warrant for him, online court records show.
The 63-year-old is charged with four misdemeanors, including entering a restricted building, disorderly conduct, and illegally demonstrating in a Capitol building.
According to a statement of facts unsealed Tuesday, surveillance footage from the U.S. Capitol and a Metropolitan Police Department officer’s body camera captured LaMotta inside the Capitol for about eight minutes during the Jan. 6, 2021 riot.
Some screenshots taken from the footage “clearly shows his face,” the statement said.
“Based on a review of U.S. Capitol Police surveillance footage, Lamotta(sic) entered the Capitol building through the east Rotunda doors at approximately 3:21 p.m.,” the statement said. “He was part of a group of rioters that pushed past police officers working to bar entry into the building. Police pushed Lamotta out of the building, along with other rioters, at approximately 3:29 p.m.”
LaMotta and another Chesapeake man, Joshua Macias, were arrested Nov. 5, 2020 near the Philadelphia Convention Center, where votes from the 2020 presidential election were being canvassed.
Lauren Wimmer, Lamotta’s attorney in his Philadelphia case, wasn’t immediately available for comment Wednesday, according to a member of her staff.
FBI agents in Norfolk alerted Philadelphia police that same day that a mother, son and another man from Virginia were on their way to the city’s convention center to “straighten things out” with the vote count being conducted there. The alert said the group was traveling in a silver Hummer and was believed to have an AR-15 rifle and large amounts of ammunition with them.
Philadelphia police said they found the Hummer a block from the convention center, and located the two men armed with guns nearby. LaMotta reportedly had a Beretta 9mm pistol and Macias had a Beretta 40-caliber pistol. An AR-15 style rifle and ammunition was found inside the truck. A woman with the two was not arrested.
Both men initially were charged with carrying a firearm on a public street and having a concealed weapon without a license. New charges of conspiracy, attempting to interfere with a primary or election, and hindering or delaying the performance of a public duty were later added to the list.
The Philadelphia Inquirer reported Tuesday that LaMotta and Macias are due to go to trial on local the charges in October.
Jane Harper, jane.harper@pilotonline.com
