A woman turned in her ex-boyfriend to the FBI after he took a break during last month's Capitol riot to berate her in a text message, authorities said.
Richard Michetti's one-time girlfriend gave authorities a series of texts that led to his arrest, including a 4:26 p.m. missive that read, "If you can't see the election was stolen, you're a moron," according to an affidavit by FBI Special Agent Christopher Dillon.
The Ridley Park, Pennsylvania, man appeared in federal court in Philadelphia on Tuesday and was placed under home detention until trial.
Court documents show several pictures of Michetti in a Chicago White Sox baseball cap, inside the U.S. Capitol on Jan. 6, as pro-Trump supporters tried to stop Congress from formally accepting the Electoral College votes that delivered November's election to President Joe Biden. The riot left five people dead, including Capitol police Officer Brian Sicknick.
In one of the texts outlined in the documents, Michetti wrote: "This is our country do you think we live like kings because no one sacrificed anything. he vote was fraud and trump won but they won't audit the votes."
Later in the day, the former girlfriend, identified in court papers as the "witness" or "W1," seemed to push back on Michetti's embrace of voter fraud.
"I understand your point but what I'm saying is ... the election was rigged and everyone knows it," Michetti texted her at 6:04 p.m., according to court documents. "All's we wanted was an investigation that's it. And they couldn't investigate the biggest presidential race in history with mail in ballots who everyone knows is easy to fraud."
Michetti was charged with entering a restricted building, disorderly conduct and obstructing congressional business. His lawyer could not be immediately reached for comment on Thursday.
A man who picked up a publicly listed phone number for Michetti initially identified himself as the suspect, asked for money to pay legal fees and said, "I think what's being done is horrible."
"She's wrong, but it's all right. It all works out later in the end. It'll all work out," the man said before hanging up.
