A retired New York police officer who is alleged to have played a tambourine in the halls of the U.S. Capitol during the Jan. 6 riot has been charged with several misdemeanors, the FBI said.
The former officer, Sara Carpenter, 51, turned herself in to federal authorities and appeared before a federal judge in Brooklyn on Tuesday, NBC New York reported.
Carpenter is charged with knowingly entering or remaining in any restricted building or grounds without lawful authority, disorderly or disruptive conduct in a restricted building or grounds and violent entry and disorderly conduct on Capitol grounds.
The misdemeanors stem from the riot in Washington on Jan. 6, when a mob of Donald Trump supporters stormed the Capitol to try to stop the counting of the electoral votes in the presidential election. Five people died as a result of the violence, including a Capitol Police officer.
The FBI alleged that Carpenter was seen jangling a tambourine while she walked through the Capitol, according to NBC New York.
FBI agents interviewed Carpenter in January, and a judge authorized a search warrant this month. Security video from the Capitol and text messages alleged to have been sent by Carpenter tied her to the crimes, NBC New York reported.
Carpenter joined the New York Police Department in 1994 and retired in 2004, said Detective Sophia Mason, a police spokesperson.
A number of former law enforcement officers have been accused of participating in the riot at the Capitol.
Federal prosecutors accused another former New York police officer, Thomas Webster, in February of using a flagpole as a weapon during the riot.
Carpenter did not immediately respond to a request for comment.
