WASHINGTON — A Brooklyn man who had been arrested at anti-vaccine protests at a Burger King, an Applebee's and a Cheesecake Factory in New York City was arrested by federal authorities Wednesday and charged with assaulting law enforcement officers during the Jan. 6 attack on the U.S. Capitol.
Mitchell Bosch, 44, who ran for the New York City Council last year, was identified with the help of online "sedition hunters" who have aided the FBI in hundreds of arrests of suspects in the riot on Jan. 6, 2021. Bosch is charge with felony counts of civil disorder and assaulting, resisting or impeding officers, along with misdemeanor charges.
Bosch, according to an FBI affidavit, "can be seen in multiple instances" on video of the riot "opposing the police advance by pushing directly against the officers, assisting other rioters in pushing against officers, and encouraging other rioters to oppose the police." The government alleges that Bosch yelled "hold the line!" as the mob struggled with officers.
The FBI said that Google records confirmed Bosch's presence at the Capitol and that he posted on Instagram less than two weeks after the Capitol attack suggesting he knew he'd eventually be arrested on Jan. 6 charges.
“Enjoying my last meal before the FBI comes for me," he wrote on Jan. 19, 2021, authorities said.
Investigators interviewed Bosch in August 2021 and say that he "became agitated" when he was asked about his travel to Washington on Jan. 6, saying their efforts "should be on what's going on in Afghanistan, and not what happened in D.C." (The interview took place one day after 13 members of the military were killed during the evacuation of the country.)
Bosch had previously run for the City Council as a Republican, and the New York Post had documented his arrests at a Cheesecake Factory, an Applebee's and a Burger King in December 2021, when he was opposing the city's vaccination mandate. Bosch was also arrested at the Museum of Natural History in January 2022 while protesting vaccination mandates, according to the Post.
“I literally had to urinate inside a bottle inside the Museum of Natural History," Bosch said on social media, according to the Post.
Bosch and his lawyer did not immediately respond to a request for comment on his latest or past arrests.
There have been a number of arrests of Jan. 6 defendants in recent days. Daniel Hatcher, Nathan Mackie and his brother Brandon Mackie were also charged in a case unsealed Wednesday, and Thomas Method was arrested in Massachusetts. Cameron Clapp, a triple amputee, was arrested in California on Tuesday. More than 1,250 people have been arrested in connection with the Jan. 6 attack. Online sleuths have identified hundreds more participants who have not been arrested. The statute of limitations expires in just over 22 months, in January 2025.
