NORFOLK, Va. — In the one year since the January 6 riot, federal authorities have arrested and charged 13 people in the Hampton Roads area for their involvement in the storming of the U.S. Capitol.
Prosecutors are offering plea deals to most people accused of disorderly conduct or breaking into the Capitol, while seeking stronger punishments for people charged with attacking police officers or other felonies.
Here's the list of people who were arrested in Hampton Roads, including details from criminal complaints, indictments, statements of facts, and plea agreements.
A full list of Capitol Breach Cases can be found on the Department of Justice website.
- Robert Keith Packer - Packer was arrested in Newport News one week after the Capitol riot, facing charges for Violent Entry and Disorderly Conduct on Capitol grounds, as well as illegally entering the Capitol. Packer was wearing a 'Camp Auschwitz' sweatshirt on January 6, which helped investigators track him to Newport News. A witness identified him from a Newport News store. Packer pleaded not guilty and his case is pending.
- Cindy Fitchett and Douglas Sweet - Fitchett and Sweet traveled from Mathews County to the Capitol, according to prosecutors. A Capitol Police Officer reported he saw Fitchett and Sweet with a group of people inside the Capitol that was "making loud noises, kicking chairs, throwing an unknown liquid substance at officers and spraying an unknown substance at officers." Fitchett and Sweet were arrested about a week after the riot in Suffolk and Mathews, respectively. Facing multiple charges, they both agreed to a plea deal with prosecutors, in which they pleaded guilty to one count of Parading, Demonstrating, or Picketing in a Capitol Building. In November, they were sentenced to 3 years' probation, one month of home detention, 60 hours of community service, and $500 in restitution. As part of the plea, Fitchett admitted to saying on video: "We are storming the Capitol. We have broken in. Patriots arise"
- Ryan Suleski - A Chesapeake man who admitted on a TikTok video and to investigators that he was in the "first wave" of people to breach the Capitol. He pleaded not guilty to four charges, including theft of government property. Investigators said surveillance video showed him taking papers from outside an office inside the U.S. Capitol - a claim Suleski denied.
- Kene Brian Lazo - A Norfolk man facing four charges, including disorderly conduct and illegally entering the Capitol. Investigators identified him through a Facebook page, in which he posted photos of his riot outfit before Jan. 6, which matched photos and videos from inside the Capitol during the insurrection. Lazo pleaded not guilty to his charges. On August 23, Norfolk Police arrested Lazo for rape, aggravated sexual battery of a minor under 13 years of age, assault and battery of a family member, and other charges.
- Jonathan Gennaro Mellis - A James City County man, arrested in Williamsburg, who faces the most serious charges out of the group of people arrested in Hampton Roads. Mellis faces 10 charges, including assaulting an officer with a dangerous weapon. He's accused of hitting police officers with a stick while saying “knock their masks off.” In a Facebook post, Gennaro Mellis wrote: "Don't you dare try to tell me people are blaming this on antifa and BLM. We proudly take responsibility for storming the Capitol." He pleaded not guilty to all charges.
- Meghan Rutledge and Tom Bostic - Rutledge, a Virginia Beach woman, and her father, Bostic, each face four charges, including disorderly conduct and illegally entering the Capitol. Rutledge and Bostic were arrested in October after investigators said they identified them on surveillance video. Their cases are pending. The statement of facts associated with Rutledge's case includes a Facebook post from her now-deleted account which reads: "After miles and miles of walking and climbing and climbing some more we made it inside the capitol building. What an experience for the books."
- Melody Steele Smith - A Gloucester woman who posted photos on Facebook from Nancy Pelosi’s office, according to investigators. She said “we stormed the castle," while also claiming the violence of the riot was staged. Steele Smith pleaded not guilty to her charges and her case is in progress.
- Eric and Paul Von Bernewitz - Brothers from Virginia Beach, arrested in Chesapeake, they each face two charges: Violent Entry and Disorderly Conduct on Capitol Grounds and illegally entering the Capitol. The Von Bernewitz brothers admitted to investigators that they entered the Capitol, adding that they were inside for "less than 10 minutes." A review of Paul Von Bernewitz's phone found several photos taken inside the Capitol on Jan. 6, prosecutors said. They pleaded not guilty and their cases are pending.
- Eduardo Nicolas Alvear Gonzalez - A Capitol rioter from California arrested in Virginia Beach, Nick Alvear was seen on camera smoking weed and passing out joints in the Capitol rotunda, according to a criminal complaint. The day after the riot, Alvear posted a Zoom/YouTube video in which he showed photos of himself - dubbed as the "doobie smoker" - in which he narrated his actions. Alvear agreed to a plea deal with prosecutors, pleading guilty to a single charge, and was set to be sentenced this week.
- Jacob Hiles - Hiles, a Virginia Beach charter boat captain, pleaded guilty in September. Before the riot, he posted on Facebook: “Feelin cute...might start a revolution later, IDK” and he said he wore goggles to protect himself from tear gas. He was sentenced to two years' probation in December.