Swanton residents charged in Jan. 6 riot at U.S. Capitol

CLEVELAND, Ohio (WTVG) - Four Toledo-area residents have been charged in connection with the Jan. 6 riot at the U.S. Capitol.

Jodie Lynn Wilson and her son, Cole Temple surrendered to FBI agents. Authorities also charged Gabriel Burress and Madison Pettit. The four are from Swanton.

Wilson and Temple are charged with knowingly entering a restricted building without lawful authority, demonstrating in a U.S. Capitol building and two counts of disorderly conduct.

According to court documents, the FBI began investigating Wilson and Temple in January on allegations the two were at the Capitol during the riots.

During their investigation, FBI agents spoke with a person who said Wilson told them she was at the Capitol on Jan. 6 with Temple and had been invited inside by an unknown person, who Wilson assumed to be a congressman. She also said a police officer at the Capitol told the two that they were allowed to be inside.

The witness also supplied authorities with downloaded videos from Temple’s Snapchat account that appears to show exterior and interior shots of the Capitol building, uploaded on Jan. 6. One of the videos also appears to show Temple recording himself, saying “Just broke in this (building).”

Surveillance video from inside the Capitol also shows individuals matching Wilson and Temple’s appearance inside the building from approximately 3:01-3:18 p.m.

FULL FBI AFFIDAVIT FOR WILSON/TEMPLE (GRAPHIC LANGUAGE)

Wilson and Temple were interviewed separately by authorities on Aug. 12. Wilson told agents she had traveled to Washington D.C. on Jan. 6 but initially denied going inside the Capitol Building, saying she was outside. After agents showed her surveillance video of her inside the Capitol, she said police officers had “held the door open for (her)” and that an officer had “told me that’s what I could do, and I went in, and that’s all that I did.”

Temple told authorities he had traveled to Washington D.C. with his mother to attend a protest at the Capitol building. Temple said he was in the second wave of protesters to enter the building, saying it appeared as though law enforcement allowed people inside.

Authorities began investigating Burress and Pettit in January as well after they received an online tip. Based on footage taken from a surveillance camera at the Capitol, two individuals matching the description of Burress and Pettit were inside the building from approximately 3:01-3:30 p.m.

Pettit and Burress were interviewed on Aug. 12 as well. After being shown images from videos showing them inside the Capitol, Burress admitted to traveling there with Pettit and two other individuals on Jan. 6. He said he followed the crowd to the steps of the U.S. Capitol and was pushed inside by the crowd behind him. He said he was inside for approximately 10 minutes.

Pettit also identified herself and Burress in images taken from CCTV video footage from inside the Capitol building. She told agents she went inside after gates in front of the crowd were removed. She also said she heard alarms go off and felt pepper spray in her lungs. She said she stayed inside the building for 10-15 minutes.

FULL FBI AFFIDAVIT FOR PETTIT/BURRESS (GRAPHIC LANGUAGE)

See a spelling or grammar error in our story? Please include the title when you click here to report it.

Copyright 2021 WTVG. All rights reserved.