ORLANDO, Fla. – A Central Florida man was one of those arrested Wednesday in the aftermath of theupporters breached the U.S. Capitol in what police called “criminal riotous behavior.”
Michael Curzio, of Summerfield, was arrested by U.S. Capitol Police on a charge of unlawful entry.
It is not clear at this time what Curzio did while inside the Capitol, but some observers are wondering aloud when more serious federal charges will be leveled against the terrorists involved.
According to online records, Curzio served eight years in prison on a charge of attempted first-degree murder and was released in February 2019.
Other Florida residents identified thus far as having been involved in the terrorist attack include Adam Christian Johnson, of Parrish, who was photographed carrying a House lectern through the Capitol rotunda. Andrew Williams, a Sanford firefighter, who was also photographed at the assault. John Anderson, of St. Augustine, and Matthew Council, of Riverview, Florida were arrested by Capitol Police.
Capitol Police Chief Steven Sund on Thursday defended his department’s response to the violent breach at the Capitol, saying in a statement that officers “acted valiantly when faced with thousands of individuals involved in violent riotous actions.”
To that point Chief Sund is absolutely correct, but there remains the issue of disparate treatment.
When Black Lives Matter protesters came to Washington, DC, the police presence that greeted them was massive. But in the case of pro-Trump rioters, Federal officials responsible for protecting Capitol Hill seemed to give the terrorists free reign. Sund– or someone else in the chain of command– refused the offers of both the FBI and the National Guard to assist. The governor of Maryland spent 90 minutes trying to get approval to send in the Maryland National Guard. (DC’s mayor, Muriel Bowser, has no authority to send DC police onto federal property without authorization. Her request to the Secretary of the Army to send troops went ignored.)
Sund said rioters “actively attacked” Capitol Police and other law enforcement officers with metal pipes. Fifty or more officers were injured. During the assault rioters can be seen passing a heavy ladder up a human chain. The ladder appears to be too heavy to have been carried to the Capitol by one person. Once inside, the rioters could be seen discharging chemical sprays they had brought with them to the assault– all of this being further evidence that the terrorists had a common plan to do more than protest peacefully once they arrived.
Sund agrees:
“The violent attack on the U.S. Capitol was unlike any I have ever experienced in my 30 years in law enforcement here in Washington, D.C.,” he said. “The USCP had a robust plan established to address anticipated First Amendment activities. But make no mistake, these mass riots were not First Amendment activities; they were criminal riotous behavior. The actions of the USCP officers were heroic given the situation they faced, and I continue to have tremendous respect in the professionalism and dedication of the women and men of the United States Capitol Police.”
Sund did not address the taking of selfies with the terrorists by at least one of those officers.
Five people died during the terrorist assault, including a member of the Capitol Police.
Enough is enough is an understatement when it comes to what Trump just did. No one is above the law…
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