Selfies Lead to Huntington Beach Man’s Arrest in Capitol Breach

Selfies Lead to Huntington Beach Man’s Arrest in Capitol Breach
Police release tear gas into a crowd during clashes at the U.S. Capitol Building in Washington on Jan. 6, 2021. (Shannon Stapleton/Reuters)
City News Service
8/2/2021
Updated:
8/2/2021

LOS ANGELES–A Huntington Beach home remodeling contractor has been arrested on charges related to the Jan. 6 Capitol breach, including unlawful entry, violent and disorderly conduct, and obstructing Congress, after a fellow member of his church prayer group tipped off the FBI, according to court papers obtained Aug. 2.

Glenn Allen Brooks, 61, allegedly climbed through a broken window of the Capitol during the melee and subsequently “boasted of his active participation” in the riots by sharing photos of himself inside the Capitol to members of the prayer group, according to a criminal complaint filed last week in federal court in the District of Columbia.

Brooks was arrested on July 29. It wasn’t immediately known when he was expected to be arraigned in the District of Columbia.

According to the complaint, after the FBI received an online tip about Brooks’ potential involvement in the breach, the prayer group member who saw the photos gave authorities the defendant’s address, phone number, and email address.

Afterward, an FBI agent conducted surveillance of Brooks’ home and noted the suspect’s white beard, which allegedly matched the beard worn by the suspect in the photos, along with other clothing and physical attributes, the document states.

The Justice Department’s investigation into the Capitol attack has led to criminal charges against almost 600 people, including dozens of California residents—one of whom is a former La Habra police chief—who have been accused of conspiring to attack Congress in order to stop the final certification of President Joe Biden’s Electoral College victory.