Pa. man with ties to Bucks County charged in Jan. 6 Capitol attack
Leonard P. Ridge 4th allegedly posted videos on Snapchat of his particpation.
A Pennsylvania man with ties to Bucks County was arrested Friday for his alleged role in the Jan. 6 attack on the Capitol, federal prosecutors said.
Leonard P. Ridge 4th allegedly posted several videos on Snapchat of his participation. He also exchanged messages with several other users on the social-media platform boasting of his involvement, according to the FBI. One of his postings read: “I have video of me fighting riot police in the capital [sic] building.”
Many of his posts were filled with misspellings and grammatical errors.
In another message, Ridge allegedly wrote that “we bro [sic] down McConnells door and nacy pelosios [sic] door and raided the offices.”
“I just made history,” Ridge allegedly declared.
According to the FBI, in one post Ridge shared a screenshot from news video showing security personnel inside the Capitol with guns drawn on a barricaded door.
The image included the caption: “You deserve to live in fear.”
The image was accompanied with a tweet from former President Donald Trump with the words altered to say: “I am the Senate. I am the living Constitution. My Power belongs to ME. I’m not leaving!!!”
Prosecutors did not specify where Ridge lives in Pennsylvania or his age. A 2014 newspaper article reported that he was then attending Poquessing Middle School in Feasterville. Family members with listed addresses in Bucks County could not be reached by telephone Friday nigtht for comment.
Ridge was charged with obstructing an official proceeding, disorderly conduct, and violating laws for restricted buildings and grounds.
More than 40 of the more than 400 people charged in connection with the Capitol attack have come from Pennsylvania.
In a Jan. 7 exchange of messages with one person, according to the FBI, Ridge made it clear that he knew he might get into legal trouble.
“Just pray for me that I don’t get arrested by the FBI,” he allegedly wrote.
Despite claiming in other messages that he fought riot police, was Maced and teargassed, and was in a group that broke doors and raided offices, he also claimed that he was merely walking around the Capitol recording video “and did not break anything or steal anything.”
In the criminal complaint against Ridge, the FBI said they received a tip about him and his Snapchat videos on Jan. 9.
On Jan. 21, the Capitol police informed the FBI that Ridge matched an individual who can be seen on surveillance video inside the Capitol.
In a December exchange of messages, Ridge allegedly wrote: “The election was completely stolen.”
He added, according to the FBI: “Something big will happen in this nation very soon.”