A N.J. man wore a jacket with his name and phone number to the Jan. 6 Capitol riot. FBI agents used it to track him down.

Robert Coppotelli is the 39th New Jersey resident charged in connection with the historic attack.

A man who FBI agents have identified as Robert Coppotelli, of Tom's River, N.J. is seen in a video still shot outside the U.S. Capitol building on Jan. 6, 2021 during the historic riot.Read moreJustice Department court filings

Published Feb. 20, 2024, 6:03 p.m. ET

As FBI agents zeroed in on their latest suspect in the Jan. 6, 2021, attack on the U.S. Capitol, he certainly didn’t make it too difficult for them to find him.

Robert Coppotelli, 27, showed up to the riot wearing a jacket embroidered with his name and phone number.

That contact info — flagged for investigators in a photo from that day provided by an anonymous tipster — led agents to the Toms River man’s eponymously named business, Coppotelli Heavy Equipment Sales & Service. On Tuesday, he became the 39th New Jersey resident charged in connection with the historic attack.

In court filings, agents described Coppotelli’s distinctive outerwear as advertising for his business. The insignia of his heavy-equipment business — including images of a tractor under an American flag — and the accompanying phone number pointed them to where to look.

Investigators said they later confirmed it was Coppotelli wearing the jacket in the photos with someone who knew him personally.

Surveillance footage from Jan. 6 showed Coppotelli — wearing the coat, a red hoodie, a black beanie and a surgical mask — in and around the Capitol building as officers struggled to beat back a crowd of thousands of supporters of former President Donald Trump’s pushing their way inside.

Prosecutors say Coppotelli entered the Capitol through the Senate Wing door roughly 10 minutes after other rioters had smashed open a nearby window, kicked the doors open and poured inside as members of Congress had gathered to certify President Joe Biden’s electoral victory.

Investigators believe Coppotelli spent less than 15 minutes inside the building. And unlike others who have been charged, he is not accused of attacking officers or destroying property.

Instead, they said, he milled around the Capitol Crypt for a few moments before making his way to a nearby staircase. He eventually left a few minutes later by crawling out a shattered window near barricades police had erected to keep other rioters at bay.

Reached Tuesday at the phone number printed on the back of his jacket, Cappotelli declined to comment. It was not clear from court dockets whether he had retained a lawyer.

He faces four misdemeanor counts including entering a restricted building, disorderly conduct and illegally demonstrating on Capitol grounds. If convicted, he could face up to a year in jail.

In all, federal authorities have charged more nearly 1,300 people in connection with the attack. Roughly 900 have pleaded guilty or been convicted at trial.