GOP strategist and former Rubio intern arrested on Jan. 6 charges
Numerous Donald Trump supporters have faced federal charges in connection with the January 6, 2021 attack on the U.S. Capitol Building, and the list continues to grow.
According to Miami New Times reporter Alex DeLuca, another January 6-related arrest occurred on December 14 — and this time, the suspect is a Florida-based GOP strategist who once interned for Sen. Marco Rubio (R-Florida) and served as director-at-large of the Miami Young Republicans.
Law enforcement officials, DeLuca reports, have unsealed the arrest warrant for 23-year-old Barbara Balmaseda — who has been "charged with corrupt obstruction of an official proceeding, knowingly entering and remaining in a restricted building, and engaging in disorderly conduct in a Capitol building with the intent to impede a session of Congress on January 6, 2021."
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The U.S. Department of Justice (DOJ) alleges that "U.S. Capitol Police closed-circuit television captured Balmaseda entering the Capitol Building via the Senate Wing door at approximately 2:16 p.m., just four minutes after rioters initially breached the building."
Audrey Webb, Balmaseda's attorney, told the Miami New Times that the arrest was carried out by a task force consisting of FBI agents, U.S. Marshals and Miami-Dade police officers.
According to Webb, "When the FBI contacted us over a year ago, I told them that she will voluntarily surrender if they ever want to arrest her. We are also disappointed that it took almost three years for DOJ to decide to charge her. She has no criminal history, and the government has not charged her with any violence or destruction of property."
The DOJ, DeLuca notes, alleges that after the 2020 presidential election, Balmaseda was in touch with members of the far-right Proud Boys and claimed that the election was stolen from then-President Trump.
READ MORE: Proud Boys verdict is in: Guilty of seditious conspiracy
Read the Miami New Times' full report at this link.
