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Joshua Colgan of Jefferson is identified by authorities in an image included from inside the U.S. Capitol Building on Jan. 6, 2021. The image was provided by the FBI and included in court documents outlining evidence usd to charge Colgan with breaching the Capitol Building grounds. Courtesy of FBI
Photographic evidence from inside the U.S. Capitol and a tip about a Facebook post led federal authorities to identify and charge a Jefferson man in connection with his alleged participation in the Jan. 6 riot, according to court documents.
Joshua Colgan, 35, initially denied that he entered the Capitol building when FBI agents tracked him down in August last year, saying only that he had traveled to Washington, D.C., to listen to then-President Trump’s speech prior to the attack. He told authorities he went up to the Capitol Building but did not go inside.
But a criminal complaint filed by Kurt Ormberg, a special agent for the FBI, on Friday contains images from security footage and third-parties that appear to show Colgan inside the Capitol Building on Jan. 6 after security at the building was breached and throngs of people swarmed inside. Colgan was wearing a dark-colored sweatshirt and a blue “TRUMP” baseball cap with white, red and yellow lettering.
A screenshot of a Facebook post submitted to the FBI the day after the insurrection also was included in the complaint.
The images, and GPS data from a mobile device — which Ormberg said is accurate to within 10 meters — were enough evidence for U.S. Magistrate Judge G. Michael Harvey to agree that there was probable cause for Colgan’s arrest. Authorities obtained the location data through a search warrant and found data points “that are both entirely and partially within the U.S. Capitol Building” between 2:32 p.m. and 3:31 p.m. on Jan. 6.
Colgan was arrested Monday in Wiscasset, according to Kristen Setera, a spokesperson for the FBI’s Boston division. He is facing four criminal charges tied to his alleged participation in the Jan. 6 attack: knowingly entering or remaining in a restricted building or grounds; disorderly or disruptive conduct in a restricted building or grounds; disorderly conduct in a Capitol building; and parading, demonstrating or picketing in a Capitol building.
He is scheduled to make his initial appearance before the U.S. District Court for the District of Columbia on May 10, by video conference.
Not much could be learned Tuesday about Colgan’s life, as attempts to contact members of his family were not successful. Most of his publicly available Facebook posts show photos of outdoor recreation such as snowmobiling or videos of him playing electric guitar while wearing a “Trump 2020” baseball hat. His profile says he’s single and lives in Jefferson.
A post from last summer indicates that he grew up in Jefferson, had lived elsewhere for a time and then moved back to Jefferson in June 2021. Colgan in another Facebook post from August said he was in dire need of a worker to help with his business, Bunker Hill Floor Sanding and Refinishing.
The FBI says it received a tip on Jan. 7, 2021, showing a Facebook user who said they were posting “on behalf of their ‘friend Josh Colgan.'” The post claims the National Guard and Antifa were involved in the days prior to the riot and states “After trumps speech, we marched the capitol peacefully unknowing Antifa was leading the march.” The post goes on to claim members of Antifa smashed their way into the Capitol but “not one patriot made entry.”
“I got up close footage of PATRIOTS calmly walking in the front door fist bumping capital police WELCOMING us in with kindness!” the post continues. ” … I was there when Ashli Babbitt was SHOT and MURDERED in cold blood by capital police and I’ll never unsee the horror that unfolded.”
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Joshua Colgan of Jefferson, Maine, is identified in the back by authorities in an image included from inside the U.S. Capitol Building on Jan. 6, 2021. The image was provided by the FBI and included in court documents outlining evidence usd to charge Colgan with breaching the Capitol Building grounds. Courtesy of FBI
Also included in the criminal complaint is a screenshot from what the FBI said was Colgan’s Facebook page. The post, dated Jan. 5, 2021, states: “Today is the start of the chaos, the start of a revolution, the end of a chapter, (UI) states several million Brothers and Sisters united at our nation’s capitol to over throw this corrupt government and to form a new brotherhood of Patriots that will be permanently carved into our history books to never be forgotten. We love our president Donald Trump, his family, everything he’s done for us since day one even while being slandered, cheated and pourded (sic) on. His continuous fight for his people to ensure their future has not stopped, its time we return the favor.”
Colgan was able to be interviewed by FBI agents Aug. 17, 2021, because he was arrested that day by Lincoln County Sheriff’s Office for an alleged probation violation and failure to appear in court.
It was not his first brush with the law, according to State Bureau of Identification records. His other convictions include: operating a watercraft under the influence and violating condition of release in 2021; domestic violence assault in 2020; criminal mischief in 2017; criminal trespass and harassment in 2016; eluding an officer, operating under the influence and criminal mischief in 2009; criminal mischief and interference with constitutional rights in 2006; and violating condition of release in 2005.
Colgan, according to Lincoln County records, was due at the courthouse in Wiscasset on Monday, at 2 p.m., for a hearing related to a motion to revoke his bail in a 2021 violating protection from abuse case, though the FBI officials declined to say whether Colgan was arrested at the courthouse or elsewhere in Wiscasset on Monday.
In the 2021 violation of a protection order case, according to an affidavit filed by Lincoln County Sheriff’s Deputy Michael Moody, Colgan allegedly violated an order prohibiting him from harassing a woman with whom he has a child, by sending her text messages between Jan. 11 and 13, 2021.
Among those text messages from Colgan, according to court records from that case, were statements such as “Can’t reason with you left wing sheep,” “China virus was created to cheat this election and fools like you, it’s cold season,” and “There’s no law I have to get tested you fool, it’s a mandate I’m taking you down, good luck.,” as well as a photo of a Trump flag and a winky face emoji.
Calls to a phone number listed for Colgan were not immediately returned, nor was a call to a lawyer who represented him in the most recent Lincoln County case.
Colgan is the third Maine man charged in connection with the assault on the Capitol, aimed at blocking Congress from certifying the election of Democrat Joe Biden as president. Colgan’s prosecution will be handled by the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the District of Columbia.
The arrest warrant for Colgan was issued by the U.S. District Court for the District of Columbia. The FBI said its Boston division has now arrested 15 people in connection with the breach at the Capitol.
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