COEUR D’ALENE, Idaho – A federal judge issued an arrest warrant for a Rathdrum man reportedly involved in the U.S. Capitol riots on Jan. 6. The man was subsequently arrested in Coeur d’Alene.
According to court documents from the District of Columbia, Ronald J. Cloutier from Rathdrum is accused of violating federal law by entering a “restricted building” intending to impede the government process.
FBI investigators said they found a photo of Cloutier taken by a UPI (United Press International) photographer and filed under the title “Supporters listen as US President Donald J. Trump delivers remarks to supporters gathered to protest Congress’ upcoming certification of Joe Biden as the next president on the Ellipse in Washington, DC on January 6, 2021.”
In the photo, Cloutier is standing with a crowd of people during former President Donald Trump’s speech, encouraging the crowd to “proceed to the U.S. Capitol Building and protest the results of the U.S. Presidential election,” according to court documents.
Court documents also said other images show Cloutier walking down Constitution Avenue toward the U.S. Capitol, as well as a video/photo of him outside the building in the “restricted area” and a photo of him entering the Senate wing of the building.
The court documents also revealed that records from Google indicate a mobile device associated with Cloutier’s email address was present outside the U.S. Capitol and the Senate Wing doors.
The court document stated that FBI investigators met with former coworkers of Cloutier, who confirmed that the man in the photos and videos was indeed Cloutier. They added that Cloutier also wears the same hat and glasses found in the video to work.
The arrest warrant was filed on May 31 and returned on June 3. Cloutier made an initial appearance in federal court in Coeur d’Alene on June 3, where he waived his right to a preliminary hearing.
The offenses are punishable by a maximum of one year in prison, supervised release, five years of probation and a $10,000 fine.
