GOP Strategist Charged by DOJ for Storming Capitol During Jan. 6 Riot

A GOP strategist who worked for several Florida Republican politicians has been arrested for her alleged involvement in the riot at the U.S. Capitol on January 6, 2021.

Barbara Balmaseda, 23, of Miami Lakes, Florida, was arrested on December 14 in her hometown on felony and misdemeanor charges related to her "conduct" during the breach of the U.S. Capitol on Jan. 6, 2021, according to a criminal complaint filed in D.C. and made public on Monday.

"Her actions and the actions of others disrupted a joint session of the U.S. Congress convened to ascertain and count the electoral votes related to the 2020 presidential election," federal prosecutors said in an online statement on Monday.

In the nearly three years since the Capitol siege, more than 1,230 people have been charged for their alleged roles in the Jan. 6 riot, when a group of former President Donald Trump's supporters violently protested the 2020 presidential election results, allegedly to block Congress from certifying then-President-elect Joe Biden's victory. The investigation remains ongoing, federal prosecutors said.

Balmaseda faces charges of a felony offense of obstruction of an official proceeding and misdemeanor offenses of entering and remaining in a restricted building or grounds, disorderly and disruptive conduct in a restricted building or grounds, disorderly conduct in a Capitol building or grounds, and parading, demonstrating, or picketing in a Capitol building, according to the statement.

Balmaseda interned for Rubio, a Florida Republican, between 2018 and 2019, served as an organizer on DeSantis' 2018 gubernatorial campaign, and worked as campaign manager in 2020 for Florida state Senator Ileana Garcia, the New York Times reported.

Balmaseda is accused of breaching the Crypt inside the Capitol alongside a Miami member of the alt-right group Proud Boys, 42-year-old Gabriel Augustin Garcia, who was found guilty of two felony charges last month for his involvement in the riot. She is also accused of creating and sending hundreds of messages in a Telegram group chat of at least 10 participants, including Garcia, leading up to the riot.

Newsweek reached out via email to the representatives of the Department of Justice (DOJ) for comment.

Her defense attorney, Aubrey Webb, told Newsweek in an email interview on Monday that Balmaseda plans to enter a plea of not guilty at her arraignment.

He said that their hope is the U.S. Supreme Court will "rein in the DOJ's politically-motivated prosecution of January 6 demonstrators."

"It was unnecessary for the federal task force comprising of the FBI, Marshals, ATF, and Metro-Dade Police to arrest her for essentially trespassing charges," Webb told Newsweek. "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."

Webb said that over the past year and a half, the government has attempted to make Balmaseda's life "difficult" by adding her to a TSA program known called Quiet Skies, "which makes her subject to enhanced screening at airports."

"She has no criminal history, and the government has not charged her with any violence or destruction of property," Webb said.

In January 2021, Balmaseda allegedly traveled from Florida to Washington, D.C., to protest Democratic President Joe Biden's victory over former President Donald Trump in the 2020 presidential election, according to court documents.

Prior to her arrival in Washington, D.C., the day before the riot, Balmaseda exchanged messages with several associates where she "participated in communications reflecting her belief that the 2020 presidential election had been stolen" and shared her knowledge about the certification process scheduled to take place on January 6.

That day, Balmaseda was photographed in Black Lives Matter Plaza in downtown before she approached the Capitol building around 2 p.m. with another individual and "was in position to see the crowd of rioters climbing the scaffolding on the west side of the Capitol and plumes of smoke that billowed into the air," prosecutors alleged in the statement. At this point, prosecutors said rioters had "overwhelmed" officers on the west side and gained access to the northwest stairs of the Capitol.

Nearly 10 minutes later, rioters surged toward the Capitol building, and according to the court documents, Balmaseda was present in the front of the mob on the west front of the Capitol grounds.

Balmaseda and another rioter are accused of then climbing on equipment that had been set up in preparation for the Presidential Inauguration to gain closer access to the Capitol's northwest stairs.

Capitol Police closed-circuit television captured Balmaseda entering the Capitol building via the Senate Wing door just after 2:15 p.m., roughly four minutes after rioters initially breached the building, prosecutors allege.

When Balmaseda entered the building, broken glass was scattered on the floor, and an alarm blared near the doorway, according to the documents, which state that did not dissuade Balmaseda. After entering the Capitol, she made her way toward the Crypt and pushed her way to the front of a crowd of rioters who were confronting police. The mob eventually "overran" the police line and proceeded into the Crypt where Balmaseda then joined a crowd of rioters, and headed towards an area known as the "OAP Corridor."

Balmaseda then made her way back to the Crypt and entered the Rotunda, where she allegedly took photographs before being corralled out by law enforcement shortly after 3:10 p.m.

Webb said that Balmaseda is "relieved" this case is finally moving toward a resolution but noted that her arrest was a "waste of law enforcement resources."

"Maybe if the FBI spent less time and resources focusing on J6 trespassers with no criminal history, they might be able to make an arrest of the suspect who left pipe bombs at the DNC and RNC offices on Capitol Hill on January 5, 2021, who currently remains at large," he said.

Webb said he had no idea why it took so long for his client to face charges over her alleged participation in the riot.

"My only guess is that when the FBI came knocking on her mother's door to investigate a year and half ago, I invoked Ms. Balmaseda's Fifth Amendment right not to speak to law enforcement," Webb said. "I'm sure they were hoping for some admission from her that she went inside the Capitol building to shore up their case."