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A convicted January 6 rioter previously declared candidacy for New York's 3rd Congressional District, a seat that has recently opened up following the expulsion of GOP Representative George Santos.
On Friday morning, Santos was expelled from Congress after 311 of his colleagues voted him out, including 105 Republicans. The vote came after investigators found "substantial" proof that Santos broke federal criminal laws, according to November's House Ethics Committee report.
The exiled Republican allegedly used his campaign funds for personal use, engaged in "fraudulent conduct" and filed "false or incomplete reports" to the Federal Election Commission while running for office in 2022, according to the House committee. Santos has maintained his innocence and pleaded not guilty to charges related to a federal criminal investigation.
Santos' New York seat in Congress remains empty for now and a special election will be needed to fill it. It is unclear who will be on the ballot, but Philip Grillo, 49, from Queens, New York, who was involved in the Capitol riot, has shown interest.
Grillo filed a statement of candidacy on May 1 for the district in the 2024 primary. He listed his party affiliation as Republican.
Newsweek could not reach Grillo for comment.
On Tuesday, Grillo was found guilty of felony obstruction of an official proceeding and other charges stemming from the siege on the Capitol. He has yet to be sentenced.
At the time of the Capitol attack, Grillo was a leader in the Queens County Republican Party's 24th Assembly District. The position is now vacant, according to the Queens County GOP website.
On January 6, 2021, a mob of former President Donald Trump's supporters stormed the Capitol in Washington, D.C., while Congress was attempting to certify the 2020 election, which Trump lost to President Joe Biden. The rioters breached the Capitol following claims from Trump that the 2020 election was stolen via widespread voter fraud.
According to a Justice Department press release, on the day of the riot, "Grillo was observed illegally entering the Capitol building via a broken window near the Senate Wing door at about 2:20 p.m. carrying a megaphone."
During a recorded video interview by an individual inside the Capitol, Grillo said, "I'm here to stop the steal. It's our f****** house!"
The Justice Department added that, during Grillo's trial, he "testified that he had 'no idea' Congress met inside the Capitol building, but also admitted that he is running for election to the U.S. House to represent New York's 3rd Congressional District."
More than 1,230 people have been charged in the attack on the Capitol, including over 400 accused of assaulting or impeding law enforcement, which is a felony.
A fellow Capitol rioter, Jacob Chansley, also known as the "QAnon Shaman," has also declared interest in the 2024 primary. Chansley pleaded guilty to felony obstruction of an official proceeding and served 27 months out of a 41-month prison sentence. In November, Chansley filed a statement of candidacy for Arizona's 8th Congressional District as a Libertarian.
Can a Convicted Felon Run for Congress?
According to the U.S. Constitution, House members must be at least 25 years old, a U.S. citizen for at least seven years and live in the state they represent. The Constitution does not mention criminal records as an impediment.
Convicted felons can run for public office in any local, state or federal election as long as there is not a specific law that restricts them from doing so. New York state law says that a person who holds a public office forfeits that particular office for the current term upon the conviction of any felony.
Unless the office forfeited is a judicial office or the felony falls into a list of violations related to the public trust (under Public Officers Law Section 3), a person who has served their sentence and whose post release supervision has ended, and who is otherwise eligible, may run for such public office after the term in which the conviction occurred has ended.
Update 12/8/23, 9:25 a.m. ET: This article has been updated with additional information.
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About the writer
Rachel Dobkin is a Newsweek reporter based in New York. Her focus is reporting on politics. Rachel joined Newsweek in ... Read more