Deaf man arrested by FBI in connection to Capitol riots

On Monday, Vitali Goss-Jankowski, the deaf man who was seen among the U.S. Capitol rioters, was charged and arrested by law enforcement in Washington, D.C. I will call him “V.G.” for short.

He was charged with federal crimes of knowingly entering restricted grounds, with intent to impede Government business, and doing so while carrying a dangerous weapon.

I looked at the potential punishment for the charge, 18 U.S. Code Section 1752, and it says if a person entered restricted grounds while carrying a dangerous weapon, the penalty is up to 10 years in prison. If a suspect was not carrying a dangerous weapon, then they would face a maximum of a year in prison.

The FBI published a six-page “Statement of Facts” that explained the investigation leading to Goss-Jankowski’s arrest.

The investigator’s name is Scott F. Brown and he works as a detective with the Metropolitan Police Department. He said he did some work with the FBI in the past and on January 6, he was assigned with investigating criminal activity in and around the Capitol grounds.

Brown wrote that he saw a publicly available video that shows “Person 1,” who was later identified as Goss-Jankowski, wearing a blue jacket near an entrance to the U.S. Capitol building, assisting with passing ballistic shields away, possessing a black-colored handheld Taser that was handed to him, activating the Taser multiple times, and pushing himself towards the police line that was protecting the entrance to the U.S. Capitol building.

Brown said on Thursday, January 14, the FBI received a call that members of the Metropolitan Police Department was with Goss-Jankowski after he contacted them to turn himself in.

Brown wrote that he went to the 800 block of Florida Ave NE to meet with Goss-Jankowski. He provided a photograph of Goss-Jankowski standing outside on Florida Ave. You can see what appears to be Gallaudet University sign behind his left shoulder. He was wearing the same blue jacket on the day of the Capitol riots.

Brown wrote that Goss-Jankowski told him that night that he went to the Capitol out of curiosity, was never inside of the building, and that he found a Taser on the ground and then threw it in a trashcan. He said he went with a friend from Frederick, Maryland, but the friend was not named in the document.

Brown wrote that Goss-Jankowski said he deleted his pictures and video when he was on the Capitol grounds or they disappeared when his phone died.

However, multiple people observed Goss-Jankowski posting on social media about what he did around the Capitol and sent them to “The Daily Moth.” There are images of him at President Trump’s rally near the White House and marching with people towards the Capitol.

I will show you two videos — one of Goss-Jankowski in the hallway near riot police, and the second of him turning on and off a Taser at an unknown location.

Now, back to Brown’s statement. He said on Sunday, January 17, law enforcement interviewed Goss-Jankowski a second time. Brown said he showed him a snapshot of D.C. Police Officer Mike Fanone, who was assaulted on January 6 and suffered a heart attack and was hospitalized. Brown said Fanone reported that he was “Tased multiple times in the back of his neck.”

WUSA 9 News in D.C. did an interview with Fanone on Thursday in which he described how he was pulled out from the hallway by rioters to an outdoor staircase, in which he was beaten and tased. This image is of Fanone on the steps. He said he thought of his four daughters as rioters talked about killing him. He said he was saved by a man who pulled him back into the hallway and away from the mob.

Brown said Goss-Jankowski recognized Fanone, but said he did not use his Taser on him but if he touched him, only touched his helmet to help him.

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Now, back to Brown’s statement. Brown said there is probable cause to believe that Goss-Jankowski committed the crime of being on restricted grounds to disrupt Government business while using or carrying a dangerous weapon.

His image on the FBI posters now has words in bold red and white, “ARRESTED.” It is not clear to me exactly when he will appear before a judge. His name has not yet come up on an online case search.

Goss-Jankowski is a Gallaudet student. The university has issued a statement in recent days explaining that they are aware of potential student involvement in the Capitol riots, are investigating internally, and cooperating with law enforcement officials. The university said they will not tolerate involvement in riots or insurrection by any student, employee, or vendor.

https://www.justice.gov/opa/investigations-regarding-violence-capitol

https://www.justice.gov/opa/page/file/1356136/download

https://www.law.cornell.edu/uscode/text/18/1752

https://www.wusa9.com/article/features/producers-picks/dc-police-officer-describes-fighting-for-his-life-as-rioters-dragged-him/65-5405dfde-6c19-4c99-9160-e8a3d4173987

https://www.dailymoth.com/blog/deaf-man-among-capitol-rioters