Three local men arrested for roles in January Capitol riot

Three local men were arrested Wednesday morning on charges stemming from the riot at the U.S. Capitol on Jan. 6.

Samuel Christopher Fox, of Mt. Pleasant; Mitchell Paul Vukich of New Brighton; and Nicholas J. Perretta of Baden, were arrested on charges of entering a restricted building, disorderly conduct in a restricted building, violent entry and disorderly conduct in a Capitol building and demonstrating in a Capitol building.

Vukich and Perretta were also charged with theft of government property. Vuckich appeared via Zoom for an initial appearance in federal court Wednesday afternoon.

In order to be released from custody pending his trial, Vukich agreed to surrender his passport, stay out of Washington, D.C. unless for court purposes, abide by a $10,000 unsecured bond and remove all guns from the home he shares with his father.

Fox and Perretta were also released under similar conditions following their hearings on Wednesday afternoon.

According to a criminal complaint, Fox was identified after Facebook photograph posts showed him inside the Capitol building. Many of the posts had been deleted, but were preserved by Facebook and provided to law enforcement. Police said Facebook records also show conversations where he admitted to entering the Capitol building. The document states that video surveillance video shows Fox entering the the building through a broken window. Using cellphone data, Fox’s cellphone was identified as being in the area at the time of the incident.

Vukich was identified after several tips and social media posts where he claimed to be on of the first 15 people inside the building. He was also seen on surveillance footage walking in several areas of the building. Police said he also admitted to being present in the U.S. Capitol during the events and admitted to taking paperwork, which he described as a congressional session.

Perretta was identified in surveillance footage as being with Vukich at the time. Police said Perretta admitted to being in the building with Vukich and taking papers from the interior of the Capitol, which he described as three-month-old congressional papers, that they later threw away outside of the Capitol.

The document states that he believed that the U.S. Capitol was open to the general public, but he entered the building after seeing individuals bypass barriers and police officers, witnessed flashbangs and tear gas, was tear-gassed himself, and saw someone in the crowd push an officer down before walking up the steps of the building.

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