Wife’s social media post helps FBI arrest Kentucky man on Capitol rioting charges
Another Kentuckian is facing federal charges after reportedly participating in the U.S. Capitol riot on Jan. 6, 2021, and assaulting Capitol officers with a “chemical irritant.”
Luke Hoffman, 39, was identified in a federal affidavit written by William Samad, a task force officer with the FBI Louisville Division, Covington Resident Agency. He was arrested on July 12 and remained in custody Thursday, according to court documents.
According to the affidavit, Hoffman obstructed a law enforcement officer during official duties, assaulted or resisted an employee of the United States, entered and remained in a restricted building, and used abusive language to be disruptive at the Capitol building.
Samad testified in his affidavit that Luke Hoffman was present on the Capitol grounds in a “coyote tan tactical vest” which he was wearing in a post shared by his wife on the social media service Parler that read: “I am so proud of my husband! He stood up for America today!! Were you part of today too?”
Multiple individuals interviewed positively identified Hoffman as the person in the social media post, which matched surveillance footage, according to court documents.
Hoffman is one of more than 1,000 people who have been arrested in nearly all 50 states for crimes related to the Capitol’s breach, according to the FBI. The rioters were attempting to interrupt the certification of 2020 election results after President Joe Biden defeated former President Donald Trump.
The affidavit includes still images from Capitol surveillance footage where Hoffman can be seen reportedly “interfering with law enforcement officers’ attempts to secure Capitol grounds and engaging in assaults of officers on and around the Capitol grounds on January 6, 2021.”
Hoffman yanked a piece of bike-rack fencing away from a police officer as they attempted to manage a crowd. He can be seen struggling with an officer to get their baton and “spraying a substance consistent with a chemical irritant at multiple officers,” according to the affidavit.
The affidavit comes just days after similar charges were filed against an Elizabethtown man, William Stover.
Hoffman’s case is being investigated by the FBI’s Louisville office. Hoffman’s first court appearance was in the Covington Division of the federal Eastern District of Kentucky. He is one of more than 20 Kentucky residents who have been charged in relation to the breach.
Kentuckian Peter Schwartz was sentenced in May to 14 years in prison for attacking officers with pepper spray. At the time he was sentenced, Schwartz’s prison time was the most of any person convicted in the Capitol riot.
This story was originally published July 13, 2023 at 4:22 PM.
CORRECTION: The social media post that allegedly helped investigators identify Luke Hoffman was shared to Parler. This information was incorrect in a previous version of this story.
