DENVER, Colo. — A man accused of entering House Speaker Nancy Pelosi’s office during the Jan. 6 insurrection at the U.S. Capitol was arrested in Denver this week, according to court records.
An arrest affidavit obtained by KMGH says a family member identified Hunter Palm as one of the rioters who stormed the Capitol on Jan. 6 as Congress was certifying the Electoral College vote count for the 2020 presidential election.
The relative sent a letter to the FBI that said Palm had called them from Washington, D.C. to say he had entered the Capitol building and he eventually entered a conference room with a long table with several chairs, where he sat to rest, according to the affidavit.
In the letter, the relative wrote that Palm then attempted to leave the Capitol building by climbing out of a broken window to avoid a flow of people entering through the doors.
On Feb. 6, the affidavit says FBI agents interviewed Palm and he admitted to entering the Capitol building.
Palm also provided agents with the cell phone he claimed he had at the Capitol, as well as a flash drive that contained videos Palm had recorded of the riot, the affidavit says. He also brought the clothes he was wearing on that day to the FBI interview, along with a flag that had the words “TRUMP” and “Keep America Great” written on it.
When reviewing the videos provided by Palm, law enforcement officers say they found one that showed the suspect approaching the Capitol, yelling “Stop the steal” and eventually “We’re in the Capitol building.” He also reportedly joined in on a chant, saying “Whose house? Our House.”
Based on images provided by Palm, he and others entered a door marked “office of the speaker.” The affidavit says people in the crowd were shouting things like “Nancy,” “Where are you?” and “We’re gonna kill her.”
Palm proceeded to walk around the office, approach a laptop and say “Who’s good at hacking?” before sitting down at the head of a conference table, putting his feet up and saying, “I think I like my new dining room. I pay for it,” according to the document.
Palm is being charged with obstruction of Congress, knowingly entering or remaining in a restricted building without lawful authority, engaging in disorderly or disruptive conduct in a restricted building, and violent entry and disorderly conduct on Capitol grounds.
The Denver Post reports he appeared in federal court in Denver on Wednesday and was released on bond.
