Long Island's Accused Jan. 6 Rioters: A Firefighter, An Account, A DJ, And More

LONG ISLAND, NY — It’s been a year since more than a thousand people stormed the U.S. Capitol as part of a multi-pronged attempt to overturn the 2020 presidential election.

Some of them were New Yorkers, identified by neighbors and relatives through nationwide news coverage, photos, videos and commentary from the rioters themselves on social media, and tracked down by FBI investigators and “sedition seekers” across the country. Most were accused of entering the Capitol and disrupting the proceedings, others were also indicted on conspiracy and assault with deadly or dangerous weapons charges.

According to the Department of Justice, more than 700 people have so far been charged in connection with the riot at the Capitol. Half a dozen of those charged are from Long Island.

One was a former New York City firefighter who told a friend he was “at the tip of the spear.” Another, an aspiring DJ, took pictures of himself smoking marijuana inside the Capitol building. One of the defendants, a local accountant, was seen in pictures relaxing inside Senate offices.

Of the Long Islanders arrested, one has pleaded guilty. The others are still embroiled in court proceedings.

• READ MORE: More Than Two Dozen New Yorkers Charged In Capitol Riot

And those proceedings may take a while. In October, the court ruled the government deserved more time to put its cases together “due to the number of individuals currently charged across the Capitol Attack investigation and the nature of those charges, the on-going investigation of many other individuals, the volume and nature of potential discovery materials, and the reasonable time necessary for effective preparation by all parties taking into account the exercise of due diligence.”

In one case that process took on a surreal aspect when a New Yorker fired his court-appointed lawyer and then tried to charge the government millions of dollars for the time and effort it would take to represent himself. A puzzled judge told him that’s not how it works.

Every case is being prosecuted by the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the District of Columbia.

Here are the Long Islanders that have been charged in the riot, and where their cases currently stand.

Gabriel Brown, of Bayville, was arrested on June 30, 2021. He was charged with Destruction or Injury to Buildings or Property in Special Maritime and Territorial Jurisdiction; Restricted Building or Grounds; Disorderly and Disruptive Conduct in a Restricted Building or Grounds; and Act of Violence on the U.S. Captiol Grounds.

According to prosecutors, Brown was part of a group that assaulted a media staging area outside the Capital building. He and others forced the media members to flee, and then attacked the equipment they left behind, prosecutors said, destroying hundreds of thousands of dollars of equipment.
Brown also recorded much of the violence of the day and posted it to his own YouTube chanel.

He is currently out of prison on his own recognizance. His next hearing is scheduled for March 22, 2022.

Thomas Fee, of Freeport, was arrested on Jan. 19, 2021. He was charged with Knowingly Entering or Remaining in any Restricted Building Without Lawful Authority; Violent Entry and Disorderly Conduct on Capitol Grounds.

Fee is a retired FDNY firefighter who prosecutors say sent his brother’s girlfriend selfies of himself inside the Capitol building, saying he was “at the tip of the spear.” The man Fee allegedly sent the picture and video to is a special agent with the U.S. Diplomatic Security Service, which is part of the State Department.

According to the New York Post, Fee was suspended from his position as a volunteer firefighter in the Hempstead Fire Department in 2004 after yelling racial slurs at a Black doctor.

Fee was released on his own recognizance. His next hearing is scheduled for Jan. 11, 2022.

Zvonimir Joseph Jurlina, of Bethpage, was arrested on June 28, 2021. He was charged with Destruction of Property in Special Maritime and Territorial Jurisdiction and Aiding and Abetting; Act of Physical Violence on Grounds.

Prosecutors say that Jurlina was also involved in the assault on the media staging area and the equipment there. Officials say that Jurlina attacked the equipment and tried to light it on fire. He also encouraged people to steal the equipment, prosecutors say, and took a wireless microphone for himself to keep as a souvenir.

Jurlina also live-streamed the insurrection to his YouTube channel.

Jurlina was released on his own recognizance. His next hearing is scheduled for Jan. 11, 2022.

Justin McAuliffe, of Bellmore, was arrested on Jan. 28. He was charged with Knowingly Entering and Remaining on Restricted Grounds without Lawful Authority and/or Engaging in Disorderly Conduct within Proximity to a Restricted Building to Impede Official Functions.

McAuliffe, an accountant, was seen in pictures lounging in offices in the Senate Building. McAuliffe had sent someone a screenshot of his phone showing it connected to the Senate’s public wifi.

"Yeah I was in one of the offices," McAuliffe wrote in a message to a friend. "Some people were smoking a joint in the room,lol. Cops came in and weee like. Okay guys really? They didn't even ask us to leave right away. They let us sit down and hang out and relax."

McAuliffe pleaded guilty to the charge against him on Nov. 23, 2021. He was released on his own recognizance, and is due for sentencing on Jan. 28, 2022.

Christopher Ortiz, of Huntington, was arrested on Jan. 27, 2021. He was charged with Knowingly Entering or Remaining in Any Restricted Building or Grounds without Lawful Authority and Violent Entry and Disorderly Conduct on Capitol Grounds.

According to officials, Ortiz posted videos to his Instagram of himself inside the Capitol, screaming “Onward! Onward!” The videos were saved by people following him and sent to the FBI.

When one of his friend asked him what he was doing at the Capitol, Ortiz allegedly told them he was “participating in government.”

Ortiz has been released on his own recognizance. His next hearing is scheduled for Jan. 20, 2022.

Greg Rubenacker, of Farmingdale, was arrested on Feb. 9, 2021. He was charged with Civil Disorder; Obstruction of an Official Proceeding; Assaulting, Resisting, or Impeding Certain Officers; Entering and Remaining in a Restricted Building or Grounds; Disorderly and Disruptive Conduct in a Restricted Building or Grounds; Engaging in Physical Violence in a Restricted Building or Grounds; Disorderly Conduct in a Capitol Building; Impeding Passage Through the Capitol Grounds or Buildings; Act of Physical Violence in the Capitol Grounds or Buildings; and Parading, Demonstrating, or Picketing in a Capitol Building.

Officials say that Rubenacker, a DJ, sent multiple videos of himself in the Capitol to an acquaintance through Snapchat. The acquaintance reported him to the FBI. Prosecutors say that Rubenacker was part of the group that broke into the Capitol building. He was seen on his Snapchat videos smoking marijuana inside the building, officials said.

At one point, prosecutors say he can be heard on video shouting “This is history! We took the Capitol!"

Rubenacker pleaded not guilty to all the charges against him. But court documents show he has a plea agreement hearing scheduled for Jan. 14, 2022.

Path Editor Lanning Taliaferro contributed to this story.