MISSION, Kan. (AP) — A Kansas man arrested in the insurrection at the U.S. Capitol told the FBI that an officer shrugged his shoulders when he asked whether he could join the throngs streaming into the building and that he then filmed himself walking around inside, according to court records.
Mark Roger Rebegila, of St. Mary's, was taken into custody Monday in Topeka on charges of knowingly entering or remaining in any restricted building or grounds without lawful authority, and violent entry and disorderly conduct on Capitol grounds. No attorney is listed for him in online court records.
He is among five people from Kansas and dozens nationwide who have been charged in the Jan. 6 insurrection at the Capitol while Congress was meeting to certify Democrat Joe Biden as the winner of the 2020 presidential race.
Rebegila was interviewed at his home in January after a tipster reported seeing a video of Rebegila inside the Capitol, an FBI task force officer wrote in the complaint.
Rebegila told the FBI that by the time he entered the Capitol, crowds were already streaming into the building. More than 800 supporters of then-President Donald Trump are believed to have made it inside during the siege. Five people died in the melee, including a Capitol police officer who was struck in the head with a fire extinguisher.
Rebegila also said that he also used his phone to film himself walking through the building but later deleted it because he did not want to get into trouble, the complaint said. He also is seen on video surveillance inside the building, apparently shooting pictures and videos.
The complaint said an investigation also is underway into reports that Rebegila sat in a lawmaker's chair and stole a bottle of liquor from an office in the Capitol. The complaint said Rebegila denied stealing property, assaulting law enforcement officers or damaging property.
—
For jurisdictions that utilize the Greater Kansas City Crime Stoppers Tips Hotline, anonymous tips can be made by calling 816-474-TIPS (8477), submitting the tip online or through the free mobile app at P3Tips.com.
Annual homicide details and data for the Kansas City area are available through the 41 Action News Homicide Tracker, which was launched in 2015. Read the 41 Action News Mug Shot Policy.
