Several Florida residents were at the Capitol riots, 3 arrested

Floridians among the chaos at U.S. Capitol

Many Central Florida residents were visiting Washington, D.C. to participate in a pro-Trump riot when the riot broke out at the U.S. Capitol Building.

MARION COUNTY, Fla. - An online report shows there were at least three men from Florida who were arrested during the protests.

Listed as arrested for unlawful entry are John Anderson of St. Augustine, Matthew Council of Riverview, and Michael Curzio of Summerfield.

Curzio had reportedly served several years in prison on an attempted first-degree murder charge. Records state he was released from prison in 2019.

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In addition, a Sanford firefighter is being investigated for his possible role in the riots. The Sanford Fire Department said that Andy Williams is placed on paid administrative leave. That is pending the outcome of the investigation, which was sparked following a photo of Williams standing outside of Nancy Pelosi's office.

Several other Floridians were in Washington D.C. when the chaos started.

Marion County man arrested during Capitol riot

Some Floridians were among those arrested on Wednesday following the mob riot at the U.S. Capitol Building, including Marion County resident Michael Curzio, of Summerfield.

Flagler County Commissioner Joe Mullins planned a trip with almost 200 Trump supporters from all over Florida to head to Washington D.C. having no idea what he would face.

"From where I was you could hear the gunshots, that is when we knew we had to get out of there. And it had turned into something different than what we came up there for," he told FOX 35.

Flagler County resident Shanon Rambow also made the trip from Minnesota. She said that she rejects the comparison to the riots and Black Lives Matter protests in her home state.

"I watched all of Minneapolis being burned to the ground. I watched it live. I could not believe it -- it was like a third world country," she said. "We don't want to destroy anything. I don't get how they could think like that. I can't even wrap my head around it. To be compared to that, absolutely not. That was violence from start to finish. I didn't see any good in there. Sorry, I didn't yesterday. I saw so much love. It just blew my mind."

Pamela Castellana, the Brevard County Democratic Chair, makes the opposite argument, citing that "comparing a broken window and a target to an attack on our government Capitol, a federal building. Basically holding our government officials hostage is just beyond my imagination."

Lawmakers are vowing an investigation into how law enforcement handled Wednesday’s violent breach at the Capitol, questioning whether a lack of preparedness allowed a mob to occupy and vandalize the building.

U.S. Capitol Police, who are charged with protecting Congress, turned to other law enforcement for help with the mob that overwhelmed the complex and sent lawmakers into hiding. Both law enforcement and Trump supporters deployed chemical irritants during the hours-long occupation of the complex before it was cleared Wednesday evening.

Chaos at the Capitol

Political Sciences lecturer at UCF John Hanley weighs in on the protests at the Capitol.

Four people died, one of them a woman who was shot and killed by police inside the Capitol. Three other people died after suffering "medical emergencies" related to the breach, said Robert Contee, chief of the city’s Metropolitan Police Department.

Police said 52 people were arrested as of Wednesday night, including 26 on the Capitol grounds. Fourteen police officers were injured, Contee said.

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