A Cecilia man has been arrested for participating in the U.S. Capitol riot on January 6.
The FBI announced on Tuesday that Michael N. Sparks, 43, was arrested and federally charged with unlawful entry, disorderly conduct and obstructing law enforcement. He is lodged in the Oldham County Detention Center.
Sparks was reportedly the first person to illegally enter, through a window, the U.S. Capitol building during the insurrection.
“According to an affidavit, Sparks was turned in to the FBI’s National Threat Operations Center by three different people,” The News-Enterprise reports. Included in the affidavit were 10 photos of Sparks where he is seen entering the Capitol building through a window and confronting a U.S. Capitol officer.
The newspaper reports that according to the affidavit, “… an FBI agent interviewed T-1 (Tipster 1) by telephone. T-1 explained she is an acquaintance of Sparks and overheard Sparks discuss plans to travel to Washington, D.C. on January 6 to attend the pro-Trump rally. She heard Sparks tell another person, ‘This time we are going to shut it down.’”
Another tipster sent the FBI a picture of Sparks in the Capitol building, with the third tipster informing the FBI about concerning messages on the suspect’s Facebook account posted after the riot.
By Ken Howlett, News Director
Contact Ken at ken@k105.com
