ABC7 Facebook post helps lead to arrest of LA County employee in US Capitol breach
LOS ANGELES (KABC) -- An ABC7 social media post has helped lead to the arrest of a Los Angeles County employee who is accused of being among the crowd that breached the U.S. Capitol on January 6th.
Lois Lynn McNicoll, 69, of San Clemente, a Department of Public Social Services employee, made her initial appearance in Los Angeles federal court Monday following her arrest and was released on a $10,000 bond, according to FBI spokeswoman Laura Eimiller.
McNicoll was identified in an ABC News video posted on Eyewitness News' Facebook page in January that shows a female wearing a white hat emblazoned with the name "Trump,'' according to federal prosecutors
McNicoll is also pictured with a red-and-white flag bearing the words "Trump Country'' draped over her shoulders in shots from Capitol closed-circuit TV after she entered the Capitol on the afternoon of Jan. 6, according to federal prosecutors.
A screenshot was provided to authorities by one of McNicoll's co-workers.
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At one point, the defendant took out what appeared to be a cell phone and appeared to be recording videos and taking pictures from inside the building, according to an affidavit attached to the complaint.
McNicoll is charged in federal court in the District of Columbia 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 a federal criminal complaint made public Monday.
The affidavit states that on May 18, the defendant consented to be interviewed by a special agent with the FBI at her workplace.
McNicoll allegedly told the agent that she traveled to the District of Columbia specifically to hear former President Donald Trump speak on the morning of Jan.6. Afterward, she "marched to the Capitol with a large group, walking up the stairs of the Capitol building and entering through doors that had already been forced open,'' according to the affidavit.
McNicoll denied taking any photos or video while inside the Capitol, according to the affidavit. The document alleges that the statement is "inconsistent'' with images from Capitol CCTV apparently showing the defendant taking photos with a cellphone.
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Tens of thousands of people gathered on the National Mall on the morning of Jan. 6 to hear Trump recite a litany of what he claimed were fraudulent actions in Arizona, Georgia, Michigan, Nevada, Pennsylvania and Wisconsin that cost him the election. The same allegations were made within a few days of the Nov. 3 general election and repeated multiple times by Trump.
The ensuing melee inside the building broke up the Electoral College vote deliberations and culminated in the fatal shooting of a Southern California resident. U.S. Air Force veteran Ashli Babbitt, 35, of Ocean Beach, was struck by a single bullet fired at point-blank range by a Capitol police officer as she climbed through a broken window.
According to the DOJ, the investigation into the Jan. 6 breach is ongoing, and in the last five months, more than 532 people have been arrested for a variety of alleged offenses.
City News Service contributed to this report.
