Huntington Beach resident Kim Sorgente arrested by FBI on suspicion of Jan. 6 involvement
Huntington Beach resident Kim Michael Sorgente — awaiting trial in Orange County on suspicion of assault with a deadly weapon following a December Trump rally — was arrested by FBI agents Monday in connection with the Jan. 6 U.S. Capitol riots.
Rukelt Dalberis with the FBI’s Los Angeles field office said Tuesday the arrest took place late Monday afternoon in the city of Santa Ana but could not provide further details.
However, an Oct. 21 FBI affidavit filed in a criminal complaint with the U.S. District Court describes Sorgente’s actions during a three-hour period as captured by video surveillance footage and body cameras worn by U.S. Capitol Police officers during the insurrection.
He is charged with obstruction of law enforcement during civil disorder, entering or remaining in a restricted building or grounds without lawful authority and disorderly and disruptive conduct.
An FBI special agent testified Sorgente was wearing a red “Make America Great Again” baseball hat, gray hooded sweatshirt and a black T-shirt with the Latin words “Deus Vult” (God wills it) on the day of the riot.
Sorgente, 50, was reportedly seen shortly after 1:30 p.m. near a police line set up at the west side of the Capitol building, where rioters were attempting to dismantle metal barricades, the document states. Officers stood their ground, forcing several rioters to fall back.
He allegedly responded by shouting into a white bullhorn “How dare you, traitors?” at the officers. By 2:04 p.m., the Huntington Beach resident had relocated to the north side of the Capitol’s West Plaza, where he continued shouting at officers as they held the line against rioters, according to the document.
Sorgente later moved to the entrance of a passageway connecting the Lower West Terrace and the interior of the Capitol building, where a throng of protesters attempted to breach a line of officers armed with riot shields, the FBI agent further testified.
“Rioters, including Sorgente, collectively pushed against the officers — at times rocking together in a coordinated fashion — in an effort to breach the line of officers and gain entry to the interior of the Capitol building,” the document states, adding several rioters threw objects at the officers struck at them with poles.
As the altercation progressed, Sorgente reportedly made statements to Capitol police, such as “We’re not gonna hurt any of you. But you hurt us. And you’re hurting the country if you don’t stop. You let us in, we’ll behave. If you keep fighting and pepper spraying us, we’re gonna get upset.”
The charges stemmed from Sorgente’s alleged actions at a ‘Stop the Steal’ rally on Dec. 6.
The Huntington Beach resident was later identified, in part, by a detective with the Santa Ana Police Department, who’d previously interviewed Sorgente during an investigation into a Dec. 6 “Stop the Steal” Trump rally in Santa Ana. In that incident, a man was seen swinging a white bullhorn at two men during a skirmish.
Sorgente was arrested and on March 25 pleaded not guilty to two felony counts of assault with a deadly weapon other than a firearm. The Orange County district attorney’s office confirmed Tuesday Sorgente was released from jail June 1 after posting $100,000 bond.
He is due to appear in court Jan. 26 for a preliminary hearing in that case, court records indicate.
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