Wife's Facebook post leads FBI to Capitol riot suspect in Bucks County, Pa.
CHURCHVILLE, Pennsylvania (WPVI) -- A Bucks County, Pennsylvania man has been arrested on charges linked to the January 6 Capitol insurrection, and it seems his wife is the one who inadvertently led investigators to him.
Many of the hundreds of people arrested so far were quickly found by federal authorities after they recorded themselves on January 6 and posted what they did.
But while the 68-year-old suspect in this most recent arrest has no presence on social media, his wife does.
And it was her now-deleted Facebook post that helped the FBI.
Temple University law professor Jules Epstein says this is one more example of how the biggest liability for a criminal suspect is often those he or she is closest to.
"It's not unusual in criminal law for someone to be outed or revealed or have something disclosed by a loved one, by a close friend, by a drinking buddy," Epstein said.
Lynn Edwards' post about her husband, Gary Edwards of Churchville, Pa., Bucks County read, in part, "... Gary walked right through the door into the rotunda. Chatting with the police who were very calm. The people san(g) the Star spangled banner two time(s) then started chanting whose house? Our house!..."
According to the FBI affidavit linked to this case, an anonymous tipster took a screenshot of the post and sent it to federal authorities before the post was deleted.
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Mr. Edwards now faces federal charges including Violent Entry of Capitol Grounds, Disorderly Conduct, and Disruption of Official Business.
Meanwhile, a complete read of the post certainly seems to reveal that Mrs. Edwards' intent was to communicate that her husband simply followed the crowd and did nothing violent.
Regardless, Professor Epstein says, when it comes to the case against her husband, Mrs. Edwards' intentions are irrelevant.
"The point is, it's information that was, at least briefly, publicly available and the police, or the FBI, got it," he said.
So far, more than 400 people have been charged in connection with the Capitol riot including 40 from Pennsylvania, at least five of whom are from Bucks County.
