Josh Colgan, of Jefferson, shown inside the U.S. Capitol in Washington, D.C. on Jan. 6, 2021. (Image courtesy Federal Bureau of Investigation)
Jefferson resident Joshua Colgan was arrested on Monday, May 2 for taking part in the Jan. 6, 2021 insurrection at the U.S. Capitol.
Colgan was charged with entering and remaining in a restricted building or grounds; disorderly and disruptive conduct in a restricted building or grounds; disorderly conduct in capitol building; and parading, demonstrating, or picketing in a capitol building, according to Kristen Setera, media coordinator of the Federal Bureau of Investigation Boston division.
Colgan confirmed he was arrested on May 2, and that he entered the Capitol building during an interview via Facebook Messenger.
“Everyone walked in the front door, the cops led us in and said film, don’t touch anything. I simply walked in walked out, I might have been there 8 minutes if that,” said Colgan.
Colgan discussed his views on the 2020 election and what took place around him during the insurrection.
“Of course, it was fraudulent … who the … would support Joe Biden. All the proof is there. I was awake the night the polls suddenly spiked by several hundred thousand votes,” said Colgan.
Colgan said the polls he referred to were the election results during the Nov. 3, 2020 presidential election.
During the 2020 election, President Donald Trump had gained the lead in several swing states, according to early results reported by major television networks like MSNBC, CNN and Fox News. Over the course of the next few days, Trump’s lead would begin to dwindle until he ultimately fell behind Joe Biden and lost the election.
The reason for this swing in the election results has to do with how some states limited when certain types of ballots could be counted. States like Wisconsin and Pennsylvania waited until Election Day to begin counting hundreds of thousands of mail-in ballots, according to CNN.
CNN reports that in Pennsylvania alone 70% of pre-election votes came from Democrats. The swing towards Biden was a result of Pennsylvania election officials begging to count early voter ballots that were largely made up of Democratic-leaning voters. There is no evidence of major fraud or corruption that would have changed the election results and several U.S. courts rejected claims by Trump.
“As far as the insurrection, it was nothing more than a setup, and was nothing but militias and activists’ groups that did any and all damage … there were hundreds of them, we documented them being shuttle-bussed in and dropped off at (Black Lives Matter) Plaza by metro (police),” Colgan said. He did not provide evidence for his statements.
Colgan said at the time of the insurrection, he did not believe he was trying to stop the certification of the 2020 presidential election. He did not respond when asked what he was thinking when entering the building.
“As far as Trump goes. He called for a peaceful march, and yes, I follow him, he’s an incredible leader,” said Colgan.
Evidence against Colgan provided by the FBI includes images of Colgan inside the Capitol, and GPS information provided by Verizon and Google to show a device registered to Colgan was inside the building, according to the criminal complaint.
Court documents from the Public Access to Court Electronic Records service show Colgan’s initial appearance is scheduled for 1 p.m. on Tuesday, May 10, by teleconference before Judge Robin Meriweather. The U.S. Attorney’s Office for Washington, D.C. is prosecuting the case.
