Son of New York judge arrested and fur cape seized after Capitol riot

Federal agents seen carrying fur cape and wooden staff of rioter, who faces charges

The son of a New York County Supreme Court judge who allegedly stormed the Capitol with Donald Trump supporters last week, has been arrested by the FBI.

Aaron Mostofsky, the son of King County Court judge Shlomo Mostofsky, was seen being arrested by FBI agents on Tuesday morning over his alleged involvement in the assault on Congress.

A video shared on Twitter showed several FBI agents outside a property in Midwood Brooklyn, which was believed to be his brother’s address.

Mr Mostofsky was last seen leaving the property on Friday, Law and Crime reported, when he was pictured wearing a hat adorned with the badge of a far-right activist group, Project Veritas.

One agent was carrying a wooden staff and fur cape, which Mr Mostofsky was reportedly seen wearing at last week’s riot in Washington DC, during Tuesday’s arrest.

According to News12 and the New York Post, an official with the FBI in New York confirmed the arrest, and that Mr Mostofsky had been taken into custody. Reuters also confirmed the arrest. 

He will be charged by the US attorney's office in Washington DC, and was set to appear in a Brooklyn federal court on numerous charges on Tuesday afternoon, the Post reported.

They include the theft of government property, after a photograph appeared to show him wearing a Capitol Police riot shield and bulletproof vest.

Social media users had last week worked to name a number of alleged Capitol rioters, including Mr Mostofsky, thanks to photographs and videos that circulated in the aftermath of the assault.

Alongside a photo allegedly showing Mr Mostofsky with a staff, fur cape, Capitol Police riot shield and bulletproof police vest, one Twitter user wrote: “His name is Aaron Mostofsky. His dad is [a] Brooklyn Supreme Court Judge.”

A spokesperson for his father reportedly confirmed to Law360 that pictures on social media were of the judge's son.

Mr Mostofsky was also seen talking to a New York Post reporter on Wednesday in a video, and said he had travelled from Brooklyn, and that he had found the police shield and vest “on the floor”.  

He had only provided his name as Aaron in the video, and added: “I don’t think 75 million people voted for Trump – I think it was close to 85 million."

The FBI are thought to have made almost two dozen arrests in relation to last week’s attack on Congress, which was carried out by the US president’s supporters, and left five people dead.