FBI “Statement of Facts” on Nassau County man arrested after Capitol insurrection

Written by FBI
Task Force Officer
April 30, 2021

Editor’s Note:  This is not a press release, but a copy of a public document providing more details involving the arrest of Nassau County resident Jeffrey Register following the January 6, Capitol Hill insurrection.

STATEMENT OF FACTS

1. Your affiant, [Name Blacked Out] is a Deportation Officer for U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement and has been so employed since January 2008. Since October 2019, I have been assigned as a Task Force Officer to the Federal Bureau of Investigation (“FBI”), Northeast Florida Joint Terrorism Task Force (JTTF”) where I conduct a variety of investigations in the area of counter-terrorism.  In the performance of my duties, I have investigated and assisted in the investigation of matters involving violations of federal law related to domestic terrorism, international terrorism, weapons of mass destruction, and bombing matters. I have also been involved in searches pertaining to domestic and international terrorism matters through the execution of search warrants. Currently, I am tasked with investigating criminal activity in and around the Capitol grounds on January 6, 2021. As a Deportation Officer and Task Force Officer, I am authorized by law or by a Government agency to engage in the prevention, detention, investigation, or prosecution of a violation of Federal criminal laws.

2. The U.S. Capitol is secured 24 hours a day by U.S. Capitol Police. Restrictions around the U.S. Capitol include permanent and temporary security barriers and posts manned by U.S. Capitol Police. Only authorized people with appropriate identification were allowed access inside the U.S. Capitol. On January 6, 2021, the exterior plaza of the U.S. Capitol was also closed to members of the public.

3. On January 6, 2021, a joint session of the United States Congress convened at the United States Capitol, which is located at First Street, SE, in Washington, D.C. During the joint session, elected members of the United States House of Representatives and the United States Senate were meeting in separate chambers of the United States Capitol to certify the vote count of the Electoral College of the 2020 Presidential Election, which had taken place on November 3, 2020. The joint session began at approximately 1:00 p.m. Shortly thereafter, by approximately 1:30 p.m., the House and Senate adjourned to separate chambers to resolve a particular objection. Vice President Michael Pence was present and presiding, first in the joint session, and then in the Senate chamber.

4. As the proceedings continued in both the House and the Senate, and with Vice President Pence present and presiding over the Senate, a large crowd gathered outside the U.S. Capitol. As noted above, temporary and permanent barricades were in place around the exterior of the U.S. Capitol building, and U.S. Capitol Police were present and attempting to keep the crowd away from the Capitol building and the proceedings underway inside.

5. At such time, the certification proceedings were still underway and the exterior doors and windows of the U.S. Capitol were locked or otherwise secured. Members of the U.S. Capitol Police attempted to maintain order and keep the crowd from entering the Capitol; however, around 2:00 p.m., individuals in the crowd forced entry into the U.S. Capitol, including by breaking windows and by assaulting members of the U.S. Capitol Police, as others in the crowd encouraged and assisted those acts.

6. Shortly thereafter, at approximately 2:20 p.m., members of the United States House of Representatives and United States Senate, including the President of the Senate, Vice President Pence, were instructed to – and did – evacuate the chambers. Accordingly, the joint session of the United States Congress was effectively suspended until shortly after 8:00 p.m. Vice President Pence remained in the United States Capitol from the time he was evacuated from the Senate Chamber until the sessions resumed.

7. During national news coverage of the aforementioned events, video footage which appeared to be captured on mobile devices of persons present on the scene depicted evidence of violations of local and federal law, including scores of individuals inside the U.S. Capitol building without authority to be there.

8. According to records obtained through a search warrant served on Google LLC, a mobile device associated with ***********@gmail.com was present at the U.S. Capitol on January 6, 2021. The name associated with that account, according to Google, is “jeffrey register,” and the account’s recovery phone number is *** ***-****. Google estimates device location using sources including GPS data and information about nearby Wi-Fi access points and Bluetooth beacons. This location data varies in its accuracy, depending on the source(s) of the data. As a result, Google assigns a “map display radius” for each location data point. Thus, where Google estimates that its location data is accurate to within 10 meters, Google assigns a “maps display radius” of 10 meters to the location data point.  Finally, Google reports that its “maps display radius” reflects the actual location of the covered device approximately 68% of the time. In this case, Google location data shows that a device associated with ***********@gmail.com was within the U.S. Capitol on January 6, 2021 from approximately 2:17 p.m. until 4:38 p.m. Google records show that the “maps display radius” for this location data was less than 100 feet, which encompasses an area that is entirely within the U.S. Capitol building.

9. The FBI has reviewed the available information for the ***********@gmail.com email address in order to determine whether there was any evidence that devices associated with that ***********@gmail.com address could have lawfully been inside the U.S. Capitol building on January 6, 2021. The information for the ***********@gmail.com address did not match any information for persons lawfully within the Capitol. Accordingly, I believe that the individual possessing this device was not authorized to be within the U.S. Capitol building on January 6, 2021.

10. Law enforcement has searched open-source databases for further information on a “JEFFREY REGISTER.” Those databases indicated the same phone number, ***-***-****, and the residential address [Address blacked out] Fernandina Beach, FL 32034, were associated with a “JEFFREY REGISTER.”

11. On February 1, 2021 your affiant learned of a publicly accessible video (accessible on youtube.com) possibly depicting REGISTER inside of the Capitol on January 6, 2021. A photograph of REGISTER was then obtained via the Florida Department of Motor Vehicles for comparison against the subject in the video. Upon viewing the video, your affiant was able to identify a subject that appears to match the physical attributes of REGISTER based on a photograph comparison to his

12. During a review of the open-source video, your affiant identified REGISTER as a white male with black glasses and a salt-and-pepper beard. REGISTER was wearing dark pants, tan shoes, and two sweatshirts. The inner hooded sweatshirt was black. Over that, REGISTER was wearing a green or gray hoodie sweatshirt, the back of which featured an American flag and lettering stating “God, Guns, & Trump.” Under the inner black hooded sweatshirt’s hood, REGISTER wore a black skullcap with lettering stating “2020 Keep America Great.” All of the times are depicted in the three images below. REGISTER is circled in red.

13. In this video, REGISTER is first seen at approximately the 4:33-minute mark, outside of the Capitol building. REGISTER is approaching a broken window where people are attempting to enter and exit the Capitol building. REGISTER is next seen in the video at approximately the 8:06-minute mark of the video. At this point, REGISTER is inside the Capitol building, near an entrance. Several U.S. Capitol Police officers can be heard instructing other individuals to leave the Capitol building. REGISTER ignores these statements. The following picture is from that scene:

14. REGISTER is seen a few more times in the video, walking through the Capitol building. At approximately the 12:44-minute mark of the video, REGISTER can be seen running past several U.S. Capitol Police officers who are attempting to hold back the crowd:

15. REGISTER is last seen at approximately the 13:27-minute mark of the video, still within the Capitol building. Shortly prior to that time, REGISTER turns to face the camera, and his face is again clearly visible. Throughout the duration of the video, I identified REGISTER based in particular on his facial features, his distinctive facial hair, glasses, and the lettering and image on the back of his sweatshirt. The locations where REGISTER was present in this video on January 6, 2021, were “restricted building or grounds; under 18 U.S.C.:1752(a) and within one of the “Capitol Buildings” under 40 U.S.C.:5104(e)(2)

16. On February 24, 2021, your affiant conducted a consensual interview of REGISTER at his place of employment, [Employment Location Left Blank], Jacksonville, FL 32220. During the interview, REGISTER stated that he departed Jacksonville, FL by car for Washington, D.C. on January 5, 2021, arriving early on the morning of January 6, 2021. During his trip to Washington, REGISTER stayed at the Holiday Inn Alexandria- Carlyle, located in Alexandria, Virginia. REGISTER stated that he departed Washington, D.C. on January 7, 2021. After initially denying entering the Capitol building on January 6, 2021, REGISTER ultimately admitted to having entered the Capitol building. REGISTER was shown the photograph below and confirmed that he was the individual in that photograph with glasses and a sweatshirt that I had previously identified as REGISTER. REGISTER then admitted that he deleted photographs from his phone and claimed to have “factory reset” his cell phone in order to, in his words, delete what might be proof that he entered the building. REGISTER stated he was aware that Congress was in session and was in the process of certifying the vote. REGISTER also stated that his goal in entering the Capitol building was to affect Congress’s decision on that certification of that vote, and that he wished he had been able to enter the House chamber during the certification process to show his support for President Trump.

17. During this interview, your affiant was able to confirm with REGISTER that his phone number is ***-***-**** and that his address is [address blacked out] Fernandina Beach, FL 32034. REGISTER later provided your affiant a photograph of his hotel parking pass from his trip, as well as two photographs REGISTER stated he had taken on the exterior of the Capitol building on January 6, 2021. These photographs are below.

18. On March 3, 2021, your affiant contacted the Holiday Inn Alexandria-Carlyle to e manager on duty confirmed that REGISTER did stay at the hotel from January 6, 2021 through January 7, 2021. The manager sent to the affiant those dates, and that the individual had used the phone number ***-***-**** and had provided

19. Based on the foregoing, your affiant submits that there is probable cause to believe that JEFFREY REGISTER violated 18 U.S.C. § 1752(a)(1) and (2), which makes it a crime to (1) knowingly enter or remain in any restricted building or grounds without lawful authority to do so; and (2) knowingly, and with intent to impede or disrupt the orderly conduct of Government business or official functions, engage in disorderly or disruptive conduct in, or within such proximity to, any restricted building or grounds when, or so that, such conduct, in fact, impedes or disrupts the orderly conduct of Government business or official functions; or attempt or conspire to do so. For purposes of Section 1752 of Title 18, a “restricted building” includes a posted, cordoned off, or otherwise restricted area of a building or grounds where the President or other person protected by the Secret Service, including the Vice President, is or will be temporarily visiting; or any building or grounds so restricted in conjunction with an event designated as a special event of national significance. As noted above, REGISTER was within a posted, cordoned off, or otherwise restricted area of a building or grounds where the Vice President was temporarily visiting on January 6, 2021.

20. Your affiant submits there is also probable cause to believe that JEFFREY REGISTER violated 40 U.S.C. § 5104(e)(2)(D) and (G), which makes it a crime to willfully and knowingly (D) utter loud, threatening, or abusive language, or engage in disorderly or disruptive conduct, at any place in the Grounds or in any of the Capitol buildings with the intent to impede, disrupt, or disturb the orderly conduct of a session of Congress or either House of Congress, or the orderly conduct in that building of a hearing before, or any deliberations of, a committee of Congress or either House of Congress; and (G) parade, demonstrate, or picket in any of the Capitol buildings. As noted above, REGISTER was within “the Grounds or in any of the Capitol building on January 6, 2021.

Attested to by the applicant in accordance with the requirements of Fed. R. Crim. P. 4.1 by telephone, this 19 day of March, 2021.
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ROBIN M. MERIWEATHER
U.S. MAGISTRATE JUDGE