Ex-government employee charged with falsely accusing co-workers of joining Capitol riot

A former government employee has been charged with repeatedly submitting fake tips to the FBI reporting that several of his co-workers in the intelligence community were part of a mob that attacked the U.S. Capitol on Jan. 6, 2021, according to court filings unsealed Friday.

Miguel Eugenio Zapata, 37, was arrested in Chantilly, Virginia, on Thursday on a charge that he made false statements to law enforcement.

Zapata submitted at least seven anonymous tips to the FBI’s website claiming that seven government employees and contractors were involved in the Capitol riot, according to an FBI task force officer’s affidavit.

Court records don’t identify which government agency employed Zapata, but the affidavit says the Chantilly resident previously worked with all seven people named in his false tips to the FBI. One of them had hired Zapata and served as his program manager.

“None of the seven government employees and contractors were in Washington, D.C., on January 6 or attacked the Capitol,” the affidavit says.

The tips included similar language and were submitted from four IP addresses. The affidavit says Zapata used a company’s “web anonymizer” service to submit the tips.

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