BOSTON (AP) — Two Massachusetts residents, including a town meeting member who organized buses to take Trump supporters to Washington ahead of the siege at the U.S. Capitol, were arrested Tuesday in connection with the riot, authorities said.
Suzanne Ianni, a 59-year-old Natick town meeting member, and Mark Sahady, 46, of Malden, were arrested by federal agents at their homes, the FBI said. They are charged with knowingly entering or remaining in any restricted building or grounds without lawful authority and disorderly conduct on Capitol grounds, authorities said.
Authorities said Ianni is involved with Super Happy Fun America, a group that organized a “straight pride” parade in Boston in 2019 that was meant to be a counterpoint to gay pride parades. She worked with the group to organize buses to take people to Washington ahead of the rally and riot on Jan. 6, authorities said. Sahady is the group’s vice president, authorities said in court documents.
Both of them were identified in a picture of a group of people that Super Happy Fun America posted on Twitter with the caption: “Bus 1 of 11 coming to Washington DC See you there!” authorities said. They were also photographed together inside the Capitol, authorities said.
The group’s president John Hugo confirmed their involvement Tuesday night.
“They did what they thought was the right thing to do and like I said, they’re both absolutely fiercely patriotic Americans,” he said. “They love their country and I support them 100 percent.”
In response to Ianni’s arrest, the Natick Board of Selectmen released a statement reading in part:
“We call for accountability for those who acted unlawfully and for the leaders and others who encouraged or supported such actions by words and deeds.”
Ianni was able to leave the courthouse Tuesday but Sahady was held without bail pending a detention hearing due to troubling remarks he made during his arrest.
An email seeking comment was sent to Ianni’s lawyer. An attorney for Sahady declined to comment.
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