Two people from Groton arrested in Capitol riots
Two people from Groton were arrested Wednesday and charged with participating in the mobs that converged on the U.S. Capitol in Washington.
They were among dozens of people arrested during and after the riots, which left four people dead and caused members of Congress to seek shelter as extremists breached Capitol security and illegally stormed the building, breaking into the House Chamber and legislative offices.
Victoria Bergeson, 40, of 1591 North Road was charged with unlawful entry and violating the 6 p.m. curfew put in place Wednesday by D.C. Mayor Muriel Bowser, according to the D.C. Metropolitan Police Department and court records.
Bergeson was arrested in the 100 block of First Street in Northwest D.C., near the Peace Monument, at 7:15 p.m. and charged with defying Capitol Police and entering the U.S. Capitol Grounds, ignoring repeated announcements to vacate the premises and violating the curfew.
Mauricio Mendez, 40, was arrested in the same area as Bergeson and charged with unlawful entry and violating the curfew, police said. According to public records, Mendez also lives in Groton.
Bergeson was taken to the Metro Police Academy for processing after her arrest, was arraigned in court in D.C. at 1 p.m. Thursday and entered a plea of not guilty, court records show. A “stay-away order” was filed in her case, court records show, and she was scheduled to appear in court in D.C. again on June 10.
No court docket information was listed for Mendez.
Mendez and Bergeson were the only people from Connecticut arrested during the riots. At least 70 people had been charged in connection to the riots as of Thursday evening, police said.
D.C. Metro Police on Wednesday posted a 26-page file on their website containing images of extremists who broke into the Capitol. Anyone with information was being asked to contact D.C. police at (202) 727-9099 or text tips to 50411.
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