An attorney for an accused Capitol rioter said his client participated in the January 6 siege because he had ‘Foxitus’ and ‘Foxmania’ from watching Fox News for 6 months

• An attorney for an accused Capitol rioter said his client was radicalized by Fox News.

• The attorney said Anthony Antonio started “believing what was being fed to him” by Fox and Trump.

• The attorney made the claim during a Thursday court hearing for other accused rioters.

• See more stories on Insider’s business page.

An attorney for an accused Capitol rioter said his client had been radicalized by Fox News, and that he had “Foxitus” and “Foxmania.”

Anthony Antonio, of Clayton, Delaware, watched Fox News for six months prior to the Capitol riot, the attorney said during a multi-defendant hearing on Thursday related to the Capitol siege.

The attorney said his client started “believing what was being fed to him” by the news outlet and former President Donald Trump, HuffPost’s Ryan Reilly and The Daily Beast reported.

Antonio, who was wearing a black tactical bulletproof vest with a “Three Percenters” patch when Trump supporters stormed the Capitol on January 6, was included in a “seeking information” list posted by the FBI following the incident, court documents said.

Federal investigators interviewed Antonio on February 4, and Antonio said he was at the Capitol on January 6. But he did not answer when investigators asked if he had entered the building. Court documents alleged that Antonio entered the Capitol through one of the broken windows.

“Although his face was not visible, he was identifiable by the tattoo on his wrist and the distinctive black gloves with white writing,” the document said. A video also captured Antonio inside the building “picking up a piece of furniture, which appeared to have a broken leg, with another individual and tossing the furniture
off to the side,” the documents said.

In the February 4 interview with investigators, Antonio described his account of what happened when protesters confronted police officers outside the building, saying he saw “death” in the eyes of one officer who he said was asking for help.

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Mike Fanone, a Metropolitan police officer, was shocked with a stun gun by accused rioter Danny “DJ” Rodriguez, who has been charged in relation to the incident. Video footage reported by HuffPost showed Antonio near Rodriguez while he was holding a stun gun.

A criminal complaint was filed against Antonio on April 14, charging him with unlawfully entering a restricted building or grounds, violent entry and disorderly conduct, obstruction of law enforcement, obstruction of an official proceeding, and destruction of government property.

A representative for Fox News did not immediately return Insider’s request for comment.

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