Judge bans fur-loving rioter Aaron Mostofsky from all state capitals
The pro-Trump son of a prominent Brooklyn judge who joined in last week’s deadly riots is banned from all state capitals and can’t participate in any political gatherings.
The unusual conditions were part of a $100,000 bail package for Aaron Mostofsky, 34, who was arrested Tuesday and hauled before a Brooklyn federal judge for allegedly stealing a police shield and bulletproof vest during the siege.
The fur-loving revolutionary — whose bizarre get-up of animal skins paired with a walking stick and the filched police gear was memorialized in a viral Instagram photo –appeared for the proceeding by video.
US Magistrate Judge Sanket Bulsara told Mostofsky that he would sign off on the bail package — although “the charges are serious and the evidence presented significant.”
Mostofsky will be released into the custody of his older brother, Neil Mostofsky, and must abide by a curfew and be fitted with a GPS ankle monitor. He can’t leave New York City without the permission of pretrial services or communicate with any of his co-defendants.
Assistant US Attorney Josh Hafetz said “the government is deeply troubled” by Mostofsky’s conduct and referenced a video shot by a Post reporter showing him holding the riot shield and bulletproof vest he appeared to have picked up off the ground.
“We’ve come up with what I believe are the least restrictive means to ensure both Mr. Mostofsky’s continued appearances in court and to make sure, most importantly, the safety of the community after his taking part in what was a mob attack and a rampage to the US Capitol,” the prosecutor said.
Defense lawyer Jeffrey Schwartz said his client was simply “caught up” in the storming of the nation’s capital that left five people dead and the historic building badly damaged.
“I believe the evidence will show that he was not part of the mob and he was not rampaging, he got caught up in it, but he understands the gravity of what he’s being charged with,” Schwartz said.
The lawyer asked that Mostofsky also be granted permission to visit his mother’s grave in Nassau — a request the judge said should be fielded by pretrial services.
Mostofsky is charged in a criminal complaint out of the US Attorney’s Office in DC with four counts, including theft of government property, illegal entry into a restricted area and disorderly conduct.
He’s scheduled to appear virtually in DC federal court Jan. 25. His father, Shlomo Mostofsky, is a Brooklyn Supreme Court Justice and an important figure in the Orthodox Jewish community.