An upstate New York man has been charged in connection with the riot at the US Capitol — after boasting about taking part in the insurrection on dating app Bumble, according to a newly filed federal affidavit.
The FBI first became aware of Robert Chapman, of Carmel in Putnam County, on Jan. 13 — a week after the riot — after a Bumble user tipped it off with a screenshot of a damning exchange.
“I did storm the Capitol,” Chapman bragged, adding that he had spoken to reporters at the Washington Post and the Wall Street Journal, according to the court document filed Thursday.
“I made it all the way into the Statuary Hall!” he announced.
But his potential date was less than impressed, replying, “We are not a match.”
“I suppose not,” Chapman allegedly wrote back to his prospective love interest.
Chapman was charged Thursday with knowingly entering or remaining on restricted government property without lawful authority, as well as violent entry and disorderly conduct on Capitol grounds.
The FBI also was alerted of a Facebook post published a day after the riots in which a user shared an image of Chapman inside the Capitol.
“My Dear friend and BroStar Robert made it in the Capitol building at the protest yesterday… Wooo Hooooooooo!!!!” user Lisa Jeanne Vunk wrote in a caption, according to the document.
A user named “Robert Erick,” whom the feds believe to be Chapman, denigrated the people who slammed his alleged actions.
In the comments of the post, “Robert Erick” writes: “Lisa Jeanne Vunk these are your peers? colleagues? they are a bunch of little bitch trolls. keyboard warriors who don’t do a f—- thing.”
According to the affidavit, the account linked to Chapman also published a Jan. 6 post saying: “I’M F—– INSIDE THE CRAPITOL!”
Another allegedly incriminating post read: “Gettin out Of New York S—ty, the rotten apple. Gonna go down to the District of Criminality to Enjoy some much deserved Entertainment!”
Chapman also changed his profile picture to a selfie at the insurrection — standing in front of a painting inside the Capitol and flashing a peace sign inside Statuary Hall, according to the feds.
In mid-January, Bumble temporarily removed its political identification filter after women on social media suggested that users posing as conservatives tricked the rioters into admitting their involvement, according to Business Insider.
The app said it made the move “to prevent misuse,” adding that it had “already removed any users that have been confirmed as participants in the attack of the US Capitol,” according to the outlet.
It was not immediately clear if the Bumble user who shared her messages with Chapman had changed her profile to track suspected rioters.
Chapman has been released on his own recognizance pending a court appearance April 27.
