OC Man Charged With Assault In Capitol Insurrection

WESTMINSTER, CA — The FBI raided the home of a 61-year-old Westminster man Friday morning, arresting him on suspicion of assaulting an officer during the Jan. 6 insurrection at the Capitol.

Kevin Louis Galetto was arrested early Friday morning when federal investigators executed a search warrant at his home, according to FBI Supervisory Special Agent Jason Dalton. Galetto is charged with assaulting, resisting or impeding certain officers or employees, obstruction of law enforcement during civil disorder, obstruction of justice, entering a restricted building or grounds and violent entry and disorderly conduct on Capitol grounds.

The arrest comes after months of investigation stemming from images of Galetto at the riot circulating on social media as well as Capitol police-worn bodycam footage, according to the FBI. In an affidavit by FBI Special Agent David DiMarco, investigators allege Galetto was seen on video surveillance at the Capitol about 2:40 p.m. Jan. 6 at the Lower West Terrace tunnel entrance wearing a black baseball cap in support of former President Donald Trump. Galetto was among the supporters of the ex-president, who breached the halls of Congress that day as legislators were preparing to certify the results of the 2020 presidential election.

He again appears in police ody-worn camera footage "with his arms extended and pressed up against (Metropolitan Police Department) officer shields," DiMarco wrote. The bodcam also captures a Galetto in a scuffle with one office, who was injured in the attack, according to the FBI.

The officer was "knocked to the ground," and the defendant can be seen pushing on the officer's shield, DiMarco said. Galetto can also be seen in other footage shoving other officer shields, DiMarco alleged.

According to the affidavit, Galetto was also identified in a Youtube clip from the riot "exiting the tunnel of the LWT entryway" and beckoning to a "crowd of rioters outside the tunnel, `More people!"'

"Based on my observations I believe Galetto attempted to summon more rioters to the LWT tunnel entryway to penetrate the police line," DiMarco wrote.

One of the officers involved in the scuffle said his helmet was ripped off and he was struck twice with an unknown object, according to DiMarco.

Galetto was expected to make his initial appearance in federal court in Santa Ana on Friday afternoon. His Facebook page includes no references to the Jan. 6 riot with few posts during that time period. Since the riot, his posts have largely feature right-wing political memes and animal videos.

City News Service and Patch Staffer Paige Austin contributed to this report.