FBI Used Photos, Tweets To Track MA Residents At Capitol Riot

NATICK, MA — FBI agents used a breadcrumb trail of social media posts and widely circulated photos to arrest two Massachusetts residents on Tuesday following their apparent involvement in the Jan. 6 riot inside the U.S. Capitol.

Agents with the FBI's Joint Terrorism Task Force arrested elected Natick Town Meeting member Suzanne Ianni, 59, and Malden resident Mark Sahady, 46, at their homes Tuesday morning, the agency announced in a tweet. Ianni and Sahady face charges of disorderly conduct on Capitol grounds and knowingly entering or remaining in a restricted building without lawful authority, according to court documents.

Ianni and Sahady helped hire 11 charter buses to transport local residents to Washington, D.C., on Jan. 6 for a "Stop the Steal" rally featuring President Donald Trump. FBI agents used public social media posts of Ianni and Sahady to show they intended to organize a trip to the rally and wanted to "get wild," as one social media post said.

Sahady is listed as the vice president of the alt-right group Super Fun Happy America, which was behind a 2019 "straight pride" rally in Boston. The FBI said it identified Sahady's personal Twitter account.

"I reviewed this Twitter account, which contains multiple statements evincing a belief that the 2020 election was stolen and that people need to gather in D.C. to respond to this theft on January 6, 2021," FBI special agent Brian Gutierrez wrote in an arrest affidavit.

One tweet said Super Fun Happy America was traveling to Washington to "show Democrats what they will be facing if they continue to try and steal the Presidency," according to court records.

A photo taken inside the Capitol on Jan. 6 appears to be a key piece of evidence.

Agence France-Presse photographer Roberto Schmidt snapped a picture of Ianni and Sahady standing next to each other inside the Capitol during the riot. The photo, distributed by Getty Images, was published in news outlets across the state and nation. The image was also circulated on social media as people began trying to identify locals involved in the riot.

"Following the invasion of the Capitol, private individuals and the media began posting and identifying people who were at the riot and entered the Capitol building," the FBI agent wrote in an affidavit. "One such photograph shows Sahady and [Ianni] standing together in the Capitol building during the invasion. The photograph appeared on a number of public forums, such as Twitter, as individuals worked successfully to identify Sahady through other pictures and information."

Last week, over 500 Natick residents signed a petition seeking Ianni's ouster from Town Meeting. The Board of Selectmen responded, saying it did not have the power to remove her — but that the matter was being investigated by authorities.

Massachusetts U.S. Attorney Andrew Lelling has said anyone who traveled to the Capitol and participated in the riot will be prosecuted. Another Massachusetts resident, David Ross, 33, of Pittsfield, was arrested by Capitol Police and charged with curfew violation and unlawful entry by the Capitol.

Ianni was released after a federal court hearing on Tuesday afternoon. A judge barred her from attending any protests at the state Capitol related to the election, and ordered Ianni to stay in Massachusetts — except for another court hearing in Washington, D.C., for local charges connected to the riot.