DETROIT — Siblings from St. Clair County stormed the U.S. Capitol during the Jan. 6 siege after voicing opposition to President Joe Biden and his victory in the 2020 presidential election, according to federal court records.
The allegations emerged in court documents made public late Thursday charging Deborah Kuecken, 67, of Ira Township and Gary Smith, 71, of Casco Township, with crimes related to the Jan. 6, 2021, riot. They are among 19 Michiganians charged as part of a broader crackdown on people who rioted and broke into the U.S. Capitol as Congress met to count electoral votes following President Donald Trump's defeat.
At least 897 people have been charged in connection with the riot, which led to multiple deaths and physical harm to more than 140 members of law enforcement, according to a database created by George Washington University's Program on Extremism. That total includes former Republican gubernatorial candidate Ryan Kelley.
Both Kuecken, a retired saleswoman, and Smith, a retired nurse who ran as a Republican delegate to the St. Clair County convention in August, were charged with four crimes: knowingly entering or remaining in a restricted building or grounds; knowingly disorderly and disruptive conduct in a restricted building or grounds; violent entry and disorderly conduct on Capitol grounds and violently parading, demonstrating or picketing in a Capitol building. If convicted, they could face up to 10 years in prison.
"They went — not as members of any extremist groups — but they're guilty of being Trumpsters," their lawyer, David Griem, told The Detroit News on Friday.
They surrendered Thursday and were released on $10,000 unsecured bond after brief hearings in federal court in Detroit. Kuecken and Smith are expected to eventually appear in Washington, D.C., where the criminal cases are filed.
The investigation started with a tip to the FBI in June 2021 that Kuecken and her brother had been inside the U.S. Capitol during the siege, according to an FBI agent's statement of facts filed in federal court.
Investigators analyzed data obtained from Verizon through a federal search warrant that showed cell phones that utilized a tower servicing the inside of the U.S. Capitol during the riot. Agents focused on one cell phone number that a subpoena showed belonged to Smith.
Agents also compared driver's license photos and social media posts with photos of Jan. 6 rioters. They were able to match Kuecken's driver's license photo with riot pictures showing a woman with short dark hair, wearing an olive or tan-colored parka with a high-necked, white furry collar, bright green scarf and sunglasses standing on the steps of the Capitol, according to the court filing.
Agents matched the photos from outside the Capitol with pictures from her Facebook account, where on May 25 she shared a post calling Biden an "embarrassment to this country."
Riot photos showed Kuecken standing next to a man who resembled her brother, Smith, who has a distinctive white horseshoe-style mustache and white hair. During the riot, Smith wore a hooded sweatshirt and a Detroit Tigers hat.
FBI agents also subpoenaed his Facebook account, which displays a prominent image of a bald eagle and the phrase "We the people stop the steal," referring to debunked claims of widespread fraud during the 2020 election.
Riot photos showed the siblings at the east front of the Capitol during the siege, near the Rotunda doors, where rioters overran and assaulted an officer, according to the court filing. Photos also showed the siblings walking through the doors with other rioters.
After viewing photos, agents interviewed Smith's son Oct. 6, 2021. According to the court filing, they showed him footage from the riot and he identified his father and aunt.
The siblings drove in a recreational vehicle to Washington, D.C., to attend a Jan. 6 rally that preceded the riot, Griem said.
"They drove there to participate peacefully — peacefully — in a rally for Trump and they did go into the Capitol peacefully — peacefully — and they spent four minutes inside the Capitol as tourists," Griem said. "They never participated in any violence."
The siblings and Griem met with FBI agents early Thursday, gave investigators the clothes worn during the riot and let them analyze their phones, the lawyer said.
"I commend the FBI. They had warrants and could have just grabbed them," Griem said. "We are going to defend the case vigorously. It just seems here that the government has thrown out a very large net and they happen to be caught up in it."
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