Sixth Washington state man charged in U.S. Capitol breach case

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According to the FBI, Joseph Elliott Zlab, center in red, was captured on photos and in video footage entering the U.S. Capitol on Jan. 6 with a pro-Trump mob that sought to disrupt Congressí certification of the 2020 presidential election results. (FBI)

By Lewis Kamb Seattle Times staff reporter

A King County man has been arrested and charged with entering the U.S. Capitol with a pro-Trump mob during January’s deadly insurrection.

Joseph Elliott Zlab, 51, of Lake Forest Park, was arrested in Everett early Thursday without incident, an FBI spokesman said Friday. Zlab was charged in a complaint filed in the District of Columbia with one count of unauthorized entering or remaining in any restricted building or grounds, and one count of violent entry and disorderly conduct on Capitol grounds, according to charging documents.

Zlab, who runs JMZ Contractors, a construction firm in Everett, made an initial appearance on the charge in federal court in Seattle on Thursday. He faces up to a year and a half in prison, if convicted.

Neither Zlab nor his federal public defender responded to messages left for them Friday.

According to an FBI affidavit, a white, middle-aged man matching Zlab’s description was captured in widely disseminated photographs and video entering the Capitol on Jan. 6 with the mob that forced entry into the building while Congress was certifying the 2020 presidential election results. The man was “wearing a red baseball cap and a red jacket, holding a yellow `Don’t Tread On Me’ flag,” the affidavit states.

Ten days later, the FBI received an anonymous tip that Zlab was in the Capitol on Jan. 6 and gave the name of Zlab’s business. A federal agent later found a picture of Zlab on his business’ website and called him, the affidavit states.

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