Cranberry man charged in Capitol insurrection
CRANBERRY TWP — A Cranberry Township man who apparently served in the U.S. Marine Corps turned himself in to federal law enforcement on charges he participated in the Jan. 6, 2021, insurrection at the U.S. Capitol.
Jordan Bonenberger, 26, faces charges of entering and remaining in a restricted building or grounds; disorderly and disruptive conduct in a restricted building or grounds; disorderly conduct in a Capitol building; and parading, demonstrating or picketing in a Capitol building in relation to his alleged Jan. 6 conduct.
He turned himself in to the FBI on Friday morning, according to the U.S. Department of Justice.
Bonenberger is the first person living in Butler County to face charges related to the Jan. 6 insurrection. More than 750 people have been charged, including more than 60 Pennsylvanians, due to alleged Jan. 6 conduct.
A redacted criminal complaint filed against Bonenberger alleges he entered the U.S. Capitol at approximately 2:38 p.m. Jan. 6, roughly 38 minutes after rioters breached the building and 18 minutes after members of Congress evacuated their chambers.
Surveillance footage from the Capitol, according to investigators, show Bonenberger entering both the Capitol Rotunda and the West Cooridor before exiting the building shortly before 3 p.m.
At least two individuals familiar with Bonenberger identified him in the security footage, according to the complaint. The two witnesses also identified a woman in the footage, whom investigators allege traveled to Washington, D.C., with Bonenberger, although her name and images were redacted from the complaint.
The charges against Bonenberger were also filed against a second individual, whose name was redacted.
The second witness to whom investigators spoke about Bonenberger contacted the FBI on Jan. 8. That individual, investigators say, identified him in videos shot outside the U.S. Capitol and posted to Snapchat, and provided the FBI with Bonenberger’s name, his cell phone number and a link to his Facebook profile.
In late January 2021, Bonenberger agreed to an interview with the FBI, investigators claim, but when agents arrived at his home in February 2021 he ultimately declined to be interviewed. In July 2021, agents again tried to interview Bonenberger, an attempt he rebuked, the complaint states, but “FBI agents visually confirmed” Bonenberger’s appearance as matching the surveillance footage.
In a virtual federal court hearing Friday afternoon, Bonenberger, wearing a dark suit, white shirt and striped tie, was informed of the charges against him, which will be prosecuted in the U.S. District Court for the District of Columbia.
J. Daniel Hull, a private Pittsburgh defense attorney representing Bonenberger, told federal Magistrate Judge Lisa P. Lenihan he would seek a preliminary examination in Washington, D.C., federal court in relation to the charges against Bonenberger.
Bonenberger’s Facebook profile, which was identified by prosecutors as belonging to him, shows images of Bonenberger wearing a U.S. Marine Corps dress uniform.
Bonenberger faces up to one year imprisonment and up to a $100,000 fine with regard to the restricted building or grounds charges, and up to six months in prison and up to a $5,000 fine on the parading and disorderly conduct charges.
