J6 dissident arrested days before Christmas after high school classmate sends tip to the FBI

Lakeville, Minnesota – A non-violent January 6th dissident, who entered the capitol building over two years ago, was arrested just days before Christmas after a series of tips were submitted to the FBI by a former classmate and a coworker. The politically motivated arrest is said to have begun after a “selfie” was posted on social media and comes amid an ongoing campaign by the federal government to press US citizens into a force of volunteer informants.

According to reports, 43-year-old Martin James Cudo was formally charged with “illegal entry into the Capitol with the intention of disrupting the proceedings of the U.S. House of Representatives” on January 6th, 2021. Cudo was said to have been apprehended in Lakeville on Monday but was held overnight and released from custody by Tuesday afternoon.

Martin James Cudo allegedly appears in photos linked to the January 6th “Stop the Steal” protest in Washington, DC. He was arrested and charged days before Christmas despite having been interrogated and let go by FBI agents over two years ago. Photos: U.S. District Court, District of Columbia.

During a brief interview with the Star Tribune, Cudo stated that he has legal representation but declined to comment on the charges brought against him. Cudo’s arrest comes amid news that the U.S. Supreme Court intends to hear an appeal that could potentially upend hundreds of charges related to the Capitol riot, including those levied against former President Donald Trump.

According to the criminal complaint against Cudo, a tip submitted to the FBI by a former classmate and a co-worker led to his identification. The tip included a selfie that Cudo posted to social media shortly after January 6th, allegedly depicting him inside the Capitol building. When questioned by FBI agents in the Twin Cities a week later, Cudo “confirmed” that he was the person in the photo.

He also admitted during interrogation to having traveled to DC with relatives on January 4, 2021, to attend the “Stop the Steal” protest alongside hundreds of Trump supporters, right-wing dissidents, and others who starkly opposed the neoliberal system in Washington, DC.

The complaint also includes several photographs that prosecutors believe show Cudo’s movements throughout the grounds of the Capitol, which can be tracked from the Ellipse near the White House. It also contains the alleged “selfie” taken by Cudo, who can be seen wearing an American flag-colored COVID mask, reflective shades, and a “Trump 45” hat. The complaint continued to allege that Cudo—among others—breached police barricades before entering the Capitol but confessed that he only did so after it appeared that Capitol Police “moved out of the way” to allow crowds inside.

According to open source footage, Cudo can be seen standing on some lighting equipment but does not appear to be physical with officers or damage any property. At one point, he is alleged to have pulled down his mask to take a photo of himself in a corridor. Cudo later stated during interrogation that he dispersed from the building after officers deployed flash grenades. He then returned to his hotel room and “realized the trouble he may be in.”

The US Federal Government’s heavy-handed approach to punishing those who attended J6 contrasts with many images and accounts of peaceful protestors following laws, obeying Police directions, and committing only minor offenses while inside the building. Photo: Win McNamee, Getty Images

Despite being interrogated and released by the FBI on Jan. 13, 2021, the now unsealed court document fails to explain why Cudo was not charged or arrested until December of 2023. According to reports, he was believed to be in the Capitol building for only 9 minutes.

According to a database maintained by the U.S. Justice Department, Cudo is the 14th person from Minnesota to be charged in connection with J6. One individual, Victoria C. White of Rochester, received a sentence of 10 days in prison, three months of home confinement, and two years of supervised release, all for expressing her political beliefs on public property. Facing an aggressive case hatched by the criminal justice system, she pled guilty to one felony count of interfering with law enforcement.

Smeared as “insurrectionists” and “rioters” by the mainstream press, the heavy-handed prosecution of J6 dissidents—many of them elderly pensioners—has continued to be a source of consternation for an embattled neoliberal regime. Bleeding legitimacy in the face of two expensive proxy wars in both Ukraine and Israel, the Biden regime and his servants in the FBI have increasingly relied on citizen snitches to make arrests and stifle popular dissent.

To do this, the Bureau has famously plastered its tip line number on interstate billboards across America, which counts on American citizens to turn in their family, friends, or neighbors into state custody.

The most egregious example of Federal manipulation can be found in the case of Jackson Reffitt, the 19-year-old who reported his own father to the FBI for a series of “heated” texts made to a private family chat. After his father, Guy Reffitt, attended the protest, the FBI used his son’s testimony and evidence plucked from the chat in a case against him. He would eventually receive 11 years in prison, while his son would be painted as a hero in left-leaning news outlets.

“I felt pretty gross and I felt pretty uncomfortable for even thinking about doing something like this, but I knew that it would help immensely,” Jackson testified at his father’s criminal trial. “Better safe than sorry.”

Other more malicious actors have also emerged in an attempt to inflict pain on those they perceive to be their political enemies. In September, an independent Justice Report investigation revealed that a cybersecurity expert for the French IT firm, Eviden belonged to the anti-White extremist movement commonly referred to as “Antifa.” Leaked chats revealed that 23-year-old Nathan Edward Shelley of Broomfield, Colorado, maliciously used his company’s proprietary technology to sniff out and anonymously report a man he believed to be a J6 dissident to the FBI.

A billboard set up on Highway 11E in Jonesborough, Tennessee by the FBI requesting American citizens inform on J6 dissidents. Photo: WJHL Nexstar

Despite being having access to what can only be described as a freelance army of spies and online hall monitors, the United States Federal Government is more than willing to use hard power to enforce its will against those who attended J6. In November, heavily armed federal agents wearing body armor turned the sleepy town of Helmetta, New Jersey, into a veritable warzone as they hunted suspected J6 dissident Gregory Yetman. According to reports, the FBI deployed automatic weapons and even tanks in their two-day manhunt for Yetman, whose only crime was deploying pepper spray during the J6 protest.

His identity was only revealed to the FBI after a salacious USA Today article released photos of American citizens who had yet to be identified in connection to J6.

Since January 6th, more than 1,230 individuals across the United States have been charged for their involvement in “Stop the Steal.” Among them, over 440 individuals face felony charges for assaulting or obstructing law enforcement. While some in the riotous crowd instigated destructive actions that put lives at risk, the attack ultimately failed to prevent Congress from affirming Biden’s electoral victory.

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