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Laurel father, son charged in U.S. Capitol siege

Kevin Seefried carried Confederate flag; Hunter Seefried recorded breaching broken window
January 15, 2021

A father and son from Laurel face criminal charges in connection with breaking into the U.S. Capitol Jan. 6; the father was photographed carrying a Confederate flag in a photo that later went viral.

Kevin and Hunter Seefried turned themselves in to U.S. Marshals in Wilmington Jan. 14 after the FBI had identified them as persons of interest in connection with the crowd of people who unlawfully forced themselves into the U.S. Capitol while Congress was certifying the presidential election results. 

An FBI spokeswoman said they are from Laurel.

Both father and son face two charges – knowingly entering or remaining in any restricted building or grounds without lawful authority, and violent entry and disorderly conduct on Capitol grounds – filed in U.S. District Court in Washington, D.C. They will have a court appearance at a future date.

According to the criminal complaint, a co-worker of Hunter Seefried's contacted the FBI and told them Hunter had bragged about being in the Capitol with his father on Jan. 6. The co-worker confirmed that Hunter was the man with a mustache wearing a black hat and black jacket pictured in a flier seeking out people who had breached building security.

Video footage of a glass window broken out by a crowd of people with a 2-by-4 shows Hunter punching out glass in the window. “Kevin Seefried confirmed to law enforcement agents that Hunter Seefried was asked by an individual unknown to the Seefrieds to assist with clearing the window because Hunter Seefried was wearing gloves,” the complaint reads.

After clearing the window, the complaint states, the Seefrieds and others were able to enter the building through it.

Once they were inside, a photograph was taken of Kevin Seefried carrying a Confederate flag in a hallway. Kevin Seefried told investigators that he brought the Confederate battle flag to the capitol from his home in Delaware where it is usually displayed. The two were also part of a larger group which verbally confronted several U.S. Capitol police officers for about 15 minutes, the complaint states. After entering the building at 2:13 p.m., the complaint states, the two are seen leaving the building at 2:36 p.m. “At no time were they authorized to be inside the U.S. Capitol complex,” the complaint states.

The two also face one count of depredation of government property.

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