A staffer for Rep. Brad Schneider (D-IL) was arrested after he was caught posing as an FBI agent at a Trump rally in Washington D.C. on November 14, 2020.
The staff member, Sterling Devion Carter, is also accused of leading Secret Service on a chase after he was discovered.
Carter resigned in disgrace after it emerged that he was the suspect authorities were looking for.
The arrest warrant breaks down what happened: “On Tuesday, December 29, 2020, your affiant Officer (J. Middleton #1766) was assigned to assist in the investigation for falsely impersonating public officer of minister, Fleeing from a law enforcement officer in a motor vehicle, and Carrying concealed weapons; possession of weapons during commission of crime of violence.
“On November 14, 2020, at approximately 1143 hours, plain cloths Officer K. Veruchi and Officer M. Amaturo ( noticed an individual in the 1300 block of St., NW, Washington DC., standing next 10 a blue Ford Taurus resembling an unmarked police cruiser with blue emergency lights activated.
“The ‘vehicle was parked on the north side, in the center of the 1300 block of St. In addition to the blue. ‘emergency lights, the vehicle had a barrier separating the front passenger compartment from the rear, resembling a police prisoner transport vehicle.
“There was also a laptop computer mount in the front dash, emergency light controller, and a spotlight on the driver’s side ‘A’ pillar, consistent with those in police cruisers.
“The vehicle was bearing DC tag (EA3699).
“The tag described appeared to be doctored or counterfeit due to the font in the lettering of the numbers appearing bolder than usual DC tags and more elongated than usual DC tags.
“The individual was a black male, approximately 25-30 years old, approximately 5’7-5°9, 145-155 pounds, short brown hair, and a black baseball cap.
“The individual was wearing a black t-shirt with ‘Federal Agent’ in large font printed on the front and back of the t-shirt, in addition to smaller ‘Federal Agent’ markings on the sleeves.
“The Individual had a full police duty belt on to include handcuffs, a pistol, two magazines, and a radio with earpiece attachment.
“When the plainclothes officers doubled back on 13th street to further inspect the vehicle and police markings, they noticed that this individual’s magazine pouch was located on his shooting hand side behind his firearm, which is unusual behavior for trained law enforcement.
“The individual’s badge on his waist was unrecognizable, and the font on the license plates appeared more unusual at a closer distance.
“The individual was being thanked by pedestrians for his service and acknowledging praise for being out there with the crowd.
“The individual appeared to take notice of the plain cloths officers watching him, and got into the vehicle and drove it west on G Street, to the comer of 14th St. Plain cloths officers continued to monitor the individual, and when they once again moved to the vicinity of this individual he took notice, returned to his car and drove it east on G St., towards 13th St.
“In doing so he moved to the south side of the street and positioned his vehicle at the comer with emergency lights activated.
“While being monitored they noticed the individual maintaining a distance from the DC Metropolitan Police Department Officers in the area.
“The plainclothes officers did not know of any other federal law enforcement agencies assisting with the demonstrations that day.
“The plainclothes officers notified the United States Secret Service Joint Operations Center and requested to have uniformed officers challenge the individual to verify credentials at approximately 1218 hours,” it says.
From The Daily Beast:
A young congressional staffer for Rep. Brad Schneider (D-IL) was quietly fired last year after he faked being an FBI agent and led cops on a chase through the capital, resulting in a weeks-long nationwide manhunt.
It took four different law enforcement agencies three months to eventually catch up with the staffer 500 miles away. And it was only after a Secret Service agent managed to track down the online shops that sold the staffer mock “federal agent” gear and a bogus license plate for his fake police car—decked out with a siren and flashing lights—that authorities were able to arrest him.
The congressional staffer in question, Sterling Devion Carter, admitted in court to openly carrying a firearm illegally.