Two Illinois brothers and their cousin pleaded guilty Thursday to illegally entering the U.S. Capitol through a broken window during the Jan. 6, 2021 riot.
Anthony Carollo, 23, his brother, Jeremiah Carollo, 45, and their cousin, Cody Vollan, 31, were all charged in January with misdemeanor counts of unlawfully entering a restricted government building and disorderly conduct on U.S. Capitol grounds.
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They pleaded guilty to a superseding information on Thursday during a telephone hearing in U.S. District Court in Washington. U.S. District Judge Amit P. Mehta set separate sentencing hearings for all three on Sept. 13.
A criminal complaint filed in January included photos of the three men standing amid the mob outside the Capitol on Jan. 6, 2021. They later could be seen filing past a man in a gas mask and bicycle helmet. Another photo shows the defendants walking single-file through the Capitol rotunda.
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The men were identified through Google records and surveillance images, according to court records. Anthony Carollo and Vollan were arrested in the Lockport area, while Jeremiah Carollo was arrested near his home in downstate Glen Carbon.
As part of their guilty pleas, the men admitted they entered the building through a broken window adjacent to the Senate wing door around 2:22 p.m. and wandered near the offices of House Speaker Nancy Pelosi before leaving after about 15 minutes.
At least 27 Illinoisans have been charged so far in the Capitol breach, an ongoing investigation that has been described by prosecutors as the largest criminal investigation in the country’s history.
Most of the Illinois cases have involved simple trespassing and disorderly conduct, rather than allegations of violence.
In December, however, James Robert Elliott, 24, of Aurora, was charged with felony counts alleging he used a flagpole to assault officers while illegally on the Capitol grounds. He has pleaded not guilty and his case is pending.
Nationwide, nearly 800 people have been arrested as of this month in all 50 states and the District of Columbia on charges stemming from the Capitol breach, according to the U.S. Justice Department.
jmeisner@chicagotribune.com
