High school football varsity jacket leads to Capitol riot arrest for State College man
A State College man was accused Monday of storming the U.S. Capitol after multiple people identified him by his high school football varsity jacket.
Brian Gundersen, 26, was spotted on national television wearing a Byram Hills High School jacket that displayed his former jersey number on the left sleeve, the FBI wrote in a criminal complaint.
One of the first people to contact the FBI was a police chief in New York, who said the school’s superintendent and several community members recognized the jacket among the sea of rioters.
A person with a close relationship to Gundersen described him as an avid supporter of former President Donald Trump and said the former Bobcat left Pennsylvania for the Capitol the evening before the siege, the FBI wrote.
Gundersen initially denied entering the Capitol in an interview with the FBI, but later recanted and said he was pushed into the building by the crowd and stayed for about 10 minutes, according to the complaint.
He texted people the evening before the riot that he and others “might be able to bum rush the (W)hite (H)ouse and take it over,” the FBI wrote.
“We all stormed the us capital (sic) and tried to take over the government,” Gundersen is accused of texting people two days after the riot. “We failed but f--- it.”
Assistant Federal Public Defender Gerald Lord did not immediately respond to a request for comment Thursday.
Gundersen was charged with knowingly entering any restricted building without lawful authority, engaging in disorderly conduct with the intent to impede government business, disorderly conduct and demonstrating in the Capitol.
Gundersen lives with his mother in State College. He was released Wednesday in her custody by federal Magistrate Judge William Arbuckle. His next court appearance is scheduled for Tuesday.
Gundersen is the first Centre County resident known to face charges related to the Capitol riot.
More than 100 people traveled with the Centre County Republican Party on the morning on Jan. 6 — the day after Gundersen left for Washington — to attend the “Save America” rally, but organizers said community members did not engage in violence.
This story was originally published January 28, 2021 at 12:28 PM.