TAMPA (WFLA) – A Polk County woman is the latest person from Florida to be arrested and charged in connection with the deadly Jan. 6 riot and insurrection at the U.S. Capitol.
Corinne Lee Montoni was arrested Tuesday morning at her home in Lakeland. A federal prosecutor told 8 On Your Side law enforcement executed a search warrant and seized electronics.
According to federal court records, the criminal complaint accuses Montoni of obstruction of an official proceeding, entering a restricted building and disorderly conduct on Capitol grounds.
8 On Your Side is working to learn more about the nature of the allegations, but the federal complaint is still sealed as of 5 p.m. Tuesday.
Montoni appeared before a federal judge in Tampa Tuesday afternoon for her first appearance. Her attorney Paul Showalter told the judge that she had been aware of the charges for some time and that she was not a flight risk.
Montoni exited the courthouse before 4:30 p.m. with her defense attorney and then left in a car with another woman who came to pick her up. Neither had any comment when asked why she went to the Capitol on Jan. 6.
The judge allowed Montoni to be released on a $25,000 signature bond, meaning she only has to pay that amount if she fails to appear at a future court hearing. She is scheduled to appear before a federal judge in Washington D.C. via Zoom next Monday.c
Montoni is only allowed to travel within the Middle District of Florida and to Washington, D.C. for court related matters. The case against her will be prosecuted there. She also has to surrender her passport or any firearms in her home.
Five people, including a Capitol police officer, died during the siege on the U.S. Capitol two months ago.
A mob of former President Trump supporters stormed the building in protest of the 2020 election results in an effort to interrupt the certification of the President Joe Biden’s Electoral College victory.
Protestors smashed windows and roamed through the hall of the Capitol, even breaching the Senate floor.
