Mays Landing Man Faces Charges Related to January 6 Capitol Riot

A Mays Landing man is the latest person from South Jersey to be charged with participating in the riot at the US Capitol on January 6th as Congress was formalizing the election of President Joe Biden.

Robert Lee Petrosh, 51, faces charges of knowingly entering or remaining in any restricted building or grounds without lawful authority, and violent entry and disorderly conduct on Capitol grounds, according to The Courier-Post.

Supporters of then-President Donald Trump overtook the Capitol to protest the results of last year’s presidential election. They used force to enter the building and grounds.

A criminal complaint detailing allegations against Petrosh was not immediately available Tuesday.

Get our free mobile app

A federal judge in Camden released Petrosh on a $50,000 unsecured bond pending his first appearance next Tuesday with a U.S. District Court judge in Washington, D.C. via videoconference.

Petrosh is at least the seventh person from South Jersey to be charged in connection with an uprising.

Five people died from injuries or medical emergencies related to the insurrection.

According to a study of those involved in the Capitol riot by NPR, there were some people with connections to extremist groups or fringe ideas. At least 23 defendants appear to have expressed support for QAnon, the pro-Trump conspiracy theory.

But a large majority of those charged have no known connections to established extremist groups. NPR found at least 14% of those charged had possible ties to the military or to law enforcement.

It's not known what, if any, connection Petrosh had to any such group. Federal authorities didn’t elaborate on the grounds for his arrest stemming from the Jan. 6 incident.

His attorney, Steven Sheffler of Northfield, could not be reached for immediate comment, according to The Courier-Post.