Wednesday 9 June 2021

A 24-year-old man accused of storming the Capitol in designer clothes has been ordered to stay at his parents' $4.5 million mansion as part of his pretrial release

Christian Kulas Capitol riot
Christian Kulas is seen in social-media videos shared by the FBI in charging documents.
  • Christian Kulas, 24, was arrested Tuesday in connection to the Capitol riot.
  • Charging documents included footage showing Kulas at the Capitol, wearing Burberry.
  • As part of his pretrial release, Kulas agreed to live at his family's $4.5 million mansion.
  • See more stories on Insider's business page.

A 24-year-old man from the wealthy suburbs of Chicago was arrested early Tuesday morning on suspicion of taking part in the Capitol riot, after social-media posts appeared to show him following crowds into the Capitol in designer clothes.

Christian Kulas was charged with unlawful entry and disorderly conduct, misdemeanors punishable by a maximum sentence of up to a year in prison, according to WGN.

According to the charging documents, the FBI received multiple tips about Kulas' possible participation in the January 6 riot.

One unnamed witness provided the FBI with social-media footage, which appeared to be taken by Kulas and posted on an Instagram account associated with him.

kulas home
The Kulas family home in Kenilworth, Illinois.

Videos posted to the account during the riot showed a man following crowds from a pro-Trump rally to the Capitol, climbing an exterior wall, walking up the steps of the building, and finally walking around inside.

At one point, the cameraman turned the camera towards himself, and he can be seen smiling and wearing a "KEEP AMERICA GREAT" hat and a dark coat with the Burberry print on the interior of the hood. At another point a voice is heard saying "storming the Capitol."

The FBI interviewed a second witness who said they went to middle and high school with Kulas.

The second witness was "highly confident that the individual depicted in the videos wearing the Burberry coat was Kulas," the FBI said.

The witness said they were "also familiar with the sound of Kulas's voice" and "identified Kulas as the speaker of the words 'storming the Capitol' in the video posted by the Instagram account," the charging document said.

Kulas was arrested just before 6 a.m. Tuesday morning and appeared via telephone line in court later that day, according to The Southern Illinoisan.

According to CBS Chicago, Kulas signed a $4,500 appearance bond to be released from custody, which means that he doesn't need to put any more money down but will owe money if he violates the conditions of his bond.

Part of the conditions of Kulas' release are that he mostly live at his parents' home, surrender his passport, and stay away from Washington DC, CBS Chicago reported.

Kulas' parents own a mansion in Kenilworth that sits on a bluff overlooking Lake Michigan, according to WGN. The home sold for $4.5 million last year, the Chicago Sun Times reported.

Kulas' mother agreed to ensure that her son continued to comply with the court appearances, while his father said he would remove two guns from the house, according to WGN.

More than 500 people have been arrested in connection to the Capitol riot so far.

Read the original article on Business Insider


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