4 December 28, 2023 - January 3, 2024 miaminewtimes.com | browardpalmbeach.com New Times | music | cafe | culture | Night+Day | news | letters | coNteNts | miaminewtimes.com MIAMI NEW TIMES | MUSIC | CAFE | FILM | ART | STAGE | NIGHT+DAY | METRO | RIPTIDE | LETTERS | CONTENTS | INSURRECTION BARBY Former Marco Rubio intern accused of storming Capitol on January 6. BY ALEX DELUCA A uthorities have un- sealed an arrest war- rant for Barbara Balmaseda, a former Florida International University student and South Florida GOP strategist accused of storming the U.S. Capitol on January 6, 2021. Barbara “Barby” Balmaseda — a 23-year- old from Miami Lakes with ties to high-pro- file Republican politicians in Florida and beyond — was arrested and charged with cor- rupt obstruction of an official proceeding, knowingly entering and remaining in a re- stricted building, and engaging in disorderly conduct in a Capitol building with the intent to impede a session of Congress. Balmaseda was arrested on December 14 in Miami Lakes. “U.S. Capitol Police closed-circuit televi- sion captured Balmaseda entering the Capitol building via the Senate Wing door at approxi- mately 2:16 p.m., just four minutes after riot- ers initially breached the building,” the Department of Justice (DOJ) alleges. “When Balmaseda entered the building, broken glass was scattered on the ground, and an alarm blared near the doorway,” the DOJ says. “After entering the Capitol, Bal- maseda made her way toward the Crypt and pushed her way to the front of a crowd of ri- oters who were confronting a police line.” As previously reported by New Times, Bal- maseda interned for U.S. Sen. Marco Rubio be- tween 2018 and 2019, worked as an organizer on Gov. Ron DeSantis’ 2018 campaign, and served as campaign manager for Ileana Gar- cia’s controversial 2020 Florida Senate race. Balmaseda was also previously listed as di- rector at-large on the website of Miami Young Republicans and served as regional director for Young Conservatives for Carbon Divi- dends, a self-described free-market climate advocacy campaign. Her attorney, Aubrey Webb, tells New Times that a task force of FBI, U.S. Marshals, and Miami-Dade Police swarmed in to exe- cute her arrest last week. “When the FBI contacted us over a year ago, I told them that she will voluntarily sur- render if they ever want to arrest her. We are also disappointed that it took almost three years for DOJ to decide to charge her,” Webb says. “She has no criminal history, and the government has not charged her with any vi- olence or destruction of property.” The FBI affidavit states that in the time leading up to the riot, Balmaseda created and frequented a Telegram group chat that in- cluded at least ten participants, including Ga- briel Garcia and other Miami-area members of the far-right Proud Boys. Balmaseda, who at one point renamed the group chat “Barby’s Security :)” and “Barby’s Security Detail,” sent roughly 900 messages to the group be- tween November 2020 and January 2021. On November 6, 2020, as the presidential race inched toward a conclusion, Balmaseda allegedly texted in the chat: “Y’all think Biden’s gonna steal this election?” Three days later, after Garcia wrote in the group chat, “We are in La Carreta ready to fuck shit up again,” Balmaseda responded, “I’ll get the popcorn ready to watch y’all fuck shit up,” alongside a laughing emoji, accord- ing to the affidavit. The DOJ alleges that Balmaseda texted back and forth with Garcia and other members of the Proud Boys, expressing her belief that the 2020 election was stolen, while making note of the certification process scheduled to take place on January 6. Her number was saved in Garcia’s phone as “Barbarita Balmaseda,” and text messages show the duo coordinating their travel together to Washington, D.C. On the morning of January 6, Balmaseda was photographed in the Black Lives Matter plaza wearing a black leather jacket with a shearling collar and a red “KEEP AMERICA GREAT” hat alongside Garcia, the affidavit states. According to the affidavit, she was later near a mob of rioters on the west front of the Capitol grounds and was seen on video climbing on equipment staged in preparation for the presidential inauguration. Once she entered the Capitol with Garcia, she moved deeper into the building as rioters confronted and pushed back police lines. “At approximately 3:11 p.m., law enforce- ment officers received additional support in the Rotunda and were able to corral rioters, Balmaseda included, towards the nearest exit, the Rotunda doors,” the DOJ says. Just after midnight, she sent a meme to Garcia showing a Cheeto substituting as a door lock, with the caption: “the Capitol today.” Webb says Balmaseda was charged with one felony under U.S.C. 1512 for obstructing an offi- cial proceeding, as well as four misdemeanors. “She is relieved this process will finally move toward a final resolution. Her arrest was a waste of law enforcement resources,” he says. Webb notes that the U.S. Supreme Court is reviewing the case of January 6 defendant Jo- seph Fischer, which could decide whether the felony obstruc- tion provision under which Balmaseda and many other Capitol riot defendants have been charged only ap- plies in circum- stances of evidence-tampering. Fischer secured dismissal of a felony count against him on those grounds, though a fed- eral appeals court reversed, writing that the provision applies to “all forms of corrupt ob- struction of an official proceeding.” In the months following the insurrection, online sleuths, including the group Sedition Hunters, zeroed in on Balmaseda — whom they dubbed “#PinkGaiterPBG.” She ap- peared to have been photographed inside the Capitol sporting a baseball cap with an Amer- ican flag and a black-and-pink gaiter. A former Vice City Proud Boy, who was at the Capitol on January 6 and spoke on the condition that he not be named for fear of re- taliation, previously told New Times that Bal- maseda was there with Garcia. “Barby was there,” he said. [email protected] Barbara Balmaseda was arrested on December 14 for her participation in the storming of the U.S. Capitol on January 6, 2021. Federal Bureau of Investigation photo | METRO | “I’LL GET THE POPCORN READY TO WATCH Y’ALL FUCK SHIT UP.”
