An Amerprise Financial advisor from New Jersey faces felony and misdemeanor charges related to his actions when the U.S. Capitol was breached on Jan. 6, 2021.
Federal prosecutors charged Lee A. Giobbie, 40, of Eastampton, in a criminal complaint filed in Washington, D.C., with felony offenses of civil disorder and obstruction of an official proceeding.
Giobbie, arrested last week in New Jersey, also is charged with misdemeanor offenses, including knowingly entering or remaining in any restricted building or grounds without lawful authority, disorderly and disruptive conduct in a restricted building or grounds, disorderly conduct on Capitol grounds, and parading, demonstrating or picketing in a Capitol building.
"His actions and the actions of others disrupted a joint session of the U.S. Congress convened to ascertain and count the electoral votes related to the 2020 presidential election," the U.S. attorney's office for District of Columbia said in a press release.
A judge ordered an unescured bail bond set at $100,000, according to New Jersey District Court court records. An article in the Courier Post newspaper indicated he was released after that hearing last Tuesday. His arrest came more than a year after online amateur sleuths had identified him by his Philadelphia Eagles knit cap, The Philadelphia Inquirer reported.
The Financial Industry Regulatory Authority's BrokerCheck indicates Giobbie has worked as a broker and financial advisor with Ameriprise Financial in Haddon Heights, New Jersey, since 2017.
Ameriprise spokespeople didn't immediately respond to email messages Monday seeking comment. InvestmentNews quoted an Ameriprise spokeswoman as saying after the indictment that the company suspended Giobbie and was investigating the matter.
Giobbie's lawyer, Hope Lefeber, didn't immediately respond to email and phone messages Monday from ThinkAdvisor seeking comment. InvestmentNews had quoted Lefeber as saying that while Giobbie apparently was present at the Capitol on Jan. 6, 2021, he had not engaged in subversive activities nor been destructive nor done anything since that day.
The publication quoted her as saying he had offered a voluntary surrender and that authorities issued a search warrant for his phone.
Giobbie was identified on open-source video as present among other rioters near a line of bike rack barricades established on the U.S. Capitol's East Front on Jan. 6, 2021, according to the U.S. attorney's office. Giobbie wore a black leather jacket, a green-knitted Eagles stocking cap, blue jeans, white and gray sneakers, black gloves and a black backpack, and carried a white and red bullhorn, the release says.