Record at a Glance
- Category
- Jan 6th
- Age in NPR record
- 18
- Location
- Milton, Georgia
- Charges
- Civil Disorder; Obstruction of an Official Proceeding; Assaulting, Resisting, or Impeding Certain Officers; Entering and Remaining in a Restricted Building or Grounds with a Deadly or Dangerous Weapon; Disorderly and Disruptive Conduct in a Restricted Building or Grounds with a Deadly or Dangerous Weapon; Engaging in Physical Violence in a Restricted Building or Grounds with a Deadly or Dangerous Weapon; Entering and Remaining on the Floor of Congress; Entering and Remaining in the Gallery of Congress; Entering and Remaining in Certain Rooms in the Capitol Building; Disorderly Conduct in a Capitol Building; Act of Physical Violence in the Capitol Grounds or Buildings; Parading, Demonstrating, or Picketing in a Capitol Building
- Case status
- Pleaded not guilty; Dismissed in part or full; Sentenced
- Presidential action
- Pardon
Case Summary
A look through Bruno Cua’s social media posts in the runup and aftermath to Jan. 6, 2021, paint a portrait of a young man inspired by President Donald Trump. “President Trump is calling us to FIGHT!” he allegedly wrote on Parler days before the siege on the Capitol, according to court documents. “He knows this is the only way to save our great country, show up #January6th. It’s time to take our freedom back the old fashioned way.” The FBI allegedly received two tips identifying Cua as the man in a New Yorker video who stood in the Senate chamber on Jan. 6. He wore a dark sweatshirt, a jean jacket, a red “Make America Great Again” hat and gray gloves, according to court documents, and his clothing helped authorities identify his movements and actions throughout the Capitol that day. Surveillance video inside the Capitol allegedly showed him in the same clothes wielding a baton and trying various office doors. In a criminal complaint, federal prosecutors cite a Jan. 6 Instagram post in which Cua allegedly wrote,”Yes, we physically fought our way in.” Another post read: “Yes, for everyone asking I stormed the [Capitol] with hundreds of thousands of patriots. I’ll do a whole video explaining what happened, this is history. What happened was unbelievable.” Another tipster, according to court documents, told authorities that Cua had been talking about going to Washington on his Parler account for days and “actively encouraged the events on the sixth for 11 days leading up to the domestic terrorist attack,” the complaint said. Cua, who is believed to be the youngest person so far to be charged with storming the Capitol, allegedly assaulted a federal officer. Once inside the Senate chamber, The New Yorker video allegedly shows Cua responding to someone who ordered someone else not to sit in the vice president’s chair. He can be heard saying, “They can steal an election, but we can’t sit in their chairs?”
Case History
Cua pleaded Not Guilty to all charges. Stipulated Bench Trial held on 2/13/2023. Court finds Cua Guilty on two charges: Obstruction of an Official Proceeding; and Assaulting, Resisting, or Impeding Certain Officers. The other charges are dismissed. Sentenced on 7/26/2023 to 12 months and a day of incarceration; 36 months of supervised release; special assessment of $200; restitution of $2,000. Cua received a full pardon on January 20, 2025
Sources
- Primary Documentation
NPR Jan. 6 Defendant DatabaseNPR - Primary Documentation
Underlying court recordCourt record linked by NPR - Supporting Reporting
NPR video evidence pageNPR
Case summary, charges, procedural updates and image are drawn from the NPR Jan. 6 archive snapshot dated 2026-09-25 unless otherwise indicated.