WASHINGTON (AP) — A freelance photographer and local government official from Illinois has been arrested on charges alleging he joined a mob's attack on the U.S. Capitol and pushed against a police officer’s riot shield, according to court records unsealed on Friday. Patrick Gorski, 27, was arrested in Chicago on Thursday on charges including obstructing law enforcement officers during a civil disorder, a felony. A federal judge ordered him released on bond after his initial court appearance. Gorski didn’t immediately respond to an email seeking comment. An attorney who represented him after his arrest declined to comment on Gorski's behalf. Authorities allege that during the attack, Gorski climbed scaffolding, breaching police lines, and took photos and videos inside the building. He yelled at officers, pushed against an officer's riot shield and was eventually forced out after being sprayed with a chemical irritant, authorities said. When the FBI interviewed him, Gorski did not claim that he was working as a photojournalist during the Jan. 6, 2021, riot and said he didn't bring his professional camera to the Capitol. He told federal agents that he had worked as a photographer for the Chicago Fire Department and for Donald Trump’s 2020 presidential campaign. He has not professionally published any photographs of the Capitol riot, according to the FBI. An FBI agent’s affidavit says some of Gorski’s sports photographs are available through Getty Images and have been “picked up” by The Associated Press and USA Today. Authorities said Gorski has continued to take photos at some local sporting events in Chicago but hasn't published any political photographs in the last five years. Gorski is not an Associated Press journalist and has never been employed by the news organization, said Lauren Easton, AP's vice president of corporate communications. "We have distributed some photos he took for AP’s photo partners and member news organizations," Easton said in a statement. Gorski's resume says he works as a building commissioner for the Village of Norridge, Illinois, and graduated earlier this year from Southeastern Illinois University with a master’s degree in public administration. He attended then-President Trump's “Stop the Steal” rally near the White House on Jan. 6 before he marched to the Capitol in a group of people that included conspiracy theorist Alex Jones and Owen Shroyer , who has hosted a show on Jones' Infowars website. On the west side of the Capitol, Gorski climbed up a wall onto stairs, helped another rioter onto the wall and removed a tarp covering scaffolding, according to the FBI. He climbed up and down the scaffolding before he helped pass a bike rack to other rioters, the agent's affidavit says. Gorski pointed and yelled at police officers outside the building. He also clapped and chanted, “Let us in!” After rioters broke through a police lines and sent officers retreating, Gorski hung a flag over the edge of a balcony. Gorski used his phone to take photos or videos inside a tunnel entrance that police were guarding, according to the affidavit. He screamed at the officers, “This is our house!” as he pushed against an officer’s riot shield, the FBI said. Gorski left the tunnel after several minutes and entered the Capitol through the Senate Wing door, taking more photos or videos inside the building, the affidavit says. An officer had to forcibly move Gorski from a doorway in another part of the Capitol, according to the agent. Gorski retreated after police sprayed him with a chemical irritant. Approximately one year after the attack, the FBI received a tip that Gorski had posted photos of the riot in a group chat with friends. More than 1,500 people have been charged with federal crimes stemming from the Capitol riot.
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CHARLESTON, S.C. (AP) — Derrin Boyd had 22 points in Charleston's 79-64 victory over Northern Kentucky on Wednesday. Boyd also added six rebounds for the Cougars (5-2). AJ Smith scored 12 points and added five rebounds and three steals. Justas Stonkus finished 4 of 4 from the field to finish with 12 points. The Norse (1-5) were led in scoring by Sam Vinson, who finished with 21 points, six rebounds and two steals. Trey Robinson added 12 points, 12 rebounds and five steals for Northern Kentucky. Dan Gherezgher Jr. also had 11 points. Boyd led his team in scoring with 12 points in the first half to help put them up 38-30 at the break. Charleston pulled away with a 7-0 run in the second half to extend a six-point lead to 13 points. Boyd led the way with a team-high 10 second-half points. The Associated Press created this story using technology provided by Data Skrive and data from Sportradar .The Electoral Commission has been made aware of a fake Fine Gael account on social media platform Bluesky, as a number of parties confirmed they were the targets of fake accounts. Several parties previously said that fake party accounts were being proliferated on Bluesky, including for Fianna Fáil, Fine Gael, the Social Democrats, and Aontú. On Wednesday, several fake Bluesky accounts appear to have been suspended by the social media firm, including fake accounts for Micheál Martin, Simon Harris, the Social Democrats, and Aontú. Others, including those for Fine Gael and Fianna Fáil, were deleted entirely. Bluesky, which started as a research initiative within Twitter in 2019, is a social media website similar to X, with users able to share short posts, photos, and videos. It has become more popular in recent weeks, with millions of users joining the platform in the wake of the US presidential election. On Wednesday, Fine Gael alleged that members of Ógra Shinn Féin were involved in the setting up of such fake accounts, with a statement on the since deleted Fine Gael Bluesky alleging Ógra Shinn Féin involvement. However, a Sinn Féin spokesperson strongly rejected any assertions that the party’s youth wing were involved. “This story is a fabrication. No Ógra Shinn Féin members were involved in this,” the spokesperson said. Fine Gael’s Emer Higgins said she hoped that nobody in Sinn Féin was involved, and that senior party figures were not aware. “In this era of increasing misinformation and declining public trust in media, the operation of fake accounts during an election is extremely disconcerting,” Ms Higgins said. A spokesperson for the Electoral Commission confirmed that Fine Gael brought a fake Bluesky account to its attention but said that no formal complaint had been made to the regulator. The commission has a voluntary framework on online electoral process information, political advertising and deceptive AI content that is specific to this general election. The framework has been agreed with a number of social media platforms but Bluesky is not one of these. "We have no formal legislative powers in this area so currently there is no legislative basis for us to deal with complaints," it said. The commission does not have the legal power to order social media platforms to take down misinformation or material that is damaging to the election system.