Former Farmingdale man charged with assaulting law enforcement during Jan. 6 riot at Capitol, court papers say
Rioters at the U.S. Capitol in Washington, Jan. 6, 2021. Credit: AP/Jose Luis Magana
A former Farmingdale resident, known on social media as "Shield Grampy," was arrested by the FBI Wednesday and charged with assaulting law enforcement with a baton and stolen police shield during the Jan. 6, 2021 riot at the U.S. Capitol.
Anthony Mastanduno, 60, now of North Carolina, was charged in a criminal complaint in Washington, D.C. with civil disorder and assaulting, resisting, or impeding certain officers using a dangerous weapon, both felonies.
He is also charged with several misdemeanors, including knowingly entering or remaining in any restricted building or grounds without lawful authority; disorderly and disruptive conduct in a restricted building or grounds; engaging in physical violence in a restricted building or grounds; disorderly conduct in a Capitol building; act of physical violence in the Capitol grounds or buildings and parading, demonstrating, or picketing in a Capitol building.
Charging documents state that Mastanduno worked for PSEG Long Island at the time of the riot and was absent for work on Jan. 6 and 7.
Mastanduno, a former Marine who was number 397 on the FBI's Capitol Violence website that seeks information on those involved in the riot, was scheduled to be arraigned Wednesday in federal court in the Western District of North Carolina. Details from the arraignment were not available and it was not clear if he had an attorney.
He earned the name "Shield Grampy" by online sleuths because of his age and use of a stolen police shield during the riot, charging documents state.
Wearing a camouflage jacket, backpack, and a red baseball cap with a patch on the bill and “Trump 2020 Keep America Great!” embroidered in white thread, Mastanduno entered the Capitol building through the Senate Wing Door about four minutes after it was first breached, federal prosecutors said. Mastanduno appears be wearing that same cap in photos posted on his Facebook page, charging documents state.
Surveillance video also showed Mastanduno in the area near the Capitol's Memorial Door and at the front of a line of rioters who overwhelmed officers at about 2:23 p.m., authorities said.
Mastanduno later traveled out of the Capitol building where he joined fellow rioters, including several Long Islanders who have also faced charges, in coordinated attacks on uniformed Metropolitan Police Department officers defending the Lower West Terrace tunnel, prosecutors said.
Videos and photos taken by others in the crowd showed Mastanduno, at around 4:30 p.m., as he threw an object toward officers, utilized a collapsible baton to strike at officers and pushed into the tunnel with the police shield.
Mastanduno's public Facebook page includes photos and posts expressing support for Trump's effort to overturn the 2020 election and suggesting, falsely, that President Joe Biden "stole" the election.
In the 31 months since Jan. 6, 2021, more than 1,106 individuals have been arrested for crimes related to the breach of the Capitol, including more than 350 individuals charged with assaulting or impeding law enforcement, authorities said.
Robert Brodsky is a breaking news reporter who has worked at Newsday since 2011. He is a Queens College and American University alum.
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