Former federal employee charged for filing false allegations about coworkers going to Jan. 6 riot

A former federal government employee has been charged with repeatedly submitting fake tips to the FBI alleging that some of his intelligence community coworkers participated in the Jan. 6, 2021, Capitol riot. 

Miguel Eugenio Zapata was arrested on Thursday in Virginia on a charge of submitting false statements to law enforcement, according to WTOP News.

An FBI task force officer’s affidavit reads that Zapata sent at least seven anonymous tips to the FBI’s website, where he alleged his coworkers were involved in the Jan. 6 Capitol riot. 

Zapata reportedly used an unidentified company's “web anonymizer” service to send the tips to the FBI.

As of now it is not known what federal agency Zapata worked for. 

“None of the seven government employees and contractors were in Washington, D.C., on January 6 or attacked the Capitol,” the affidavit states. 

At this time there is no known motive for Zapata having made the false reports.