Little Neck man charged in storming of Capitol
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Jia Liu was arrested for partaking in the storming of the U.S. Capitol building on Jan. 6, 2021. Photo via the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Eastern District
By Jacob Kaye
A Little Neck man and Marine Corps reserve was arrested for allegedly taking part in the Jan. 6 Capitol riot, according to the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Eastern District.
Jia Liu, 26, was cuffed by the FBI and charged with four misdemeanors including entering a restricted building, disorderly conduct in restricted grounds, disorderly conduct in the Capitol building and parading, demonstrating, or picketing in the Capitol building.
Liu, who was sporting an American flag as a hood, was allegedly caught on several cameras making his way into and out of the Capitol multiple times, according to federal prosecutors.
The Queens man headed to Washington, D.C., early on the morning of Jan. 6, the day a joint session of Congress was to certify the Electoral College vote count in the 2020 presidential election, feds say.
As part of their investigation, law enforcement found NYPD license plate reader information indicating that a 2004 Jeep Wrangler registered to Liu’s stepfather was spotted leaving New York City through the Lincoln Tunnel around 5:30 a.m., according to the criminal complaint.
Later that night, the same car was allegedly seen coming back into New York City via the George Washington Bridge and then into Queens via the Throgs Neck Bridge around midnight.
A search warrant served on Google, found that an email address associated with Liu was in or around the Capitol between around 2:45 p.m. and 4:30 p.m., that day.
Capitol Police security footage also captured footage of Liu entering into the capitol through the northside Senate Wing Door, a popular point of entry for the group of Donald Trump-supporting rioters, according to the criminal complaint.
After breaking into the Capitol with a large group of rioters, Liu took out his phone and appeared to be taking pictures of the chaotic scene.
He left a few minutes later, only to make his way to the other side of the building and enter again, according to the criminal complaint.
Liu is enlisted in the U.S. Marine Corps in 2014 and is currently listed as a corporal cyber network operator assigned to Direct Support Company, 6th Communication Battalion, Marine Forces Reserve, the complaint says.
Several people in the Marine Corps, including superiors, who know Liu identified him in photos shown to them by law enforcement.
The Little Neck resident is allegedly the sole member for Memelope LLC, prosecutors say.
A LinkedIn account believed to belong to Liu, lists him as the Chief Pleasury Officer of Memelope. Liu lists YouTube as his place of education on the page, indicating that he attended from 2010 until 2028.
The LinkedIn page makes multiple references to masturbation – under the “skills” section of his page, Liu lists “pleasuring myself,” “pleasuring others” and “pleasuring animals.”
Liu is not the first Queens resident to be arrested for being involved in the riots.
Republican District Leader Phillip Grillo, who ran for City Council in District 24 earlier this year, was arrested in February for allegedly taking part in the Capitol insurrection.
Grillo was charged with obstructing an official proceeding, trespassing and other offenses.
Sara Carpenter, a retired NYPD spokesperson from Richmond Hill, was cuffed in March for her alleged role in the storming of the Capitol.
Carpenter was allegedly caught on video shaking a tambourine in the building’s rotunda. She was later identified to law enforcement by a family member who had received a call from the former cop after the attack.
Carpenter turned herself in to authorities and was charged with violent entry, disorderly conduct and trespassing.
Two people from Queens, including a court employee, were arrested this year for making threats online related to the attacks. However, neither traveled to D.C. for the riot.
Brandan Hunt, an assistant court analyst in the Office of Court Administration’s attorney registration unit, was arrested after he allegedly threatened to “slaughter” high-profile Democrats including Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez and Sen. Schumer.
Hunt, who lives in Ridgewood, was arrested less than two weeks after the riots in January.
Eduard Florea, a 41-year-old man from Middle Village, was arrested after law enforcement found that he had posted threats during the day of the Capitol insurrection.
Florea, who pleaded guilty to charges in August, posted to Parler, a communication app often utilized by members of the far right, urging people to go to the Capitol armed and ready to “take back Washington.”
“[Raphael] Warnock is going to have a hard time casting votes for communist policies when he’s swinging with the f–ing fish,” he posted. “Dead men can’t pass sh–t laws.”
