Rogersville man arrested, charged after US Capitol riot; documents reveal how FBI tracked him

SPRINGFIELD, Mo. (KY3) - Authorities arrested a Rogersville man wanted for participating in a raid and storming the U.S. Capitol on January 6.

Zachary Martin faces federal charges of being on restricted buildings or grounds, unlawful activities on Capitol grounds and disorderly conduct and demonstrating in the Capitol.

FBI agents and local authorities arrested Martin around 1 p.m. near U.S. 65 and Battlefield Road. The FBI tells KY3 he was arrested without incident.

On Jan. 6, a mob of people in support of then-president Donald Trump stormed the U.S. Capitol building, disrupting as Congress worked to certify Electoral College votes over the 2020 presidential election. One officer died from injuries in the riot, one woman was fatally shot in the capitol and three others died from medical emergencies.

According to court documents, the FBI received a tip later that day that Martin had entered the U.S. Capitol on Jan. 6 and “livestreamed” a public video of himself inside the building on his personal Facebook account.

One person sent screenshots of content that circulated online to the FBI, including a screenshot that of a live stream video that apparently showed Martin. Special agents from the FBI interviewed five people who say they saw portions of the video on Facebook.

Per court documents, Martin’s Facebook account was deleted sometime between January 6-13. During that time, an FBI employee accessed Facebook, but was unable to find an active account that belonged to Martin. FBI personnel also searched the Missouri Department of Revenue database on January 12 for Martin’s driver’s license photograph.

Eventually, the FBI came across public conversations on Facebook discussing the livestream video, one which provided a link. Though the link was no longer active, the FBI investigated it and noticed a unique Facebook User Identification (“UID”) number.

Records from Facebook confirmed that the Facebook UID was registered using the vanity name “Zac Martin” and associated with a phone number provided by one of the interviewees.

On January 17, the FBI also reviewed a photo attributed in a New York Times article, which showed the painting of Congresswoman Chisholm. According to court documents, investigators determined that the painting was consistent with the one seen in Martin’s video, thus had probable cause to arrest Martin.

Martin is the second Missouri resident facing charges in the raid. Emily Hernandez, of Sullivan, Missouri, turned herself in after being identified in a photo with a splintered name plate belonging to House Speaker Nancy Pelosi.

Webster County Sheriff Roye Cole assisted the FBI in locating Martin, offering information after working a DWI case on Martin a few weeks ago.

Authorities booked Martin into the Greene County Jail around 3 p.m. He is being held without bond. The FBI is handling the investigation.

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