By CRAIG D. SCHENCK/Sentinel staff
NORTHFIELD — The son of a Philadelphia man indicted in the Jan. 6 insurrection at the U.S. Capitol building was reportedly arrested March 18 in Northfield and now faces similar charges.
James Douglas Rahm III was charged with fives counts associated with allegedly entering restricted grounds, disorderly conduct and others regarding his presence in the Capitol. He was released March 24 on $100,000 bond.
The specific location of the arrest was not made clear. Northfield Police Chief Paul Newman said the department was not involved in the arrest and had no information to provide about Rahm III’s connection to the city.
The father, James Douglas Rahm Jr., 61, reportedly owns a home in Atlantic City where his ex-wife and son live. While it was reported by NJ.com reporter Kevin Shea that Rahm III was arrested in Northfield, Dan Alexander of New Jersey 101.5 reported Rahm III lives in Northfield. But the bond document issued by the U.S. District Court in New Jersey contains the subject’s signature, followed by “Atlantic City,” and the criminal complaint states he lives there are well.
The father has been indicted on most of the same charges. Count 1 reads that on or about Jan. 6, James Rahm Jr. obstructed, influenced and impeded an official proceeding of Congress by entering and remaining in the Capitol without authority and engaging in disorderly and disruptive conduct.
Count 2 states Rahm Jr. unlawfully and knowingly entered and remained in a restricted building and grounds where the vice president and vice president-elect were temporarily visiting without authority. Count 3 states Rahm Jr. engaged in disorderly and disruptive conduct in a restricted building and grounds, while count 4 states he engaged in disorderly and disruptive conduct with the intent to impede a session of Congress. Count 5 states that Rahm paraded, demonstrated and picketed in the Capitol building.
It has been widely reported that Rahm Jr. claimed he urinated in House Speaker Nancy Pelosi’s office and also faces charges he participated in the attack, federal authorities said.
According to the criminal complaint, federal law enforcement officers in Philadelphia received a public tip Jan. 11 suggesting Rahm Jr. illegally entered the U.S. Capitol on Jan. 6. An investigation led to authorities obtaining multiple witness accounts, photographic and video evidence, establishing that Rahm Jr. had illegally entered the Capitol building.
On or around Jan. 31, an informant said Rahm III had accompanied his father to the Trump rally in Washington, D.C.
The informant recalled seeing multiple Facebook posts by Rahm Jr. in which both individuals were photographed together Jan. 5. The informant further stated that Rahm Jr. had since deleted all Facebook posts relating to Jan. 6.
In another public tip received by the FBI on Jan. 13, another individual told law enforcement the following:
“A person with the Snapchat username jd_rahm was seen posting footage of the riots on their Snapchat story the day of 01/06. It is believed they also gained entry and have footage on a GoPro camera.”
Law enforcement served a subpoena to Snapchat and confirmed this account to belong to Rahm III.
On Feb. 4, authorities obtained an arrest warrant for Rahm Jr. and search warrants for his homes in Atlantic City and Philadelphia.
On Feb. 5, law enforcement executed the search warrant at the Atlantic City home, where Rahm III resided but was at the time away on a skiing trip. At this location, Kelly Rahm, mother of Rahm III, asked law enforcement “is this because of that trip they took?” When asked what trip she was referring to, Kelly Rahm declined to comment further.
During the search, Kelly Rahm consented to let law enforcement review her cellphone. Among text messages found was one received from Rahm Jr. on Jan. 9 containing a photograph of father and son in front of the Capitol and the Washington Monument.
In the text message, Kelly Rahm tells Rahm Jr. “That’s so GREAT!!! Don’t post JD’s pic plz.” (JD is JD Rahm III). Rahm Jr. responded “No I just deleted it because I want it off my phone. I’m deleting my Facebook also.”
