FBI Arrests ‘Sedition Panda’ Who Stormed Capitol On Jan. 6, 2021, In Costume

Sometimes, obstruction is a black-and-white case.

On Monday, FBI agents in Florida arrested Jesse James Rumson, who they claim stormed the U.S. Capitol while wearing a giant panda head, earning the monicker “Sedition Panda” in the process.

Rumson’s whereabouts on Jan. 6, 2021, weren’t particularly hard to track, thanks in no small part to the costume he wore off and on that day.

Federal officials also identified him thanks to his nose ring and a set of wooden rosary beads he carried, along with a silver flagpole and a “Don’t Tread on Me” flag.

In an affidavit filed last week, an FBI special agent testified that Rumson was among the first 20 rioters to enter the Capitol through a door on the building’s upper west terrace.

Security footage captured a man in a panda head entering the building shortly after the door was breached:

Once inside, Rumson apparently lost the panda head ― and gained a pair of handcuffs on his wrists. He then exited the Capitol building, and other rioters helped him to remove the handcuffs, according to photos.

The affidavit states that shortly thereafter, Rumson urged on other members of the mob and yelled at them to “GET A RAM!” as they breached a separate entry into the building.

Photos later show him among a crowd of rioters clashing with a police line as officers tried to clear the property. He appears to grapple with an officer, grabbing him by the head.

A tipster first alerted the FBI to Sedition Panda’s true identity in June 2021.

Rumson faces eight charges, including assaulting, resisting or impeding a police officer, obstructing law enforcement, and two separate counts related to acts of physical violence.