A Little Beacon Blog does not follow police blotters, as local print publications like the Beacon Free Press and the Highlands Current usually do. The City of Beacon has begun publishing the results of its own police blotter (it’s a slimmed down version, so no competition to the more detailed notes the papers publish), as a result of police reform moves that started after the killing of George Floyd by police in Minneapolis which erupted a movement in favor of better treatment of Black people and the BIOPIC community across the nation.

When the Beacon resident, William Pepe, was charged by the FBI, and placed on a “Seeking Information” page by the FBI, several people wrote in to A Little Beacon Blog, looking for an article here. While the article was covered by both local (Highlands Current) and national newspapers (New York Times) as well as international (The Daily Mail), readers were looking for a version here as well, perhaps for historical purposes. But, as we reached out to locals who are regular readers of A Little Beacon Blog, they still hadn’t heard of these local arrests or affiliations. To our surprise. So, we will include a version here as well. Our version will take a look at a sampling of local people who have been written about in the media who contributed to the beliefs of why people stormed the U.S. Capitol.

William Pepe

According to reporting from the Daily Mail, the New York Times and the Highlands Current, William Pepe attended the storming of the U.S. Capitol, now known as an insurrection, and posted a selfie of himself to his social media. The FBI arrested him on Tuesday, (1-12-2020) and he was federally charged with remaining in a restricted government building, and also faces charges of disrupting orderly conduct of government, according to the Daily Mail.

William has worked for the Metropolitan Transportation Authority (MTA) for 7 years, and was working at the Brewster yard in White Plains when he was arrested in a bank parking lot, according to the Highlands Current, and has been suspended from his $73K/year job without pay. As an employee for the MTA, he is a federal employee and is under the protection of its union, Local 30 of the International Union of Operating Engineers, the president of which said they were “disappointed” in his behavior, according to the article. According to an MTA spokesperson quoted in the article, the MTA is considering firing William, and any action “will be disciplined in accordance with their collective bargaining agreement pending an investigation,” said the spokesperson. That spokesperson went on to say: “'This alleged conduct is abhorrent and goes against the values of Metro-North, New York and the nation.”

According to the MTA, William had called in sick on January 6, 2021, which the MTA said is a “false use of sick leave,” according to the Daily Mail. The spokesperson went on to say: 'Those who attacked that symbol of American democracy disqualified themselves from working for the people of New York,' in the article.

William appeared in court last Wednesday (1-13-2021), where he was released on $10,000 bond, and must hand over his shotgun and hunting knife, according to the article. He must wear a GPS monitoring device, and abide by a nighttime curfew.

If William is convicted, he faces one year in jail for this federal offense. “If it is found that he used or carried a deadly weapon or firearm at the time, he could face 10 years,” according to the Daily Mail.

FIT Student From Staten Island Arrested For Attack On Capitol Building

A student, Nicolas Moncada, who attended FIT was arrested in his home in Staten Island after posting social media selfies of himself “storming the Capitol” as he stated in his social media, according to Gothamist. He stated he was "Outside Pelosi's office," according to the federal complaint reported by Gothamist. According to the article, fellow students and staff identified him.

According to a photo posted by Nicolas, he attended “a protest at Mac's Public House, the Staten Island bar that defied COVID restrictions, where he held up a T-shirt reading "Stop the Steal," a reference to the baseless claim that the 2020 presidential election was rigged,” according to Gothamist. The owner of that bar was arrested for allegedly ramming into a Deputy Sheriff with his car who was trying to stop him from operating his bar illegally. Allegedly, that bar owner drove with the Deputy Sherrif hanging onto the hood of his car for 100 yards. The officer was hospitalized for his injuries, and the video of the officer being driven on top of the car of Mac’s Public House was posted on the New York Post.

Hopewell Man, Dan Scavino, Runs Trump’s Twitter Account

Dan Scavino, who hails from Hopewell Junction, was hired to run Donald’s Trump Twitter account, before it was banned in 2021. Dan started as golf caddie for Trump since at least 2010, worked for the golf course renamed Trump National Golf Course Hudson Valley (unknown why “national” and the local name is there), when Trump purchased the course previously named Branton Woods Golf Course.

Dan has been loyal to Trump’s voice via Twitter, and Dan’s own personal Twitter account, since working for him while in the White House. You can read more about Dan at the Times Herold-Record Online, and through other Google searches.

Some of Dan’s Tweets read like this: