A retired NYPD officer has been arrested for storming the U.S. Capitol building on the January 6th — then shaking a tambourine as she appeared to cheer on the pro-Trump mob inside the rotunda, according to federal authorities.
Sara Carpenter, a 51-year-old resident of Richmond Hill, Queens, surrendered to federal authorities on Tuesday morning for her alleged role in the insurrection, which left five people dead, including a U.S. Capitol police officer.
Carpenter, who served as an NYPD spokesperson before retiring in 2004, was charged with violent entry and disorderly conduct on Capitol grounds, both misdemeanors. She is one of dozens of current and former law enforcement members accused of participating in the deadly pro-Trump riot.
The tambourine that Carpenter allegedly shook inside the Capitol
Carpenter was released without bail on Tuesday by Magistrate Judge Sanket J. Bulsara on the condition that she not leave the city or Long Island without permission.
A current spokesperson for the NYPD, Detective Sophia Mason, said the department had "worked closely with the FBI Joint Terrorism Task Force culminating with the arrest of Sara Carpenter."
Court filings show that Carpenter was identified by an anonymous tipster, then confessed to participating in the riot during a meeting with the FBI on January 18th. She told the agent that she was "trampled and pepper sprayed as she exited the Capitol building.”
On March 2nd, the filing states, Carpenter "voluntarily provided the tambourine she confirmed that she carried inside the Capitol."
Inquiries to her lawyer were not immediately returned.
