An attorney for an accused Capitol rioter claimed his client participated in the January 6 siege because he had ‘Foxitus’ and ‘Foxmania’ from watching Fox News for 6 months

• An attorney for a Capitol riot defendant said his client was radicalized by Fox News ahead of January 6.
• The lawyer for Anthony Antonio said he started “believing what was being fed to him” by the news outlet and Trump.
• The attorney made the claim during a Thursday court hearing for other accused rioters.
• See more stories on Insider’s business page.

An attorney for an accused Capitol rioter claimed his client had been radicalized by Fox News, saying he had “Foxitus” and “Foxmania.”

Anthony Antonio watched Fox News for six months prior to the Capitol riot, the attorney said during a multi-defendant hearing on Thursday related to the Capitol siege.

The attorney said his client started “believing what was being fed to him” by the news outlet and former President Donald Trump, HuffPost’s Ryan Reilly and The Daily Beast reported.

Antonio, who was wearing a black tactical bulletproof vest with a “Three Percenter” patch when pro-Trump supporters stormed the Capitol on January 6, was included in a “Seeking Information” list posted by the FBI following the incident, according to court documents.

Federal investigators interviewed Antonio on February 4, and he admitted to being at the Capitol on January 6. However, he did not answer when investigators asked if he entered the building. Court documents allege that Antonio entered the Capitol through one of the broken windows.

“Although his face was not visible, he was identifiable by the tattoo on his wrist and the distinctive black gloves with white writing,” according to the document. A video also captured Antonio inside the building “picking up a piece of furniture, which appeared to have a broken leg, with another individual and tossing the furniture
off to the side,” the documents said.

In the February 4 interview with investigators, Antonio described his account of what happened when protestors confronted police officers outside the building, saying he saw “death” in the eyes of one officer who he said was asking for help.

Metropolitan Police Officer Mike Fanone was tased by accused rioter Danny “DJ Rodrguez,” who has been charged in relation to the incident. Video footage showed Antonio near Rodriguez at the time of the incident, who was holding a stun gun, HuffPost reported.

A criminal complaint was filed against Antonio on April 14, charging him with unlawfully entering restricted building or grounds, violent entry and disorderly conduct, obstruction of law enforcement, obstruction of an official proceeding, and destruction of government property.

A representative for Fox News did not immediately return Insider’s request for comment.