'LET'S GO': NY man accused of opening door, letting in Capitol rioters

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This security camera image shows rioters inside the U.S. Capitol in Washington on Jan. 6, 2021. The FBI said the man circled in yellow is Eric Gerwatowski, 31, of New Hyde Park, N.Y. (U.S. Capitol Police via FBI)

NEW YORK - The FBI arrested a Long Island man on Tuesday in connection with the insurrection at the U.S. Capitol on Jan. 6, 2021.

Eric Gerwatowski, 31, of New Hyde Park, yanked open a door that cops had shut and then led rioters inside, prosecutors said.

"Gerwatowski was at the front of a crowd just outside the Upper House Doors. U.S. Capitol Police were attempting to close these doors to prevent further rioters from getting into the building. Gerwatowski pulled open one of the doors that the Capitol Police had just closed," the FBI stated in court documents. "Two officers were standing directly inside and had just tried to secure the entrance, in plain sight to Gerwatowski and others. Once he pulled open the door, Gerwatowski turned to the crowd and yelled, 'Let's go!'"

He then directed the rioters inside and went in as well, the feds said, going right by a police officer, who told the FBI that he made a tactical decision not to engage Gerwatowski and other rioters.

"The Officer said he made this decision because he had just come from the Gallery area of the Capitol where another rioter, Ashli Babbitt, was shot," an FBI agent wrote in a court filing. "The Officer told the FBI that he was exhausted, outnumbered, and had already been attacked and sprayed with several chemicals by rioters earlier in the day."

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Gerwatowski appeared in federal court in Brooklyn on Tuesday to face civil disorder and other charges. A federal magistrate released him on his own recognizance, officials said.

In court papers, the FBI credited information gathered and posted by a network of online sleuths for helping agents identify or track down dozens of people, including Gerwatowski, for participating in the storming of the Capitol.

Twitter users crowdsourcing information about rioters used the hashtag "#lordlonghair" to organize leads on the suspect the FBI has identified as Gerwatowski. The FBI said it reviewed Twitter posts featuring that hashtag and also received two tips about Gerwatowski from callers who said they personally knew him.

With The Associated Press.