Marion County man among those arrested in chaos at the Capitol

MARION COUNTY, Fla. — Police arrested 14 people in the chaos at the Capitol building Wednesday, and one of them was in Central Florida.

Channel 9 has learned more about Michael Curzio of Marion County.

He has since posted “Our point was made yesterday. I have no regrets about anything.”

READ: Sanford firefighter placed on leave, under investigation for possible participation in Capitol riot

Before his arrest, he had a lot to say on social media about why he was going to the protest.

“If anything happens -- we get (expletive) up, arrested, or killed -- just know I love you all and I did what I believed in,” he said on his Facebook page. “And if you know me, I did it because it was the right thing to do.”

Curzio drove up from Marion County with a friend to the nation’s capital. On Wednesday, hoards of protestors stormed the Capitol building, resulting in at least four people dead and dozens arrested, including Curzio, for unlawful entry.

READ: Chaos at the Capitol: Trump denounces violence, promises orderly transition

He’s since been released and has spoken to his long-time best friend and roommate Melissa Restifo.

“The crowd was just so big that you couldn’t go anywhere but forward, so they were effectively pushed inside, is my understanding of how it was described to me,” she said.

Restifo said she was nervous about him going in the first place.

READ: ‘How did they get in?’: Lawmakers demand answers after violent mob storms Capitol

“I actually told everybody in our circle of friends that I had a bad feeling,” she said. “Mike is not a very lucky person. He is a very caring and kindhearted person. He will give you the shirt off his back and do anything in the world for you. But I think he feels things very intensely and that’s why he went to begin with.”

She said Curzio has “absolutely no ties to any activist groups at all.”

“He’s not the person who’s going to go out there and destroy things and hurt other people, no matter what his past record says,” she said. “Nobody really knows that story.”

Channel 9 is still waiting on Curzio’s arrest report from police in Washington, D.C., which will detail exactly why he was arrested for unlawful entry.

Two other men from Florida were also arrested. Read more here.

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FBI asking for help identifying rioters The FBI is asking for help to identify rioters who instigated violence Wednesday, breaking into the U.S. Capitol and surrounding area in Washington. (FBI)

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