Cupcake-swiping Jan. 6 rioter blew off medical supply job to join Capitol raid, got fired: Feds

A Louisiana man who blew off work to go to the U.S. Capitol on Jan. 6, 2021 — when he was allegedly seen on video taking a box of chocolate cupcakes off a table during the riots — and later got fired has been arrested, authorities said.

Matthew Ryan Matulich, 34, faces misdemeanor charges of trespassing, disorderly conduct, and picketing in a Capitol building, the Federal Bureau of Investigation announced in a news release.

The statement of facts outlines the allegations. In his red “Make America Great Again” baseball cap with “45” embroidered on the back, he was allegedly seen in video footage entering the Capitol building through the Senate Wing Door at 2:15 p.m. At 2:42 p.m., video footage shows Matulich marching with other rioters through a corridor on the third floor of the Senate side of the building, carrying an American flag on a flagpole, court documents said.

At 2:31 p.m., he’s seen taking a box of cupcakes off a table in a corridor on the House of Representatives side of the first floor of the Capitol building, according to the document.

The FBI was led to Matulich on Sept. 29, 2021, after interviewing a person identified in court documents as Witness 1, who was also suspected of being at the Capitol on Jan. 6 with Matulich and wound up pleading guilty to trespassing charges, court documents said.

Witness 1 told investigators he had met Matulich in October 2020. They shared a common interest in current events and political issues and drove together to Washington, D.C., for former President Donald Trump’s “Stop the Steal” rally, the witness told agents, according to court documents.

On Feb. 22, 2022, the FBI interviewed one of Matulich’s former employers at a medical supply company who told investigators the defendant had worked for him for a few months when he reached out to him in early January 2021 and asked for time off to travel to Washington. Matulich’s boss was unable to grant his vacation time request, court documents said. When Matulich did it anyway and failed to show up for three consecutive days, he was fired on Jan. 8, court documents said.

Matulich’s first court appearance is set for May 16. No attorney was listed in the docket as of Friday morning.

In the 39 months since the Jan. 6 insurrection, more than 1,387 people have been charged in the Capitol breach, officials said.

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