MTA worker who was part of MAGA mob that stormed Capitol is suspended ‘for calling out sick’ before his photo was splashed in the media
- A New York state employee has been identified as one the trespassers involved with Wednesday’s Capitol riot
- Metro North employee Will Pepe, 31, was recognized by both colleagues and management from a photo distributed by law enforcement
- MTA management moved swiftly, and Pepe was suspended without pay
- Charges against Pepe will likely be filed next week
A transportation worker from New York who called out sick in order to take part in the mob that stormed the Capitol in Washington D.C. on Wednesday has been suspended from his job with MTA Metro-North.
Will Pepe who worked at Metro-North’s Brewster rail yard in upstate New York is now being investigated by the FBI who are looking into what role he played during the rally.
Pepe, 31, from Beacon, New York, had been with the MTA for seven years earning $74,000-a-year but decided to call out sick to head to the event which in itself is a ‘false use of sick leave’.
He has now been suspended as the agency looks to fire him in the coming days.
Metro North employee Will Pepe, 31, was recognized by both colleagues and management from a photo distributed by law enforcement. He has since been suspended from the MTA
‘Effective immediately this individual has been suspended from Metro-North without pay and will be disciplined in accordance with their collective bargaining agreement pending an investigation,’ said MTA spokesman Ken Lovett in a statement.
‘This alleged conduct is abhorrent and goes against the values of Metro-North, New York and the nation.’
‘We had no knowledge of this individual’s participation in the events of that day, and we are disappointed that anyone would engage in that type of conduct,’ said Dean Davita, a rep for Local 30 of the International Union of Operating Engineers.
Pepe is among hundreds of alleged rioters now under investigation for their involvement in Wednesday’s insurrection.
Alongside disciplinary action by the MTA Pepe may well face criminal charges.
So far more than 80 people have been arrested in total and 55 are being pursued on federal charges.
Dozens more remain free and the FBI is scrambling to catch them with public appeals for help and rewards for information after Wednesday’s disastrous attempts by law enforcement to control the crowd.
Their failure to arrest the rioters – many of whom had guns and overpowered them – has outraged millions of Americans who compared the soft touch to the harsh crackdown by police on BLM protesters during the summer.
So far more than 80 people have been arrested in total and 55 are being pursued on federal charges. File photo of protestors on the second floor of the Capitol