Jewish Press editor arrested for Jan. 6 role

The editor-in-chief of the Jewish Press at the time of the Capitol riot was arrested last week and charged with interfering with law enforcement during the Jan. 6, 2021, violence.

Elliot Resnick, 39, was a long-time Jewish Press staffer and the Brooklyn-based newspaper’s top editor when he joined the crowd at the Capitol.

Resnick has been charged with interfering with law enforcement during a civil disorder, and three charges related to entering and engaging in disruptive conduct while on restricted grounds.

Videos show Resnick grabbing the arm of a police sergeant who was spraying a chemical irritant to stop rioters entering the building, and another officer tried to remove Resnick’s hand from the sergeant’s arm, wrote Erica Dobin, the FBI  agent who authored the charging document.

When Politico reported in April 2021 that Resnick’s presence at the riot was captured on video, his employer said Resnick was “covering the rally and the rest of the day’s terrible events for The Jewish Press.”

“The Jewish Press does not see why Elliot’s personal views on former President Trump should make him any different from the dozens of other journalists covering the events, including many inside the Capitol building during the riots, nor why his presence justifies an article in Politico while the presence of other reporters inside the building does not,” his newspaper said.

Dobin writes in the charging document that she was sensitive to Resnick’s status as a journalist on the day of the insurrection and that she “complied with the US Department of Justice’s News Media Policy in consultation and coordination with DOJ’s Policy and Statutory Enforcement Unit.”

The charging document notes Resnick’s social media posts at the time, which repeatedly called for people to face unspecified “consequences” because of his contention that the election was stolen from Trump.

The FBI agent’s account of Resnick’s actions on Jan. 6 portray him as an active participant in the riot. Video showed Resnick repeatedly gesturing for others to come up stairs toward the Capitol after rioters broke through a line of police officers, the agent’s affidavit says.

Resnick was one of the first rioters to enter the Capitol through the East Rotunda doors, according to the FBI. After entering the building, Resnick joined others in attempting to push open a door that a police officer was trying to keep closed and another officer who tried to stop Resnick was thrown to the ground by a different rioter, the FBI said.

Resnick grabbed and pulled other rioters into the Capitol after he failed to open the door, according to the affidavit. It says he spent approximately 50 minutes inside the Capitol before leaving.

The FBI charging document says the investigation was launched based on two tips called into the FBI, one from someone who had read the article on Politico’s website and another who “indicated they had known Resnick since childhood and recognized him in video footage showing the storming of the US Capitol which had been posted online.”

Resnick, his attorney, and the Jewish Press did  not immediately comment on the arrest.