DENVER —
More than two years after Colorado tech CEO Chad Burmeister posed smiling with Kenneth Schulz on the day rioters stormed the US Capitol, federal agents arrested Schulz for participating in the attack on the Capitol.
Burmeister posted the photo, featuring a smiling Schulz flashing his index finger, to Facebook on January 6, 2021. The initial caption read, “First guy to storm the capital today.”
The post’s caption was changed the following morning to read: “Peaceful march to the capital.”
Recent court filings show Burmeister’s original Facebook post is included in evidence collected by federal agents who believe Schulz was among the first to storm the Capitol.
Schulz was arrested March 10 in Florida on a federal arrest warrant for four charges: Entering and Remaining in a Restricted Building or Grounds, Disorderly and Disruptive Conduct in a Restricted Building or Grounds, Disorderly Conduct in a Capitol Building, and Parading, Demonstrating, or Picketing in a Capitol Building.
Court filings by investigators say Schulz is seen on closed circuit video near the Senate Wing Doors on the west side of the Capitol approximately 30 seconds after the building was breached in that area.
Federal investigators noted in a court filing that Schulz was recognizable through the combination of his own social media posts on January 6, closed circuit video images from inside the Capitol, and Burmeister’s social media post.
Following Schulz’s arrest, 9NEWS asked Burmeister’s attorney how Burmeister became aware that Schulz was one of the first to storm the Capitol and why he chose to post their photo to social media. 9NEWS did not receive a response.
Burmeister, who lives in Littleton and was previously the CEO of ScaleX, now leads BDR.ai, a company offering artificial intelligence tools to the sales industry.
Burmeister had gone to Washington for the January 6th rally in support of former President Donald Trump after echoing QAnon and Three Percenter militia themes on his Facebook page writing, “We will vote with our voices and ultimately guns.”
Burmeister says he did not enter the U.S. Capitol on January 6, 2021. He has not been charged with a crime.
Burmeister filed a defamation lawsuit against 9NEWS journalist Kyle Clark and 9NEWS’ parent company, TEGNA. In March 2022, Denver District Court Judge Ross B.H. Buchanan dismissed the lawsuit, ruling that the court “cannot find that Plaintiff, consistent with the First Amendment, is reasonably likely to prevail on his claim of defamation in this case.”
The case is currently on appeal.
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