A chance encounter led to a traffic stop that ended with the arrest of a 34-year-old Blue Earth man involved in the Jan. 6, 2021, insurrection at the U.S. Capitol.
Police Chief Tom Fletcher says at 11:27 p.m. on Monday, Nov. 13, a police officer on patrol pulled over a vehicle.
“He observed (Paul) Orta had a headlight out while he was driving down Main Street,” he says. “He was stopped at his apartment parking lot.”
Another officer arrived at the scene, says Fletcher, and Orta was “very cooperative.”
The officer who initiated the stop then ran a check on the vehicle’s license plate.
“He found that Orta had a federal warrant at which time he was taken into custody and the FBI was notified,” says Fletcher.
Orta faces one felony count of obstructing law enforcement during a civil disorder and misdemeanor charges of entering restricted buildings or grounds and disorderly conducted in restricted buildings or grounds.
Orta was released on a personal recognizance bond and is scheduled to appear at a court hearing in Washington on Nov. 28. He was ordered not to leave Minnesota except for his court appearance in Washington.