The former editor of a prominent New York-based Orthodox Jewish newspaper was charged for his role in the US Capitol insurrection on January 6, 2021, the US Justice Department announced Thursday.
The suspect in question is 39-year-old Elliot Resnick, former editor-in-chief of The Jewish Press, a position he held during the riot.
The charges he is currently facing include, but are not limited to:
- Obstructing law enforcement
- Assaulting police officers
- Entering and remaining in a restricted building or grounds
- Disorderly conduct
The Justice Department statement describes Resnick's alleged actions during the riot, including how he was one of the first to storm through the East Rotunda Doors, going on to enter the Statuary Hall, the Crypt and more.
Who is Elliot Resnick?
From 2018-2021, Resnick served as editor-in-chief of The Jewish Press, a publication formerly edited by former MK and Jewish extremist Rabbi Meir Kahane.
Resnick has a noted history of using incendiary language and has called the gay rights movement “evil.” Under Resnick’s editorship, The Jewish Press was criticized by the Anti-Defamation League in 2019 after publishing an op-ed titled “The Pride Parade: What Are They Proud Of” comparing gay marchers in the New York event to animals, adulterers and thieves.
In the spring of 2021, Resnick was identified in a report by Politico as one of the rioters, having been spotted in one of the videos of the breach.
At first, The Jewish Press's publisher said that his presence there was fully within the bounds of the law. However, later video evidence appeared to show him as actively participating in the insurrection.
Resnick later wrote about the January 6 riot, which left five dead and injured well over 100 police officers, without disclosing that he participated.
“Democrats keep on declaring that never again can this country see its Capitol overtaken by a mob,” he wrote in a post from March 17 on the website American Thinker. “Well, there’s an easy solution for that. Don’t steal elections in plain sight, and maybe ordinarily law-abiding citizens won’t snap.”
In May, Resnick was replaced by Shlomo Greenwald.
Shira Hanau/JTA contributed to this report.