Insane Clown Posse hat helped FBI track man in Jan. 6 attack

DETROIT — Prosecutors Thursday unsealed a criminal complaint accusing an Upper Peninsula man of breaking into the U.S. Capitol during the Jan. 6, 2021, attack while wearing a distinctive hat linked with the rap duo Insane Clown Posse that helped FBI agents track his movements.

Laurium resident Adam Mancuso, 45, broke into the Capitol, vaped, took photographs and later put on a gas mask during the attack while wearing a black hat featuring the red "Hatchetman" logo of ICP's record label, Psychopathic Records, according to the unsealed criminal complaint. Mancuso, a fan of the Detroit-bred rap duo, sells jewelry and other Insane Clown Posse-themed items online that feature the "Hatchetman" logo, an FBI special agent wrote in the court filing.

The FBI is very familiar with the logo. A 2011 FBI report designated the music group’s fans, known as Juggalos, as a gang. Insane Clown Posse and several followers challenged the designation, argued that the gang designation violated constitutional rights to free speech and due process and that they had been targeted by police because they have jewelry or tattoos with the group's symbol, a man running with a hatchet. The group and its fans lost a federal appeal in 2017.

Mancuso, a former Warren and Royal Oak resident who property records show lives about 12 miles north of Houghton, is at least the 31st person from Michigan — and among more than 1,400 nationwide — charged with Jan. 6 crimes that includes rioting and breaking into the U.S. Capitol as Congress met to count electoral votes following Donald Trump's defeat in the 2020 presidential election. That group includes former Michigan Republican gubernatorial candidate Ryan Kelley and an amateur porn "personality" from Macomb County.

Mancuso was charged with four crimes: knowingly entering or remaining in a restricted building; knowingly impeding or disrupting the orderly course of government business; disorderly conduct and parading, demonstrating or picketing in a Capitol building.

He was arrested Wednesday and released on bond after a brief appearance in federal court in Marquette. There was no immediate comment Thursday from Mancuso's lawyer, Michael Manning.

The Mancuso investigation started with a tip.

On Jan. 12, 2021, six days after the attack, FBI agents received a tip that Mancuso had posted images on Facebook showing him inside and outside of the U.S. Capitol during the attack. The photos show Mancuso wearing the black hat with a red "Hatchetman" logo.

FBI agents searched Facebook and found additional pictures of Mancuso wearing the hat.

Investigators next started surveilling Mancuso at his home and spotted him outside what appears to be a home in Royal Oak. They concluded he is the same person shown inside the U.S. Capitol during the attack.

After studying security camera footage from inside the U.S. Capitol, FBI agents alleged Mancuso entered the building at 2:58 p.m. through the Senate Wing door. He was spotted taking a selfie before heading toward the Crypt inside the U.S. Capitol, according to the complaint.

He was seen walking inside the Crypt and grabbing a sign that read "America First, Never Give Up, Never Surrender" until being confronted by a police officer.

He let go of the sign and continued parading inside the Crypt, according to the FBI.

Next, Mancuso walked into the Hall of Columns where he was spotted taking pictures or video of police officers, according to the FBI.

At 3:20 p.m., Mancuso is seen re-entering the Capitol through the East Rotunda doors and making his way to the front of the mob, according to the FBI. He stopped, used a vaping device, and his cell phone to record a video before pulling out a gas mask.

He stood chest-to-chest with an officer who pushed Mancuso from the police line, according to the complaint. Minutes later, Mancuso is seen leaving the building.

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Adam Graham contributed.

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