With hundreds being arrested and prosecuted by the Federal Bureau of Investigation for their actions in the U.S. Capitol on Jan. 6, one rioter was caught because of the Snapchat feature heatmap.
According to unsealed court records, Matthew Buckler was seen inside the Capitol on Jan.6 when he posted a video to his Snapchat story. The FBI was then alerted of Buckler being involved in the insurrection when someone saw his post on the Snapchat heatmap feature.
The tipster, who is not named, recorded the private Snapchat stories and sent them to the FBI, according to an affidavit, Vice reported.
"We in this bitch. We in this bitch," Buckler allegedly repeated in the video multiple times while he was inside the Crypt.
The Snapchat story reportedly read "matt's priv" in the top right corner, and the user display name on the video shows the name "Matt Buckler," the court records said.
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The evidence from the tipster also included a screenshot that appeared to show Buckler's bitmoji at the Capitol on the Snapchat heatmap as well as his Snapchat profile.
"The bitmoji on this screenshot is labeled 'Matt' and is placed prominently on top of a satellite image of the U.S. Capitol Building and grounds," the document read.
The FBI was provided with another screenshot showing his Snapchat account called "mbuckler5" by a second tipster. The FBI then paired the bitmoji and account name.
"The bitmoji associated with the 'mbuckler5' username matches the bitmoji in the screenshot provided by Tipster 1," the court record said.
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The document went on to say the same person possibly runs the private account Matt and his more public one. It also found that his phone number was linked to the mbuckler5 account.
The original tipster's screen capture of the stories showed someone wearing a black jacket, white hoodie, and baseball cap, which read, "Trump."
Buckler was interviewed by the FBI, in which he said he wore the same clothes as the person in the Capitol in one Snapchat video. The FBI then obtained a search warrant, seizing Buckler's phone.
The video and other evidence were saved to Buckler's phone via the social media app and discovered once the warrant was obtained.
"In one of those videos, which is a selfie, Buckler joins with the crowd outside the Senate Wing Door chanting 'Stop the Steal' repeatedly," the court record said.
Buckler is not the first rioter who was caught via social media. The FBI has identified several insurrectionists through archives of photos and videos taken at the Jan. 6 riot.
