Antonio LaMotta biography: 13 things about US Capitol riot suspect from Chesapeake, Virginia

Antonio Paredes LaMotta is a multilingual martial artist from Chesapeake, Virginia, United States. He is the founder of Shinobi Kai Kenjutsu, which sets the highest standards on the precepts of philosophy and techniques in the art of swordsmanship and martial arts.

LaMotta is a crisis response, security, fugitive recovery agent, bodyguard, security contractor. He worked for Nationwide Investigations and Security, a security services firm based in Houston, Texas, USA.

“He’s a very devoted guy,” Nationwide Investigations and Security CEO Allen Hollimon said of him in an interview with CNN. “I’ve never had an issue with him. He’s not a threat.”

La Motta speaks English, Spanish, Filipino, Japanese, German and Arabic. Here are 13 more things about him:

1. In 1978, he graduated from Bayside High School in Virginia Beach, Virginia. He also attended Thomas Nelson Community College in Hampton, Virginia and Tidewater Community College in Norfolk, Virginia. _(a)
2. He is a U.S. Army veteran and a former U.S. Army illustrator. From 1978 to 1981, he implemented posters, maps and 3-D models and won art awards in Frankfurt, Germany. He also served with a second military occupational specialty (MOS) of administration specialist with secret classification. _(a)
3. From 1981 to 1983, he worked for Stanwick Corporation in Arlington, Virginia as a graphics illustrator. He implemented instruction manuals and marine schematics. _(a)
4. On January 1, 1989, Howard Hoover and G & L Printing published his book “Castles of West Germany.” _(b)
5. On September 18, 1993, he founded Shinobi Kai Kenjutsu. The name was given by  Japanese American martial artist and actor Tadashi Yamashita, who is also known as Bronson Lee. On July 4, 1995, he conducted a Shinobi Kai Kenjutsu class with Yamashita. _(c)(d)
6. He was a martial arts instructor at Virginia Beach YMCA from 1996 to 2002 and art instructor at Michael’s Arts and Crafts in Virginia Beach from 1998 to 2001. He was a member of Virginia Beach YMCA board of directors from 2001 to 2008. _(a)
7. In 2001, he founded LaMotta Construction, which designed and built residential and commercial structures in Virginia and North Carolina until 2006. _(a)
8. From 2006 to 2008, he worked as an in-house finishing carpenter for Armada Hoffler in Virginia Beach, Virginia. _(a)
9. He supported 45th U.S. president Donald Trump and Virginia senator Amanda Chase. He took to social media to promote QAnon, an unfounded conspiracy theory claiming that Trump is waging a secret war against elite pedophiles in business, the government and the media. He walked down the steps of the Virginia State Capitol close to Chase on February 17, 2020, the day she announced her run for governor of Virginia in 2021, making her the first ever female Republican candidate for governor in the state. _(e)
10. He is a member and ambassador of Vets for Trump, which was founded by his fellow Chesapeake resident Joshua Erick Macias. Days before the 59th quadrennial U.S. presidential election, he told his supervisor at Nationwide Investigations and Security that he needed leave for an assignment in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, USA. Using his silver Hummer, he and Macias travelled from Virginia to Philadelphia with another woman. _(e)(f)
11. On November 5, 2020, he and Macias were arrested for illegally carrying a gun outside the Philadelphia Convention Center, the vote counting center in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, USA. He had a 9mm Beretta in a holster while Macias had a .40-caliber Beretta handgun inside his jacket and an assault-style rifle and 160 rounds of ammunition were found in his Hummer. They were charged with concealed firearm without a license and carrying a firearm on public streets or public property, which are a third-degree felony and a first-degree misdemeanor, respectively. On November 6, 2020, he and Macias were arraigned and a judge set bail at $750,000 each. On November 8, 2020, Chase embraced him and Macias and said, “These are veterans who are from Virginia and who love our country and were going there to, I don’t know what they were going for, but they are supporters of mine. They are Virginia veterans of mine who conceal carry in Virginia and they’re concerned about our country.” _(g)(h)
12. On January 6, 2021, he went to the U.S. Capitol building in Washington, D.C., USA as Macias’s bodyguard. That day, Trump’s supporters breached the building while a joint session of Congress was certifying the vote of the Electoral College and affirming Joe Biden‘s victory in the 2020 presidential election. On January 22, 2021, he and LaMotta were arrested for their participation in the riot. He is represented by Lauren A. Wimmer. Common Pleas Court Judge Crystal Bryant-Powell increased his original $750,000 bail by $15,000 and ordered him jailed until he pays $1,500. _(g)
13. He was 63 years old when he was arrested on August 16, 2022 in Chesapeake and charged with federal misdemeanor offenses, including illegal entry and disorderly conduct at the U.S. Capitol. _(i)

If you have information about someone who participated in the U.S. Capitol riot on January 6, 2021, call 1-800-CALL-FBI or submit relevant photos and videos to the FBI.

_SOURCES:

• _{a. Antonio LaMotta}
• _{b. Amazon}
• _{c. Antonio LaMotta}
• _{d. Wikimedia Commons}
• _{e. Richmond Times-Dispatch}
• _{f. CNN}
• _{g. The Philadelphia Inquirer}
• _{h. Prince Williams Times}
• _{i. Associated Press}