Judge orders detention for South Fayette man accused in Capitol riot

A federal judge has ordered an South Fayette man accused of using a baseball bat to break windows in the Capitol building during this month’s insurrection to remain in custody pending trial.

Jorden Mink, 27, is charged with six counts, including destruction of government property, which qualifies under the law as a crime of violence.

Mink appeared on Friday during an online detention hearing before U.S. Magistrate Judge Lisa Pupo Lenihan.

In reaching her decision, Lenihan said Mink showed “nothing but a complete and total disregard for the government and rule of law,” and because of his behavior at the Jan. 6 riots, she did not believe she could set any conditions for release to guarantee his appearance in court.

“This was a horrendous crime against our democracy,” she said.

Mink was charged with joining thousands of other people objecting to the presidential election results in storming the Capitol that afternoon.

During Friday’s hearing, Assistant U.S. Attorney Soo Song played several videos that appeared to show Mink, dressed in a black winter cap and black sweatshirt, using the butt end of a black baseball bat to break two windows on the Capitol building.

The suspect slammed the bat into the windows repeatedly until they broke.

Then, other videos and still images showed office furniture being removed from inside the building.

Mink was identified by investigators because of an extensive neck tattoo and tattoo under his left eye, said FBI Special Agent Bryan Alfredo.

The agent told Lenihan that Mink was also seen wielding a flagpole at Capitol police officers and spitting at them.

In a video of that incident, Mink can be seen holding a pole with what appear to be an American flag and a Trump flag. Another person in the clip was spraying a fire extinguisher at officers.

Other evidence presented at the hearing included a social media post in which Mink, shown holding a long gun, quoted Abraham Lincoln, “The ballot is stronger than the bullet.”

The post continued, “Well … my magazines will be fully loaded just in case it’s not.”

That was followed by several hashtags, including, #trump2020; #[expletive]joebiden; #redwave.

When Mink was arrested, he had a handgun on him, Alfredo said. He noted Mink did have a permit to carry.

Mink has a long arrest history for both summary and misdemeanor charges, including simple assault, but no felony convictions. Three days after the Capitol attacks, Alfredo testified that Mink attempted to purchase another firearm, but was denied. The agent did not know the reason the purchase was denied.

Alfredo testified that when investigators searched Mink’s rented home on Seminary Avenue, there was what appeared to be a marijuana growing operation in the basement. It included 16 pots, an irrigation system and lighting.

Mink’s fiancee, Lexie Otey, testified that she was not aware that he was involved in that. She said the basement was always locked, and she had no access. She said Mink has been sober since December 2019 and she was not aware of him selling marijuana.

South Fayette police filed felony drug charges against Mink this week.

In making his argument for release, Mink’s defense attorney, Michael Moser, called his client a “knucklehead,” and said he got swept up in a “herd, crowd mentality.”

“Let’s concede, he went down there and acted like an idiot and got out of control,” he said.

Moser told Lenihan that Mink was not accused of using firearms during the Capitol attack, that he has no felony convictions and has a strong family support system that would support his release pending trial.

“This isn’t a kid who’s an extremist or racist,” Moser said. “He’s charged with trespass, breaking a window and stealing some office equipment.”

Song argued to the court that Mink’s actions that day at the Capitol “had a profound impact” on the work of Congress.

“People were killed, and many people were injured. There was violent destruction to this building,” she said. “He put himself in the middle of the violence.”

In reaching her decision, Lenihan said it’s clear Mink was an active participant in the attack and possibly even a leader.

“Mr. Mink was more than a jerk or an idiot,” she said. “He put our government members in fear of their lives because of his actions.”

On Thursday, Lenihan ordered another defendant in the Capitol case to be released pending trial.

That defendant, Kenneth Grayson of Bridgeville, is charged with five counts. But under the federal Bail Reform Act, which governs pretrial release, none of the counts against him qualify as a crime of violence.

Therefore, Lenihan said, she could not consider Grayson’s potential dangerousness in deciding bond.

The U.S. attorney’s office on Friday withdrew its request to stay Grayson’s release in exchange for an order requiring him to be released to home detention including location monitoring.

Editor’s note: Jorden Mink lives in South Fayette. Original reporting indicated he lives in Oakdale, which is the mailing address for his home.