AUSTIN, Texas — A man has been arrested after allegedly vandalizing a congressman's office in Central Texas.
Reiss Funicelli was arrested at his home in Salado following an investigation into the vandalism of U.S. Rep. John Carter's office in Georgetown.
The incident happened in April, when police were called out to the Republican representative’s office for a possible burglary. The front door of Carter's office was vandalized with red paint, and the phrase “Free Gaza” was spray painted on the sidewalk.
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“Unhinged anti-Israel activists vandalized my Georgetown office,” Carter said on X, the platform formerly known as Twitter, following the incident. “Let me make 2 things clear, my support for Israel is unwavering & your intimidation won’t work. Secondly, the parties responsible will be found & will be prosecuted to the fullest extent of the law.”
Funicelli was arrested Thursday morning by the Georgetown and Salado police departments. He was booked into Bell County Jail on a felony graffiti charge and a misdemeanor criminal mischief charge.
Carter took to social media platform X, thanking Georgetown police.
"I applaud the Georgetown PD for their hard work in investigating, identifying, and arresting Reiss Funicelli of Salado, TX as the suspect allegedly responsible for the vandalism at my Georgetown office in April. From the moment my staff called to report the damage, GPD has been professional, thorough & committed to finding the individual responsible. As a former judge, I trust that the court system will take it from here & the suspect will face appropriate consequences," Carter wrote on X Thursday evening.
A representative from Carter’s office estimated the cost of cleaning the damages to be around $2,000.