He protested at the Capitol on Jan. 6. Now he’s running for Congress in N.J.
Joe Belnome has long been a regular at former President Donald Trump’s rallies. By his own count, the Belleville resident has been to more than 20.
He was also among the thousands of Trump supporters who marched to the U.S. Capitol on Jan. 6, 2021 in defiance of President Joe Biden‘s victory over Trump, though he insists he wasn’t one of those who breached the building in a violent attack and he hasn’t been charged with a crime.Now, Belnome wants to work in that building. The 48-year-old is vying for the Republican nomination to represent parts of North Jersey in the U.S. House of Representatives, one of more than a half-dozen people involved in the events of that infamous day who are seeking public office across the nation this year.
Photos show Belnome, dressed in a forest green “Trump 2020″ jacket, in the middle of the large crowd that formed around the Capitol after Trump spoke at a rally that day pushing the unfounded claim that the 2020 presidential election was stolen from him, despite multiple court rulings rejecting the premiseBelnome, now running in the GOP primary with the support of party leaders in a bid to unseat Democratic U.S. Rep. Mikie Sherrill in the state’s 11th congressional district, says he “peacefully marched” in protest to the Capitol after seeing Trump speak. He also admits to deleting his social media in the wake of the riot but says his actions that day were “not violent.”Belnome, a building inspector for Belleville Township, said the FBI visited his home to question him about that day, but he said he has been “exonerated” by the agency.
He has not been charged in the events of Jan. 6, according to a search of police and court records.Daniel Ball, a spokesman for the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the District of Columbia, said the office currently has no public information to share. “Additionally, we are unable to comment on the existence or non-existence of investigations,” Ball said.A former union bricklayer, Belnome — who goes by the nickname “Jersey Joe” — has attended so many Trump rallies that the New York Post profiled him during the 2020 election.