Federal agents arrested a Twin Lakes Area man after visiting the Flippin area for several hours Thursday.
Public information officer Connor Hagan of the FBI’s Little Rock office confirmed to KTLO News Thursday afternoon that JT Mott was taken into custody after agents conducted two court-authorized law enforcement operations.
Hagan told KTLO News that he was unsure what law enforcement facility Mott was taken to Thursday to be booked and processed, but that Mott was expected to make his first appearance Friday in the U.S. District Court for the Western District of Arkansas.
Questions about what possible charges Mott could be facing should be directed to the U.S. Attorney’s Office in Washington, D.C., Hagan said. Calls to the U.S. Attorney’s Office were not returned Thursday afternoon.
Social media began buzzing Thursday morning with reports that the FBI had “raided” The Bean Barn in Flippin. Hagan confirmed to KTLO News that the coffee house was one of the two locations agents visited Thursday, but declined to name the second location.
Hope Anderson-Mott, the owner of The Bean Barn, said on Facebook that the FBI visit was because JT Mott was in Washington, D.C., on Jan. 6, 2021.
The U.S. Capitol building was stormed and overrun that day by a large group of protesters demonstrating against Joe Biden’s victory over then-President Donald Trump in the 2020 election. The riot forced Congress to halt its certification of Electoral College results and evacuate the building.
In a Facebook post dated shortly before 1 p.m. Thursday, Anderson-Mott writes, “I know everyone has probably seen or heard rumors of whats happening BUT please know we are not criminals and have done NOTHING wrong. The Bean Barn is open for business as usually (sic) and will continue to be. This is only about JT Mott going to do his patriotic duty, as an American, voicing and standing for what our family believes in on January 6, 2020 in DC.”
Also in that Facebook post, Anderson-Mott asks for people to be respectful to The Bean Barn’s baristas and her children and not ask them questions about Thursday’s events.
Hagan declined Thursday to say that Mott’s arrest was linked to the January 6 events at the Capitol, referring all questions of that nature to the U.S. Attorney’s Office and citing that the proceedings were an ongoing FBI investigation.
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