Pinellas man indicted in Capitol riot crashed boat while impaired, deputies say

REDINGTON SHORES — A 38-year-old Pinellas County man facing federal charges in the Jan. 6 insurrection at the U.S. Capitol was arrested on a misdemeanor charge of boating under the influence Saturday night after deputies say he ran his speeding boat aground on an island in the Intracoastal Waterway.

Paul Rae, of Seminole, was operating a boat at high speed and headed north in the Intracoastal Waterway, according to the Pinellas County Sheriff’s Office. Then about 10 p.m., he crashed the boat onto an island off Punkin Key, near 182nd Avenue E. Multiple witnesses reported the crash.

Deputies said they found the boat about 75 feet from the water line. They found Rae on the island along with a passenger whose name was not released.

Both were uninjured and both showed several indicators of impairment, according to the Sheriff’s Office. However, Rae refused to take a Breathalyzer exam to measure his blood-alcohol level, according to the arrest report.

Rae was booked into Pinellas County Jail, where the Sheriff’s Office said he was released on his own recognizance shortly after 9 a.m. Sunday.

The FBI arrested him on March 24 and he appeared in a federal courtroom in Tampa that day. A prosecutor called Rae an “associate” of the Proud Boys far-right nationalist group who traveled to Washington D.C. before Jan. 6 and then stormed the Capitol building that day after another Proud Boy smashed a window.

Rae was placed on supervised federal release after his arrest. A U.S. magistrate judge ordered that he be confined to his home and only allowed to leave for work, religious services, medical appointments or necessary travel. He was also ordered to wear a GPS monitoring device and to surrender his firearms.

The boat was supposed to be towed off the island on Sunday morning, deputies say.