Surveillance Video From Congressman’s Office Leaks Online

On a March night just before the pandemic took hold in the county, a Twitter account shared a video from Congressman Brian Fitzpatrick’s district office security system. 

The video showed activist Kierstyn Zolfo, who often is involved in demonstrations opposing the congressman’s actions and those of President Donald Trump, bending over outside the front doors to Fitzpatrick’s congressional office in the One Summit Square office building at the corner of Newtown-Langhorne Road and the Newtown Bypass in Middletown Township on the evening of March 6.

Zolfo was in the process of hanging posters outside the office when the video was recorded.

The Twitter account – @ComfortablyBel1 – publicly shared that the hanging of posters “borders on vandalism,” while including the video from the office security system overlaid with “Frolic” by Luciano Michelini, which is best known as the theme song for HBO’s “Curb Your Enthusiasm.” 

The video was retweeted by the spokesperson for the congressman’s campaign. 

Another tweet from the @ComfortablyBel1 account asked: “wonder who’s fat ass this is…” 

“That’s 100 percent my fat ass. I’m the heavy, disabled constituent,” Zolfo replied. 

Video from the government office was posted online only hours after it was recorded, according to time stamps.

It does not appear that additional footage from the congressman’s office has leaked out on any other occasion. 

The Ring security camera and its location in the office has the potential to show every visitor who enters the leased space through the main doors. Congressional offices regularly contain sensitive personal information handled by staff working with constituents. It was not clear if additional cameras could have captured any of that information, or had their video shared with those outside of the office.

Messages from a reporter to ComfortablyBel1 were not answered and the congressman’s office and campaign denied involvement with releasing the video to the user or posting it online. 

“We are not familiar with the Twitter account, it is certainly not anyone in the office. If the issue is how that person got access to the video, it would probably be best to ask the account owner,” said Kiley, the spokesman for Fitzpatrick’s congressional office. 

The congressman’s office maintained that Zolfo was in the building after it closed and it was “unauthorized access.” The office also noted masking tape was used to hang the posters on newly-painted surfaces. 

Kiley said the video was turned over to the U.S. Capitol Police, Middletown Township police, the property manager, and building owner. 

“With regards to a ‘leak’, the property owners and law enforcement are entitled to be sent this footage. Once we send the video to the appropriate parties, we do not have control over what happens to it,” said Kiley.

Middletown Township Chief of Police Joseph Bartorilla said no charges have come from the incident and his department did not leak the video. He added demonstrators outside the two-term Republican congressman’s office haven’t caused any big problems that required police involvement in the past. 

U.S. Capitol Police did not comment for this story.

Zolfo explained to LevittownNow.com that she was outside the office following a demonstration hanging posters stating Fitzpatrick is not bipartisan across the entrance. No staff was there in the evening as the office had already closed, but the doors to the building were open.

“[The posters] were hung with masking tape and there wasn’t damage,” Zolfo said of allegations of vandalism. 

Zolfo said she felt the video and captions were making fun of her appearance and a disability that gives her trouble walking.

She questioned how the video from the congressman’s official government office in the First Congressional District quickly leaked online. 

In an interview, she said the video leaked almost-certainly had to have come from someone close to the congressman’s office or reelection campaign. 

Zolfo did end up meeting with the congressman’s staff following the incident and “covered a lot of ground,” including her concern about how the video made its way online. She said her home has been damaged in the past over what she suspects was someone upset with comments that were published by a news organization.

In the end, Zolfo said she hopes the congressman’s office gets to the bottom of how video leaked.

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