Brad Rukstales was a former Chief Executive Officer of Cogensia — a Chicago-based marketing company— before taking part in the US Capitol riots.
On January 8, Cognesia’s Board of Directors has now terminated Rukstales’s position at the company after he is initially placed on a leave of absence.
“We have been informed that our CEO, Brad Rukstales’ participated in the recent Washington DC protests. Mr. Rukstales’ actions were his own; he was not acting on behalf of our company nor do his actions in any way reflect the policies or values of our firm,” a statement from Cognesia shared on LinkedIn reads.
Since Rukstales’s termination, Joel Schiltz, senior vice president and Chief Operating Officer of the company has since been placed as acting CEO.
“This decision was made because Rukstales’ actions were inconsistent with the core values of Cogensia.point 349 |
Cogensia condemns what occurred at the U.point 35 | S.point 37 | Capitol on Wednesday, and we intend to continue to embrace the values of integrity, diversity, and transparency in our business operations and expect all employees to embrace those values as well,” Schiltz told Cision.point 224 |
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According to CNN, Rukstales has since apologized for his involvement in the riots and dubbed it ‘the single worst personal decision of [his] life.
On Friday, Rukstales released a statement on his Twitter account.
“In a moment of extremely poor judgment following the Jan. 6 rally in Washington, I followed hundreds of others through an open set of doors to the Capitol building to see what was taking place inside,” Rukstales wrote.
The former CEO then stated that he was then arrested for the first time in his life and charged with unlawful entry.
“My decision to enter the Capitol was wrong, and I am deeply regretful to have done so. Without qualification and as a peaceful and law-abiding citizen, I condemn the violence and destruction that took place in Washington,” he continued.
As of January 9, prosecutors had filed 17 cases in federal district court and 40 in the District of Columbia superior court in regards to offenses committed during the Capitol siege.