A Liberal in Trumpistan: September 2021

RECENTLY, SEVERAL FACEBOOK “FRIENDS” insisted I was obsessed with Donald J. Trump. They said I needed to

A. Go fuck myself (and then unfriended me).

B. Love America more (like them).

C. Quit posting “boring drivel” (that was from a former student.) I complimented him on the use of such an evocative word as “drivel.”)

Dozens of rioters on this list came prepared for an attack.

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I consider Trump the most dangerous political figure in all of American history.

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In point of fact, I’m not obsessed with Donald J. Trump. Revolted? Yes. Deeply concerned? Too true. I consider him to be the most dangerous political figure in all of American history. And so long as my conservative friends continue to operate under the delusion that he is not, I will keep posting, hoping to persuade at least a few who still operate from a foundation of intellectual honesty.

As for Trump’s diehard loyalists, they concern me, almost as much as he did. I’m not sure they understand how democracy works.

In terms of the January 6 riot, I got interested in studying the topic, when in short order on Facebook one of my favorite former students said she believed the rioters were really Antifa types. Then another former favorite student told me I should look into QAnon, because it “explained so much.” After the briefest possible look at a link she provided, I had to tell the second young lady that I thought QAnon was “nonsense,” and then apologized for being so blunt.

I taught history. I like facts.

I taught history. I like facts. That meant it was time to look up the stories of 500+ rioters from that day.

Letters following each name will be colored, accordingly:

Q = rioter believed in QAnon mythology.

RW = right-wing type.

S = rioter came to D.C. to “Stop the Steal” (also mythological).

T = ordinary Trump supporter.

Ts = believed “Trump sent me.”

V = the rioter favored violence.

A = Antifa type (so far, we’ve found none).

Today, we start the clock again where we left off in our last post on the topic (which covered rioters #366 to #420) with a look at rioters #421 to #504.

As I say.

I like facts.

“We know they stole it, and we aren’t going to accept it!”

421. Owen Shroyer: We keep looking for the elusive left-wing type who purportedly stormed the Capitol on January 6. We keep coming up with arrestees like Shroyer, whose day job is to host a show on the right-wing Infowars website.

Supposedly, those dastardly lefties led freedom-loving, peaceable Trump fans along, and then instigated all the violence.

According to the F.B.I., however, Shroyer knew exactly what was going that day and no one had to lead him on. After listening to then-President Trump stir up the crowd at the “Stop the Steal: rally, telling them they had to “fight like hell,” Shroyer was ready for action. “Today we march for the Capitol because on this historic January 6, 2021, we have to let our Congressmen and women know, and we have to let Mike Pence know, they stole the election,” Shroyer told a group he led that day. “We know they stole it, and we aren’t going to accept it!”

Shroyer was so proud of what the mob had done in storming the halls of Congress that he called in to a live Infowars broadcast, to howl that he and his kind now owned the streets.

The day before the riot, Shroyer posted videos wondering if “Americans are ready to fight.” He went on to say, “We’re not exactly sure what that’s going to look like … if we can’t stop this certification of the fraudulent election … we are the new revolution! We are going to restore and we are going to save the republic!”

Now, he claims he and his kind actually tried to “stop the madness” on January 6, and he’s like a “political prisoner.”

RW, T, S

422. Jason Burton McGrew: The F.B.I has identified Mr. McGrew, another rioter in the January 6 crowd, based in part on a distinctive tattoo on his belly – which clearly not the most glamorous way to be identified as a criminal. McGrew is an ex-Marine (as is this blogger) but before you feel the urge to thank someone for his service, keep in mind he was already a convicted felon, out of jail but on probation, when he decided rioting on Capitol Hill might be the ticket.

He is accused of assaulting two police officers during the riot – but with federal agents closing in for an arrest, McGrew fled to Mexico. Which proves Mexico should pay for the border wall. They need it to keep out all our “rapists” and “killers,” as Donald J. Trump once said.

McGrew is a QAnon believer, and having returned to this country, he has been arrested and is currently back behind bars.

V, Q

423. Bradley Stuart Bennett: For Mr. Bennett, January 6 was like another date with his girlfriend, Elizabeth Rose Williams, and the lovers posed inside the Capitol Building for several photos.

According to the Charlotte Observer, “Bennett was a QAnon devotee from Trinity [N.C.] — just over the Guilford County line in Randolph County, according to court records. She was a musician, lifestyle coach and essential oils guru from San Antonio.”

In the fading hours of January 6, Bennett posted an all-caps rant on social media, promising more of the same. “TODAY WAS A REVOLUTIONARY MESSAGE,” he said, while hammering away at the keys. “WE WON’T GO AWAY. WE WILL FIND VICTORY.”

“Patriots going to war,” is how Bennett put it in a video he made of the Capitol riot, according to the F.B.I.

RW, T, Q

424. Elizabeth Rose Williams: On her lifestyle website, Williams sold coaching advice, along with soothing oils, and once posted, “My heart is to passionately pursue my own lifestyle dreams, and one of those dreams includes finding the gold in others and making it shine!”

Although not necessarily finding gold in “pedophile liberals,” she didn’t mean. Williams and Bennett also posted QAnon nonsense and right-wing conspiracy theories on another website, BattleBorn.LIVE.

“Never take Freedom for granted,” the website reads. “With political gaming & coverups, with tyranny on display, it’s time to wake up to a massive coup attempting to steal our FREEDOM.”

RW, T, Q

425. Daniel Christmann: The 38-year-old New Yorker was arrested on July 28, after tipsters alerted authorities to Instagram posts he had made, putting himself squarely inside the Capitol on January 6. (He allegedly entered through a broken window.)

As ABC News explains, back on January 7, he was asked by a friend if he had been a participant in the riot. According to prosecutors, he responded, “Yeah im not going to lie,” and went on to brag that he had “scaled a wall on a garden hose.”

In the November election, Christmann ran as a candidate for state senator, against the Democratic incumbent, on the New Moderate Party ticket.

He got 2.3% of the vote.

Hard to tell where he fits on the political spectrum since he has said he’s fighting both oligarchs and communism. He also hoped to run for President of the United States on the Libertarian Party ticket, but never made it out of the party convention. So he settled for rioting instead.

(POLITICAL AFFILIATION UNCLEAR.)

426. David Lesperance: When federal authorities identified Lesperance, 69, as a suspect in the riot and went to his house to question him, the Florida man admitted he had been inside the Capitol. Then he admitted that he had been with the pastor of his church and the pastor’s son (see below), without naming them. It did not take the F.B.I. long to figure out the two men’s names. He also admitted he had taken photos and videos inside the Capitol but deleted them out of fear “of repercussions.”

Not much is known about Lesperance’s motivation – but he did travel all the way to D.C. to listen to then-President Trump babble about how he would “never concede” the results of the election.

Lesperance is not known to be particularly dangerous, save for the fact that he and others like him were hoping to overturn the results of a fair election.

427. James “Jim” Varnell Cusick Jr.: Cusick, who founded Global Outreach Ministries in Melbourne, Fla., has been arrested and charged with participating in the riot. He and his son, also an officer of the church (below), were both freed on $25,000 bond. For some reason, after Pastor Cusick was arrested, the Global Outreach Ministries website was taken down.

According to the website (when it was up), the elder Cusick holds ministerial credentials from the Association of Faith Churches and Ministers. Cusick had promised anyone who attended services that he would preach, “The uncompromised truths of God’s Word with passion and purpose at weekly Bible Studies.”

According to Patheos, his ministry had over 200 followers of Facebook, put that page has also been taken down.

Right-wing websites quickly came to the defense of Pastor Cusick, noting that he was a 73-year-old veteran, and was awarded a Purple Heart in Vietnam. They also pointed out that his son was “arrested in front of his distraught three-year-old daughter who asked why they were locking her dad’s hands. … Videos of the heartbreaking scene were provided to the Gateway Pundit.”

Cusick’s daughter Stacey was home when federal agents came to make an arrest and tells a sad tale that almost makes you forget the people who rioted on January 6 wanted to overturn the results of a U.S. presidential election – something which had never happened in 59 tries.

As reported in the Carolina Firearms Forum, a conservative online forum:

“They said that they understand that and that they’re ‘not the bad guys, we’re just here doing what we’re told,'” Stacey said. “My dad loves this country. He volunteered to go to Vietnam and fight. He served 16 months there proudly. He has taken so many kids on trips to Washington, DC, to let them see this great country. He’s very passionate about this nation. He’s a pastor and he holds the Constitution in a very high regard. He hates what is happening to this country, but he would never vandalize or harm any government property, or anything for that matter. He’s a very upstanding man and I was devastated to see him taken away.”

Her voice shaking as she began to cry, Stacey added, “there’s just no reason for it. He did nothing to deserve what we saw this morning. I don’t understand why they would feel okay doing this to someone like him. I think they felt bad about it, but they kept saying it’s their job.”

Stacey said it made her uneasy to know that people who see that this is wrong would still be willing to do it, “because it’s their job.”

Everyone involved with the church insists father and son would never vandalize property, and never saw any violence when they were inside the Capitol.

And, oh, so sad, Lesperance was arrested “as he was coming back from bringing his wife home from her heart doctor.”

428. Casey Cusick: The younger Cusick serves as vice president of the church, graduated from Rhema Bible Training College in 2014, and spent three years in Israel.

On the same day father and son were arrested, Mike Pence was speaking at the Ronald Reagan Presidential Library in California. He told his audience that he would “always be proud” of the part he played in the January 6 saga.

That is: He upheld the U.S. Constitution, under extreme pressure and duress, applied by the president himself.

As Church Leaders explains, the former VP was clear:

The Constitution affords the vice president no authority to reject or return electoral votes submitted to the Congress by the states.” Although some “in our [Republican] party” believe “any one person” can pick the commander in chief, Pence said, “there is almost no idea more un-American.”

True that.

429. Joseph Barnes: Barnes, 35, was facing several charges related to his role in the January 6 affray. In June, however, the Austin, Texas man ran a red light on his motorcycle, collided with an automobile, and was pronounced dead at the scene.

In video from last January, Barnes can be seen inside the Capitol, yelling, “This is our house. This is our country. This is our country,” according to court documents.

Prior to his arrest, he worked as a real estate agent and had an art business. According to the Austin American-Statesman, a Facebook post on a page linked to his business featured a “Come and Take It” flag, known to all Texans, and featured a quote attributed to Thomas Jefferson: “I hold it that a little rebellion now and then is a good thing, and as necessary in the political world as storms in the physical.”

If you haven’t noticed, many of the rioters liked the idea of spilling the blood of other Americans in order to make sure they got their way.

(POLITICAL AFFILIATION TECHNICALLY UNKNOWN.)

The original flag, 1836.

The new version?

430. Cynthia Christine Ballenger: Ballinger and Christopher John Price (below), her husband, were indicted on July 30, and charged with participating in the attack on Jan. 6. Social media and Google phone location tracking records appear to put the couple squarely inside the building.

When interviewed by F.B.I. agents, Ballenger was less than helpful. She replied to several questions, telling agents that if they wanted to know something, they should be able to figure it out.

T (see, #431).

“Worth fighting for Trump.”

431. Christopher John Price: Text messages Price sent to a friend include, “We’re taking over the capitol.

The friend replies, “Trump said to be peaceful.”

Price responds with a photo and notes, “Tear gas and explosions going off.” At 3:24 p.m. he texts simply, “In.” Other texts: “Broken glass everywhere” and “Climbing through the window.”

At 3:28, Price messages, “Worth fighting for Trump.”

The charging document in Ballenger and Price’s case notes:

On June 24, 2021, the FBI interviewed PRICE at his workplace. PRICE said, “hypothetically,” if he an [sic] BALLENGER were at the US capitol on January 6, 2021, they were not among those causing problems but may have been swept up and just followed the crowd. PRICE said that there are times when you look back when you have done something, and at the time you do not know that you are doing anything wrong and you do not feel like you are doing anything wrong, but then later you find out what you did may have been wrong. PRICE said that whatever happened on January 6, 2021, and whatever the consequences may be, it was all in God’s hands now.

432. Boyd Allen Camper: The indictment against Camper, who came all the way from Missoula, Montana just to get arrested for rioting, is clear.

He’s a Trump guy, even wearing a “Trump 2020” camouflage-colored baseball hat on that awful day.

Evidence against him includes:

Specifically, on January 7, 2021, a two minute and twenty-six second clip of the CBS News interview was posted to YouTube, under the CBS Evening News channel. In the video, the interviewer introduced a person on the grounds outside the Capitol building as Boyd Camper from Montana. Wearing a blue jacket and camouflage hat, Camper acknowledged that he was inside of the Capitol, stating “I was on the front line.” He further stated, “We’re going to take this damn place. If you haven’t heard it’s called the insurrection act and we the people are ready.” The “front line” alludes to the initial push of the rioters past police officers and barricades into the Capitol.

In another video from that day, according to the indictment, as the mob tries to battle a way inside the Capitol, “someone in the hallway can be heard stating ‘they are pepper spraying us,’ and Camper can be heard asking that people with masks outside the entrance to come forward. Witness #1 also stated that h/she met with Camper after the riot, and that Camper talked about being inside the Capitol Building.”

Several photos show Camper inside, with a Go-Pro camera on a long camera stick, filming the historic day.

Kind of like having a passenger on the Titanic film the ship going down.

433. Russell Dean Alford: Mr. Alford represents the state of Alabama on this list, and, like so many others, his arrest comes in part as a result of his desire to document his role in the riot, in his case on YouTube.

According to the affidavit for his arrest,

After stating his full name, ALFORD told the FBI agents that he attended the Trump rally in Washington, D.C. on January 6, 2021. He explained that he had wanted to attend a Trump rally for quite some time, and thought this could be his last opportunity to do so. ALFORD stated that on January 5, 2021, he and a friend drove to just outside Washington, D.C. and rented a hotel room. The next day, they drove into Washington, D.C. to attend the Trump rally near the White House.

Alford: The rioters go heavy on older white males, the Trump base.

434. Jennifer Heinl: Not only does Ms. Heinl get indicted for her role in the riot, her husband, Michael Heinl, a 30-year member of the Shaler Township Police Department, files for divorce, as a result.

Officer Heinl told reporters that he repeatedly cautioned his wife, 55, not to travel to D.C. on January 6, but she can be seen inside the Capitol, conversing with Kenneth Grayson.

She and Grayson (#3 on our list) had been communicating on social media since November 11.

Her lawyer told WPXI radio, “To make it clear, I’ve known Jennie Heinl a long time and she’s not a criminal. She’s deeply embarrassed.”

“Trump 2020! Trump 2020! Trump 2020!”

435. John Lolos: Mr. Lolos may be one of the dumbest Trump fans to be arrested as a result of his role in the Jan. 6 riot. He first made headlines, two days later, when on a Delta flight scheduled to leave Ronald Reagan Airport in D.C., he refused to stop yelling, “Trump 2020.” His plane returned to the gate, where Lolos was arrested.

As an added “bonus,” an officer tasked with keeping watch on Lolos, “began scrolling through his personal Instagram feed and watched a video showing several people exiting a doorway from the East front of the Capitol Building during the insurrection.” As WUSA9 explains, “Court documents say the officer spotted Lolos in the group of rioters, wearing the same shirt he was wearing at the airport, holding a ‘Trump 2020 Keep America Great’ flag hooked with an American flag.”

A search of the suspect’s baggage turned up the same pair of flags, still attached. Souvenirs of a fun attack on democracy! Lolos has now agreed to plead guilty to a single charge related to the riot.

436. Chase Kevin Allen: The Seekonk, Massachusetts man is alleged to have been one in a crowd of rioters who smashed cameras and video gear in a media staging area outside the Capitol Building on January 6.

The F.B.I. affidavit in Allen’s case notes, in part,

As individuals moved past metal barricades that had been set up around the staging area, media members were forced to flee the area before recovering all their cameras and associated equipment. Numerous members of the crowd began to destroy the equipment, including cameras, tripods, lights, shades, and remote broadcasting equipment that belonged to various media outlets. Numerous members of the crowd yelled inflammatory rhetoric against the members of the media. One member of the media who was forced to flee the scene estimated that the equipment from his particular news organization that was destroyed was valued at between $30,000 and $34,000.

Allen can allegedly be seen in one video “repeatedly stomping on media equipment” and yelling at reporters to stop filming the riot and leave the area or remain at their own risk.

Because nothing says, “fun with fascism” quite like burning books in 1933, or crushing cameras in 2021.

(Let’s all stop for a moment here, to ponder all the times then-President Trump called the free press the “Enemy of the People.”)

Allen posts videos he makes on YouTube, including one from the day of the attack, and told F.B.I. agents he may have titled it, “Cop vs. The American People.”

In another video, Allen can be seen explaining his disdain for the media, a la Donald J. Trump. “In my opinion, they’re down with the CCP - the communist Chinese party,” he once said of reporters. “I don’t trust the seven major news networks, and neither should you.”

437. Anthony Vo: The 28-year-old was arrested on July 26 and charged with participating in the attack on Congress. On social media, he bragged about joining the assault, insisting he had been “invited” by President Trump. As The Insider reports:

When asked online on January 5 as to what he was doing in Washington, D.C., he wrote online that “president [Trump] asked me to be here tomorrow so I am with my mom LOL.” In another conversation, the DOJ alleges Vo said, “My mom and I helped stop the vote count for a bit.”

Several people tipped off the FBI regarding Vo’s time at the Capitol, including the spouse of someone in Vo’s former college fraternity. The witness said an image of Vo and his mother inside the Capitol was circulated among his fraternity members and Indiana University alumni. Two separate witnesses told investigators Vo was known to engage with “conspiracy theories” and was an “avid supporter” of Trump.

Mom has, so far, not been charged.

Ts, S

438. Steven Cappuccio: On August 10, Mr. Cappuccio was charged with assaulting officer Daniel Hodges during the attack on Capitol Hill. That included beating Hodges, after he was pinned by a crowd, with his own baton.

As part of an expansive indictment, Cappuccio and eight others (see #439 to #444 below, and #255 and #396 listed previously) have been charged with a sweeping array of crimes, with Cappuccio facing nine charges.

439. Dave Mehaffie: The Dayton, Ohio man is seen in video from Jan. 6, giving orders (or “directions,” if you prefer) to other members of the mob as they tried to breach police lines on the day of the riot.

Say what you like about abortion, Mehaffie is a fervent foe, and his politics are on the right.

In a court case in 1997, Mehaffie was one of several protesters accused of illegally blocking access to an abortion clinic.

After the judge declared a mistrial, Mehaffie told the Associated Press, “I do believe it’s a victory. God has given a victory over a federal government that has wholeheartedly endorsed, protected and even propagated infanticide.”

Asked about his arrest, Mehaffie told the Dayton Daily News that he was actually trying to protect the police officer that day.

“I would never, ever hurt a police officer,” he said.

Indicted along with eight others, Mehaffie has the distinction of being charged with the fewest crimes: To wit: five.

440. Tristan Chandler Stevens: Stevens is charged with ten assorted crimes, including wrenching a shield from a police officer during the riot and using it to strike out at other officers trying to hold off the mob.

Like all nine individuals named in his indictment, he faces one charge of “intent to impede, disrupt and disturb the orderly conduct of a session of Congress.” Or as this blogger might put it: Stevens wanted to overturn the vote for the president, simply because he wasn’t satisfied with the outcome.

441. David Lee Judd: Mr. Judd is accused of throwing a firecracker at police officers on January 6.

Not the worst criminal in the bunch, but Judd is facing a total of nine misdemeanor and felony charges.

V (?)

442. Christopher Joseph Quaglin: Among other charges, Quaglin is charged with inflicting bodily harm on a law enforcement officer on January 6. Included was one charge of using a chemical spray on officers, and a second of using a police shield to batter defenders of the Capitol.

In the indictment of he and eight other men, Quaglin has the distinction of facing fourteen separate charges.

443. Geoffrey William Sills: Mr. Sill is accused of using “a deadly or dangerous weapon,” that is, “a pole-like object” to attack officers defending Capitol Hill. He is also charged with taking a baton from an officer and using it to attack police.

A total of eleven charges have been leveled against him.

444. Patrick Edward McCaughey III: Also accused of assaulting Officer Hodges. The 23-year-old is allegedly seen in video from the day of the attack ripping off Hodges’ face shield and telling him to “go home” or “get squished.”

“The vicious attack on Officer Hodges was abhorrent and quintessentially un-American,” Acting U.S. Attorney Michael R. Sherwin said in court. “It is my pledge that anyone involved in violent attacks on law enforcement at the U.S. Capitol on January 6 will be prosecuted to the fullest extent of the law.”

He faces nine separate charges.

445. Derek Gunby: Mr. Gunby did not help his defense when, on the morning of January 6, he posted on social media: “Up at Zero Dark Thirty to stop this steal.”

T, S

He shows up on romance novel covers.

446. Logan Barnhart: Barnhart, from Michigan, was arrested on August 18. He has been charged with half-a-dozen crimes related to his alleged participation in the Capitol Hill riot. According to ClickonDetroit,

The 40-year-old calls himself a physique competitor and his Instagram was filled with shirtless photos as well as romance novel covers he’s modeled for. He also listed himself as a carnivore, patriot and fitness enthusiast. That account is now private after Barnhart was arrested by the feds Tuesday on a six-count indictment.

Huff Post adds a bit of color to the story: “Photos of a shirtless Barnhart even graced the cover of romance novels with names like ‘Stepbrother UnSEALed: A Bad Boy Military Romance’ and ‘Lighter,’ which included the slogan ‘wrong never felt so right.’” Now, he stands accused of having dragged a police officer down the Capitol Hill stairs – which might make a good cover for a pro-Trump kind of romance novel.

When then-President Trump sent a tweet early this year, promoting Jan. 6 as a “Historic day,” Barnhart was quick to pledge support.

“I’ll be there,” he replied to @realDonaldTrump on Twitter.

447. Ronald McAbee: The Tennessean, 27, faces an array of eight charges, including the most serious, “inflicting bodily injury” on a police officer. He is part of a group of at least seven men who took part in a full-blown attack on officers defending the front steps of the Capitol Building on Jan. 6.

The others arrested in connection with the same attack: Barnhart (above), Jeffrey Sabol (#85 on this list), Peter Francis Stager (#112), Michael Lopatic Sr. (#304), Jack Wade Witton (below), and Clayton Ray Mullins (#226).

448. Albuquerque Cosper Head: Mr. Head, 41, faces nine charges, including one for assaulting Officer Michael Fanone of the D.C. Metropolitan Police.

Like a number of other attackers on January 6, Head had been in trouble with the law previously.

According to one news report,

The Sullivan County [Tennessee] Sheriff’s Office says Head had several run-ins with the law between 2000 and 2015, with charges including aggravated domestic assault in 2001, aggravated assault and vandalism in 2006, driving under the influence and evading arrest in 2007, and aggravated burglary and public intoxication in 2014.

(POLITICAL AFFILIATION CURRENTLY UNKNOWN.)

449. Dr. David Walls-Kaufman: The defendant is accused of using a cane, crowbar, or similar object to assault Officer Jeffrey Smith during the riot, inflicting a brain injury.

(Smith took his own life nine days after the attack.)

As The Guardian explains, “Jonathan Arden, DC’s former chief medical examiner, has attributed Smith’s death to post-concussion syndrome, which can lead to symptoms like depression and suicidal thoughts.”

Walls-Kaufman admitted to an NBC reporter that he took part in the assault on Capitol Hill, but claimed he wasn’t a Trump supporter.

450. Taylor F Taranto: A Navy veteran, Taranto is accused of handing a weapon to Wall-Kaufman, with which he battered Officer Smith. In her civil suit against the two men the widow of Officer Smith alleges that on January 6,

Kaufman was part of the insurrectionist mob inside the US Capitol and was being escorted out of the building by MPD officers. Co-Defendant Taranto handed a cane or crowbar (or similar object) to Kaufman. Kaufman, in turn, violently swung the cane and struck Officer Smith in the face/head. Officer Smith was in a particularly vulnerable situation because his face shield was up (leaving his face and eyes exposed). It appears that Kaufman and Taranto specifically and maliciously targeted Officer Smith because his visor was in the upright position, making him more vulnerable to this brutal and vicious attack.

The suit further alleges “the weapon appears to be the Ka-Bar TDI ‘self-defense’ cane,” perfect if you plan to join an attack on Capitol Hill.

451. Thomas Ballard: Ballard, from Texas, is one of the many rioters charged with assaulting police officers on January 6. He is accused of throwing a tabletop at officers, and then striking at them with a baton. He was nattily attired that day in an “Infowars” baseball cap.

When not rioting, Ballard does motorcycle repairs for a living.

452. Devlyn Thompson: CBS tells the story of Thompson, who plead guilty to various charges on August 6. Charges included,

assaulting, resisting, or impeding certain officers using a dangerous weapon — in his case, a baton. According to the Department of Justice, the 28-year-old used the metal baton in an apparent attempt to knock a can of pepper spray from an officer's hand. He was also part of a group that “threw objects and projectiles at the officers, including flag poles” and stole riot shields to prevent police from being able to defend themselves, the DOJ said.

He could be facing from 46 to 57 months in jail.

453. Madison Pettit: The 20-year-old Swanton, Ohio woman entered the Capitol on Jan. 6 with her boyfriend Gabe Burress.

The two were not arrested until August 20.

(POLITICAL AFFILIATION CURRENTLY UNKNOWN.)

454. Gabe Burress: Burress admits he and Pettit entered the Capitol Building but says he did so only after he was pushed by a crowd behind him.

(POLITICAL AFFILIATION CURRENTLY UNKNOWN.)

Arrested along with mom.

455. Jodi Lynn Wilson: Wilson and her son, Cole (below) have been charged with unlawful entry of the Capitol on Jan. 6. Wilson at first denied having entered when questioned by F.B.I. agents. When shown photographs putting her inside, starting at 3:01 on that day she changed her story and said police officers had “held the door open for (her)” and that an officer had “told me that’s what I could do, and I went in, and that’s all that I did.”

In one video from the day of the attack, inside the halls of Congress, Wilson can allegedly be seen and heard saying, “Just broke in this (building).”

456. Cole Temple: Wilson’s son, 20, has also admitted having entered the Capitol Building.

Temple also told authorities he and his mother traveled to D.C. to attend the protest of the certification of the electoral votes.

Helpful hint: If you have any doubt about who the rioters were on that day last January, Dorothy and Vanessa Treft, a mother-daughter pair, from Seneca County, in Northwest Ohio, can shed a bit of light. The day after the attack they talked to reporters about their “incredible” experiences. “Yesterday was the most beautiful day that I’ve ever had. I am 62 years old,” Dorothy said.

“For me I feel like our country died yesterday because everything that we thought to be truth about what we love about our republic, we didn’t get any due process,” Vanessa said.

(Apparently, young Ms. Treft had not been following the news about the more than five dozen court challenges filed by Trump lawyers and rejected by various state and federal courts.)

“We were not rioting and they were shooting off those flash grenades and everything else like we were the enemy and we were being attacked. They incited it,” Vanessa said, blaming the attack on the police!

T, S (mom), T, S (daughter).

457. Emanuel “Zeke” Stecher: Stecher, who allegedly identified himself in a video as “Zeke Stecher from New Jersey” from the day of the attack, is charged with assaulting an officer.

If nothing else, Stecher was persistent in his attack, spending hours in or around the Capitol, and getting sprayed with chemical irritants on at least three separate occasions.

458. Joseph Irwin: The former Hardin County, Kentucky deputy sheriff faces mostly lower-level criminal charges related to his role in the riot. Irwin was arrested on August 17.

Not much information available.

(POLITICAL AFFILIATION NOT KNOWN.)

459. Michael Carico: According to federal investigators, Carico can be seen in videos, inside the Capitol on Jan. 6. He is wearing the same clothing, gloves and hat which he also wears in a private Instagram account, namely, “black and brown gloves and camouflage clothing with an American flag patch on his shoulder.”

In one social media post, Carico includes hastags #trump2020, #timetofight, and #keepamericagreat.

These are accompanied by a picture of Carico, in a kneeling position, firing an assault rifle (probably at imaginary Biden voters).

In one video from the day of the riot, Carico offers up this nugget of democratic thinking, “Hey, Nancy,” he says, “go fuck yourself.”

T, S

John Brockhoeft: As Colorado News Online reports: “Brockhoeft, who was convicted of firebombing an Ohio abortion clinic and planning to bomb another in Florida in the 1980s, livestreamed his exploits at the Capitol on Facebook, writing that he was ‘fighting for our beloved President Donald J. Trump.’”

Brockhoeft may have had the sense to stay outside, and has not been arrested yet; but he’s the kind of person, when you go looking for stories about rioters, who keeps popping up in all the reports.

Tayler Hansen was inside the Capitol, taking pictures during the riot and has not been arrested yet. He later scored an interview with Laura Ingraham, and naturally tried to downplay the attack.

He was filming when Ashli Babbitt was shot. The conservative Washington Examiner explains:

He rejected the notion that Hansen [clearly: Babbitt] posed a threat to others. “She was literally there just to support her president. She wasn’t being violent. She wasn’t breaking anything. She just happened to be in the wrong place at the wrong time,” Hansen said.

Ingraham mentioned there were “hard to make out” images or videos circulating the internet which appeared to show Babbitt “at the door” in the moments leading up to the shooting. One video showed a woman starting to climb through a broken window before being shot and falling back and onto the floor.

Hansen said that a man, who had “started going berserk and punching,” was breaking windows on a barricaded door before law enforcement opened fire. Hansen said he heard the shot ring out and saw Babbitt hit the ground.

“By no means was she kicking any doors in or even vandalizing anything,” Hansen said of Babbitt, adding later that he stopped filming and joined others in trying to stop the bleeding, but “there was nothing we could do.”

Hansen, who said he is a supporter of law enforcement whose “job” is to “infiltrate these people” in places such as Portland, Oregon, suggested the other man was part of antifa based on his behavior.

Unlike Ingraham, I’ve taken the time to look into the backgrounds of hundreds of the rioters on January 6.

So far, including this, I’ve logged twenty claims of Antifa types leading the attack on Capitol Hill and turned up a total of zero actual rioters with links to Antifa. In fact, only two rioters, so far, seem to have had left-wing political views.

460. Stacie Ann Hargis-Getsinger: A screenshot from Ms. Hargis-Getsinger’s social media posts, included in the indictment against her, captures clearly who she is and who the people in that giant mob on January 6 really were.

We went to the capital after President Trumps speech. When we arrived Alex Jones was there and told us all to go to the other side of the bldg for Trumps next speech. When we got there a large group was on the stairs kept moving forward towards the door. I only saw 2 or 3 people who looked even remotely like antifa members. The Capital bldg is the peoples house. WE the citizens own it.

Once it was stormed we also went inside. Police were using percussion grenades, batons and tear gas even before the major pushing and shoving started. Inside they kept dropping teargas inside the capital. 1 girl was shot and killed by capital police. We never saw any national guard engaging any persons at all. We never saw any damage inside the capital bldg. We never saw anyone headed towards the congressional chamber. The media is making this out that we stormed the capital with guns and bats. Not true. The election was rigged, and this ain’t over.

And I want to add Us Patriots were peaceful and literally sharing hand warmers and singing and being vocal. Not one weapon. Not one fire.

(Once again, a rioter who may have been peaceful sees only the scenes around her, and not the scenes of violence captured, for example, on hundreds of police body cameras from that day.)

Hargis-Getsinger faces four charges.

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461. Clifford Meteer: According to the criminal complaint filed in his case, on January 5, Meteer promised, in a social media post, “I’ll be in DC on the 6th protesting the stolen election.”

He can be seen, allegedly, in videos from that day, carrying a sign which read on one side “STOP THE STEAL” and on the other “SAVE THE REPUBLIC.”

After the attack, Meteer, 66, also posted this message to a friend: “That’s My House,” he wrote. “I saw no violence, no vandalism, no mayhem. But, from my point of view, as I have no doubt that skullduggery was done at the polls, the legitimacy of congress has been revoked.”

Echoing Trump.

Getting arrested as a result.

T, S

Breaking in for Trump.

462. Darrell Alan Youngers: In the indictment against Youngers and George Tenney III (#407 on the list), authorities note that Tenney admits he entered the Capitol Building on Jan. 6.

Youngers can also be placed, allegedly, inside the Capitol on the day of the riot. He and Tenney, and a third man, Robbie Norwood (below), also appear to have shared a room, or communicated with each other while in Washington D.C. Younger is at right in the photo below.

Youngers at right, with phone.

According to one news report, Youngers and Tenney claimed they spent only a few minutes inside the Capitol before realizing something bad was going down. In a video from that day, Youngers talked about his experience. He said he and Tenney were “not being violent,” but “had forced their way in,” admitting there had been “little fights between the protestors and the security,” but “no shootouts.”

Yay! No shootouts!

Youngers is apparently a former Marine.

T (assumed, based on his contacts with Tenney and Norwood (below).

463. William Robert “Robbie” Norwood III: It does not help Mr. Norwood’s defense to note that text messages he allegedly sent in the wake of the riot indicate that he was proud to have attacked Capitol Hill police.

In one message, Robbie explains, “I’m dressing in all black. I’ll look just like I’m ANTIFA.” Then he texts, “I’ll get away with anything.”

This is idiotic on so many different levels – but Norwood is too idiotic to realize his own idiocy.

In the midst of a riot, he somehow believes police officers will be differentiating, based on the color of clothing that rioters wear. On Jan. 7, he texts proudly to friends: “It worked... I got away with things that others were shot or arrested for.” “The cop shot a female Trump supporter. Then allowed ‘ANTIFA Trump supporters’ to assault him. I was one of them. I was there. I took his shit.” He includes a photo of himself “wearing what appears to be a U.S. Capitol Police tactical vest underneath a zipped up camouflage jacket.” Later on in a text message thread, “NORWOOD tells the group: ‘I fought 4 cops, they did nothing. When I put my red hat on, they pepper balled me.’” Norwood also tells the group, “I got a nice helmet and body armor off a cop for God’s sake and I disarmed him. Tell me how that works.”

It “works,” bozo, because rioters like you and your dumbass friends badly outnumbered the police on Jan. 6.

At least one person on the text thread grasps the same point. As the indictment against Norwood explains:

In the text thread, T.D., whose text messages appear in blue [photos are included in the indictment], attempts to reprimand NORWOOD for his conduct, stating “You admitted to going and being something you’re accusing other people of being. And then got mad and blamed others for the same thing you did. What the actual fuck is wrong with you?” (Photo 8). Eventually, NORWOOD responds, “The one cop who deserved it, got it,” and “The cops who acted shitty got exactly what they deserved . . . The ones who were cool, got help.” (Photo 9).

So, there we are. Norwood is the twenty-first person (in my tabulations) to say that left-wing types led the riot.

Norwood even dressed up as an Antifa type.

So far, I’ve checked the arrest records for 463 individuals – and exactly ZERO are members of Antifa.

RW, V

464-465. Walter Messer and Therese Borgerding: The two Ohioans were thrilled (I think you might say) to travel to D.C. last January and riot, all in an effort to stop pedophile liberals from taking over the United States.

True, that’s not what was about to happen, but they believed it was. So, time to destroy democracy and stop the imaginary threat!

Messer allegedly texted on that day, “Joe Biden is claiming Trump supporters were taking selfies with capital police. This is true. I’m glad the police took time out for these selfies during the fake riot.”

Court records show that Borgerding commented on Messer’s post, telling another commenter, who had been critical, “Walt was there. You weren’t. You have no story to tell. You might want to shut your mouth.”

Borgerding later commented again about Capitol police, saying: “I know they helped me and were very friendly and held the door for us to come in the Capitol Building!” Yes, indeed, that is why only 140 were injured.

According to court records, both Messer and Borgerding can be seen inside the Capitol, carrying QAnon signs.

T, Q (Messer), T, Q (Borgerding).

The indictment against Therese Borgerding includes evidence that her husband, Richard Borgerding, may have breached the Capitol, as well. He has not been arrested. He’s a Trump supporter too.

“No way in hell Biden is getting the presidency.”

466. Stewart Parks: A picture recovered from Parks’ phone, taken during a Southwest Airlines flight to D.C., features a “Four More Years” hat in the foreground and bears the caption: “ON THE WAY TO D.C. TO STOP THE STEAL.”

Another message he allegedly sent reads, “No way in hell Biden is getting the presidency.”

On January 9, a friend on social media messages Parks, “I’m glad you took those vids down now because the fbi is hunting yall.”

He is charged with four offenses.

T, S

467. Matthew Baggott: Pictures and material recovered from Parks’ phone also appear to place Baggott inside the Capitol on Jan. 6.

At least one witness told F.B.I. agents that Baggott and Parks had traveled to D.C. to attend the “Stop the Steal” Rally, which headlined (as well all know) none other than President Donald J. Trump.

He faces three charges.

468. Robert Ballesteros: According to the affidavit for his arrest, Ballesteros posted an Instagram video, during which “an individual” states, “Look at this. We broke into the Capitol building.” In the background others can be heard screaming, “Our house.”

In another exchange of text messages, Ballesteros tells a friend he did breach the building, “Put my foot in that door” he says. Then, “Made my stand[.]”

When asked if one of his friends joined the riot, Ballesteros replied, nah, he was “a liberal.”

(POLITICAL AFFILIATION UNKNOWN; DEFINITELY NOT A LIBERAL.)

469. Luke Wesley Bender: Bender was turned in by a high school classmate, and arrested on July 30, after he was recognized in pictures from the day of the riot. In one, he can be seen standing on the Senate dais, near the “QAnon Shaman,” Jacob Chansley (#101 on our list.)

According to F.B.I. agents, a video on his Instagram account, taken from the top of the Capitol building scaffolding on January 6 includes a male voice saying, “We’re storming the Capitol.” The video was captioned: “Today was something special if you were there. It was great to be apart [sic] of it. #trump2020 #trump #dc #capital.”

He now faces charges and a possible sentence of 20 years in prison.

470. Steven Billingsley: According to the affidavit for his arrest, Billingsley was ready to rumble on January 6.

In a series of videos he allegedly recorded that day,

In one video, as BILLINGSLEY neared the capital, he saw an individual climbing scaffolding and shouted, “Yeah, baby storm the capital! That’s where the thieves are!” As he walked further toward the building, he entered the Capitol grounds adjacent to the Peace Monument and Peace Circle…and crossed over the area that has been cordoned off as restricted grounds due to the Vice President’s presence at the Capitol. As he stepped over metal barricades lying on the ground, he stated, “This is where they had it closed off. We’re going past it.”

As BILLINGSLEY walked farther on the grounds, he said, “We’re going as far as we can get.” When he neared a barricaded, canopied entry point on the grounds closer to the Capitol building, he shouted in the direction of police officers standing guard there, “We are going through the that barricade. Fuck you people, this is our house.” He continued shouting at the officers, “We are going through. We can do it the nice way or the hard way… You guys turned on us.” As BILLINGSLEY talked with others who had gathered near the canopy, he stated, “Who cares about them cops? We overpower them.” He screamed at the cops, “We’re going to walk right in there. Go get your little bicycles.” He told another person, “If they contest one state, we’re tearing this motherfucker down.

At one point, Billingsley joins the chanting crowd, “Stop the Steal.” He tells officers that they can’t “stop three million,” indicating that Billingsley probably can’t count very well. “This is war,” he adds.

Forced to retreat at one point, rioters notice members of Congress looking out the windows of the Capitol. One person remarks, “We don’t want to hurt ‘em.”

Billingsley disagrees: “No, we do want to hurt Pelosi. I do. Yeah, I would hang her from that big – you see that tree over there? We’d put a rope and hang her. We hang her and Schumer over there, they’ll all go, ‘Oh, shit.’”

For more “fun” with Steven Billingsley, feel free to read from his indictment.

T, V, S

471. Brian Glenn Bingham: Bingham was turned in by a woman who had served with him in the U.S. Army. But by the time federal agents began searching his social media posts, all pictures and videos that might have placed him inside the Capitol Building had been erased.

A warrant was issued, and Facebook records soon showed that Bingham had, indeed, breached the halls of Congress. It turned out Bingham was in close proximity to Ashli Babbitt when she was shot and killed. On January 7, he posted a video, in which he claimed, “The door [to the Capitol] was open and we walked in and didn’t break anything, the girl was killed inside door at right at the end of video You decide? Telling people to be peaceful as we walked in, hmm.”

Apparently, Bingham missed all the smashing of windows and doors and the pounding on police officers that countless news organizations recorded.

In fact, around 2:55 p.m., as officers try to clear the building, Bingham allegedly decides to resist:

As the officers are trying to move the crowd out of the Capitol building, BINGHAM turns to confront the officers. The officers continue to try to move BINGHAM out and BINGHAM squares up with an officer and appears to shout at him. As the officer continues to push BINGHAM toward the doorway BINGHAM appears to throw a punch or a shove at the officer with his right arm. As BINGHAM continues to scuffle with the officer, other officers get involved to pull BINGHAM away from the officer he attacked. Eventually the officers are able to get BINGHAM away from the officer he attacked and push BINGHAM towards the doorway where BINGHAM then exits the Capitol building.

Another video, taken from a different angle shows the suspect “squaring up with Officer [Kwaku] Agyeman and ultimately attacking Officer Agyeman.”

Additional police body camera videos

contain sound, and prior to the altercation, BINGHAM is heard shouting the following at the officers:

“You won’t hurt ANTIFA, but you’ll murder innocent girls!”

“Where do you want me to move? Push me again!”

Later in the day, on or about January 6, 2021, BINGHAM exchanged messages on Facebook with another Facebook user (“Individual-5”). In the messages, BINGHAM confirmed his assault on the officers. Below is an excerpt of the exchange:

Individual-5: Are you ok?

BINGHAM: I got to manhandl[e] 5 cops and live to tell

Individual-5: Lol… All of this does not surprise me! Stay safe. Trump2020

T, V

472. Sara Carpenter: Carpenter, 51, is a retired New York City cop, who says she went to the Capitol after hearing instructions from then-President Donald J. Trump. Ironically, the NYPD worked closely with the F.B.I. Joint Terrorism Task Force to coordinate her arrest.

As CNBC reported, “Carpenter on Jan. 18 told FBI agents during an interview that she drove to Washington on Jan. 5 and the following morning ‘went to the rally point where Trump’s Twitter page has instructed all supporters to hear about the election fraud,’ the filing said.”

According to the former cop, when current cops began pushing the crowd out of the Capitol, she was trampled and pepper-sprayed. For some reason she was carrying a tambourine that day. Before she left the building, she turned, raised her left hand high, and gave it a few shakes.

Ms. Carpenter now faces three misdemeanor charges, but has cooperated with authorities and remains free on a non-monetary bond.

She has turned in both her passport and her tambourine, the latter as evidence in the case against her.

Ts, S

473. Donald Smith: Smith, a UPS driver by day, was arrested, in part, based on his own claim to have entered Speaker of the House Nancy Pelosi’s office during the riot.

After telling co-workers that he participated in the storming of Congress, and had “a great time,” he called Jan. 6 “the best day of his life.”

They turned his dumb ass in to police. “He has videos on his phone,” said one tipster, “and was bragging about it at work.”

474. Kari Dawn Kelly: Kelly was turned in by a fellow rioter on January 21, during an interview with federal authorities.

According to investigators, Kelly climbed through a broken window in the Senate wing of the building. Ms. Kelly allegedly appears, center of the picture (below), phone upraised.

She faces four charges, related to the Capitol Hill attack, and was indicted along with Zachary Hayes Martin (a.k.a. Zac Martin, and #183 on our list), Stephen Quick and Michael Quick (below).

(POLITICAL AFFILIATION NOT KNOWN; LIKELY TRUMP SUPPORTER.)

476. Michael Quick: Michael told authorities he went to D.C. on January 6, in the words of Fox News, “to show support so Congress would investigation [sic] election irregularities.” He said he didn’t realize he and his brother and friends were trespassing because police allowed them to enter.

T, S

475. Stephen Quick: Mr. Quick told investigators he was “ashamed” of having entered the Capitol during the riot. As Fox News reports, he “consented to having the FBI search his camera’s SD card, which contained photos and videos of inside and outside the Capitol that day. Surveillance footage also showed the two brothers in the building, court records say.”

And can we just say, right here, that if the two brothers get sent to jail, it would be nice if they were allowed to share a cell.

T, S

477. Kenneth Kelly: Let’s quote from Mr. Kelly’s indictment:

On January 9, 2021, the FBI National Threat Operations Center received an online tip from - Kenneth KELLY ( , the U.S. Capitol building on Wednesday, January 6, 2021. Specifically, W-1 claimed that KELLY drove to Washington, DC from his home in Florida to attend this riot, “knowing full well they were going to break in.” W-1 further claimed that he/she had text messages that had photos of KELLY and an unknown friend going to the riot and “breaking into the Capitol building via smashing windows.” W-1 stated that KELLY went by the name “Ken” and KELLY was approximately 58 years old. W-1 also provided a phone number for KELLY ending in -1533.

Evidence against him includes photos, videos and text messages he allegedly sent and received,

Screen Captures 3 and 4 contain a photo that depicts several individuals climbing what appears to be the outer structures of the U.S. Capitol building, followed by a text message stating: “Patriots stormed the White House [sic], broke in while Senate (with a little s) was in sessiondenating [sic] Arizona. The [sic] were hiding under ther [sic] desks. Forced into recess. Patriots took back our capital today.”

478-479. Nolan Harold Kidd and Savannah Danielle McDonald: According to extensive photographic and video evidence, Kidd and McDonald were among the first rioters to enter the Capitol. According to their indictment, “Both MCDONALD and KIDD are known to reside in Georgia. As described below, your affiant believes that MCDONALD and KIDD traveled together to Washington, D.C. on January 5, 2021, and are in many photographs together.”

In fact, Kidd is said to have shared a social media post, boasting, “Just made it home, I have tons of photos and videos to share with you guys.”

MCDONALD stated that she and KIDD marched to the U.S. Capitol, and when they reached the U.S. Capitol, there were uniformed police officers near the doors telling them to come inside and showing them where to go.

On January 15, 2021, FBI agents separately interviewed KIDD in Athens, Georgia. KIDD agreed to speak to the agents. KIDD told the agents that the doors to the U.S. Capitol were wide open.

In one video, taken later that day, authorities note that Kidd and McDonald stand for an interview, conducted (apparently) by another rioter:

At 8:49, the video footage depicted MCDONALD taking a video of herself stating, “I’ve been tear-gassed three times today. Three times.” A man behind the camera responds, “Me too. But we broke—we broke through.” At 9:42, MCDONALD can be heard stating, “We did not break in.”

The two defendants proudly stand for a variety of pictures inside the building, with McDonald smiling in one, and saying proudly, “I’m the only girl that made it into the Senate.”

In a group chat on January 6, Kidd and McDonald talk about the day’s events, with Kidd offering: “Me and Savannah are FUCKING STORMTROOPERS.”

I think Mr. Kidd might have missed the Nazi implications of that reference. Then again, he’s a Trump supporter.

Neo-Nazis are not all that rare in the Trump base.

On January 7, 2021, McDonald told members of the same chat, “My chest hurts . . . [b]ut we did the right thing.”

T (Kidd), T (McDonald).

(The Fox News story about their arrest naturally includes the headline, “DOJ: Georgians arrested for involvement in Capitol riot said police told them to come inside.” Later, the story indicates the pair was “invited” in by officers.

How sweet.)

Noodling and rioting for fun.

480. Brady Knowlton: Knowlton and Montgomery (below) were indicted together on January 8, and again on April 16. Knowlton has been charged with six crimes as a result of his alleged participation in the riot.

“Who is Knowlton?” Fox News asked in a story about the Utah man.

“He’s a businessman, a dad, a political donor and a noodler,” Erin Cox, a Fox reporter, explained. Yes: “noodling,” or trying to catch a fish with your bare hands. In fact, in 2013, Knowlton landed a deal for a short-lived show (three episodes) called “Catfish King” all about noodling adventures.

Once again, we wonder. Is Knowlton the elusive Antifa type? It turns out he’s just another garden variety Republican:

Federal election records show he’s donated to Republican candidates for president or the U.S. Senate, including Mitt Romney, Newt Gingrich, Rand Paul and Marco Rubio. His only recorded donation to President Donald Trump was $50 he gave to WinRed, a Republican Party fundraising platform, in August of last year.

481. Patrick Montgomery: Montgomery faces ten charges, giving him bragging rights compared to Knowlton. Two of those ten involve physical assault on officers of the law. The defendant allegedly kicked one officer and tried to take away his baton.

Montgomery was initially released from jail, on condition that he surrender any firearms he owned. But on March 31, the Colorado man participated in a mountain lion hunt and killed one lion.

It didn’t help his situation when authorities conducted a background check, and found that Montgomery had a 1996 robbery conviction on his record and should have been barred from owning weapons at all.

He is now on house arrest, with a GPS tracking device, until trial.

T, V

482. Jackson Kostolsky: Resident of Allentown, Pa., Kostolsky admitted to federal agents that he entered the Capitol Building through an open door, but proceeded only about five feet before being forced out again by police.

A search warrant, however, revealed Kostolsky deeper inside the building and for some extended period.

He remains free on a personal recognizance bond and is being represented by attorney Danielle Courtney Jahn. Court records also indicate that Kostolsky, 31, lives with his mother, which must be a little humiliating.

As a condition of his release, Kostlosky [alternate spelling of his name] was released on $250,000 bail. He must submit to random drug testing and location monitoring, avoid excessive alcohol or drug use and obey a 7 p.m.-7 a.m. curfew.

(One lesson for future rioters: If you plan to break the law, don’t wear distinctive kinds of clothing.)

The leopard vest was a dead giveaway.

(POLITICAL AFFILIATION NOT KNOWN.)

483. Philip Edward Kramer: The California man was turned in by at least one witness whose wife worked with the defendant. From his indictment we learn that Kramer showed up with exactly the kind of equipment you might require if you were intent on rioting. Yet, according to his testimony, he was only carrying a walking cane and a bicycle lock on a rope in case he was attacked.

On or about January 27, 2021, the FBI received an anonymous tip (“WITNESS 1”) in reference to Philip Kramer. Witness 1 stated that Kramer worked with their spouse at the Jankovich Company in Paramount, California. Witness 1 received third party information that Kramer allegedly participated in the United States Capitol Riot on January 6, 2021. Upon returning to California, Kramer was reported to be agitated and claimed there was going to be war on January 20, 2021 [emphasis added], the date of the Presidential Inauguration for Joseph Biden. According to Wintess 1, Kramer told coworkers he had purchased a 2x4 to break into the United States Capitol and that he indeed entered the Capitol on January 6, 2021. There was no contact information provided for follow up with WITNESS 1.

On March 18, 2021, your affiant contacted Kramer by telephone at 714-458-0226. During the call, Kramer stated that he was present at the United States Capitol on January 6, 2021. He agreed to meet with FBI agents in person for a voluntary interview. On March 19, 2021, your affiant interviewed Kramer at Starbucks, 8819 Alondra Boulevard, Paramount, California 90723. The interview was conducted outside at a table where Kramer had free and easy access to leave if he desired. The interview was surreptitiously audio recorded. Kramer stated that he traveled to Washington, D.C. to attend former President Trump’s speech on January 6, 2021. He then walked to the United States Capitol and observed a crowd interacting with United States Capitol Police on the west side of the building. Kramer walked up to a door of the building where he had his cellular telephone above his head filming the crowd. Kramer stated that he was pushed into the door by a crowd and made it approximately 20 feet into the building. At some point Kramer was exposed to pepper spray or tear gas. Kramer also stated that he carried a snowboard helmet in his backpack and a walking cane which he intended to use to defend himself if he was involved in an altercation.

On March 19, 2021, Kramer contacted your affiant from telephone number 714-458-0226. This telephone call was audio recorded. Kramer stated that he took a video of the crowd while he was going into the Capitol, which he sent to his wife. Kramer added that he carried a Master Lock in his backpack with a climbing rope which he intended to use “in case someone was coming at my throat or something.” Finally, he stated that he took a “do not enter” sign from the Capitol, brought it to California, but threw it away soon after he returned. Kramer stated that he knew he should not have taken the sign as a souvenir and only threw it away because he was scared after he heard things got “crazy.”

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“Heads on pikes!”

484. Thomas B. Adams, Jr.: On January 7, Insider published an article about the men who stormed the Capitol, written by Abigail Higgins. The opening line: “Thomas Adams was one of the first to set foot in the US Capitol.”

“It was a really fun time,” Adams told her, speaking very shortly after the building was breached. He was wearing, Higgins noted, “a Trump flag around his neck like a cape” and seemed proud to show her cellphone footage of his escapades to back up what he said.

She writes:

Adams, 39, and his friend Roy Franklin, 65, said they had traveled from Springfield, Illinois, for the rally the president had held earlier in the day and had been spurred on by Trump’s claim, unsupported by evidence, that he had been cheated out of victory. Trump has refused to acknowledge Biden's victory and called on his allies to block the certification of the election result. …

Adams and Franklin were at the bottom of the steps of the US Capitol building around 2 p.m., pressed close to the police barricade. Hundreds of rioters behind them were pushing forward so hard that Franklin tripped and fell onto a police officer. The officer barely reacted, Franklin said.

Once inside, the pair advanced, along with others, to the Senate chamber. Adams saw a man dressed like a Viking, bare-chested and flexing his biceps, announce with a bullhorn, “The government is corrupt and bullshit.” Others cheered him on. Adams said the scene was “hilarious.”

Franklin seemed discouraged when interviewed, but Adams was more upbeat. “I think everything was great until it went from peaceful to everyone acting like a bunch of 12-year-olds destroying things,” he said.

Higgins captured the mood of the worst people in the mob that day, writing, “With nightfall, intentions turned even darker than the events at the Capitol. ‘Next time we won’t be so peaceful!’ one man shouted. Another peddling Trump T-shirts shouted into a bullhorn, ‘Who else wants to go BLM hunting tonight?’”

If that kind of racist hate didn’t get your attention, a video that accompanies the article starts with two mid-40’s types in MAGA hats center screen. One says, defiantly, “We can take that place!” and jabs a finger in the direction of the Capitol.

“And then do what?” the other asks.

“Heads on pikes!” shouts the first.

Later, we get a shot of the president, speaking to the crowd earlier that day. “We will never give up, we will never concede,” he promises. “And we’re going to the Capitol.”

Think about what that meant.

The video is eye-opening, even for this blogger – who has immersed himself in studying the men and women who ran amok on Jan. 6. One gray-bearded fellow is shown shouting about how the people in the crowd that day paid their taxes, paid the salaries of the people inside the Capitol. And what did they get? “Nothing!” he howled. “They don’t represent us,” he added. “They need to pay the ultimate price for their crimes. An example needs to be made!”

We will never concede.

Heads on pikes.

Pay the ultimate price.

In the video, another older man calls out to the crowd, “If you’re scared of confrontation, do not move forward. Patriots move forward.” He’s using a bullhorn and adds, “This is our chance to show them how fucking serious we are.” Someone carrying a “Jesus Saves” flag advances past him, which is ironic, for sure.

One man, who has been sprayed with some kind of chemical appears on screen and compares police defending Congress to the “Gestapo.”

Again, an irony there.

Near the end of the film a Trump supporter named Melody Black announces proudly, “This is America, and we’re all here to fight for our freedom. It is not their America,” she insists angrily, “It’s our America.”

(Actually, it is our America, too, if we supported Biden, because, duh, we live in America. Really, Melody, we do.)

T (Melody, who has not been arrested).

When interviewed by F.B.I. agents later, Adams claimed he did not realize the building had been broken open, until he and his friend began stepping over broken glass. He said he had believed it was to be a “peaceful occupy.” According to the affidavit in his case, “ADAMS said he heard there were possible factions of Antifa that were there that possibly created the problem that started in the Rotunda.”

He does not name Franklin when he is interviewed by federal authorities – and when I check on August 28, Franklin has not been arrested yet.

(Adams’ claim about the imaginary role played by Antifa is the twenty-second claim lodged by non-Antifa types on this list.)

T (Adams), T (Franklin, not arrested).

485. Kevin Sam Blakely: Like so many other rioters, Blakely was busted in part on the basis of mobile phone data that placed him both inside and outside the Capitol Building on Jan. 6.

Blakely, 55, owns a vehicle repair company, but now faces a battery of charges for participating in the attack.

Blakely in red circle.

(POLITICAL AFFILIATION UNKNOWN AT THIS TIME.)

486. Taylor James Johnatakis: Mr. Johnatakis is a right-winger in good standing. Age 37, from Kingston, Washington, he has had his own podcast for years, sometimes using it to talk about his Mormon faith.

In the wake of the attack on January 6, he said QAnon was a “good source.” But the fact Biden’s victory was certified proved QAnon wasn’t real.

(This blogger could have told him that two years ago.)

In a post-riot podcast, he told listeners, “We overlap with a lot of things Q believers believe in, but there is a difference. Q is not my idol, Q is not my god.”

He refers to most Americans as “peasants,” and says, we’re all “getting screwed.”

On Twitter, he calls himself a “Biz Owner, reluctant taxpayer” and works in the construction field “cause it’s honest.”

On his podcast, the day after his arrest, Johnatakis felt the need to announce that he did not support racism or militia groups – but said nothing about his arrest. “To me the revolution is the Trump revolution, the MAGA revolution, it’s a color-within-the-lines process,” he added, not a destroy-democracy process as it appeared on January 6. “Anything I said that sounds different than that is hyperbole and rhetoric.”

His lawyer also feels a need to announce that his client is not a member or supporter of any white supremacist or hate group.

Johnatakis faces eight charges for his part in the riot, including two counts of engaging “in an act of physical violence.”

His legal case is not helped when a second indictment is filed, linking him with Craig Michael Bingert (#44 on our list) and Isaac Steve Sturgeon (#258). Bingert and Sturgeon are also charged with two acts of physical violence each.

RW, Q

487. Daniel Johnson: Once again, the lesson is clear. If you’re going to participate in a violent attempt to overthrow the government don’t brag on social media. Mr. Johnson is charged after tipsters tell authorities that on Facebook, he wrote, “I was one of the first ones inside the capitol building.”

And, “lol, Dad and I were one of the first ones inside.”

(Proving, once again, that these rioters are not particularly good at math, Daniel, at one point, looks at the mob surrounding the Capitol and opines, “Couple thousand?? Lol try like 4 million people!!!”)

488. Daryl Johnson: Evidence also shows that Daniel’s father, Daryl, was among those who breached the Capitol on Jan. 6.

In response to one critic of the attack on Facebook, Daryl responded, “Brett You need to look more deeply into what actually happened – what the media is saying is completely false It was Antifa causing the damage. I was there! Trump supporters were restraining the Antifa people. Do not believe the reports – it’s a complete BS”

Daryl was there and Daryl was clueless. It might be consoling to think that ten thousand people who loved Trump were led on by a few Antifa types to surround and attack Congress.

The problem is, as of August 28, not a single Antifa-type individual has been arrested for participating in the riot.

Plus: then-President Trump instructed his followers to march to the Capitol and “fight like hell” and “never concede.”

To put it simply, Daryl’s own family holds a 2-0 lead over Antifa in terms of numbers of persons who joined the assault and suffered arrest.

This is the twenty-third time a rioter on January 6, or a politician or right-wing media type has made the “Antifa really did it” claim.

“God has anointed Donald Trump to root out evil.”

489. Luke Coffee: The 41-year-old actor was identified as one of the rioters by a former college classmate, who happened to be an F.B.I. agent. Coffee is accused of using a crutch to batter police during the attack.

In a video he posted on social media (since deleted), Coffee essentially confessed to a role in the attack. “Those cops I fought, uh, I was pushing against, I grabbed a crutch,” he explains. “And I went in and pushed against the line. I pushed all against the line and was like trying to drive them back, and God gave me some supernatural energy, and they sprayed in my eyes.”

As CentralTrack, a Dallas, Texas website, explains in a story about insurrectionists from North Texas, Coffee posted several videos about his experience.

Regarding the events on the Capitol, Coffee says “I was ready to die last night. We thought we were, we were totally gassed. And I literally thought I was getting gassed to death like I was in Nazi Germany, a Jew getting gassed to death. Okay.”

Shortly after that, Coffee describes the violence as an “Antifa false flag attack” and questions whether anyone actually died, a fact that is not disputed.

For six weeks afterwards, Coffee went into hiding at a fancy resort (unnamed), whose owner felt it was “ridiculous” to be charging people like Coffee with federal crimes related to the riot.

During the pandemic, we learn, Coffee fell down the QAnon rabbit hole and decided he had to act. Texas Monthly explains:

Several months into the lockdown, Coffee found himself isolated, unable to work, and with lots of time to conduct deep dives on the dark web. He encountered QAnon, or as he puts it, “They found me.” Relatives, who have limited contact with Coffee these days, say he quickly became “brainwashed” and began to refuse to engage with those who contradicted his new worldview.

In September Coffee began actively posting about QAnon conspiracies and releasing Instagram videos alleging the world was controlled by an all-powerful cabal of politicians, billionaires, propagandists, and Satanists‚ and that God had anointed Donald Trump to root out evil in the body politic [emphasis added].

He also began to believe the conspiracy theory that the election had been stolen. He told a reporter that he went to D.C. on January 6, “to be part of history.” He wanted to do his part to stop the imaginary liberal human traffickers and “bring all of this criminal behavior to light.”

So: Another poor soul, sucked in by QAnon.

And Trump.

(Coffee is yet another one of many rioters and riot-supporting right-wing types to blame the violence on Antifa. His is the twenty-fourth such claim this blogger has logged. And when I find the first Antifa suspect arrested, I will be sure to notify readers.

Probably never.)

T, Q, S

490. Robert Fairchild: The 40-year-old Floridian and U.S. Army veteran was arrested on August 27. He faces nine charges, including assault on a police officer. He was identified in a video from the attack by his brother-in-law, a deputy in Georgia. This is going to make the family Thanksgiving dinner a little awkward this year.

He faces five charges stemming from the riot.

491. Uliyahu Hayah: Also arrested on August 27, Hayah, 45, of Silver Spring, Maryland. He will surely be charged with at least one count of assault, as the initial DOJ report on his arrest makes clear.

According to court documents, Hayah was captured on video entering the U.S. Capitol through the Senate wing wearing a camouflage backpack, a black head covering and a gas mask while carrying an American flag. As alleged, around 2:25 p.m., Hayah was on the front line of the crowd walking against a line of U.S. Capitol Police Officers in the crypt. Hayah continued walking through the building toward the House of Representatives Chamber, making his way to the vicinity of the Speaker’s Lobby moments after Ashli Babbitt was shot. As depicted in publicly available video, Hayah joined a physical confrontation as law enforcement tried to escort rioters out of the building. As alleged, he put his hands on a Metropolitan Police Department (MPD) officer and pushed the officer approximately 10 feet into the crowd. Hayah exited the building at approximately 2:57 p.m.

“A complete wacko.”

492. Daniel Ray Caldwell: Caldwell, 49, was taken into custody on February 10. Among other charges, he faces one count of assaulting a police officer during the riot. The former Marine allegedly used a chemical spray in the attack. He showed up for the assault with his old backpack and wearing a “Guns Save Lives” patch on his olive drab sweatshirt.

In a video cited as evidence in the criminal complaint against him, Caldwell proudly tells two women (off camera):

“Probably 10 minutes after we started storming, a big fight broke out and the guns go off and one girl got hit in the neck,” Caldwell said, recalling how police fired rubber bullets. “Then the fights started and they took their guys and somebody grabbed her and they took off.”

“We stayed there and they kept spraying pepper spray,” he continued, referring to officers. “I was like, ‘Dude, do it again, and I’ll spray you back.’ And he did and I sprayed back; got like 15 of them and that’s when they shot me with that big canon [sic] with rubber bullets.”

One witness described the former Marine as a “huge White supremacist,” and “a complete wacko.”

According to his ex-wife, her ex is not a racist, suffered a traumatic brain injury during his five-and-a-half years of service, and once owned 13 rifles and four handguns.

The judge in Caldwell’s case decided anyone happy to spray fifteen officers might be a threat to society and ordered him held until trial.

Michael and Diane Andrews: A story about Caldwell leads to two other members of the mob that surrounded Congress on that fateful day. Neither has been arrested, but we have yet another claim – by a clueless Trump supporter who was there that day – that Antifa caused all the trouble – even though no members of that left-wing group have been proven to have been there.

(This is the twenty-fifth such claim I have logged.)

In one picture, posted in front of a broken window, Ms. Andrews adds the caption: “In DC #StopTheSteaI2020 what an amazing day.”

She also goes by the name Diane Bobic and has a Twitter account to promote her business as a Dominatrix.

T, S (the Dominatrix), T (Michael).

Kevin Whitt: The same story (above) gives us a glimpse into the thinking of another “protester” that day. Whitt is not accused of entering the Capitol, but was fired from his job with the Republican Party after his picture surfaced, showing him on the steps of the building during the mayhem.

A believer in QAnon theories – like Pizzagate – Whitt bills himself on social media as a “former trans person” and speaks at various conservative gatherings. He later explained his firing, saying the Texas GOP was “canceling conservatives, obviously.”

RW, Q

Proud Boys and neo-Nazis from the onset.

Really, the story about Whitt and the Dominatrix, and people like Caldwell who liked macing police, painted a compelling picture of people operating on the basis of fantasy beliefs. QAnon. Stolen election. Trump supporters weren’t really Trump supporters, but gremlins of some kind.

Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton was there on Jan. 6, too, at the “Stop the Steal” rally, listening to Trump. Later, watching the mayhem unfold, he claimed the perpetrators were “not Trump supporters.”

But as this growing list shows: They were.

And let’s give a final tip of the hat to Ali Alexander, the 35-year-old from Fort Worth, Texas. He was one of the organizers of the “Stop the Steal” extravaganza that proceeded the attack on American democracy.

At a rally in Phoenix, on December 19, he stirred up the pro-Trump crowd with this story. One of his organizers had explained to Alexander a part of their dilemma, assuming you wanted to overturn an election. “We’re nice patriots, we don’t throw bricks,’” he said.

“I leaned over and I said, ‘Not yet. Not yet!’ Haven’t you read about a little tar-and-feathering?” Alexander responded. “Those were second-degree burns!”

Alexander then went on to tell the crowd:

“We’re going to convince them to not certify the vote on January 6 by marching hundreds of thousands, if not millions of patriots, to sit their butts in D.C. and close that city down, right?” Alexander said. “And if we have to explore options after that…‘yet.’ Yet!”

Alexander’s supporters cheered, yelling threats like “noose!” and “nothing’s off the table!”

So, the people who showed up on January 6, as asked by people like Alexander and then-President Trump himself – yeah, some large percentage was already primed for violence by the time they arrived.

Alexander is said to have plead guilty to a pair of felonies a decade ago, one for credit card abuse, another for property damage or theft; when I go looking for documentary evidence I can’t find much.

On the other hand, I uncover this interesting fact. On January 19, 2017, Gavin McInnes was among attendees at a DeploraBall event, as he and other right-wing types celebrated early the rise of their hero, Donald J. Trump.

McInnes was there for the Big Bang, politically speaking, and his claim to fame now is that he organized the Proud Boys, who played such a critical role in the Capitol Hill attack. Another invitee, disinvited at the last minute, was Richard Spencer, he of neo-Nazi fame. But Spencer did feel safe enough with the crowd celebrating the rise of Trump to crash an after-party event.

T,S (Paxton), RW, T, S, V (Alexander),

RW, T, V (McInnes), RW, T (Spencer).

493. Nicholas Languerand: A tip leads to Languerand’s arrest, after his picture and other information allegedly place him in the thick of the riot. “Remember this day forever,” the defendant posts as a caption to one photo on Instagram.

At one point, you could say, the suspect reveals clearly who he is. In response to some online criticism, he says:

My name is Nicholas Languerand and I am a proud Patriot. Where We Go One, We Go All. Only true fascists censor and slander the opposition. You are doing precisely what SS soldiers and sympathizers would’ve done to Jews in 1940s Germany. God is watching.

According to the indictment in his case, the defendant can be seen at the Lower West Terrace Entrance to the Capitol Building throwing objects at the police, including “a large orange traffic barrier, a cannister of pepper spray, and a stick-like object.” He also acquires a police shield at one point and tries to batter his way through police lines, as he tries to force a way inside the Capitol.

Q, V

494. Christian Cortez: The indictment in Cortez’s case, began with a tip from a former high school classmate. On January 7, that classmate provided authorities with a YouTube video link which put the alleged rioter at the forefront of efforts to break through police lines. “At about 4 minutes and 50 seconds into the video CORTEZ can be heard off-screen, yelling, ‘Fuck you! Oath breakers! Oath breakers! You’re a fuckin’ oath breaker!”

After officers spray him in the face, Cortez repeatedly shouts in rage, “Do it some fuckin’ more!”

(See: Larocca, Benjamin, below.)

T, S

495. Benjamin Larocca: A second tipster, also a high school classmate of Cortez and Larocca, notifies federal law enforcement that the two men were in the middle of the attack on Capitol Hill.

Interviewed by F.B.I. agents, Larocca voluntarily admitted he and Cortez had driven from Texas to Virginia in a rental car on Jan. 4, and stayed in a hotel. On the morning of Jan. 6 they drove to D.C., where Larocca said they hoped to be part of a “march.” He further claimed that once inside the Capitol he was merely “chilling” and shouting, “Our house!”

Cortez (above) told the F.B.I. he and Larocca came to D.C. to attend the “Stop the Steal” rally. Initially, he told agents that “he never pushed past any officers and that he tried to stop others from assaulting officers or vandalizing the Capitol.” Shown videos of his actions, he had to admit, okay, that was him.

Larocca likely faces misdemeanor charges. Cortez is likely to be charged with felony offenses.

T, S

496. Cody Connell: Charging papers for the Louisiana man include screenshots of Facebook messages provided by a tipster. The day after the riot, Connell allegedly writes that the Jan. 6 riot wasn’t “planned” but pledged to “be back and it will be a lot worse than yesterday!”

Prosecutors also quoted from another conversation on an unidentified social media platform on Jan. 7 where someone asked Connell, “Yall boys something serious lol it lookin like a civil war yet?”

Connell replied: “It’s gonna come to it.”

497. Eric Chase Torrens: Torrens is indicted after video posted by Matthew Bledsoe (#130 on our list) surfaces, highlighting their success in breaking into the Capitol. Torrens is seen wearing a “fleece-lined white and gray hat.”

“We’re going in,” he shouts.

Another Bledsoe video shows a group of men marching through the halls of Congress, the crowd shouting, “Stop the steal! Stop the steal!”

Bledsoe’s video also leads to the indictment of Blake Austin Reed (#80 on our list), Jack Jesse Griffith (#109) and Bledsoe himself.

On August 19, Torrens pleads guilty to a single count related to his participation in the riot, carry a maximum sentence of six months in prison and a fine of up to $5,000. He agrees to cooperate with law enforcement authorities and share any and all relevant social media and phone evidence.

That includes any “self-incriminating evidence,” although the government agrees not to pursue further legal action against him.

(POLITICAL AFFILIATION: YOU CAN PROBABLY GUESS.)

498. Joseph Elliot Zlab: When contacted by federal agents, after a tip that Zlab had been inside the Capitol on Jan. 6, the suspect first claimed he had only circled the building once or twice. “When asked if he went in the Capitol building, ZLAB stated that he thought he needed an attorney because he did not want to say anything incriminating.”

A search of his phone later turns up multiple pictures taken on January 6, inside the Capitol Building.

Zlab, 51, who runs JMZ Contractors, an Everest, Washington construction firm, shows up in a MAGA hat and carrying a “Don’t Tread on Me” flag over his shoulder on the day democracy almost died.

He faces two misdemeanor charges.

(LIKELY CONSERVATIVE; NOT DEFINITIVE.)

“Stealing elections is treason!”

499. James Little: You don’t have to read very far in the indictment against Little to see where he stands.

On January 6, at 3:20 p.m., he texts a person he knows: “We just took over the Capitol!”

That individual responds – in all caps – “IF YOU DON’T CONDEMN THIS DON’T EVER BOTHER SPEAKING TO ME AGAIN! HORRIBLE, HORRIBLE PEOPLE. THIS IS A COUP! YOU OBVIOUSLY HATE AMERICA!!!”

At 3:36 Little responds: “We are stopping treason! Stealing elections is treason! We’re not going to take it anymore!”

Little adds that the recipient of his texts will “thank me for saving your freedom” someday.

Sadly, I suppose, for Mr. Little, he is easily identifiable in photos and video from the day of the attack, on the basis of his very bald noggin.

T, S

500. Terry Lindsey: Lindsey was indicted along with Glen Wes Lee Croy (#211 on the list).

Evidence from social media posts seems to put Lindsey squarely inside the Capitol on January 6.

Review of the Lindsey Profile revealed photographs, posts, and commentary evidencing Lindsey’s participation in the January 6, 2021 breach. For example, on January 4, 2021, the following post appeared on the Lindsey Profile: “Going to D.C. anyone I know going give me a shout out.” Further posts to the Lindsey Profile from January 5, 2021, subsequently informed others of Lindsey’s apparent location along the way, stating, “Just hit West Virginia”; “Just got to Pennsylvania”; and “In Maryland”.

Even better – for prosecutors – Lindsey posts on social media at 3:38 p.m. on that grim day: “Inside the Capitol.”

Mr. Lindsey goes on to claim, “Notice how peaceful we were inside the Capitol. Don’t believe the news we didn’t start shit.”

Lindsey, left, Croy, right.

“They need to hang from these mother****ers.”

501. David Nicholas Dempsey: You can get the flavor of who Dempsey is from a video the F.B.I. alleges he posted on January 6. Standing in front of a gallows erected on Capitol grounds, a Trump flag in one hand, he howls, “Them worthless ****in’ ****holes like Jerry Nadler, ****in’ Pelosi… they don’t need a jail cell. They need to hang from these mother****ers [pointing to gallows]…They need to get the point across that the time for peace is over.”

According to WUSA9,

In the video, Dempsey can be seen using pepper spray, crutches, a metal pole and a baton or club-like object to assault police attempting to hold rioters back. Charging documents also include pictures of Dempsey wearing a yellow-and-black bracelet and posing with other members of the Proud Boys in marked attire.

Dempsey may not be a member of the Proud Boys, but appears in at least one photo flashing the “White Power” hand signal along with two other like-minded “gentlemen” and two unidentified “ladies.”

RW, V

502. Jeffrey Scott Brown: Brown faces five charges, including one for inflicting injury on a law enforcement officer.

Evidence against him includes his participation in an encrypted group chat, the “about” description reading: “This group will serve as the Comms for able bodied individuals that are going to DC on Jan 6. Many of us have not met before and we are all ready and willing to fight. We will come together for this moment that we are called upon.” The group also called itself “The California Patriots – DC Brigade.”

Among other offenses, Brown is accused of deploying pepper spray against police defending the Capitol on Jan. 6. According to the F.B.I. agent who filed the indictment against him,

At approximately 3:11 p.m., BROWN can be seen pointing the can towards the police defensive line and deploying the spray for several seconds in the direction of the police. Based on my training and experience, I assess this spray was pepper spray or a similar chemical spray.

On August 26, the DOJ filed an emergency motion in court to block a California judge’s decision to release Brown from jail pending trial.

RW, V

503. Janet West Buhler: According to Buhler’s indictment, a federal agent was reviewing footage from the riot, related to Michael Lee Hardin (#357 on our list), when he noticed a woman later identified as Ms. Buhler.

Hardin and Buhler appeared to be together as they walked the halls of Congress and tried to disrupt the final electoral vote. The agent contacted a witness in Hardin’s case and learned that Buhler was his stepmother-in-law, who had traveled with him, from Utah to D.C.

Buhler is now charged with five crimes.

504. Marc Anthony Bru: For a moment, when I study the indictment against Bru, I think, “I have done it. I have found the Yeti. I have snapped a picture of Bigfoot at the riot, so to speak.

I see the words “Pacific Northwest Resisters” and mention of their Twitter account. The F.B.I. agent notes that PNR is “associated with the anti-fascist movement” and for a moment believe Bru belongs. Then reality intrudes.

Logic slaps me in the face.

PNR has helped identify Bru, who turns out to be a very proud member, of course, of the Proud Boys.

If we go looking, we find social media posts of Bru pointing guns in his pictures at anyone who accesses his accounts. He identifies himself in one post as a Proud Boy. In another photo, as he marches on the Capitol on January 6, he flashes the “White Power” salute. In still another, he appears to be part of a large group following Ethan Nordean (#172 on our list), the leader of the Boys.

And that’s the type who showed up on January 6.

RW, V

So, here we are, your favorite blogger having checked the records for 504 individuals charged in the riot.

One alleged rioter (#89 on our list) was charged, but turned out to have bragged about his role – which he had never played.

So that would drop us to 503 individuals checked. Originally, it seemed I might have turned up three with liberal, left-wing credentials, but in none of those cases is it definitively true. See #15, Antoinne Brodnax (who may have jointed the mob in an effort to get material for his rap album), #169, John Sullivan (who went inside to film the “history” of the day) and, I first thought, #202, Christopher Ortiz.

Originally, I thought Ortiz might be the third potential liberal. But I wondered if I could find anything new about him, for starters, and on August 31 checked his indictment again.

It turned out he believed China had stolen the election. So I took him off my “list” of three.

That left me with 500 rioters checked so far, most proven or likely Trump supporters. We had the curious and the clueless, like #12 Gracyn (Grace Courtright, who wandered the halls of Congress, but admitted in one text “idk know what treason is,”) QAnon dopes, like #493, Nicholas Languerand (and dozens more) and “Stop the Steal” true-believers, such as #5 William Vogel (and more dozens). Even worse, we had the extreme right-wing types, including at least a hundred primed for violence. Talk of civil war being necessary, as January 6 being the day for a new revolution, was rife, but such talk, including from GOP lawmakers like Rep. Lauren Boebert, begged the central question.

In a civil war, or revolution, who did these people want to kill?

Answer: Other Americans.

It’s that simple and plain.

(We have also included details of Trump fans who were not arrested: Ashli Babbitt, who was killed during the attack, Rosanne Boyland, trampled to death, and at least a dozen others who posted from the scene about their love for Trump – but didn’t enter the Capitol, except in spirit. And we’ve added a few right-wing bomb-makers to flavor the stew.)

(I promise to keep checking records as more information piles up.)

A Liberal in Trumpistan

Wednesday, September 1, 2021

January 6: The Trump Rioter Crew

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