January 6 Rioters - Part IX - A Party of Eunuchs (309-362)

 

A PARTY OF EUNUCHS

PART IX

 (Rioters #309-362)

__________ 

“Uncomfortable truths travel with difficulty.” 

Primo Levi

__________

 

The man who emasculated the GOP.

  

TODAY THE U.S. SENATE faced the test. Would there be Republicans enough with nuts to vote to set up a commission to study the Jan. 6 attack on Capitol Hill? Sixty votes would be required to avoid a filibuster led by Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell, the most nut-less man in America.    

(The House of Representatives has already passed the measure.) 

 

As predicted, the measure failed on a 54-35 vote, with a mere six Republicans joining 48 Democrats in favor. 

 

“I don’t want to know, but I need to know.” 

Sen. Lisa Murkowski, one of that half dozen, admitted that it would be tough for her party to delve into the story. “I don’t want to know, but I need to know,” she admitted. “To be making a decision for short-term political gain,” as most GOP colleagues did, and several had confessed they planned to do, “at the expense of understanding and acknowledging what was in front of us on Jan. 6 — I think we need to look at that critically.” 

The five other GOP senators who voted “yes” included Susan Collins, Mitt Romney, Ben Sasse, Bill Cassidy, and Rob Portman (who managed a flash of courage because he’s not running for reelection). 

A seventh Republican, Sen. Patrick J. Toomey, said he would have voted in favor, but missed the vote. 

Otherwise, the GOP proved the party of eunuchs. Even an appeal from Gladys Sicknick, mother of Brian Sicknick, the police officer who died, many believe, as a result of the attack, could not sway Mitch and the other poltroons. 

(Word for the day! Poltroons: spiritless cowards.)

We should also offer a special award for spinelessness to those who not only did not vote for creation of a commission, but didn’t vote at all. This will allow them to disguise their lack of courage by claiming they had other duties to attend. Including Sen. Toomey (who had previously had the courage to vote to impeach Trump) there were nine Republican no-shows:

Sen. Marsha Blackburn of Tennessee

Sen. Roy Blunt of Missouri

Sen. Mike Braun of Indiana

Sen. Richard Burr of North Carolina

Sen. Jim Inhofe of Oklahoma

Sen. Mike Rounds of South Dakota

Sen. James Risch of Idaho

Sen. Richard Shelby of Alabama

 

Typically, Sen. Blount said he missed the vote because it was important that he keep a commitment to show up at the dedication ceremony for the renovated Wilson’s Creek National Battlefield. 

(If you’ve never heard of the Battle of Wilson’s Creek, fought on August 10, 1861, the Confederates won.)

 

In any case, since Republicans in Congress don’t want to dig into the dung pile of Jan. 6, and the attempted insurrection, we are happy to help. Today, we continue to examine the backgrounds of the anti-democratic individuals who tried that day to shut down the counting of the electoral votes. 

 

* 

309. ANTON LUNYK: The Brooklyn man, 26, was arrested and charged with entering the Capitol illegally. At his first appearance before a judge he was warned not to attend any further political demonstrations or post on social media about politics without checking with court services. 

According to one reporter, “Lunyk could not be reached for comment and his employer, insurance adjuster Rubin & Rosen, declined to comment.” 

Favors red MAGA hats in pictures. 

In April 2022, he plead guilty to one misdemeanor charge. In September he was sentenced to two months’ home confinement, ordered to perform 60 hours of community service, and cough up $1,242 in fines and restitution. He will also spend an additional ten months on probation. 

On September 26, news breaks that young Mr. Lunyk was the recipient of a nine-second phone call from the White House, during the riot. 

Bizarrely interesting, possibly of no consequence. 

(Information from Lunyk’s phone also leads to the arrests of two of his friends, who traveled with him to D.C. in time to riot. (See:  Francis Connor, # 862, and Antonio Ferrigno, #863.) 

Trump supporter.

 

* 

310. KENE BRIAN LAZO: Norfolk, Virginia’s own, Mr. Lazo was allegedly seen on the day of the riot, inside the Capitol, wearing shin guards, goggles, and helmet with “Rodbuster’s” logo. That’s the name of a business he owns with his wife. 

Lazo is said to have posted on social media that he was there “representing” Asian Americans, and would use a broom to sweep out the halls of Congress. 

(Pleaded guilty 3/7/22. Sentenced to 45 days in jail.)

Trump supporter.

 

* 

311. NICHOLAS JAMES BROCKHOFF: The 20-year-old, from Covington, Kentucky was arrested and charged with assault on police officers during the riot. Among his other mistakes, Brockhoff repeatedly sprayed officers with a fire extinguisher. He also helped break into a conference room inside the Capitol, and rifled through papers. At some point, he also came into possession of a Metropolitan Police Department helmet and wore it “like a trophy” all afternoon. 

His family expressed shock, regarding his son’s actions, although his father says he knew his son was headed for D.C. because he wanted to attend the big Trump rally scheduled for January 6. 

He plead guilty to felony charges in October 2022, and faces very serious jail time, as a result. 

The cost for believing Trump’s lies: 36 months in prison, 36 more on probation, and $2,700 in fines and restitution. 

Trump supporter, violent.

 

* 

“They were the tyrannical ones desperate to hold on to power.” 

312. ROBERT SCOTT PALMER: Mr. Palmer was charged for his role in the riot – after bragging in a social media video that he had sprayed Capitol Hill and D.C. police with a fire extinguisher. 

Palmer can be seen in videos garbed in a jacket with distinctive red and white stripes, and blue sleeves festooned with white stars. Of course, no Capitol Hill rioter seems complete without some kind of pro-Trump paraphernalia. Palmer wore a red hat that day, emblazoned with the words: “FLORIDA FOR TRUMP.” During the melee, he was hit in the abdomen by a rubber bullet, and showed off his bruise in one video. Reached by phone, after news of his arrest broke, Palmer told a reporter “that he’d done nothing to justify being struck with the police munition, and that the Biden administration was trying to ‘vilify the patriots’ who were involved in the riot.”  

“I’m just going about it and letting them make the mistakes that they want and ruin the country as they want, and I’m just trying to live my life right now,” he said, adding that the jacket he wore “wasn’t anything I had made special — [I] just bought it in a store.”

 

Palmer seemed to grow increasingly anxious as the call continued.

 

“I’m just going to just leave it like that. I’m not getting myself any – not deeper, ’cause I didn’t do anything wrong – but I’m not involving myself anymore,” he said. He hung up when HuffPost asked him about the fire extinguisher.

 

Ah! Patriotism! 

Six days after the riot, Palmer posted a meme on social media. “I’m not afraid of the 81 million Biden voters,” it read. “Half are dead and don’t exist!”  

(Sedition Hunters by Ryan J. Reilly, p. 229)

 

We learned in December 2021, that Palmer had come to his senses as he faced a sentence of five years behind bars. 

Huff Post notes: 

Since the Jan. 6 attack, Palmer claimed, he had come to realize that “Trump supporters were lied to by those that at the time had great power, meaning the then sitting president, as well as those acting on his behalf.”

 

“They kept spitting out the false narrative about a stolen election and how it was ‘our duty’ to stand up to tyranny,” Palmer wrote. “Little did I realize that they were the tyrannical ones desperate to hold on to power at any cost even by creating the chaos they knew would happen with such rhetoric.” Palmer wrote that he offered his “most sincere and deepest apologies” for believing in Trump’s lies.

 

The final cost of that foolish belief? The court orders Palmer to pay $2,000 in restitution and spend five years, three months in prison. 

You can even watch a video of Palmer spraying police with chemical mace here if you so desire. 

Trump “sent us,” believed in a “stolen election.”

 

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313. WILLIAM MICHAEL SYWAK: The 45-year-old New York man admitted to authorities that he entered the Capitol, but said he had lost contact with his son beforehand. Federal agents presented evidence to show that both William and son, William Jason, entered together and then locked arms. 

Dad eventually pleads guilty to one misdemeanor and gets four months’ home confinement and two years’ probation. 

The elder Sywak had four previous convictions for drunk driving, and four for disorderly conduct or assault. 

Now he adds to his rap sheet, with a misdemeanor conviction for his riotous behavior. With that, he gets four months on home detention, a $500 hit on his savings, for restitution, and another trip through the probation offices. 

At his sentencing hearing, Mr. Sywak admitted he and his boy had been caught up in conspiracy theories about a stolen election. 

He said he now disavowed them. 

Trump supporter, he believed the election was stolen.

 

*

 

314. WILLIAM JASON “BILLY” SYWAK: Data from his cell phone placed him at ten different spots inside the Capitol Building. According to his mother, Billy traveled to D.C. with his dad, hoping to bond, because father and son had never been close. His parents had previously split. In one text from that day, Billy’s fiancée told him to “throw hands” for her, as violence was expected. In another text message he sent, he seemed gleeful to have, “watched some dude spray a cop from 6 inches away thru a screen right into a cops eyes. Cop never seen it coming.” 

He called the attack “awesome,” in fact. 

Young Mr. Sywak plead guilty to one charge and gets two months of home confinement and a year on probation. 

Trump supporter, he believed the election was stolen.

 

* 

Four felony convictions. 

315. REED KNOX CHRISTENSEN: The Oregon man, 62, was identified as one of the riot participants with the help of his son. 

He was charged with assault on a police officer. 

At his first hearing, Mr. Christensen told the judge that when he was finally arrested, he was “in my suit on my way to church.” 

Paul Maloney, the federal prosecutor in his case “asked that guns found at Christensen’s home be removed before any release from custody pending trial.” 

Maloney also explained that the rioter was known to be anti-government “and given the nature of the charges here, should law enforcement have to go onto the property, there should not be any weapons and firearms on the property in order to do that safely, your Honor.” 

“I’m a little surprised that I’m losing my critter weapons ... when I haven’t been convicted of anything,” Christensen told the judge. 

The now-convicted rioter is an Army veteran and worked as a design engineer for Intel Corp., when not attacking police officers with his fists. 

Like many of the rioters, Christensen opted for trial by jury. His lawyer made his best case. The jury was unconvinced. 

GUILTY, they found.

 

With not one, not two, not three, but four felonies to his name, Mr. Christensen had to know he was looking at a lengthy stay in a room with bars on the windows. In the interim, however, as he awaited sentencing, he did find time to run for governor of Oregon – as a Republican, of course. 

He didn’t win, though. 

Now we know he has also been sentenced. On January 12, the judge in his case gives Reed 46 months in prison. 36 more on probation, and docks him $22,000 in fines and restitution. 

He had already spent nearly three years in custody. So he might be out in time to vote for Trump again in November. Oregon does allow convicted felons to vote. 

Right-wing individual, violent.

 

* 

Tours of duty in Iraq and Afghanistan.

 316. Major Christopher Warnagiris: The 40-year-old active-duty Marine officer has been charged with participating in the Jan. 6 attack. That includes one charge of assaulting a police officer. What he might have been thinking remains unclear. 

We do know Warnagiris has done tours of duty in Iraq and Afghanistan during his eighteen years in the service. 

Now he could face twenty more years in prison. 

The Marine Corps felt compelled to issue the following statement: 

The Marine Corps is clear on this: There is no place for racial hatred or extremism in the Marine Corps. Our strength is derived from the individual excellence of every Marine regardless of background. Bigotry and racial extremism run contrary to our core values.

 

Participation with hate or extremist groups of any kind is directly contradictory to the core values of honor, courage, and commitment that we stand for as Marines and isn’t tolerated by the Marine Corps. 

Violent.

 

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317. CALEB JONES: The 23-year-old sent a friend photos and videos from his time inside the Capitol on Jan. 6. 

When arrested, ironically, he was wearing a t-shirt that read, “I Was There.” Less ironically, he pleads guilty, gets two months of home confinement, an order to pay restitution, and complete 100 hours of community service. As a bonus, during the attack, he got doused with tear gas. 

(POLITICAL AFFILIATION NOT KNOWN.)

 

* 

318-319: BRANDON JAMES MILLER and STEPHANIE DANIELLE MILLER: The couple, from Bradford, Ohio, were arrested on charges of illegally entering a restricted building and violent and disorderly conduct on the Capitol grounds. They were turned in by a family member and video evidence placed them firmly inside the halls of Congress during the riot. 

In one social media post, Mr. Miller expresses regret that he was not able to get a picture of the blood trail from the spot where Ashli Babbitt was shot and killed by police. Babbitt, herself, was a Trump supporter and believer in Q-Anon shit. 

So was Rosanne Boyland, the woman trampled to death on the steps of the U.S. Capitol that day. 

Both husband and wife plead guilty and garnered time in jail. Brandon earned twenty days, Stephanie got 14, both have to do 60 hours of community service, and both must pay $500 in restitution. 

Stephanie originally posted on Facebook that she was “proud” of what she and Brandon had done, and that she “enjoyed ever minute.” Let’s hope the couple enjoys ever minute of jail time now. 

Trump supporters.

 

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“Putting on the armor of God.” 

320. Ethan C. Seitz: The 31-year-old from Bucyrus, Ohio was arrested on preliminary charges of illegally entering a restricted building, and violent entry and disorderly conduct on Capitol grounds. 

As for why he was headed to D.C., the Ohio man was clear, explaining to a relative: 

We are both convinced there is a war going on. With the deep state. But also a war between Good and Evil. And we had a conversation about the possibilities of what could happen if things we think come true. And also putting on the armor of God and fighting. And regardless of what is happening I feel like this is my first time to really stand up.

 

I have high hopes in the great awakening. But things could get way worse. And way fast. I take a stand now if only for the experience of it. Cause I’m a stand firm on the belief that the time is very quickly approaching when good men are gonna have to do bad things. Because it’s war.

 

At least one person he knew warned Seitz to be careful. “You’re gonna end up landing your a** in DC jail. And I won’t know the first f*ing clue on how to bail you out,” that person remarked. 

“LOL..I don’t think you need to worry,” he replied. 

But Seitz, himself, gave away the game. He admitted he was there. “First time I ever came to DC and I was right at the front of the charge into the capitol,” he said proudly in a Jan. 7 Facebook message. 

A search warrant for his phone soon revealed other messages that Seitz “had driven seven hours to Washington, D.C. to ‘stop the steal,’ believing that former President Donald Trump had won re-election.” 

Like so many other fools, duped by the shameless liar from Mar-a-Lago, Seitz has now been convicted on two charges, one felony, and one misdemeanor. And he could be locked up for a goodly piece.

Trump supporter, believed in a “stolen election.” 

 

* 

Reprimanded at work for “displaying political signs and attires.”

321. LAWRENCE STACKHOUSE: According to one tipster, it was well-known among co-workers that Stackhouse had participated in the attack. 

According to one report, “The witness said Stackhouse had called out of work on Jan. 5-6 and that he’d previously been reprimanded for ‘displaying political signs and attires (sic) in support of former President Trump, which violated their employer’s policies.’” 

His place of employment is not identified in the story; but a “second co-worker later told investigators he had overheard colleagues ‘discussing the fact that Stackhouse had a video on his phone that he had taken while inside the Capitol building.’”

Stackhouse can now show friends at work all his court documents and lawyer’s fees he paid. He pleads guilty, and has the honor of getting sentenced to 14 days in jail (two seven-day periods). He gets another 90 days on home confinement – costing him 90 days of pay. And he gets hit with a $500 fine, and three bonus years to spend visiting his probation office.

Trump supporter, believed in “stolen election.”

 

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Church trip gone bad.

322. TANNER BRYCE SELLS: The 25-year-old from Chandler, Oklahoma was arrested May 17, 2021, after the F.B.I. identified him from photographs taken during the riot. Cell phone records placed him inside the building. 

Initially, he faced five charges. 

He reached a plea agreement on a single charge in September 2021, and in January 2022, was sentenced to spend 90 days on home confinement, complete 50 hours of community service, pay $2,000 in fines and restitution, and report to a probation officer for the next two years. 

Although Sells was inside the Capitol for only ten minutes, the judge in his case made clear: “No rioter was a mere tourist on that day.” 

Sells initially traveled to D.C. with his church group, because he and his fellow parishioners wanted to hear Donald J. Trump speak. What they really got to hear was the president trampling the Eighth Commandment.

Trump supporter.

 

* 

IN CHECKING for additional information on the arrestees from January 6, I noticed that Christianity Daily has argued that evidence indicates many of the rioters were Antifa types and various other left-wing individuals. 

“Antifa, disguising themselves as Trump supporters.”

 In one story they note that “several reports” support that idea. In one case, Christianity Daily reporters add this compelling line to an article: “Antifa, disguising themselves as Trump supporters, infiltrated the ranks of legitimate pro-Trump people on that day to instigate chaos.” 

When one goes to the first link in that sentence, “disguising,” it turns out that a single “Trump supporter who was present during the Jan. 6 protest in Capitol Hill reveals that some people who weren’t Trump supporters were there, disguised as people in support of the President.” 

How did he know? 

According to Christianity Daily, that Trump supporter “said that he and his fellow protesters think that there were suspicious people [emphasis added] with them wearing red shirts and hats who didn’t seem like typical Trump supporters. They think these people might be part of the Antifa movement.” That same source said the Trump people “got a little hotheaded” but only after “Antifa started instigating things.” 

(The stupidity of this line of argument should be obvious to anyone who cares to pursue the facts. As noted here and in previous posts, no known member of Antifa has been indicted. Whereas Trump supporters, right-wing types, and Q-Anon chumps are as thick as ticks on a deer in the forest.) 

The second link, “infiltrating,” isn’t any better, citing unverified claims on Twitter as proof of some “Antifa” conspiracy on Jan. 6, and twice including the same picture of the same man, “leading” the first rioters to attack police lines in front of Capitol Hill. First, you can’t just be “led” into an attack on police officers. 

You may have two feet, but you don’t have to follow. 

Second, that individual, Ryan Samsel (#188 on our list), has been arrested. His history of violence against women has been noted. His political inclinations are, like those of a number of others described here, unknown. 

As for the third link, “instigate,” some “war correspondent” outside the building on Jan. 6, noted that people in the mob were using tactics like those “practiced by Antifa.” So they must have been Antifa. 

(CLAIMED TO SEE ANTIFA.)

 

Compared to such supposition, we absolutely know the Proud Boys and Oath Keepers , both right-wing extremist groups, sent organized contingents to Washington D.C. and that they participated fully in the violence. 

Sadly – and cluelessly – that “war correspondent,” Michael Yon, cited people with megaphones calling on others to attack police lines. He reports seeing people waving flags, saying, “This is your job. This is your chance. Stand up for your country.” 

“He who has the microphone has the power,” Yon added stupidly. “Once people get riled up, they’ll do it. Because we’re humans and we will go with the herd.” 

So, you might say, the persons with the most powerful microphones that morning were people like President Trump, his doofus sons, Eric and Don Jr., Rep. Mo Brooks, Rudy Giuliani, and others at the “March to Save America” Rally. They had the microphone and “the power,” and they fired up the herd. 

You could have said that; but that would have caused readers’ minds at Christianity Daily to explode like red, white, and blue shrapnel. 

(CLAIMED TO SEE ANTIFA.)

 

* 

WHEN LAST we updated our list of Capitol Hill rioters, we were at #322, and had not identified more than one liberal-type in the whole sorry assemblage of arrestees. Today, we add another batch of dopes, and fools, and right-wing extremists, as we see stories in various publications and on TV. 

For fun, we should also note that alleged rioter Richard Barnett (#127 on our list) was back in court recently, asking for a judge to loosen his travel restrictions, while he remains free on bail. Mr. Barnett really wanted to go to a classic-car sales meet. 

Judge said, “No.”

  

* 

323. Siaka Massaquoi: Twenty federal agents in tactical gear recently raided the home of the Los Angeles actor. Mr. Massaquoi is an anti-vaxxer and a vice chair of the GOP in Los Angeles. He is also convinced that mainstream media peddles misinformation and lies, and said in a video from January 6, taken with an unidentified friend, that “a lot of us are passionate” in support of Donald J. Trump.

 

UPDATE (5/13/23): When I do a follow up check of my posts Massaquoi’s name still does not appear on any of the lists of arrestees. His warrant was initially sealed, but I may have to knock him off my list entirely.

 

UPDATE (11/17/23): I check back six months later, to see if Mr. Massaquoi has been arrested. It turns out that he filed a complaint against the F.B.I., claiming his rights had been violated when his home was raided and searched. (That suit has been dismissed.) I also note that during the raid authorities seized a computer, a laptop, a phone, and two radios. 

In another story, Massaquoi is described as a former Iowa Hawkeye’s running back. He is said not to have responded to a Los Angeles Times article saying that he had been inside the Capitol Building on January 6.

 

UPDATE (12/6/2023): My patience is rewarded and Massaquoi is finally charged and arrested. It appears that his doom was sealed when another rioter, Russell Taylor (#199 on my list), began cooperating with federal authorities, and evidence piled up, allegedly placing Mr. Massaquoi inside the Capitol. At one point, he is said to be heard calling for the arrest of the people who perpetrated “this fraud” of a stolen election. In fact, at 9:16 p.m., on January 6, according to court documents, Taylor texted: “‘Brother, you already had a high peg in my book. Today seeing you storm the capital with us you just secured a top spot.’ Approximately, one minute later, MASSAQUOI responded, ‘Hahaha, love you man! I’m there always!’” 

 

FUN FACTS: In a high school game in 1997, Massaquoi carried the ball 52 times and gained 387 yards. At halftime, he was also crowned “Homecoming King.” Five years later, his college career came to an abrupt end. He was dismissed from the Iowa team after he was “charged with second-offense drunken driving, driving with a suspended license, and providing false information to law officers during a March 2002 traffic stop.” 

Eventually, he got involved with Republican politics, and during the COVID epidemic he was (of course!) against masking. 

Trump supporter, he believed the election was stolen.

 

* 

“Knocked out a commie last night.”

324. KAROL CHWIESIUK: We all remember when Trump said 99.9% of all cops were good. It turns out that more than a few cops and former cops participated in the attack on democracy, on January 6. (Tagging along for fun was his sister, #964 on our list, Agnieszka Chwiesiuk.) 

According to a report from WUSA9 TV, two days before the riot, 

In texts, the FBI says Chwiesiuk bragged about his plans to go to D.C. on January 6 to “f*ck up commies.” On the day of the riot, he allegedly responded to a question about whether he was there by saying he, “Knocked out a commie last night,” and that he, “Met j” – a reference, the DOJ says, to former President Donald J. Trump.

 

According to prosecutors, Officer Chwiesiuk later sent the following text messages found on his phone: 

“Knocked out a commie last night. Don’t tell.” 

“We inside the capitol lmfao”

 

“N**** don’t snitch”

 

On the day of his arrest, for participating in the riot, on the way to court, another officer asked the defendant what he liked to do on his free time. “Invading capitols,” he is said to have replied.

 

Well, it was fun while it lasted. Officer C. battled it out in court – and even demanded a jury trial. The lawyers argued, the jury listened, and the police officer got convicted on four misdemeanor counts. His lawyer complained later, “This was a politically motivated trial and it shows the overbearing reach of the federal government on its constituents.” So, on August 11, 2023, Chwiesiuk is convicted.

 

And so is his sister.

 

And 1,011 days have passed since the last presidential election and Trump has never proved in any court in America that significant voter fraud occurred.

 

And Officer Chwiesiuk is likely going to spend time behind bars.

 

And Trump has a good chance of doing time himself.

 

In closing, we should note that the defendant messaged a person he knew before he headed to D.C., and said he was going to the capital to “save the nation.” He had swallowed the president’s lies – and he wasn’t going anywhere to save anything, because Trump had played him (and millions of others) for a fool.

 

UPDATE: On January 24, 2024, a grand total of 1,177 days since the last presidential election – and still no proof validated in any state or federal court that the 2020 election was rigged – Chwiesiuk catches a break. His sentence: three months on home confinement, three years on probation, $500 fine, and 200 hours of community service.

 

Scott MacFarlane, a court reporter for NBC has a chance to speak to Chwiesiuk as he exits the courtroom. Does he still support Trump, MacFarlane asks?

 

“Yes, in a big way,” the commie-clobbering cop replies. 

Trump supporter, right-winger, violent.

 

* 

“Execution is the just punishment of the ringleaders of this coup”

325. DEREK KINNISON: In June, 2021, six California men, all members of the right-wing Three Percenters group, including Kinnison, were arrested by federal authorities. They were charged with conspiracy in the attack on Congress. We have already noted two of these six on our list: Allan Hostetter (#198 on our list)and Russell Taylor (#199.) 

To get a good idea of what type of men these are, and on whose side they stand, Mr. Hostetter is accused of advocating “violence against certain groups and individuals that supported the 2020 election results.”  

Speaking at a rally in favor of Donald Trump’s “right” to enjoy a second term, Hostetter added, “Execution is the just punishment of the ringleaders of this coup” against his favorite president. 

All six men are said to have communicated through social media, with Mr. Taylor calling for “able bodied individuals that are going to DC on Jan. 6” and warning them they should be “ready and willing to fight.” 

Kinnison admitted that he and his friends would be coming to D.C. ready for war, bringing “bear spray, knives, flags, plates[,] goggles, helmets.” Members of one militia group involved in communicating with Kinnison and this crew, were recruited on the principle that they would be “comfortable with violence.” 

(Since the real coup was being pushed by Team Trump, it might be fun to ask Hostetter if he still thinks execution is the correct remedy.) 

On November 8, 2023, Mr. Kinnison and his pals are all convicted. His lawyer says his client was “a patriotic citizen who wanted to show his support for President Trump,” and believed he “was the rightful winner of the 2020 election. He regrets his involvement in the events of January 6.” 

Trump, of course, is still roaming free. 

Kinnison receives his sentence on April 19, 2024: 33 months in prison. He apologizes for his actions on the day of the riot, and say he is a man of faith, and will pray for the judge and prosecutors, too. 

Trump supporter, believed in a “stolen election,” believed in violence.

 

* 

326. FELIPE ANTONIO MARTINEZ:  See above. 

Mr. Martinez is convicted on November 8, 2023 – and, still, no proof in any court to show that the last presidential election was stolen. In one message to his insurrectionist-curious pals, Martinez expressed his readiness to fight, explaining, “Our President is mustering his troops.” 

Another message posted in the group chat read, “This is tyranny and our constitution states we can put b**ches 6 ft. deep[.]” 

On April 19, 2024, he is sentenced to 21 months in prison. 

Trump “sent us,” believed in a stolen election, believed in violence.

 

* 

327. RONALD MELE: See above. 

Mr. Mele is convicted on November 8, 2023 – and, still, no proof in any court to show that the last presidential election was stolen. 

In the wake of the riot, Mr. Mele proudly created a “Capitol Action Badge” that he and the other conspirators could wear. He also posted a picture of guns and ammunition, he and his comrades brought to their hotel, in preparation for the riot. 

(In jail???) 

Mele and his pals all get hit with sentences on April 19, 2024. The cost to Mr. Mele of listening to Trump? Thirty-three months in prison. 

Trump supporter, believed in a “stolen election,” believed in violence.

* 

328. ERIK WARNER: See above. In his case, Warner posted a picture, modeled after The Shining, hinting that he’d be coming after Rep. Alexandra Ocasio-Cortez with an axe on January 6.

Killing a member of Congress - funny, right?

 

A former Marine, he is convicted on November 8, 2023 – and, still, 1,099 days since the last presidential election: 

0 proof 

That any significant voter fraud occurred. 

He is finally sentenced on April 19, 2024, now 1,263 days since the election. Warner gets 27 months in jail. 

Let’s check to see how much proof we have now, showing there was significant voter fraud in 2020. 

Okay, still, 

0 proof

 

(We can also add that all four of these men will spend three additional years on probation, and all will be fined $2,000)

Trump supporter, believed in a “stolen election,” believed in violence.

 

* 

“”I led the storm!”

329. SHAWN PRICE: A self-described member of the Proud Boys, Price spent weeks leading up to the attack on Jan. 6, attending several “Stop the Steal” events. The day of the assault, he reportedly bragged to his mom on social media, “I led the storm!” 

As reported by HuffPost, Price, 26, can be heard on one video shouting at officers trying to hold back the attack: “Fuck you assholes! It’s go time, guys! Fuck you! Fucking shoot at us! Fuck you! You fucking coward, fuck you . . . fuck you!” 

Then, to encourage others to attack, he shouts, “They’re dead, they’re dead!” 

He…sent videos in which he can be heard making those and similar remarks, including one selfie-style video, to numerous people.

 

“We did it bro we took it the fuck ober . . .Over . . . We are inside the capitol now.” Price reportedly messaged an associate on Jan. 6. “We took it buddy . . . Me and 3 others stormed it and no one else would until.we started then everyome stormed.”

 

Even being hit in the chest by a rubber bullet and sprayed in the face with tear gas could not stop the misguided “patriot.” 

According to 101.5 New Jersey radio: 

Price exchanged messages with his mother on Jan. 6, prosecutors said, asking for advice on how to rinse his eyes after getting pepper-sprayed. She suggested trying baby shampoo, noting that milk would not help unless it was “actual pepper spray not tear gas.”

 

Price helped push other individuals forward into a line of law enforcement officers who were trying to protect the Capitol building, according to federal prosecutors.

 

He also wrote to his mom just before 3 p.m. that day that “I know there is a militia of 3000 men on the way in to take over the captiol its going to get crazy were gathering everyone now,” according to the complaint. 

 

Pause a moment. If Price and his kind had had their way on January 6, 3,000 armed militia would have descended on D.C. 

And let the shooting begin! All to save a second term for a proto-authoritarian president who didn’t win, but refused to accept the outcome. 

Price and a large contingent of Proud Boys had previously attended the Nov. 14 “Maga March” in D.C. I should probably label every member of the Boys as a “Trump supporter,” but don’t unless they specifically say they are, as does Price. 

Price eventually agrees to cooperate with federal prosecutors in bringing cases against other rioters. His reward: a sentence in prison of one year and one day. And this blogger will make a bet. On the day Price is finally released from jail, there will still be NO evidence of real voter fraud, significant enough to alter the outcome of the 2020 election. 

He must also hand over $2,000 in restitution. 

Trump supporter, believed in a “stolen election,”

believed in violence, right-winger.

 

* 

Right-wing romance: “I want to find me a Proud Boy.”

330. Stephanie Baez: Also arrested for her participation in the storming of Capitol Hill, Baez, an attractive young woman can be seen on video, saying, “I love the Proud Boys. I want to find me a Proud Boy.” It probably didn’t help her chances of escaping when, in the same video clip, she gave an interviewer her Instagram account. 

According to prosecutors, “The defendant … stated that everyone was calm and no one had any reason to believe that they were not allowed inside. The defendant further stated that some people were just following groups and she feels like it is insane not to take that into consideration.“ 

“People got mad, yes, an election was stolen! But Trump was an angel! Also Antifa was there 100%,” she wrote on Instagram. “My proudest moment,” she added. 

Now she faces jail time if convicted. 

Did she ever find the man of her Proud Boy dreams? We don’t know. Let’s hope so. They can write to each other from prison. 

Trump supporter, right-wing, believed election was stolen.

(CLAIMED TO SEE ANTIFA.)

 

* 

331. CHRISTIAN KULAS: Mr. Kulas, 24, may be the only man to come to the riot dressed in Burberry attire, capped off with a “Keep America Great” hat. Under terms of his arrest, he remained free until trial, but under the supervision of his mother, and had to remain at his parents’ $4.5 million home overlooking Lake Michigan. His father agreed to remove two guns from the home. 

In December 2021, he pleads guilty, along with his brother, Mark Kulas Jr. (#162 on our list). As prosecutors note, they traveled to D.C. that ill-fated day, in support of President Trump. Christian gets the same punishment as his brother: 60 days of home confinement, six months on probation, and an order to pay $500 in restitution.) 

Trump supporter.

 

* 

Americans killing other Americans.

332 and 333. JESSICA BUSTLE and JOSHUA BUSTLE: Joshua, a real estate agent, and his wife, a vaccine critic, are among the first persons involved in the attack on the U.S. Capitol to plead guilty to misdemeanor charges and accept fines. 

The lawyer for Mrs. Bustle described her and her husband as a “salt-of-the-earth couple who, like others — various people told them to be there. . . . They were into social media before, and realize all the pitfalls of that and want to put this in their past.” 

On social media, Jessica Bustle made it plain where she stood, posting, “Pence is a traitor. We stormed the capital [sic],” according to court documents. Separately, she also posted: “We need a Revolution! We can accept an honest and fair election but this is NOT fair and patriots don’t want to see their country brought into communism and destroyed over a lie.” 

Yeah. Revolution. Americans killing other Americans. What could go wrong? So, here we have more Trump supporters. 

(This is getting monotonous if you’re following along.) 

Also getting monotonous: Seeing these poor fools pay, because they believed President Trump’s lies. Both Bustles get hit with sentences of home confinement, lengthy probation periods, and must pay restitution. Joshua Bustle must also complete 40 hours of community service. 

Trump supporter, believed election was stolen, violent (Jessica). 

Trump supporter (Joshua).

 

* 

“LOOK UP THE PENALTY FOR TREASON!!!!”

334. Dustin Sargent: Mr. Sargent came to D.C. ready to fight – intent on stopping Democrats from stealing “our country.” 

He insisted that “these government employees” would have to be rounded up, and tried for treason, “and if the military courts finds them guilty….LOOK UP THE PENALTY FOR TREASON!!!! DEATH” 

A Facebook friend replied, “You are fucking ready man.” 

Sargent allegedly responded, 

I am were not gonna let them steal our country… you might not be ready now… but in reading were you work gets fucked up then you cant go to work… then you’ll have two choices…. hide and protect your family… or fight…. I recommend you hide because theres wouldn’t be a man to protect your family…. I however have dad and sean to stay and protect 

That might not be the best use of the English language you’ll ever see; but again, we learn that another arrestee is a: 

Trump supporter, ready for violence,

and believed the election was stolen. 

 

* 

Wrong car, with the wrong people. 

335. KENNETH HARRELSON: It’s not hard to figure out where most of these rioters stood, politically, on the day they smashed up Congress, and tried to subvert democracy and block a peaceful transfer of power. 

Soon after the attack, CBS reported that Harrelson had made multiple payments to Oath Keepers, Inc. in 2020. He also organized or attended roughly thirty online meetings for the group, including one titled, according to evidence, “dc planning call.” 

For Trump fans, who can be mulish in the face of evidence, Harrelson also admitted in court that he was a member of Antifa… 

Ha! No. Of course, he was an Oath Keeper, he said. 

On January 12, 2022, Harrelson and ten other members of the group were indicted on a variety of charges, including seditious conspiracy. That is, in laymen’s terms, plotting to overthrow the government by violence. Lawyers for the ten defendants decided to split the trials. 

On November 29, 2022, Harrelson and four others were convicted. A jury decided not to convict Harrelson on the charge of sedition, but did find him guilty of obstructing Congress – a felony which carried a possible sentence of twenty years in prison. Thomas Caldwell (#151 on our list), and Jessica Watkins (#152) were also convicted on the latter charge. The top two leaders of the Oath Keepers, Kelly Meggs (#217), and Elmer Stewart Rhodes (#601) were convicted on both charges, sedition and obstruction. 

On May 26, 2023, Mr. Harrelson is sentenced to four years in prison. He tells the judge, sadly, "I never voted for a president in my life…I don’t care about politics.. I got into the wrong car at the wrong time…with the wrong people.” 

He definitely won’t be voting for president in 2024, because he’ll be cooling his jets in a jail cell. 

Trump “sent us,” violent, right-wing individual.

 

*

“Idiot.”

336. Daniel Lyons Scott: Mr. Scott was photographed sporting a blue “God, guns & Trump” baseball hat on Jan. 6. He originally faced several felony charges, including assault on an officer of the law. 

The burly Florida man goes by the moniker “Milkshake” online and carries a “Proud Boys” tattoo on one arm. 

According to the Washington Post, charging papers identified Scott as the vociferous right-winger 

who after allegedly yelling about taking the Capitol was admonished, “Let’s not f---ing yell that, okay?” by a Proud Boys leader on a video live-streamed by the group that day. In the same moments, court documents allege, accused leader Ethan Nordean was recorded saying, “It was Milkshake, man, you know . . . idiot!”

 

That one-word description in some ways should suffice. But Scott also played a pivotal role in the riot that day. Around 1:45 p.m. that day, police lines seemed to have stabilized and it looked as if the Capitol Building might be safe. According to prosecutors, it was then that Scott went into action:

 

Using his massive size and strength – Scott is 6’5” and 322 pounds, Scott bulldozed two U.S. Capitol Police officers backward and up a set of steps. The hole created by Scott’s advance collapsed that part of the line. The rioters behind Scott, including two of his zone-mates and numerous other Proud Boys, rushed up the stairs and were the first to enter the building about 20 minutes later through the Senate Wing Door. Congress was then still in session. The Senate Wing Door would become one of the two most significant breach points at the Capitol that day. The mob Scott set loose also outflanked the remaining officers on the West Plaza, and the police ultimately lost the line they had fought to maintain.

 

Scott, for his part, celebrated with his zone-mates within mere seconds of his assault. He and they recognized immediately the gravity of what had just occurred. And they congratulated Scott for having accomplished what they set out to do that afternoon: breach the police line to unleash the crowd of rioters toward, and ultimately inside, the building.

 

Prosecutors believe that as many as 100 Proud Boys were in or around the U.S. Capitol during the January 6 riot. In February 2023, Mr. Scott agrees to plead guilty to one felony count.

 

FUN FACT: In the weeks and months after the riot, Scott even created a “challenge coin” to commemorate the January 6 attack. It showed a noose to the left of the Capitol dome, and a guillotine to the right. 

Daniel, as we see below, is also fond of flashing the “white power” sign, which he did before the riot, as well.

The old "white power" sign.

 

Trump supporter, right-wing, violent.

 

__________ 

“Stand back, but stand by.” 

President Trump, when asked about the Proud Boys during an October debate

__________

 

* 

337. JAMES BREHENY: The New Jersey man, 61, is yet another member of the Oath Keepers. Breheny was initially charged with multiple crimes for his role in breaching the U.S. Capitol in an attempt to bring the wheels of democracy to a grinding halt. USA Today notes: 

Documents show he invited Oath Keepers leader Stewart Rhodes, who has not been arrested or charged in relation to the riot, to a Jan. 3 meeting in Quarryville, Pennsylvania to plan their efforts on Jan. 6. Documents also state agents found the following messages posted on the evening of the riot to a Facebook account linked to Breheny’s phone under the name Seamus Evers. “People need to stand up and fight we are losing by unfair tactics and misrepenstation sooner or later this had to happen.” Also, “We weren’t burning down the city [a reference to BLM protests, which in some cases got out of hand]. We wanted access to the Capital (sic) to watch the vote and have our voices heard. They put barricades up. It’s our house not theirs.”

 

The Washington Post adds that leaders of the group had called on Trump to use military force to stay in office and “avert a ‘bloody civil war and revolution’ against ‘Communist Chinese puppets.’” 

That is: Joe Biden and Kamala Harris. 

On December 21, 2020, Breheny allegedly contacted Oath Keepers leader Stewart Rhodes about the Jan. 3 meeting to organize. “This will be the day we get our comms [communications] on point with multiple other patriot groups, share rally points etc. This one is important and I believe this is our last chance to organize before the show. This meeting will be for leaders only.” 

(Someone really should point out to these dopes that the “military force” plan they wanted Trump to employ is Tiananmen Square model…of the Chinese Communist government itself.) 

As for his motivation to riot, Breheny once asked, “[W]hat other option do you have? We exhausted all legal channels. They refuse to investigate any of crimes or voter issues. Therefore the Government has become tyrannical. The People’s Duty is to replace that Government with one they agree with.” 

 

UPDATE (February 27, 2024: 1,211 days since the election of 2020, and we still have zero evidence in court to show that significant voter fraud occurred. But we do know this: Mr. Breheny has been convicted, and sentenced to three years on probation – with the first six months on home confinement. He must also pay $2,000 in fines and restitution.

 

BLOGGER’S NOTE: This “lefty” is no fan of looting; but this country has survived looting binges many times. 

See, for example: Boston, 1765; New York, 1863; Cincinnati, 1884; Tulsa, 1921; Detroit, 1967; Los Angeles, 1992. 

Smashing up the national legislature in the act of certifying the results of a democratic vote…that’s looting democracy itself. 

Right-wing, Trump “sent us,” election was stolen, violent.

 

* 

“WE are America!”

 338. VIC DON WILLIAMS: The owner of Stiemy’s Craft Roast coffee shop in Texas, Mr. Williams at first denied to federal authorities having entered the Capitol on Jan. 6. Photographic evidence placed him inside. And it didn’t help his plea of innocence when authorities discovered he posted an 18-minute video on Facebook, documenting his own part in the riot. 

In another post, Mr. Williams wanted to make it clear. He was one of those good, right-wing, Trump-loving types, who wanted to save America from stolen elections – even if the elections weren’t stolen. “We are not terrorist [sic],” he posted on Facebook on the day of the attack. “WE are America! We Started it, we built it, we kept it, and now we will defend it!” 

(Technically, our forefathers and foremothers built America, and we just try to keep up with repairs. Also helping: You had slaves, and illegal immigrants who work cheap, even to this day. Mr. Blogger also helped – working with his father’s plumbing company, then joining the Marines, followed by a stint delivering mail, and decades spent in the classroom, building, shall we say, “knowledge.”) 

Anyway, Williams is another: 

Trump supporter. 

To his credit, after F.B.I. agents finished interviewing the suspected rioter, he did give each of them a free bag of coffee. 

(He has since plead guilty, and been sentenced to two months of home detention, a year on probation, and a fine of $1,500.)

Those of us who don't like Trump work hard, too.

It's not just MAGA folks who build America.

 

* 

339. LEONARD PEARSE RIDGE IV: In days leading up to the storming of Capitol Hill, Ridge told friends on Snapchat that he planned to head for D.C. on January 6, because the election had been stolen. He posted videos of himself roaming the halls of Congress that day, claiming to “make history.” At one point he is said to have posted to a friend, “Yeah man so epic I have a video of me fighting riot police...” 

In the end, in January 2022, a judge goes easy on Mr. Ridge, due to his age (only 19 at the time of the crime). He is sentenced to 14 days in jail, 100 hours of community service, and given a $1,000 fine. His defense attorney tries to get his client off entirely, arguing at one point that the young man had shown an “admirable interest” in politics when he went to D.C. His lawyer also tried to drum up a little additional sympathy, insisting that Ridge’s brain wasn’t fully developed, because during the pandemic school shutdown, he missed his Senior Prom, Senior Spirit Day, and the senior year picnic. 

All very sad. 

Trump supporter, believed in a “stolen election,” violent.

 

* 

From fugitive to convicted criminal. 

340. MICHAEL GARETH ADAMS: The Virginia man was charged with a variety of crimes, including violent entry of the Capitol Building. He was identified, in part, because he carried a  longboard skateboard with orange wheels and a large blue flag with him to the Capitol. 

In July 2021, he failed to appear for two court dates. 

For a year-and-a-half, Mr. Adams remained on the run; finally, in January 2023, he turned himself in, and in May agreed to plead guilty to a single misdemeanor. 

His reward for being a stupid Trump supporter? The wasted 18 months on the lam, and now 60 days in the slammer. 

Trump supporter.

 

* 

“We’re gonna kill her.”

341. Hunter Palm: Mr. Palm, 19, traveled all the way from Colorado to take part in the attack on Capitol Hill. In a video he narrates on that day, Palm is seen walking the halls of Congress, looking for Speaker Pelosi. 

“We’re gonna kill her,” he says. 

USA Today adds, 

In Palm’s video, as they yelled about Pelosi, the crowd approached a closed door marked “OFFICE OF THE SPEAKER.” He then enters the office as someone screams an obscenity about Pelosi and then approaches a laptop on a conference room table and asks[,] “Who’s good at hacking. [sic]” Eventually Palm sits down and puts his feet on the table and said [sic]  “I think I like my new dining room. I pay for it.”

 

(Poor editing by USA Today, above; but another poor, deluded right-winger has been charged, pleaded guilty and now waits to find out his fate.) 

Right-wing person.

 

* 

“FBI are the terrorists, bunch of scum.”

342. ADAM WEIBLING: The 38-year-old Texan was taken into custody by F.B.I. agents on May 26, 2021. On social media Weibling had previously referred to these federal agents as “Nazis” and “terrorists.” 

His crime? Not insulting agents. Rather, his participation in the storming of the U.S. Capitol. 

HuffPost notes: 

Weibling, who used the Twitter handle @AdamWeibling, is a prolific tweeter. According to the FBI, his tweets between Dec. 22 and Jan. 15 indicated his “skepticism in the results of the election” and “discontent with Congress.” He also tweeted his intention to travel to Washington to participate in the Jan. 6 rally in support of then-President Donald Trump.

 

HuffPost analysis of Weibling’s tweets revealed a man who frequently engaged with conservative figures and outlets online through baseless rants about the media and a “stolen” election, but drew little if any engagement himself.

 

“No one ransacked, people walked around and took pictures, that’s it,” Weibling tweeted around 9:30 p.m. on Jan. 6. “Media is making things up.”

 

“Enough with the hysterics, these people were really peaceful, at worst this was breaking and entering,” he tweeted minutes later in response to another Twitter user calling the riot “domestic terrorism.”

 

Weibling went on to defend the actions of the rioters, referring to their behavior as “civil disobedience.” 

“These people,” he added, “had every right” to break into the Capitol. 

“FBI are the terrorists, bunch of scum,” Weibling tweeted on Jan. 12 in response to another Twitter user writing about the FBI’s search for Capitol siege participants.

 

“The FBI deserves a special place in hell for covering for the elite ... for persecuting patriots and allowing deadly actual terrorist riots by [Black Lives Matter] and Antifa,” he wrote in a later tweet. “The FBI are not that different from Hitler’s SS.”

 

Weibling seemed confused when it came to complaining about “deadly actual terrorist” rioters. Rioters were bad if they were Antifa types, but good if they supported Donald J. Trump. There was “nothing inherently wrong with violence. Not a single thing,” he wrote in reply to a tweet sent by right-wing commentator Mike Cernovich after the riot. “In fact sometimes violence is a good thing.” 

As in: Stop the counting of the votes in an election lost by the Orange Hero. 

(Weibling is said to have traveled to Washington D.C. with his wife Brittany, but she has never been charged with any crimes. He plead guilty to a single charge on July 14, 2022. In April he was sentenced to 30 days of home confinement, and placed on probation for 24 months. He must also pay restitution.) 

Trump supporter, believed in a “stolen election,”

believed in violence, right-winger.

* 

343. GARY WICKERSHAM: The West Chester, Pennsylvania man may be the oldest rioter of all and certainly qualifies as one of the most confused. 

In the criminal complaint against him, unsealed this week, we learn that the 80-year-old arrestee told authorities he had every right to breach the Capitol Building “because he pays his taxes.” 

As the Washington Post explains, Wickersham also insisted that that the insurrection was a “staged” act. Many of the people he saw “cursing, screaming, knocking cops away, breaking windows and doors, and entering the Capitol” were “members of antifa.” Which is kind of odd, since Wickersham himself also admitted to federal authorities, when interviewed on January 15, that he was a Trump supporter. He took a bus to Washington D.C. with other supporters of the then-president, attended the Trump rally at the Ellipse, and then marched to the Capitol. 

After his arrest, the old, tax-paying galoot was released on bail but ordered to surrender any firearms he possessed. 

(Fealty to the president, and to his lies, costs Mr. Wickersham dearly. He pleads guilty and is sentenced to 90 days of home confinement, three years on probation, a $2,000 fine, and $500 in restitution.) 

Trump supporter.

(CLAIMED TO SEE ANTIFA.)

 

* 

344. DANIEL WARMUS: Poor Mr. Warmus couldn’t help bragging about his part in the riot, during a visit to his dentist. 

According to NBC, in a video from the day of the attack, “Warmus…wore a sweatshirt that read ‘CNN is fake news,’ a hat that said ‘Trump 2020’ and carried a ‘Fuck Antifa’ flag.” 

Technically, we can’t say for sure that Warmus was a Trump supporter; but there’s no evidence he’s a liberal of any kind. 

He pleads guilty to a single misdemeanor in May 2021. He wins 45 days in jail, trips to the probation officer, community service, etc.

(LIKELY TRUMP SUPPORTER.)

 

* 

345. GARY EDWARDS: Next up for the police lineup: Bucks County, Pennsylvania’s own Gary Edwards. 

His arrest was made possible after a tipster reported to federal authorities on a Facebook post by his wife! 

That post read as follows: 

Okay ladies let me tell you what happened as my husband was there inside the Capitol Rotunda. There was a small group of young men dressed in military garb who yelled “we r going in!” They broke the barricade down, ran up the steps, broke a window and climbed in. They broke some furniture. Then proceeded to storm the floors. The crowd followed to stand on the balconies. When this happened there were police milling around doing nothing even after the breech…Gary walked around the back of the building and climbed the stairs walking right into the rotunda. He stood there and heard and saw teargas blasts. The police were right next to him as Gary poured water on their eyes. He stayed to chat w the police who were calm. Prior to Gary getting in evidently one woman was shot….

 

His wife defended the attack, saying that people like her husband were upset over the outcome of the 2020 election 

(December 2021: Edwards pleads guilty to one charge, and is sentenced to one year on probation, a fine of $2,500, and $500 in restitution.) 

Trump supporter.

 

*

A former GOP candidate.

346. JODY TAGARIS: Tagaris, 67, was busted this week for her participation in the attack on Congress. Tagaris isn’t some liberal type. She’s a former GOP candidate for a seat on the Palm Beach County commission. 

And also a bit of a grifter. 

(Convicted 6/6/22, punishment includes community service, probation and $2,500 in restitution and fines.) 

Trump supporter.

 

*

“We need to hang these motherfuckers.”

347. SAMUEL LAZAR: Four days after the attack on Capitol Hill, Lazar was seen at a political rally for a Pennsylvania politician who backed the former president’s efforts to overturn the 2020 election. One speaker at the rally: Rudy Giuliani, another purveyor of the “Big Lie,” that the November election had been stolen. It was the lie that led fools and fanatics to show up on Jan. 6 and riot. 

To riot for Trump, not against him. 

As HuffPost explains: 

A Jan. 10 story on Lancaster Online [just days after the attack] chronicled some of Lazar’s trip in D.C., sometimes relying on the videos he posted. The story highlighted his military-style outfit and his patch, which read “Blessed be the LORD, my rock, who trains my hands for war, and my fingers for battle.” In a Facebook post after the Capitol attack, the news outlet reported, Lazar wrote that there was “a time for peace and there’s a time for war. Our constitution allows us to abolish our [government] and install a new one in [its] place.”

 

(Actually, it doesn’t, although the Declaration of Independence does address that very issue.) 

In one video from January 6, Lazar is seen bragging about using chemical spray against police: 

In a video shot down the street from the Capitol, Lazar told onlookers that they “maced ’em [law enforcement officers] right the fuck back.”

 

“Fuck the tyrants,” Lazar said. “We need to hang these motherfuckers.”

 

There was, however, some mystery related to Lazar’s case. We knew that he had spent time in jail – but no one seemed to know how much. Then, suddenly, we learned he was scheduled for release in September 2023; but on July 19, his sister posted pictures of his release. Samuel could be seen waving a large American flag over his head. The last two years, she said, had been tough on the family, but added, “How great is our God!” 

“God bless each and every one of you as well as everyone in these United States of America,” she said. 

Eventually, we learned that Lazar had signed a secret plea deal, sentencing him to 30 months behind bars, and been released early. He had cooperated “fulsomely” with prosecutors, helping them build cases against other January 6 rioters. He also provided useful information regarding a murder case.

 

Lazar in white shirt, sister in black.

Trump supporter, right-wing individual, violent,

believed the election was stolen.

 

* 

Ready to draw American blood. 

Andy Walker: Mr. Walker is not charged as one of the rioters, but when you go looking for evidence to prove what kind of people showed up in D.C. on that fateful day, you find Trump fans as thick as blackberries in the summer woods. Walker, who hails from Lancaster County, Pa. (like Lazar, above) had identified himself online, in days leading up to the attack as a “Three Percenter.” 

He implored other “patriots” to rally for Trump, as well. 

As Lancaster Online explains, Walker was fired up and ready to rock and roll. And maybe crack a few other American’s skulls. 

“Our president has called us. Get your asses down there now. There’s no excuse!” Walker said, in [one video he had posted] before explaining why a strong showing was important.

 

“You know why antifa wins? You know why Black Lives Matter takes over frickin’ cities? Because we don’t do anything about it,” he said. “They come in numbers and they instill fear in everybody.”

 

The answer to leftist groups, Walker said, was simple: “This is our time to instill fear. This is our time to take back our cities. Our country. We cannot let this happen guys. If we lose this, we lose our country, we lose our Constitution. We lose our freedom and our rights.”

 

Walker was on one of a convoy of seven buses that left Lancaster County, headed for D.C. to help save the Constitution – by destroying the results of a fair election – which Trump had lost. 

And he didn’t come dressed as a typical tourist. He wore a LIONS NOT SHEEP baseball hat, a tactical vest, and had a walkie-talkie clipped to his collar, the better to coordinate his and his friends’ potential attack. 

As for the like-minded Lazar, 

The self-described entrepreneur and business owner wore striped camouflage face paint, a camo flak helmet and camo vest. A patch read, “Blessed be the LORD, my rock, who trains my hands for war, and my fingers for battle.”

 

“It’s going to be an eventful day,” Lazar said in the video. “Donald Trump is going to shock the world! We’re ready for war, if we’re needed. … What’s going to happen today is going to be historic. America is going to take back everything, its glory. We’re going to make sure that happens! Freedom!”

 

So: Walker (not charged) and Lazar came to D.C. ready to draw American blood to keep Trump in office. 

Trump supporter (Walker).

 

* 

“Hitler didn’t finish the job.” 

348. MATTHEW JASON BEDDINGFIELD: Dubbed the “#NaziGrayHat” guy on social media, the 19-year-old North Carolina man was out on bail at the time he joined the riot, having been charged with “first-degree attempted murder for allegedly shooting another teenager in the head” in a Walmart parking lot. Police say Beddingfield fled the scene of that crime in a Dodge Charger, but turned himself in the next morning, Dec. 14, 2019. 

He was held in jail on $1 million bond, and released a few weeks later when bond was lowered to $100,000. 

The shooting received heavy news coverage, and numerous photos and mug shots of Beddingfield appeared online. The defendant’s father spoke to reporters and said his son had shot the 17-year-old because he’d been robbed. 

On Facebook, Jason put himself squarely in the midst of the January 6 riot. “We are here to take this country back from those commie bastards,” he wrote in a post that featured photos of the crowd in front of the Washington Monument for Trump’s speech. 

For reasons unknown to this blogger, the young man was not arrested till February, 2022. Prosecutors note that in one video he was seen giving a hand gesture associated with neo-Nazi groups. 

In March, a judge released him from custody, after his grandfather, a military veteran, who lives in rural North Carolina, promised to keep him under control. Prosecutors asked for him to be held, noting that he had harassed people online, racially, after taking part in the Capitol Hill attack. A police officer testified that Beddingfield used a flagpole to try to strike him in the genitals during the riot. 

Still, the defendant caught a break and was allowed to go home – but was not allowed to go to work for six weeks, and had to stay off the internet. 

During his trial, prosecutors warned: 

Beddingfield appears to harbor deep resentment towards the Black, Hispanic, Native American, and LGBTQ+ communities while glorifying white supremacist figures, beliefs, language, and ideologies. Beddingfield unabashedly expresses his wish that members of those groups meet a violent end and in others he expresses a desire to inflict said violence or death on the same.

 

Images on his cell phone, include, but are not limited to images of SS Bolts, swastikas (sometimes with hate language superimposed over the swastikas’ four arms), numerous images and memes featuring Hitler, and other anti-Semitic, anti-Black, and anti-LGBTQ+ memes and caricatures.

 

On an Instagram account, Beddingfield harassed other users with racial slurs and wrote “Heil Hitler.” In the days leading up to his Feb.7 arrest, Beddingfield was arrested on charges a reckless driving and allegedly harassing other Instagram users.

 

Good people, right! 

He also posted, at one point, “the only tragedy that happened was that Hitler didn’t finish the job.” 

When F.B.I. agents searched the home where he lived, they found thousands of rounds of ammunition, four long guns, four handguns – and additional ammunition in his family home. Beddingfield was already a convicted felon, and ineligible to own those firearms and ammunition. 

We have also learned that Beddingfield’s father drove him to the “Million MAGA March” in November. On the day of the attack on Capitol Hill, his father, Jason, posted on Facebook, “We are here to take this country back from the commie bastards.” So, like goofy dad, goofy son. 

As for the “only tragedy,” the tragedy might be that Beddingfield pled guilty to one charge of felony assault of a police officer in February 2023. In return, six charges were dropped; but he’s going to be spending a good while in prison. 

Again.

 

UPDATE: I was right. On July 11, 2023, the young man is sentenced to 38 months in prison, an additional 24 months on probation, and ordered to pay $2,000. His lawyer had argued that Matthew was too young, at 20, to understand his actions on January 6, that he had an “adolescent brain.” 

The judge didn’t buy it, although this blogger would admit, having an “adolescent brain” would go a long way to explaining why Beddingfield was a Trump supporter at all. 

Young Mr. Beddingfield.

  

Trump supporter, right-wing individual, violent.

* 

Sickened by “Foxitis.” 

349. Anthony Alexander Antonio: The lawyer for Mr. Antonio offered up a novel defense recently – with a germ of truth at heart. 

As the Washington Post explains: 

In the six months leading up to the insurrection at the U.S. Capitol, Anthony Antonio spent his days watching Fox News — a habit that actually made him ill, his attorney told a D.C. federal magistrate judge on Thursday.

 

His ailment? “Foxitis,” his attorney said. “He became hooked with what I call … ‘Foxmania.’”

 

In the virtual hearing, which went awry when another alleged Capitol rioter interrupted with obscenities, Antonio’s attorney, Joseph Hurley, claimed that Fox News’s decision to regularly air then-President Donald Trump’s false claims of mass election fraud contributed to Antonio’s decision to participate in the insurrection.

 

Hurley went on to say that Antonio “started believing what was being fed to him.” An unhealthy diet of empty calories, heavy with cholesterol-causing half-truths, covered in fattening rage. 

Mr. Antonio can be seen in video from the day of the riot, garbed in a bullet proof vest, carrying a “Three Percenter” patch, and shouting, “You want war? We got war. 1776 all over again.”  

Nor is Mr. Antonio the only rioter to have second thoughts about the man he was following when he went to Washington D.C. on that day. As the Washington Post noted this week, Antonio admits, 

“I kind of sound like an idiot now saying it, but my faith was in him,” defendant Anthony Antonio said, speaking of Trump. Antonio said he wasn’t interested in politics before pandemic boredom led him to conservative cable news and right-wing social media. “I think they did a great job of convincing people.”

 

The tide of misinformation continues to spread, U.S. District Judge Amy Berman Jackson wrote Wednesday in a decision denying the release of a man accused of threatening to kill U.S. House Speaker Nancy Pelosi, D-Calif.

 

“The steady drumbeat that inspired defendant to take up arms has not faded away,” Berman wrote in her ruling ordering Cleveland Grover Meredith Jr. (#100 on the list) to remain in custody. “Six months later, the canard that the election was stolen is being repeated daily on major news outlets and from the corridors of power in state and federal government, not to mention in the near-daily fulminations of the former president.”

 

Lawyers for Bruno Joseph Cua (#213 on the list), a 19-year-old accused of shoving a police officer outside the U.S. Senate chamber, attributed his client’s extremist rhetoric before and after the riot to social media. Attorney Jonathan Jeffress said Cua was “parroting what he heard and saw on social media. Mr. Cua did not come up with these ideas on his own; he was fed them.”

 

In a Parler posting a day after the riot, Cua wrote: “The tree of liberty often has to be watered from the blood of tyrants. And the tree is thirsty.” 

(We have counted Meredith, Cua and the shaman before.)

 

As for Mr. Antonio, his case plays out in the courts, and on December 13, 2023, he pleads guilty to felony assault. If Trump gets convicted in one of his criminal cases, maybe he and Anthony could be cellmates. 

Right-wing individual, violent.

Trump “sent us,” believed election was stolen.

 

* 

Waiting for the man on a magic carpet? 

350. LANDON COPELAND: As the Post noted, Antonio’s hearing, via Zoom, was repeatedly interrupted by a second defendant. 

Landon Copeland, 33, who is charged with several federal offenses including assaulting officers and throwing a metal fence at law enforcement, went on several obscene and belligerent tirades.

 

When Hurley mentioned “Foxitis,” Copeland yelled, “I object.” The Utah native later said, “F--- all of you,” “I don’t like you people” and “You can’t come get me if I don’t want you to,” according to the Daily Beast. The judge ordered Copeland evaluated for mental competency.

 

A second story about Copeland notes that he is a veteran and served in Iraq, where he was apparently wounded. Though out on bail, he proved defiant during the call, shouting at the judge, 

I’m going to tell you what you’re going to do. You’re going to give me what the (expletive) I want! You’re going to do what the (expletive) I tell you to do! I’m in the middle of the desert! You can’t (expletive) find me! You can’t (expletive) come get me! You’re going to give me what the (expletive) I want.

 

What he wanted was to remain free. What he did was make the case that he should be committed posthaste. 

As the case against him built, even Fox News noted that Copeland had been discharged from the U.S. Army after he was caught growing marijuana. And he had built up a history of arrests across the country. 

In May 2022, Copeland plead guilty to one felony. In return ten additional charges were dropped. He was then looking at between 41 and 51 months in prison. Comments on a story about Copeland are interesting, including this from someone tagged as LioRio: “Mr. Copeland found out real quick that legitimate political discourse does not involve attacking law enforcement because you are sad your candidate lost.” 

Anyway, Mr. Copeland held out hope. According to prosecutors, during jailhouse calls, he talked about Trump returning to power before 2024. 

On a magic MAGA carpet, possibly? 

Well, it better happen fast, if Copeland wants a magic pardon. On May 8, 2023, he was sentenced to three years in prison – with time spent in jail already to his credit. After his release, he’ll get to spend three more years on probation. The first six months will be spent under house arrest. 

Trump supporter; possibly a QAnon believer.

* 

351. Retired Sgt. 1^st Class Jeffrey McKellop: A former Green Beret., McKellop allegedly assaulted four officers during the attack, shoving a flagpole into an officer’s face and then throwing it like a “spear,” causing a laceration near the officer’s left eye, according to prosecutors. He has pleaded not guilty to the charges. 

As Army Times also reports: “Greg Hunter and Seth Peritz, two defense attorneys for McKellop, cited his 22 years in uniform and his three Bronze Star medals as they argued in favor of his release from jail until trial.” 

All respect to McKellop for his service. 

But. 

He can be seen wearing body armor and a helmet during the Jan. 6 riot, as if prepared to attack a few police officers. His lawyers insist he was so garbed only to protect himself from counter-protesters. “Scott Steiert, a fellow Special Forces veteran, said in a letter submitted to the court that he invited McKellop to the rally prior to the Jan. 6 riot because he feared protesters opposing then-President Donald Trump could attack him.” 

Another Trump fan afraid of imaginary Antifa and liberal types showing up on Jan. 6. Another Trump fan under arrest.

 

UPDATE: As of April 14, 2024, we find that McKellop had changed his defense teams five times, and may end up representing himself in court. He now stands charged with sixteen felonies in all, including eleven for attacking police. He has been in pre-trial detention since March 2021. 

Trump supporter, allegedly violent.

 

* 

“He feels like an idiot.”

352. DAVID ALAN BLAIR: Another rioter, Blair, was found carrying a knife after authorities say he shoved an officer with a lacrosse stick that was attached to a Confederate flag. As he squared up to the officer, prosecutors said he shouted, “What’s up motherf***er, what’s up, what’s up b***h?” 

When the F.B.I. showed up at his house, they found a loaded AR-15, and a set of brass knuckles. 

As his lawyer later explained, his client regretted showing up for the riot in support of Donald J. Trump. 

He feels like an idiot. He was sitting in the jail cell along with everybody else, and wondering what the hell am I doing here. He really feels like he was sold a bill of goods. He’s one of these guys who’s been watching Fox and Newsmax and OANN and doing his own research on the internet; he was beginning to buy into that stuff.

 

(Blair pleads guilty to one felony, in March 2022. The following July, he is sentenced to five months behind bars, and an additional eighteen on probation. He is also fined $2,000.) 

Trump supporter.

 

* 

The Melon-Colored Messiah.

353. SHANE JENKINS: Mr. Jenkins racked up a bevy of felonies during the attack on the U.S. Capitol, including pulling a tomahawk axe from a backpack and smashing a window, allowing rioters to enter the building. He also threw a series of objects, including a flagpole and a desk drawer, at police officers defending a tunnel entrance into the Capitol, federal prosecutors say.  

(Another burly rioter, a white man, wearing sunglasses and a “Make America Great Again” hat, has been photographed beating officers with metal knuckles. That attacker remains unidentified.) 

A few social media posts will give you an indication of where Jenkins stood on the political spectrum on January 6: 

“I love guns, I love the police, I love freedom of speech.” 

“Download parler before you can’t.” 

“The storm is upon us.”

 

In fact, the day after the attack, Jenkins posted an explanation of sorts on Facebook. “You have to break eggs to make [an] omelet,” he said. “Don’t think ‘omg those poor eggs.’ It’s deadly serious when people said ‘give me liberty or give me death’ people bled and died serving this country and I’ll be damned if I stand silently buy while we are bought by China.” 

(Sedition Hunters by Ryan J. Reilly, pp. 328-329.)

 

He was arrested in Houston, Texas two months after the attack – but not tried and found guilty until March 30, 2023. 

During sentencing, his lawyer offered this defense: Jenkins “knew next to nothing about the 2020 election and listened to sources of information that were clearly false.” 

This blogger is thinking: Yeah, Donald Trump. 

In fact, when I read a little farther in the defense statement, I see, Mr. Jenkins’s lawyer is thinking along the same lines. He explains, “There remain many grifters out there who remain free to continue propagating the ‘great lie’ that Trump won the election, Donald Trump being among the most prominent. Mr. Jenkins is not one of these individuals; he knows he was wrong.” 

His lawyer adds, finally, that his client’s “life prior to the instant offense was characterized by caring for his children, giving back to his community and a focus on his religious beliefs and moral values.” 

If you care to read the defense statement, you learn that Shane Jenkins was given up for adoption by a mother who was only sixteen when she became pregnant. (His mother either committed suicide at 18 – and may have been murdered by employees of Shane’s adoptive father, the latter being a drug dealer, who brought in drugs from Mexico, and abusive toward his children. There was a period spent in juvenile detention for Shane later, a period where he joined a gang, and was in a car when three companions were shot and killed. And then his parents divorced, and his adoptive mother remarried, and she too suffered abuse at the hands of her second husband. When Shane intervened to protect his mother, his step father threatened him with a shotgun and shouted that he would kill him. In self defense, Jenkins killed him. 

His adoptive mother later died of a drug overdose… 

And on and on it goes – a life of turmoil – and then a voice of fury – Donald Trump – summoning the walking wounded of America to join his MAGA army, and right all the wrongs they had ever endured. 

Trump: The Melon-Colored Messiah. 

Trump is now running for office again – still lying about how victory was his in 2020 – and Mr. Jenkins is going to spend the next seven years behind bars, in lieu of a pardon from the Messiah. 

He must also pay $5,176 in restitution. 

Trump supporter, he believed the election was stolen, violent.

 

* 

He was “injected” with lies. 

354. KYLE J. YOUNG: The defendant was charged with taking Officer Mike Fanone’s service revolver, after Fanone was dragged down the steps of the Capitol and feared he might be beaten to death. 

Young was later identified by Officer Fanone as the rioter who “had his hand on his gun and threatened to kill him with it.” 

In April 2022, Mr. Young agreed to plead guilty to a charge of assault, carrying a penalty of up to eight years in jail. He also agreed to be interviewed about the events of January 6 and provide access to any media sources he might possess. 

Having had previous convictions, including one for possessing a firearm after being convicted of a felony, the Iowa man had to realize he was looking at a lengthy stay in the slammer. 

The defendant also admitted that he was accompanied during the attack by his sixteen-year-old son. 

On September 27, 2022, he learned his fate – he would be spending the next seven years and two months in prison. 

His lawyer had hoped to win a lighter sentence, noting that his client had been “injected” with lies about the 2020 election and had asked his Facebook followers to join him at the “Stop the Steal” rally. 

You know. To save America. From a stolen election. 

That wasn’t. 

At trial, Young apologized to Fanone for having played such a large part in his beating (he handed the taser used on the officer to another rioter that day). 

Judge Amy Berman Jackson admonished Young for his actions: 

What you were trying to do was undo the indisputable result of other people’s votes and to do it by force. And you were trying to stop the singular thing that makes America America, the peaceful transfer of power. That’s what ‘stop the steal’ meant. And that’s exactly the opposite of what the Constitution means.” 

…

 

The judiciary, if no one else, has to make it clear, it has to be crystal clear, that it is not patriotism, it is not standing up for America to stand up for one man – who knows full well that he lost – instead of the Constitution he was trying to subvert. It is not justified to take to the streets, to descend on the nation’s capital, or to attack law enforcement officers doing their sworn duty at the behest of that one man.

 

(Sedition Hunters by Ryan J. Reilly, pp. 357-358.)

 

Morris Moore, another Capitol Police officer who was also dragged into the mob on that fateful day, testified that the battle to hold off the rioters “reminded him of the film 300, or a zombie movie.” He’d had nightmares since. 

“It’s almost like a war,” he said. “It was crazy.” 

When Fanone spoke about events of the day, and said he hoped Young would receive ten years in prison, a Young supporter could clearly be heard in court, calling the officer “a piece of sh*t.” 

The heckler was removed from court. 

On leaving court, Fanone said he was accosted by members of the Young family again, including the defendant’s mother, who called him a piece of sh*t. 

The question then: Who was it who “injected” Mr. Young and, apparently his family, with all those lies? 

And the answer should be clear. 

Trump supporter, he believed the election was stolen. 

 

* 

355.  WILLARD JAKE PEART: The Utah man has admitted entering the Capitol Building on January 6. 

His attorney tells federal authorities that his client is a member of Antifa and…. Hahaha. No. 

He tells them Mr. Peart traveled all the way from Utah to D.C., in order to attend the Trump rally and support the man he believed had been cheated out of a second term. 

PEART confessed to entering the U.S. Capitol Building through the northwest entrance near the Senate chamber. According to PEART, upon entering, he roved around the first floor between the Senate Chamber and Statuary Hall. While roving, PEART joined other rioters in chanting and calling out politicians. PEART provided a detailed sequence of his actions and movements outside and within the U.S. Capitol but was unaware of the duration or timeline of events. PEART assisted Agents in documenting these actions and movements on maps and floorplans utilized during the interview.

 

On pleading guilty, Mr. Peart is hit with 36 months of probation, including 60 days of home detention, 240 hours of community service, and ordered to pay $500 restitution. 

(The Washington Post has an interesting story about Peart –focused on his commendable actions in life. Sadly, in Utah, where he lives, he returned after January 6, to be greeted as a hero. Two years later, Mr. Peart, who sounds like an upright family man, still has concerns about election integrity.) 

Trump supporter, believed in a “stolen election.”

 

* 

356. ROBERT LEE PETROSH: Add this gentleman to a lengthening list of rioters who have been arrested, after a grandmother heard a friend, Petrosh’s mom, brag that her son was one of the people who stormed the U.S. Capitol. 

His lawyer told reporters that Mr. Petrosh would plead not guilty. “We’re anxious to move the case forward to a fair and expeditious resolution,” he said, by way of excuse. “He got caught up in the moment and was there for all the right reasons and got put in a situation where he exposed himself to these types of charges.” 

He “got caught up in the moment?” One wonders how? And “put in a situation?” What, by using his own two feet to enter the building? 

At one point, during the attack, Mr. Petrosh told officers trying to hold back the mob, “Give us Nancy, and we’ll leave.” 

He also pilfered two microphones from Pelosi’s office, later assuring a friend on social media, “Got your souvenir.” 

(Petrosh pleads guilty in March 2022. For his riotous souvenir-gathering antics he wins ten days in jail, a free year of supervised release, and is sentenced to a $1,000 fine, as well as ordered to reimburse the government $938 for damages.) 

Trump supporter.

 

* 

357. MICHAEL LEE HARDIN: Age 50, and a retired officer for the Salt Lake City Police, Hardin was taken into custody and had his first court hearing in April. In multiple photos from the day of the riot, Hardin can be seen wearing a bullet proof vest and sporting a Trump stocking cap. As part of his bail agreement, he must surrender his passport and the six firearms he owns. 

Hardin himself bragged on social media about his role in the attack, posing for a photo inside the building next to a sculpture of Abraham Lincoln. According to one tipster, the former cop allegedly explained, even before the riot, that he was headed for Washington D.C. “to fight for America.” 

According to court records, in other messages to the tipster, Hardin went on to add, “We stormed the Capitol, I am in here now! I know you don’t like Trump, but He is the rightful President!” 

“We will return until we win!” he later added. 

(Sentenced to 30 days home detention, to pay $500 in restitution, perform 60 hours of community service, and complete 18 months on probation.) 

Trump supporter.

 

* 

____________________ 

“The attack she participated in was an attack on our institutions of government, the rule of law and our democratic process.” 

Judge Dabney Friedrich

____________________

 

 Even online sleuths have done a better job than Mitch McConnell and the rest of the Senate cowards, when it comes to figuring out who the rioters were. Using facial recognition tools, for example, they identified: 

358. BRITTANY ANGELINA DILLON: Age 25, the woman from Maryland drove to the Capitol in a car registered to her husband. 

In a series of text messages she allegedly talks about being tear-gassed and fighting to enter the building. Police, she said “tried to beat me with batons.” In her zeal to stop the steal of the un-stolen election, Dillon called law enforcement officers, both before and after the riot, “devils.” 

The judge admonished her at trial. Dillon knew there could be violence. She said so herself. Yet, she still decided to take part. “The attack she participated in was an attack on our institutions of government, the rule of law and our democratic process,” Judge Dabney Friedrich said. 

(Dillon pleads guilty, gets two months of home detention, three years on probation, and an order to pay $500 in restitution.) 

Trump supporter.

 

* 

He fled, but was recaptured. 

359. ERIC BOCHENE (a.k.a.: Eric Festo): On social media, Mr. Bochene bragged that he was one of the first to breach police lines and enter the Capitol. One tipster told federal agents that Bochene broke a window in order to gain entry. 

According to law enforcement authorities, Bochene placed a call to a friend on Jan. 6 and that friend asked if he was at the White House, and Bochene said “yes,” a rioter once again mistaking the Capitol Building for the place on Pennsylvania Avenue. The recipient of that call also turned the rioter in to the F.B.I. 

When interviewed by federal agents, Bochene allowed them to view a video he took inside the building that day. 

At one point, Bochene also texted a friend to say, yes, he was involved in the riot. Then he claimed, “It was all a false flag. Insurrection act signed last night. Leftistbtrash are being executed right now.” 

He was arraigned in July 2021 and plead guilty to all charges. He did, however, invoke language indicating that he was a “sovereign citizen” and asked the court to pay $75,000 per hour for his legal services. In February 2023, he failed to show for a court ordered competency hearing. 

In July 2023, he failed to show up in court a second time, and an arrest warrant had to be issued. 

In August he was grabbed again by the feds, and stayed put in jail, until sentencing could be arranged. In November 2023, he was officially sentenced to 90 days in jail, with credit for time served, assigned a probation officer for the next year, and fined $500. It’s almost like  a “Stupidity Tax,” for believing Trump’s lies.

Right-wing individual.

 

* 

360. Dr. Jackie Starer: Dr. Starer, 68, a licensed physician from Ashland, Massachusetts is accused of assaulting police. According to a female officer, the suspect punched her in the left side of the head during the riot. A tipster told authorities that Dr. Starer bragged before heading to D.C., saying she was prepared for battle, and noting that she would be wearing a “mesh knife-proof shirt” and carrying “bottles of pepper spray.” 

She can allegedly be seen, earlier that day, attending the “Stop the Steal” rally. Of course, what rioter wouldn’t want to listen to Donald? Then it was on to the Capitol, just as the president commanded. There Starer got sprayed in the face with mace – and because of her actions, now faces felony charges. 

When not rioting, Starer is an obstetrician/gynecologist. Now she faces a total of eight charges, including one for felony assault. 

Trump supporter.

 

*

 

361. ABRAM MARKOFSKI: Wisconsin’s own, Markofski, 24, is a member of the National Guard. According to the Wisconsin State Journal: “An FBI affidavit filed in court says the two [see: Brandon Nelson, #362] drove from Wisconsin to Washington, D.C., on Jan. 5, and on the next day after attending the Trump rally met no active police resistance in entering the Capitol building.”

 

Markofski, however, was later found to have texted a friend to brag: “We stormed the Capitol and shut it down. Still inside.”

 

He is convicted of participating in the riot in December 2021, and sentenced to two years of probation and $1,500 in fines and restitution. 

Trump supporter.

 

*

 

362. BRANDON NELSON: He told F.B.I. agents that he and his friend, Abram Markofski (see above) traveled to Washington D.C. to see President Trump speak on January 6. That’s a long way to drive to end up under arrest. 

According to court documents, Markofski and Nelson drove home after the insurrection and texted each other after 1 a.m. the next day.

 

“We held the line . . . No backing down,” Nelson wrote, according to the criminal complaint.

 

“F— yeah, brother,” Markofski responded. “Patriots won’t go down without a fight.”

 

Nelson is also convicted for his role in the attack, fined $3,000 and sentenced to two years on probation. 

Trump supporter.

 

*

 

363. Kristopher Martin (a.k.a. Kristopher Dreww): The Huntington, California man bragged in a video made from a hotel room in Washington D.C. that he took part in the attack.

 

I just got back from storming the Capitol. It was successful. For all you bitches on Facebook going crazy talking about it was Antifa, and saying it wasn’t us, it was us. We proudly took back our Capitol. They brought the National Guard out for us. We had the (expletive) cops running from us. Not because they are bitches but because they are smart. We did it. God it’s so exhilarating!

 

Later, facing arrest, he told a different tale, as the Orange County Register explains.

 

Martin, who owns a hair salon in Huntington Beach, also claimed he was only speaking collectively in the video about participating in the siege and that he actually watched from afar. He also distanced himself from the destruction, adding he now believes Antifa was indeed involved in the riot.

 

As he further stated, “I never went inside the Capitol,” he said. “I am a waste of time (to arrest), but there are other people who did terrible things and should be arrested. I didn’t go to Washington for Donald Trump. I went there for everyone’s vote to count.” 

So, yeah. Martin didn’t think the vote in favor of Biden was correct. Ergo, a Trump supporter.

 

Martin bragged about rioting, but apparently didn't.

BLOGGER’S NOTE: Since the young man was only bragging, charges were quickly dropped. We will renumber our list in the next installment.