January 6 Rioters - Part XII - Blue Lives Do Matter (505-564)

 

BLUE LIVES DO MATTER

PART XII 

(Rioters #505-564)

__________ 

“Your job is to tell the truth. And don’t be fucking lazy.” 

William Greider

__________ 

 

AS OF AUGUST 2, 2021, four law enforcement officers who responded to the January 6 riot had committed suicide.

 

“Just as assuredly as if he had been slain on the Capitol steps.” 

Officer Howard Liebengood: The sixteen-year veteran of the United States Capitol Police killed himself on January 9. 

In a letter she sent to her congressman, his wife Serena expressed her anguish: “What must not be lost in all of this is my beloved husband died as the result his dedication to the USCP and the sacrifices he made to his well-being on January 6 and the ensuing days, just as assuredly as if he had been slain on the Capitol steps.” 

In the wake of the riot, a source told CBS News that many officers had been traumatized by the violence – and the mad hate the rioters evinced. One female officer had turned in her service revolver, fearing she might do harm to herself afterward.

 

“The situation has really demoralized the department. There’s tremendous moral injury, a sense of failure weighing them down,” said the source. “They went home to family and were asked, ‘how did this happen?’ And it’s very easy for those officers to interpret that as ‘how could you let this happen?’”

 

* 

Officer Jeffrey Smith: Smith, 35, was a member of the D.C. Metropolitan Police. At 2:38 p.m., on the day of the riot, he texted his wife Erin, “London has fallen.” According to the Washington Post, he knew his wife would understand his reference to “a  movie by that name about a plan to assassinate world leaders attending a funeral in Britain.” 

Six minutes later, another officer shot and killed the rioter, Ashli Babbitt, as she climbed through a broken window, and threatened to breach one of the last defensive lines protecting the halls of Congress. The Post noted: “Smith, also inside the Capitol, didn’t hear the gunshot, but he did hear the frantic ‘shots fired’ call over his police radio. He later told Erin he panicked, afraid ­rioters had opened fire on police, and wondered whether he would die.” 

At 5:35 that day, Smith was still working to defend Congress, when he was hit in the head with a metal pole.

 

In the days that followed, Erin said, her husband seemed in constant pain, unable to turn his head. He did not leave the house, even to walk their dog. He refused to talk to other people or watch television. She sometimes woke during the night to find him sitting up in bed or pacing.

 

“He wasn’t the same Jeff that left on the 6^th. . . . I just tried to comfort him and let him know that I loved him,” she said. “I told him I’d be there if he needed anything, that no matter what, we’ll get through it. I tried to do the best I could.”

 

Erin Smith told reporters that Jeffrey was “a completely different person” after the attack. He slipped into deep depression, was off work eight days, and when called back to duty, he never made it. “In his car on the George Washington Parkway on the way to his shift, he shot himself with his service weapon, becoming the second officer to take his own life in the wake of the riot.” 

When her husband reported to work on January 6, Ms. Smith added, “he was the Jeff that I knew.”

 

* 

Officer Gunther Hashida: Hashida was an eighteen-year veteran of the Washington D.C. Metropolitan Police.   

On Facebook, after he ended his life, his wife Romelia posted his picture and wrote, “A thousand words couldn’t bring you back… I know this because I tried, neither could a thousand tears… I know this because I cried, you left behind a broken heart and happy memories too… but I never wanted memories… I only wanted you.”

 

* 

Officer Kyle deFreytag: DeFreytag was a 15-year veteran of the Metropolitan Police. He was found dead on July 10. 

“I am writing to share tragic news that Officer Kyle DeFreytag of the 5^th District was found deceased last evening,” Chief Robert J. Contee III wrote in a notification to other members of his department at the time. “This is incredibly hard news for us all, and for those that knew him best.” 

According to his obituary, Kyle “liked hiking, camping, riding his motorcycle, he liked traveling and playing the drums,” and “always knew the best places to eat.” 

“Kyle was kind, he had a quick wit and a great sense of humor & kept us laughing for 26 years,” the obituary said. 

Ex-President Trump has never expressed sympathy for any officers who died, or for any of seven score who were injured, many quite badly. The only officer he has focused on is the officer who shot Babbitt. He called that officer a “murderer,” and called for the name of the shooter to be released.

 

* 

Trump dallied and diddled and enjoyed watching the attack. 

YEARS AGO, my father, the kind of old-fashioned conservative you could always respect, signed me up for a subscription to Imprimis, a magazine put out by Hillsdale College. Considering the fact my father passed away in 1999, I’m not sure why I still receive this useless publication in the mail. 

The main story in the November 2021 issue was titled “The January 6 Insurrection Hoax,” by Roger Kimball. 

Kimball’s argument, boiled down to its essence, was both simple and simplistic. The attack on Capitol Hill wasn’t so bad! Trump didn’t stir up the mob. Sure, he might have been “imprudent.” But the Black Live Matters people tearing up America’s cities the previous summer were worse. As for those arrested in the wake of the riot and still being held in jail? They were “political prisoners.” 

When I did a little checking to determine who Mr. Kimball was, I noted he once claimed President Trump was “a man of good character.” 

I caught myself muttering, “How is it possible to graduate from Yale,” as Kimball did, “and sound so dumb.”

 

If you missed the story, because you only watch Fox News, and only read Laura Ingraham’s lips, we know what many right-wing types – including her – really thought as the attack unfolded. They watched the mob storm the building and they knew who the attackers were and who stirred them to violence. 

Thanks to an investigation being conducted by the U.S. House of Representatives, we learned this week that on the day of the riot, Donald Trump Jr. sent a text to White House Chief of Staff Mark Meadows. He wasn’t blaming Biden or Antifa for what was exploding on screen. He was begging Meadows to talk to his father. “He’s got to condemn this shit Asap.” 

Congressional investigators also revealed that one unnamed GOP lawmaker texted Meadows with the same message: “The president needs to stop this ASAP.” 

So Don Jr. knew. And the lawmaker knew. And the people at Fox News – who now insist the attack wasn’t so bad – or if it was, it was because of left-wing types who tricked good patriots into rioting – knew that day. Ingraham texted Meadows, pleading with him to get the man in the Oval Office to call off the rioters. “Hey Mark, the president needs to tell people in the Capitol to go home … this is hurting all of us … he is destroying his legacy.” 

And he was. 

Brian Kilmeade, another Fox News host, knew too. “Please get him on tv,” he said of Mr. Trump, in yet another message to Meadows. The mob was, “Destroying everything you have accomplished.” 

Even Sean Hannity, the Master of Bombast, urged Meadows to get Donald to do something. “Can he make a statement? … Ask people to leave the Capitol,” Hannity implored. The answer, of course, was “yes.” Trump could have. Instead, he dallied and diddled and enjoyed watching the attack. His goal was simple. He wanted to overturn the results of an election that he lost. 

The mob he helped stir to action was just one of several deadly weapons he was willing to employ. We pick up the story of the people who rioted again. They were among the weapons the president chose to employ.

 

* 

8,000 rounds of ammunition.

 

505. Jeremy Brown: Brown is a former Green Beret, and a member of the Oath Keepers. He faces multiple charges for participating in the Jan. 6 insurrection and showed up for that event in tactical gear. This included, “a helmet, radio, a tactical vest, and prominently displayed large surgical trauma shears tucked into a pack sitting on the vest.” He also had “zip ties attached to his belt.” 

You know – in case you needed to grab Vice President Pence and turn him over to be hanged.

 

Mr. Brown came ready for war.

 

 

Reading over the record in Mr. Brown’s case, you don’t need a degree from Yale to grasp what he and his like-minded friends had planned. 

According to the affidavit a federal agent filed for and received a search warrant and was able to review Brown’s encrypted online chats. 

In one message, 

BROWN coordinated travel plans and rendezvous points [for the trip to D.C.]. On December 23, 2020, he messaged, “We have a RV an Van going. Plenty of Gun Ports left to fill. We can pick you up.” On January 1, 2021, BROWN, referring to his RV as “GROUND FORCE ONE” wrote:

 

GROUND FORCE ONE Departure Plan:

 

If you can, come to my house anytime Saturday. You can stop by and drop stuff off, or stay the night. This way we can load plan, route plan, and conduct PCIs (Pre Combat Inspections).

 

I would LIKE to depart by 0645 on Sunday morning, Jan 3^rd. Push through to the NC linkup on the 3^rd, RON (Rest Over Night) there, then push to DC on the 4^th. This will give us the 4^th/5^th to set up, conduct route recons, CTR (Close Target Reconnaissance) and any link ups needed with DC elements. If you need to be picked up, then we will work that into route plan and will provide exact pickup time by Saturday evening. Please have EVERYTHING ready once we arrive. It will be an ERO (Engine Running Onload). IF YOU ARE RIDING WITH ME, dm me with your plan to come here or be picked up. I will send address via the dm.

 

I am willing to make adjustments all the way up until we pass your ass headed north, but it is now time to shit or get on someone else’s pot. READY? GO!!!

 

In fact, Brown may have sent word to Roger Stone** – he of lying to Congress about meeting with Russians in 2016 – he of a pardon by Donald J. Trump – despite seven felony counts – that he could help him out:

 

**This may be a different Mr. Stone; but we do know Stone was guarded by Oath Keepers on the morning of January 6. 

At a rally on the evening of Jan. 5, again with Oath Keepers providing security, Stone fired up his audience this way. Tomorrow he warned, a great battle would be fought. “This is a fight for the future of the United States of America,” he said. “It is a fight for the future of Western civilization as we know it, it is a fight between dark and light. It’s a fight between the godly and the godless. It’s a fight between good and evil.” 

It was nonsense, what he said. Yet his listeners, many of them, including people like Brown, believed him. 

Stone was advocating a fight between Americans, those who voted for Trump  (“good”) vs. those who voted for Biden (“evil”). 

The next day, many who had come to Washington D.C. to support Trump were primed for battle. 

If that wasn’t bad enough, Mr. Brown recently had the bright idea of selling his home on Zillow. (Perfectly legal, at least.) 

According to federal agents, however, a picture of his office – because many people buying homes want room for an office – showed a whiteboard with lists. A buyer might even have wondered, does that whiteboard come with the house? Those lists were labeled, “Food,” “Clothing,” “Shelter,” “Currency,” “Communicate,” “Move,” and “Shoot.” 

“Shoot???” 

If you thought that sounded like Brown had plans to flee before trial, and go out in a blaze of gunfire if anyone tried to stop him, you would likely be correct. Under the “shoot” column, authorities surveilling Mr. Brown noticed there were “numerous firearms listed and explosive devices such as ‘flash bangs.’” The list on the whiteboard indicated Brown had the flash bangs “on hand.” 

Brown was “not registered to possess explosive devices,” and F.B.I. agents arrived at his home and placed Brown (once again) under arrest. 

He also had 8,000 rounds of ammunition on hand. Because if you’re going to shoot your fellow Americans? 

You need lots of ammo. 

* 

On December 13, 2022, a jury finds Brown guilty on six charges related not to his role on January 6, but to his possession of unlawful weaponry. Five of those charges are felonies. Mr. Brown awaits sentencing, but could end up spending more than a decade in prison. 

(I do hope he sold his home on Zillow.) 

Trump “sent us,” right-wing, ready for violence.

 

* 

506. BRANDON PRENZLIN: Mr. Prenzlin, 26, may have been inside the Capitol for no more than four minutes. It was still long enough to end up facing four charges, after authorities received a tip about who a man seen in videos from the day of the attack. The dead giveaway was a distinctive pair of blue and gray shoes Prenzlin was wearing that fateful day. 

Is he, at long last, the elusive Antifa type? Nope. He’s a former grassroots organizer for FreedomWorks, which Politico describes as a website that, 

highlighted a series of election fraud claims before and after the vote last November, stoking the same anger that brought many to the Capitol to insist — incorrectly — that former President Donald Trump had won reelection.

 

However, after the Jan. 6 riot, the advocacy group issued a statement saying violence had undercut “the very foundations of what our founding fathers built.”

 

He’s sentenced in July 2022: Ten months’ probation, 120 hours of community service, $500 in restitution, $2,500 fine. 

He also lost his job. 

Trump supporter.

 

*

As soon as the president asked. 

507. RICHARD WATROUS: Watrous, 59, told federal agents, when interviewed in June, that he made plans to go to D.C. on Jan. 6, “as soon as” the president asked people to do so. Like a minuteman answering Trump’s call – minus the Redcoats to shoot at from behind stone walls – he drove 340 miles, from his home in Cortland, New York, to the nation’s capital on Jan. 5. 

Watrous attended the “Stop the Steal” rally the morning of the riot, and, again, “as soon as” his fearless leader said march to the Capitol Building, Watrous began stepping out. Now, he’s arrested and charged with a variety of non-violent crimes. And he wasted a lot of shoe leather and gas. 

He has since described the scene he witnessed that day as “f**ked up,” and “crazy,” but when reporters visited his home in September 2021, they found a banner proudly displayed. It read “Save America” across the middle. “DJT” –Trump’s initials – were painted in the left corner and “told you” in the right. 

In April 2022, Watrous gets sentenced to 14 days in the slammer, and must complete three years on probation. Throw in 60 days of home confinement, and a bill for $3,000 in fines and restitution.

Trump “sent us.”

 

* 

508. Megan Dawn Paradise: Occasionally, when I update my lists, I notice errors (including listing the same suspects twice, under slightly different names. So we delete the duplications and plug in someone new. 

Miss Paradise finally makes our list on May 18, 2023, and fills this open spot. Only then is a court filing in the case of Richard “Bigo” Barnett released, showing that she had been arrested some time back, but was cooperating with prosecutors.

Prior to making her trip to D.C. to join in the “wild” events of that day, Ms. Paradise was known to enjoy going to rallies hosted by a Beverly Hills, California group called “Beverly Hills Patriots.” Paradise also seems to have run in circles with people who had Instagram accounts with cool names like “Homiesfortrump.” Ms. Paradise’s aunt has told reporters her niece isn’t all there, that she’s more like a 13-year-old. Truth be told, the exact kind of fool you might pick to believe in Donald J. Trump. 

At any rate, she appears to have fingered Mr. Barnett for the feds; and now, 926 days since the 2020 election, she makes our cut. 

Trump supporter.

 

*

 

“I came to…support the President of the United States.” 

509. James Tate Grant: Not all of the rioters on January 6, had such bloody plans as Mr. Brown; but the idea that these people weren’t Trump supporters is blown to bits by …let’s just say … the facts. USA Today adds the story of Grant to the mix, after the North Carolina man is arrested on October 14, 2021, and charged with various crimes, including assault on an officer of the law. 

His affidavit reads in part: 

One rioter jumped over the barricade and attacked officers, and while they were trying to subdue him, Grant pulled him away. A third officer punched Grant, but he and others were able to move forward and overwhelm the officers…He was identified in part by a cap he wore, with an image of North Carolina, and the caption “Drink local.” The FBI obtained additional photos of Grant inside the Capitol by searching the cell phone of Gary Edwards [see #345 on our list], who was arrested in May.

 

Why was Grant in D.C. on January 6? This is not a difficult to answer. On January 9, he told a reporter for WUSA, “I came to Washington, D.C. to support the President of the United States so my voice could be heard. As one of those 70 million plus disenfranchised voters. I feel as though my vote doesn’t count anymore.” 

He also claimed, just three days after the Jan. 6 attack, that he hoped those who resorted to violence would be arrested, but said, no, no way were they Trump fans. “There were people in that crowd who weren’t Trump supporters. My buddy got hit in the back of the head with a pipe,” he told reporters. “Why would a Trump supporter attack another Trump supporter?” 

He continued: “There were definite actors in that crowd. Whether they’re right wing conservative or left wing. There were people there not just there to protest.”

 

* 

GRANT was initially released on bail. In January 2022, however, he was arrested for a DUI. At that time he was found to be carrying an AR-15 in his car. Those troubles began when Grant caused an incident at a restaurant, and police were called. 

According to reporters, 

when officers pulled into the restaurant’s parking lot, Grant flagged them down and said, “They probably called on me,” and said he had been involved in the Capitol riot. Grant, who was behind the wheel, appeared to be intoxicated, police said. While being placed under arrest, he attempted to flee, and then allegedly dropped to the ground, saying, “Just kill me now. It’s over.”

 

A search of his car turned up the assault rifle, 60 rounds of ammunition, and a set of combat fatigues. 

Grant had already failed two drug tests, required as part of his pre-trial release. So he was sent back to jail, to await trial.

 

UPDATE: Mr. Grant’s experiences in prison are far from over. On February 2, 2024, he, along with four other men who joined him in attacking police, is convicted on a variety of charges, and he is likely to receive a lengthy prison sentence. 

Trump supporter, believed in a “stolen election.”

 

QUICK NOTE TO TRUMP FANS:  

If you voted – and millions of you did – good job performing your civic duty. Still, you weren’t “disenfranchised.” 

You voted! 

And your side lost. 

That happens sometimes, as it did to our side in 2016. People vote and their favorite candidates lose roughly half the time. 

In more than sixty court cases, since Trump lost the 2020 election, he and his lawyers have claimed voter fraud. The courts have rejected those arguments every single time. Even the U.S. Supreme Court rejected the argument. In one case, the highest court in the land tossed out a legal brief filed by Trump’s team, asking to overturn the vote in Pennsylvania – and did it in one sentence! That’s how pathetic the case was to start. Even the three judges Trump appointed turned it down. Only two members of the court said they’d take it up, but said if the full court did, they also would have denied the Trump team’s arguments.  

You can look these cases up.

 

In Arizona, Georgia, Wisconsin, and Michigan recounts were loudly demanded and conducted. Trump lost again. In three of those states, Biden gained votes. In Georgia, three counts were carried out, and although Trump gained a few hundred votes, he still lost by thousands. Then he called Brad Raffensperger, the Georgia Secretary of State, and demanded that Raffensperger “find” 11,780 votes, just one more than Trump needed to “win” the state. Raffensperger is a Republican. He says the then-President of the United States “threatened” him if he didn’t find the votes. You can look every bit of this up.

 

Don’t be a lazy dolt, like your favorite ex-president.

 

Just follow the links I have so thoughtfully provided. You can listen to the Georgia call if you like and hear your favorite feloniously-inclined former President of the United States beg Raffensperger to break the law and get him just enough votes to turn Georgia red again.

 

* 

“He came to fight.” 

510. CHRISTIAN MATTHEW MANLEY: Manley, 26, was accused of pepper-spraying police on January 6, discarding the cannister when empty, using a second, and finally throwing a metal pole at officers defending Capitol Hill. He was arrested in Anchorage, Alaska on October 15, 2021.  

He was described by the judge at his bail hearing as “leading the charge,” that day, calling others to join the assault. After everyone in court for his hearing watched videos of the riot, the judge denied bail, saying that Manley had gone to Washington D.C. for one reason: “He came to fight.” Manley previously served with the Marines, but has a “less than honorable discharge,” according to court records. He moved to Alaska in August, likely in hopes of evading arrest.  

The defendant also employed a public defender in his case.  

(Manley plead guilty in December 2022, admitting he used bear spray during the attack. He came to D.C. to fight, and now he has been sentenced. In April 2023, he learns he will spend the next 50 months in prison. His belief in Trump will also cost him three additional years on probation and $2,000 in restitution. 

(LIKELY TRUMP SUPPORTER.)

 

* 

“The deplorables have taken back our country.” 

511. JULIO CESAR CHANG: Again, USA Today nails who Mr. Chang is. 

A tipster told the FBI that Chang posted on Facebook that he had participated in the Jan. 6 riot, sharing photos of train tickets and comments about the “1776 Part 2 Revolution.” The FBI reported seeing a post of Chang, wearing a Trump ball cap and U.S. flag scarf, outside the Capitol captioned[,] “The deplorables have taken back our country.” He was also seen on security footage inside the Capitol, the FBI stated. He is a former employee of the Broward County Sheriff’s Office, and was identified by former co-workers.

 

Not only is Chang a “former employee of the Broward County Sheriff’s Office, further checking reveals that he is former “Lieutenant Chang,” who called the assault on Capitol Hill “the second American Revolution.” 

As of July 5, he has agreed to plead guilty to one count and in October 2023, he avoids jail but must complete three years on probation and pay a $500 fine. 

(Hillary Clinton famously referred to “half” of the Trump base in 2016 as belonging in a “basket of deplorables.”) 

Trump supporter.

 

* 

512. MEGHAN BOSTIC RUTLEDGE: The Virginia woman entered the Capitol Building with her father, William Thomas Bostic, Jr. (see: #513), and sister, Karegan Bostic (#884). According to court documents, Rutledge put herself inside the building that day, posting on social media, “After miles and miles of walking and cimbing [sic] and climbing some more we made it inside the capitol building. What an experience for the books.”  

Her next experience for the books – finding out her sentence, having plead guilty to one misdemeanor. 

(Prosecutors also note in her case that she admitted she “breached the Capitol with likeminded rioters,” only to use “social media to spread false information that the attack was done by Antifa.” 

On March 3, 2023, Ms. Rutledge gets 90 days on home detention, three years on probation, 60 hours of community service, and a bill for $500.

Trump supporter.

(CLAIMED TO SEE ANTIFA.)

 

* 

“Baton, body armor, helmets.” 

513. WILLIAM THOMAS BOSTIC JR.: According to USA Today, “Charging documents,” in Mr. Bostic’s case, “state that grand jury subpoenas for cell phone records showed Bostic had communications prior to Jan. 6 with a person who coordinated convoys, communications plans, maps and lists including a packing list. That list included a baton, body armor, helmets and portable chargers.” 

Additional digging indicates that “William” is actually “Willard,” and that Willard prefers to be called “Tom.” (The charging documents in his case, however, do list him as “William.” So, there you go.) 

He entered the Capitol with his two daughters, Karegan (#884 on our list), and Meghan (above). 

His packing list seems at odds with a claim Karegan makes during the sentencing phase of her own trial. She claims that neither she nor any other member of her family had violent intentions that day. 

In a plea for leniency, she writes: 

Myself and family members were simply there to listen to our former President, Donald Trump, speak. Since the arrest, I have taken time to research stories, and the division caused by that day in the hearts of many Americans, and I am sorry to those who I personally offended. … and as a proud American, I am ashamed for causing further division. I was raised to love and support our country, our government, our freedoms, and the laws that our founding fathers set in place that has made us a united nation and will be more mindfull going forward.

 

Mindful, or not, dad pleads guilty, gets 90 days on home confinement, 36 months on probation, and a bill for $500. 

Trump supporter.

 

* 

“Asskicking boots.” 

514. JAMES PHILIP MAULT: No way of knowing if Mr. Mault sang, “The wheels on the bus go round and round,” on his way to Washington D.C. We do know he and several friends rode to the capital on a bus driven by his father, with the purpose of protesting the election certification. 

In reality, nothing in Mault’s story is the least bit funny. A veteran, he had returned from a tough overseas deployment in 2014, only to begin drinking heavily. He married and had a kid, which helped. Now, he believed it was time to fight for America again. In a group text on January 5, he suggested that anyone going to D.C. bring long sleeve shirts, gloves, baton, pepper spray, helmet, eye protection, and “asskicking boots.” 

He was ready to fight. 

Congress needs to hear glass breaking, doors being kicked in, and blood from their BLM and Pantifa [sic] slave soldiers being spilled. Get violent ... stop calling this a march, or rally, or a protest. Go there ready for war. We get our President or we die. NOTHING else will achieve this goal.

 

(See: Sedition Hunters by Ryan J. Reilly, p. 147.) 

 

He ends up being charged with a variety of crimes, including spraying police officers with chemical irritant. 

At one point, videos show Mault helping another rioter who has been sprayed himself by police. Mault told F.B.I. agents, when interviewed, that he didn’t know who the man was. According to court documents he did. That “non-friend,” Cody Mattice (#515), has also been charged. 

Mault agrees to a plea deal in April 2022, and learns his fate on July 15, 2022. He’ll be ensconced in a jail cell for the rest of that year, plus 2023, 2024, 2025 and a bit of 2026. 

Trump supporter.

 

* 

The high cost of fealty to Trump. 

515. CODY MATTICE: Let’s just say that these rioters, there to protest the results of the election, came prepared – assuming your intention was insurrection. Mattice, like his friend, was accused of pepper-spraying police. 

I am thinking about how that the song should now be, “The wheels on the bus go round and round, we’re going to jail, because we’ve been found.” 

But that’s just me. 

(I should also note that Mattice is being represented in court by a federal public defender, which is kind of cool. The same government which he wanted to overthrow, is guarding his rights in court. And taxpayers like me are helping foot the bill! So proud. My tax dollars at work!) 

Mattice showed up for the riot on January 6, wearing a Trump sweatshirt, and with what looks like a bicycle helmet on his head. Various texts show Mattice planning how to disrupt the election certification, and in one message, “Cody from Rochester,” announces proudly, “I also maced a cop.” 

On July 15, 2022, poor Mault and poor Mattice learn the high cost of their fealty to Donald J. Trump. Having agreed to a plea deal, each man is sentenced to spend a lengthy chunk of the future behind bars. At the news, both broke down in tears. 

Mattice got 44 months. Plus a charge of $2,000.

Their lives were ruined because they believed President Trump.

 

Trump supporter.

 

*

 

516. Isaac Westbury: Mr. Westbury is part of a family that likes to stick together and riot together. His brother was charged last April (and we add him to our count now, see #517). Also arrested: His dad (#518). A woman at the same address, Rosemary Westbury, described the arrests as part of a “tyrannical system that is bullying the citizens of this once great United States of America.” 

She later added: “The government that we have in place is a domestic threat as far as I’m concerned.” 

Trump supporter.

 

*

 

517. Jonah Westbury: Charged long before his brother, and his dad, and Aaron Jones (#519), a family friend, he faces two charges, impeding official proceedings and unlawful entry of a federal building.

 

If we assume all four individuals are found guilty – and they may not be – we can predict Jonah will be out before Isaac, and Aaron, the family friend.

 

Trump supporter.

 

*

 

518. Robert Westbury: Dad, 62, is charged mostly with lesser crimes, such as disorderly conduct and impeding “the orderly conduct of Government business and official functions.”

 

You kind of know where these people stand when a Republican lawmaker from their home state posts on Facebook, on October 25, a link soliciting donations to a defense fund in their behalf. That Minnesota state senator, Mark Koran, thinks better of his post, however, and deletes it.

 

Trump supporter.

 

*

 

519. Aaron James: James and Isaac Westbury (#516) are charged with a variety of offenses, including carrying a “dangerous and deadly weapon, that is, a law enforcement shield” during the riot. They are also charged with two counts of “physical violence” against police.

 

Trump supporter.

 

*

Hate crimes and armed robbery, plus rioting!

520. ANTHONY VUKSANAJ: Mr. Vuksanaj faced serious legal problems, having been arrested on a charge of armed robbery in June. Police confiscated his phone at that time. A search revealed that the same number had been recorded as present during the January attack on Capitol Hill. 

The chunky 52-year-old from Mahopac, New York can be seen in videos from January 6, filming himself inside the building, and wearing a Trump sweatshirt, sort of the “uniform of the day.” 

The defendant checks off another right-wing box, you might say, when local news outlets note: 

Two years ago, in June 2019, Vuksanaj and his wife, Gina, were arrested in Somers and charged with criminal mischief as a hate crime. He also was charged with criminal possession of a weapon. According to news reports that cited the New York State Police, the couple attempted to forcibly remove a person from a vehicle during a domestic dispute and damaged her car with a tire iron, and the crimes appeared to be related to the victim’s sexual orientation.

 

The victim, a female, was a family member. 

(Found guilty: 42 days in jail, three years’ probation, $2,000 fine.) 

(POLITICAL AFFILIATION UNKNOWN, LIKELY RIGHT-WING TYPE.)

 

* 

521. Moises Romero: Mr. Romero, 28, was arrested on October 7, and charged with three crimes for his part in the January melee. He was turned in, originally, by an old high school classmate, which could make their tenth high school reunion awkward. When not busy trying to overturn elections, Romero works as  a nurse at Memorial Regional Hospital in Pembroke Pines, Florida. 

(Has since plead guilty.) 

(NO CURRENT INFORMATION ON HIS POLITICAL AFFILIATION.)

 

* 

522. EDWARD T. SPAIN JR.: The U.S. Army veteran from Oklahoma, age 56, traveled a long way to get arrested. According to USA Today, and The Oklahoman, Spain confessed to the F.B.I. in an interview and written confession that he had been inside the Capitol. “I had no intent on entering the Capitol Building but did so after hearing that shots had been fired on the Senate floor.” After federal authorities contacted him, he handed over a bag of clothes he admitted he wore on January 6, including a U.S. Army baseball cap. “I did not vandalize anything. I had no intent of causing harm or to anyone or anything. I utilized poor judgment in doing so,” he wrote. 

“We are wasting time!” the Trump-loving fellow posted on Facebook in the wake of the November election. Millions, he said, should march on D.C. to demand answers.  

Such as, is 81 million votes for Biden more than 74 million for Trump? Answer: Yes. It is, Ed. 

As The Oklahoman notes, “The Republican is listed in voting records as having an address in Chelsea, a town about 40 miles northeast of Tulsa.” 

(Pleads guilty, three years’ probation.) 

Trump supporter.

 

*

 “That’s not what we’re here for.”

523. DANIELLE NICOLE DOYLE: Doyle, 37, a former employee of the Oklahoma City Thunder has already plead guilty to charges related to her role on January 6. She was fined $3,000 and ordered to pay $500 in restitution, as her “share” for the damages done by the mob. 

According to her lawyer, Doyle’s sentence is the most lenient handed down so far, and his client is pleased. 

In her written statement, she described Jan. 6 as  a day where “hundreds of thousands of Americans came together in support of our President and the America that we love.”

 

“It was exciting and full of energy,” she wrote.

 

She also wrote about how things changed and how at one point she confronted someone who had “picked up a stanchion to break something.”

 

“I gently took their arm, looked into their eyes, and said, ‘That’s not what we’re here for,’” she wrote.

 

Breaking democracy, though? 

Sure.

Trump supporter.

  

* 

“Pi Annon” is going to prison. 

524. KENNETH JOSEPH THOMAS: See if you can decipher where Mr. Thomas, who goes by his middle name, “Joseph” or “Joe,” stands by reading this paragraph from his charging document: 

On or around midnight on January 6, 2021 (the late evening of January 5, 2021 into the early morning hours of January 6, 2021), an individual identifying himself as “Pi Annon” entered Ashland, Virginia around the vicinity of North Carter Road. Pi Annon took a video of his activity in Ashland, Virginia, convening a caravan of approximately 60 vehicles in anticipation of a scheduled rally in D.C. later that day (“Video 1”). Later in Video 1, Pi Annon addressed the caravan participants, stating “we all are meeting at the Ellipse to listen to Mike Lindell and President Trump speak. After that, we’re all going to march together down to the [U.S.] Capitol to listen to Michael Flynn and the events going on down there….See you in D.C.” Video 1 also showed a local news channel interview Pi Annon as the “organizer” of the “Maga Caravan” going to D.C.

 

The bad news for Pi Annon – he got hit with multiple charges for his part in the melee, including two related to assaulting police officers. 

Again, his indictment read: 

Subsequent interviews with law enforcement officers who were present at the Upper West Terrace confirmed that the depicted individual did, in fact, attack them. Officers stated that this individual “was one of the first to come in and start hitting [and] pushing officers on the line” and “tried to kick [their] shield,” “tr[ied] to punch around [their] shield,” and “engaged other officers.” Throughout his interactions with law enforcement on the Upper West Terrace, THOMAS continually held a cellular phone up, apparently recording the events as they occurred.

 

The good news for Thomas, if any? A video he made from January 6 did get 181 views! 

Alas, on June 1, 2023, Mr. Pi got nailed by a jury on seven assorted charges, both felonies and misdemeanors.

 

UPDATE (7/5/23): Mr. Pi Anon lands in hot water once again, after authorities note that the convicted felon failed to notify his “supervision officer” and in March 2023, headed for a right-wing conference, where he proudly hung out with at least one of his fellow rioters, Capt. Gabriel Garcia (#158 on our list) – who himself was supposed to be stuck on home detention.

 

UPDATE (11/17/23): The blogger learns a little more about Mr. Thomas after he’s sentenced. He was sometimes known as the “Pajama Preacher” since he once delivered a sermon in church, wearing a t-shirt and yellow Minions cartoon-themed sleepwear pants. Following his arrest, Thomas spent his time spreading the story that the attack on January 6 was actually the work of the government – even though he bragged about bringing a whole  “MAGA Caravan”  to D.C. to attend the “Stop the Steal” rally. Later he created his own website, “Help Joseph Thomas Let Freedom Sing,” and raised more than $77,000 for his defense. 

Sadly, for Mr. Thomas, he’ll be doing his singing from jail for the next 58 months, and he’s also required to pay $22,000 in fines and restitution. 

A jury found him “not guilty” on two charges, deadlocked on two more, but found him guilty of felony assault. 

Trump supporter, QAnon, violent.

 

* 

525. JOSHUA “ACE” HERNANDEZ: Mr. Hernandez, 28, from Memphis, was not arrested until February 2022. He originally faced nine charges, including multiple felonies, for his role in the riot. 

When a Memphis TV station reached out to various federal agencies for comment, they declined. 

In November 2022, however, Mr. Hernandez, who had moved to Texas, plead guilty to two felony charges. We know now that he was seen that day, waving a flag and chanting and encouraging other rioters to charge police lines. He was one of the first to enter the Capitol, at 2:13 p.m. that awful day.  Once inside, he joined others who were confronting law enforcement officers at the East Rotunda interior door. 

He shouted and waved at others to join him in a group push against the officers in order for the mob to open the doors to other rioters outside. He braced and pushed with the group, causing the East Rotunda doors to open to those outside. He then moved around the group of rioters, moved the flagpole up, reached with it over the group of rioters surrounding the officers, and hit one officer on his riot helmet with the flagpole.

 

On February 2, 2023, Hernandez is sentenced to 24 months in prison, fined $2,000, and will be required to complete three years’ supervised release.

(LIKELY TRUMP SUPPORTER; NOT DEFINITIVE.)

 

*

“1/6/2021=7/4/1776.” 

526. KARL DRESCH: Mr. Dresch has plead guilty to a single charge, carrying a maximum sentence of six months in jail. (Evidence related to his arrest also led to the arrest and conviction of Jeremy Ryan Sorvisto (#841 on our list). 

Prosecutors note that damage to the Capitol on January 6 (totaled as of May 17), amounted to “approximately $1,495.326.55.” Dresch also agreed to pay a fine “in the amount of $500.” 

The judge in his case described the defendant as “an enthusiastic participant” in the attack, but Dresch, 40, had already been lodged in jail for seven months at the time of his plea agreement – and also accepted the fact that the description of his other violations of law was correct, including a charge of witness tampering. 

Dresch, a convicted felon, was found in possession of a number of firearms at the time of his arrest. 

He posted on social media that he would be heading for DC to “Stop the Steal,” and urged others to join him. “NO EXCUSES! NO RETREAT! NO SURRENDER!” he wrote. “TAKE THE STREETS! TAKE BACK OUR COUNTRY! 1/6/2021=7/4/1776.” 

In fact, Dresch wanted to be sure that people like him got credit for the takeover, posting a video of his role, captioned: 

Ok all conspiracy theorists [smiling emoji] don’t worry i loves yous all just setting the record straight.antifa did not take the capitol.that was patriots. I can’t guarantee there weren’t some shit birds in the crowd but what multi-million crowd can you guarantee? don’t give them the thunder, we the people took back our house, the news is all bullshit.and now those traitors Know who’s really in charge. And I can’t say I saw any violence from our people, despite all the poking of the capitol police, gassing randomly into women and children being peaceful, beating old men we kept it chill.

 

In 2014 Dresch was convicted of “fleeing or eluding the police,” in a car chase that passed through two counties and reached speeds of 146 mph. 

He plead guilty in August 2022, to one riot-related charge and was sentenced to time served, and ordered to pay $500 in restitution.

 Trump supporter, believed in a “stolen election.”

 

*

 

527. MICHAEL TIMBROOK: Timbrook, “known to reside in Tennessee,” is among more than 900 individuals charged in the January 6 riot. He is seen inside the Capitol, easy to pick out in a distinctive orange stocking cap. 

On February 9, two federal agents visit Timbrook, identify themselves, and explain the nature of their visit. “TIMBROOK stated he was ready to take the penalty for what he did on January 6, 2021.” 

He was shown various social media posts he had made, and agreed to sign and date them. One, from January 10, 2021, read: 

Sorry friends and family, but I guess all y’all hate me now. I’ve been admonished, criticized, judged and condemned, for what I consider to be an act of patriotism, by the entire news media, celebrity class, political class, religious groups, hell everybody with a social media has weighed in and found us Guilty of violating the Sanctity of a public building. All the while for the past two generations that I know of, we’ve all been complaining about how crooked our government is and there’s nothing we can do. Blah blah blah… I’m PROUD of everyone who went in there, even the thirty or so rowdy ones. Go ahead and ban me now because I have found my voice and I’m going to tell this story.

 

His “reward” for participating in the riot includes seven weekends in the slammer, $500 in restitution, and a thrilling year on probation. 

Trump supporter.

 

*

 

528. JEAN LAVIN: Lavin, from Connecticut, was charged along with her daughter (#529) with illegal entry on January 6, in part based on social media posts made by her daughter. 

Prosecutors noted that Lavin could be seen inside the Capitol on January 6, 2021. “LAVIN was wearing a red jacket, a pink shirt, a pink hat that said “Trump” and carried a purple backpack. She carried a sign that had two American flags attached to it that read on one side, “Trump Won” and read on the opposite side, “Don’t allow 7 states of cheaters to hijack our election!” 

In court, her lawyer asked the judge for leniency, noting that his client had suffered from “hopelessness,” “sleeplessness,” and “unwanted harassing phone calls.” 

In April 2022, she was sentenced to 10 days in jail, to be served on weekends, and fined $2,500. 

Trump supporter, believed in a “stolen election.”

 

*

 

Mandatory mental health treatment.

 

529. CARLY KRZYWICKI: Krzywicki and her mother have been charged for their roles in the attack.

 

As for where they stand on the political spectrum, Krzywicki posted on Facebook that day: “this is history. we do not go burning down our city and stealing from your business. we come for the government officials that are ruining our country. we go straight to the source. change needs to happen. that is our house and you work for us.”

 

Her eventual sentence is almost embarrassing. The judge orders her to serve 90 days on home confinement, pay restitution, and undergo mandatory mental health treatment. She’ll be on probation for three years, as well.

 

You figure a goodly number of these people could benefit from mandatory health treatment themselves. 

Trump supporter, believed in a “stolen election.”

 

* 

530. Deborah Lynn Lee: If there’s one over-arching lesson for these rioters, it’s: Don’t brag about your criminal activities on social media. Lee allegedly posted pictures from inside the Capitol Building with captions like:

IT’S OUR HOUSE. FUCK NANCY AND THE DEMOCRATS. WE HAVE EVERY RIGHT TO OCCUPY THE CAPITAL!! 

“Yes we broke in. Got to the (?) House? Idk it was fkd. They had guns on us. Live ammo. A 16 yr girl was shot in the neck n died. She was with the group that stormed the back” 

Someone asked: “Was any antifa in the capitol?” 

Lee responded: “yes we took weapons from them. Poles with nails in them. I have video. As soon as I can I’ll post. They were mixed in with us” 

(Kind of like imaginary Antifa friends?)

 

Even worse, if you’re a rioter, Lee posted information indicating that she was inside the building with “Michael Joseph.” (See #531.) 

She has asked for a bench trial, which is scheduled for May 2023. It’s not likely she’ll be found innocent; the only question will be how stiff the punishment. 

Trump supporter.

(CLAIMED TO SEE ANTIFA.)

 

* 

531. MICHAEL JOSEPH RUSYN: Based on Lee’s social media posts (above), federal agents visited Rusyn, who admits he was at the Capitol on January 6. “Rusyn said some people in the crowd were armed with weapons such as broom sticks with a nail or hook affixed to the ends. Rusyn told the agents he was pushed inside the Capitol and denied making a conscious decision to go inside.” 

He was arrested on April 8, 2021. 

A search of Rusyn’s phone turns up pictures and videos of Lee and himself, one of Lee standing atop a government vehicle in a distinctive, multi-colored jacket. 

Rusyn enjoys a tour of the federal court system, as a result of his decision to believe (like a dope) in the lies of President Trump. He ends up confined to home for sixty days, stuck on probation for 24 months, and lighter $2,500 in the wallet. 

Trump supporter.

 

*

“Pleasuring animals.” 

532. JIA LIU: According to his charging document, Liu enlisted in the Marine Corps Reserves in 2014. At the time of his arrest, on October 29, 2021, he was an E-4, or corporal. He was charged with four misdemeanors. 

In a bizarre aside, Liu is also listed as the sole member of a business account with JP Morgan Chase, Memelope LLC. 

A LinkedIn account believed to belong to Liu, lists him as the Chief Pleasury Officer of Memelope. Liu lists YouTube as his place of education on the page, indicating that he attended from 2010 until 2028.

 

The LinkedIn page makes multiple references to masturbation – under the “skills” section of his page, Liu lists “pleasuring myself,” “pleasuring others” and “pleasuring animals.”

 

In February 2022, his legal problems grew, when he and a nurse named Steven Rodriquez were busted for an alleged scheme to steal, forge, and distribute hundreds of fake COVID-19 vaccination cards. 

As for his participation in the riot, Liu agreed to plead guilty to one misdemeanor, and in June 2023, he was hit with a sentence of four months in jail. As you might have guessed, his time with the Marines has ended. 

We can also report that Liu was not sorry he joined in the attack on democracy. According to federal authorities, 

After January 6, Liu did not express remorse for his actions. Instead, he joked about participating in the storming of the Capitol. For example, in June 2021, Liu sent text messages to a friend about attending a “Turning Point USA” chapter event. He joked, “we’re not ACTUALLY gonna talk about storming the Capitol Pt. 2.” In August 2021, when one of Liu’s friends attempted to pay him using electronic transfer of funds, Liu joked that the transaction would not be successful because the bank was dealing with “someone who stormed the capitol.” 

Right-winger (of the anti-vaxxer persuasion).

 

*

 

“We should.” 

533. JAMES DOUGLAS LOLLIS JR.: Mr. Lollis gets arrested after F.B.I. agents receive a tip that Derek Gunby (#445 on the list) has posted pictures and video on social media, placing himself and Lollis inside the Capitol Building on January 6. 

With friends like these… 

Lollis could be seen wearing a baseball cap with the date, “1776” in orange on the front. 

In one video, Gunby says, in part, 

So, I went with James here, James Lollis, and we met up with some people from Texas,… So yeah we went, we were in front of the White House earlier this morning, and then going into the afternoon, everyone headed down to the National Mall towards the Capitol. And we all pretty much surrounded the Capitol. We are at a point now in this country where they are going to listen to us. They have to listen to us. Your congressional leaders are not afraid of you.

 

At the right moment in the video, Gunby turns his camera to show his friend Lollis, seated on what appears to be a D.C. Metro bus. Naturally, Lollis is wearing a dark blue “Trump 2020” sweatshirt. 

Gunby then turns the camera back on himself  and says, “The American patriot in this country has been, we’ve been Saints. Saints. Because the capability of America, and Americans, especially if we were the kind of people that the media always portrays us to be, we can take this country back pretty quickly. We didn’t bring weapons. 

A voice off camera can be heard saying, “We should.” 

Lollis is also seen in pictures from the riot with a yellow, “Don’t Tread on Me” flag sticking out of his backpack, and at one point appears to get pepper-sprayed right in the face. 

(Sentence: 90 days on home confinement, etc., etc. You can look it up. I’m getting tired of typing for the evening.) 

Trump supporter.

 

* 

534. JENNIFER RUTH PARKS: Mrs. Parks, 61, from Kansas was turned in five days after the riot, by a tipster who knew her daughter. Mrs. Parks’ daughter had posted on social media: “So depressed over all of the cheating in the election right now. Mom and her friend went to Washington for the March. Wish I could have gone too. Lol.” 

As court documents note, “PARKS’ daughter added: ‘We should all be climbing over those walls. They pushed us too far.’” 

On January 17, 2021, PARKS was located and voluntarily interviewed. According to PARKS, she attended the rally in Washington D.C. on January 6, 2021. PARKS believed she was attending a peaceful rally in support of President Donald Trump. PARKS, along with Esther Schwemmer (SCHWEMMER), entered the U.S. Capitol for “thirty minutes to one hour” after the doors were broken. PARKS entered the Capitol Building through the front lower door with no stairs. PARKS proceeded up a round staircase to the second floor and observed groups of people praying and singing. PARKS sung the U.S. national anthem in a group on the second floor of the building.

 

She and Schwemmer, 55 (#535, below), plead guilty  September 28, to one misdemeanor charge each. The lifelong friends have agreed to pay $500 restitution each – the going fee for individuals who played a minor role in trashing Capitol Hill. 

Trump supporter, believed in a “stolen election.”

 

* 

535. ESTHER SCHWEMMER: In the affidavit supporting her arrest, we read that she and Parks were present for President Trump’s speech. They headed for Capitol Hill, as per his instructions: 

SCHWEMMER added that she heard members in the crowd suggest going to the front of the Capitol building to conduct peaceful protesting. SCHWEMMER claimed that she and PARKS walked to the front of the Capitol Building, encountered no barricades and no police officer told them to stop. SCHWEMMER saw the open doors to the U.S. Capitol Building and entered with PARKS. They entered the building through the lower door in the front and went straight to the “roundabout” area. SCHWEMMER described the building as “messy and smelled bad” so they went upstairs. While upstairs, SCHWEMMER saw a female being released from handcuffs and escorted out of the building. SCHWEMMER stated police were around them and letting them walk around. As soon as a police officer told them to leave, SCHWEMMER and PARKS left the building. SCHWEMMER was wearing a brown Carhartt type jacket, a Trump 2020 flag wrapped around her, a backpack, and a Make America Great Again beanie hat. SCHWEMMER provided the attached photograph of her and PARKS taken outside of the Capitol Building: 

 

Parks and Schwemmer, right, both came to Washington D.C. to take part in a peaceful protest in support of President Trump. Esther pleads guilty, and gets placed on probation and ordered to  pay restitution.

Trump supporter.

 

* 

536. ANTHONY SCIRICA: Scirica was identified in footage of the riot by two co-workers. The Kernersville, N.C. man initially faced four charges. 

He also thanked “Lauren” for finding a picture, apparently of himself, back to the camera, in a video inside the Capitol Building. 

On Sept. 28, he plead guilty to one charge, and in January 2022, he was sentenced to spend 15 days in jail and pay $1,000 in fines and restitution. 

Scirica traveled all the way to D.C. to help “Stop the Steal,” and all he got for his troubles was an arrest record. 

Trump supporter, believed in a “stolen election.”

 

*

“Our wonderful President of the United States.” 

537. CARA MAUREEN HENTSCHEL: The F.B.I. agent in Ms. Hentschel’s case explains that a tipster provided evidence she had been inside the Capitol Building on January 6. On March 8, 2021, an agent contacted the suspect by phone. “I identified myself as an FBI Special Agent and explained that I was investigating crimes committed in and around the U.S. Capitol on January 6, 2021. HENTSCHEL declined to answer any questions but stated that she would cooperate if charged with a crime.” 

The following picture was located on Instagram:

 

Her social media posts include this, from Jan. 6: “The WASHINGTON DC POLICE DEPT murdered an UNARMED woman tonight! The media seems to keep leaving out the fact that it was the COPS who did that.” 

– and – 

“Patiently waiting for our wonderful President of the United States to speak. Jan. 6, 2020.” 

Then she identified a woman in a picture beside her: Mahailya Pryer. The two women send messages back and forth, “proud patriots,” “I love you so much,” “thank you for making history with me.” 

Now: getting arrested and convicted together. “The experience of a lifetime,” you could say. (See #538.) 

Hentschel pleads guilty in May 2022. The “bill” for her stupidity proves steep. She is sentenced to 45 days in a halfway house, ordered to pay $1,000 in fines and restitution, and complete three years on probation. 

Trump supporter.

 

* 

538. MAHAILYA PRYER: F.B.I. agents file for a search warrant and gain access to phone records for both Henschel (#537) and Pryer, putting them inside the Capitol Building during the riot. 

In Pryer’s case the affidavit reads in part: 

On or about June 3, 2021, I interviewed PERSON 1 by phone. PERSON 1 is PRYER’s relative. PERSON 1 traveled to Washington, D.C., on January 5, 2021, with PRYER and HENTSCHEL. PERSON 1 denied having done anything wrong on January 6 or having entered the U.S. Capitol and did not appreciate what people did on January 6.

 

PERSON 1 called PRYER during the interview and told PRYER she should cooperate with the FBI. PERSON 1 made the call to PRYER without any direction from or request by the FBI. PRYER became angry and hung up on PERSON 1.

 

A further search of phone records turned up a series of text messages on Hentschel’s phone. Asked by a friend if she had breached the Capitol, she replied, “I was the first group in. Yes.” 

Then: “We storm peloskis office and took her beer. She drinks Corona.” 

“Badass,” a friend calls Hentschel in another series of texts, after she says she got inside the halls of Congress. 

Pryer agrees in May 2022, to plead guilty to a single misdemeanor count. Hope the Coronas were worth it. She’s going to spend 45 days in the slammer, cough up $500, and visit her new probation officer until 2025. 

UPDATE (5/24/23): Probation doesn’t go well. Pryer is accused of eight violations and sent back to jail. 

Among the violations “continues to associate with known drug users and individuals involved in the criminal justice system,” operated a motor vehicle on four occasions without a valid license or insurance, possessed methamphetamine on four occasions, failed to make any effort to get a job and failed to attend substance abuse treatment.

Trump supporter.

 

*

 

“To right the wrongs of the past election.”

 

539. KURT PETERSON: A search warrant reveals Peterson’s presence inside the Capitol rather clearly: 

To my family and friends who are able to see this, I am writing it with a voice recognition program while driving. I feel the need to keep moving and trying to keep my phone wrapped such that it can’t be traced most of the time. I was at our nation’s capital for the rally and watched the presentations at the ellipse prior to walking to the Capitol building with at least a million and a 1-1/2 to 2 million people.

 

The people that were there at the ellipse were peaceable and loving and supporting our country. The people that were at the capital were also primarily peaceful and loving our country. But when there are huge crowds and there are people that are inciting violence the crowds will many times be pulled in to this action.

 

I was with 3 men who had served our country in special forces. All of us in our sixties. They were patriots and not an anarchists. When at the back door that we were at open and there were no police to restrain the crowd many people entered at that time. I stood at the door and told everyone that we were not there to hurt anybody or damage anything but as a show of solidarity to right the wrongs of the past election.

 

I did stop some men from trying to break down the large wooden doors to the house chamber. Then I saw chairs being brought into the corridor going to the speaker’s lobby. They also grabbed a large sign with a heavy metal base stating no photography. I pushed into the corridor yelling for them to stop trying to break through the doors in to the speaker’s lobby. The woman who was shot used the leg of a chair to hit a glass panel in the door. There were numerous police officers in the stair tower and hallway that I was in.

 

Before I could get to her the shot rang out from behind the doors in the speaker’s lobby through the glass which shattered hitting many please officers and people there. It was a young man in a suit who was supposedly a bodyguard for Chuck schumer.

 

The bullet hit the woman in the neck which caused her to fall backwards amediately. It could have hit numerous pleas officers that were there. Non lethal force could have been use with out the lethal shot that was made by this body guard in the speaker’s lobby.

 

I had my 1^st aid deer with me and asked numerous times to be allowed to render 1^st aid to this woman while she was bleeding on the floor. I was told that they were waiting for the fire department to Russ pond and they would not let me give her 1^st aid. She died on the floor within 10 minutes of the shot being made. The crowd became agitated but I yell the loudly and said we were all going to pray at that moment for everyone and volved which we did.

 

Sadly I do not trust many branches or people in our government particularly the federal bureau of investigation. So at this time I am moving continuously and wrapping my phone in such a way that I hope it cannot be tracked. If for any reason I am not available to see you or meet with you again know that my intentions are to keep our country free of oppression by an over zealous government.

 

God-bless you all and God-bless the United States of America!

 

According to law enforcement officials, Peterson was more involved in leading the attack than he let on. In one video, he could be seen “wearing a camouflage baseball hat, eye protection, and a camouflage vest over a black sweatshirt’ and using “wooden sticks and his fist to smash an exterior window pane of the Capitol building. … He shouts, “This is our house. Let us in. Our house.” 

His charging document also noted: “The Architect of Capitol has determined that the cost to replace the damaged window is in excess of $2,700, including the materials, labor, and installation.” 

Peterson faced four charges, pled guilty to a single felony, and on November 2, 2023, was sentenced to spend 45 days in jail, followed by two months of house arrest. 

Trump supporter, believed in a “stolen election.”

 

* 

540. MARK PONDER: Unlike many rioters, Mr. Ponder had a short trip to the riot. A resident of the District of Columbia, according to the affidavit in his case he could be seen on police body cameras, “at approximately 2:31 p.m.” attacking officers with a thin metal pole. One unknown officer “defends himself by raising a round, clear riot shield in front of his face. As PONDER strikes the round shield with the pole, the pole appears to break and the top portion of the pole flies to the side.” 

Not to be denied, 

PONDER then turns and runs back into the crowd. As he approaches the crowd, he appears to bend down and attempt to pick something up. Moments later, shortly before 2:32 p.m. PONDER reemerges from the crowd holding another long pole. This second pole appears to be thicker than the first pole and is colored with red, white, and blue stripes.

 

Police body cameras show Ponder running at officers and striking at officers in a group. “One officer standing at the front of that group uses a clear, rectangular riot shield to protect himself from PONDER’s blows.” 

Ponder is not done. Seventeen minutes later, still armed with the red, white and blue pole, he allegedly strikes a third officer. Soon after that, he is tackled to the ground and placed in handcuffs. 

The defendant is the rare African American arrested during the Jan. 6 riot but he’s just as dumb as any of the white guys in the crowd. At one point, he can be seen on police video telling officers, 

You know, deep in your heart, you know…that your fathers, your grandfathers, they fought for this freedom in which people are giving away. The thing is, at some point you are going to have to choose and make up your mind what side you are going to take…that’s what we fighting for because they are stealing that right…and its blatant, everybody can see it.

 

Raw Story also reports: 

During his interview with the FBI, MAGA rioter Mark Ponder said that he felt he had to storm the Capitol building because the Supreme Court and former Attorney General Bill Barr weren’t doing enough to keep former President Donald Trump in the White House.

 

“You cannot stand if someone is going to take it from you, if you are going to get robbed,” he said. “And you go to work every day and you go outside and somebody robs you. That’s something you can’t take, right?... And that’s how I feel about this election.”

 

(Ponder knows robbery by experience, having earlier in life been convicted of two felonies, one for robbing a taxi driver, the other for sticking up a bank. He pleads guilty to charges related to the riot in April 2022. On July 26, 2022, Ponder was sentenced to spend 63 months in prison.) 

Trump supporter, believed in a “stolen election.”

 

*

He and his wife believed Trump’s lies. 

541. JOSHUA JOHN PORTLOCK: Portlock showed up on Jan. 6 for a riot, 

wearing dark boots, jeans, a black jacket, olive green tactical gloves with black knuckle protectors, a red bandana around his neck, and a black beanie or stocking cap on his head beneath a white cowboy hat with the words “Trump 2020” on the front, “Stop the Steal” in red letters on the back, and an American flag pattern printed on the underside of the brim of the hat. Further, as later discussed and presented in the photo above, the black beanie has a yellow wreath emblem on it, a sign of affiliation with the Proud Boys.

 

Portlock is also known to have attended Proud Boy rallies in D.C. on November 14 and December 12, 2020. 

He was certainly a busy rioter on January 6, at one point using a large piece of plywood like a shield, and with the help of others, using it to knock back a line of police. 

Later, inside a tunnel entrance to the Capitol, he helped organize the attack. As the affidavit notes: 

PORTLOCK was in the tunnel for approximately 15-20 minutes, during which time he assaulted and obstructed officers as well as assisted other rioters in assaulting and obstructing officers in several ways. Significantly, on at least two occasions, PORTLOCK participated in “heave-ho” efforts, by which multiple rioters collectively used their body mass for greater effect in pushing back officers by gaining momentum through leaning back and then pushing forward while chanting “heave-ho” to coordinate their efforts. Additionally, on at least two occasions, PORTLOCK participated in moving what appears to be stolen USCP riot shields to the front of line of rioters to assist the rioters at the front of the line in pushing against officers.

 

Later, he lost his cowboy hat in the chaos, and did, at least, help pull one, maybe two police officers out of the crowd, where they were being pummeled and pounded. Or, as Trump once said, enjoying a few “hugs and kisses.” 

Trump. What an ass. As for Portlock, he faced four separate charges in the attack, including one for assault. 

He has now pled guilty.

 

UPDATE: Faced with serious jail time, Portlock now says he and his wife went to D.C., because they believed Donald Trump’s lies. Trump could be going to jail if he loses any of his four court cases. 

Portlock is. His sentence: 20 months, 24 months on probation, $2,000 in restitution. 

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

 

 

* 

People in “positions of power.” 

542. NICOLE PRADO: Social media posts once again trip up a rioter. After tipsters contact federal authorities, it doesn’t take long to pile up evidence that Prado was inside the Capitol Building on Jan. 6. 

In one picture she can be seen standing in front of a statue of Thomas Jefferson. She’s holding a large white flag with the silhouette of an AR-15 in black, bearing the words, “Come and take it.” That’s a twist on what the defenders of the Alamo said in 1836. 

In an accompanying video, someone jokingly says, referring to Prado, “Please meet the new Congresswoman... she uh, she just was in the Capitol for the first time today. She stormed the Capitol, she’s the new Congresswoman. She’s the new Speaker of the House.” 

Prado never gets to pass any legislation. In February 2022, she pleads guilty, gets 60 hours of community service, and has to cough up $1,242 in fines and restitution. She will also be on probation for a year. 

At her sentencing, her lawyer asked the judge to go easy o Prado, noting that the people “most responsible for Jan. 6” were people “in positions of power” who spread all sorts of misinformation – and they were the ones who needed to be held accountable for the events of January 6. 

(LIKELY TRUMP SUPPORTER; NOT DEFINITIVE.)

 

*

 

“Publicly bragging to friends and family about participating.” 

543. PAUL GRAY COLBATH: The criminal complaint against Mr. Colbath, from South Carolina, was not filed until October 20, but he has admitted he was inside the Capitol on Jan. 6. 

The complaint reads in part: 

On or about January 11, 2021, a tipster contacted the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) National Threat Operations Center to report that PAUL GRAY COLBATH, of Fort Mill, SC had been publicly bragging to friends and family about participating in the riots within the United States Capitol Building.

 

On or about January 22, 2021, COLBATH agreed to be interviewed by the FBI, including the undersigned, at his residence. He stated that he did not “assault” the Capitol building, but did enter it via an open door. Before entering the Capitol, COLBATH heard the sound of glass breaking, which he stated he assumed was a window.

 

During the interview, COLBATH stated that when he first entered the Capitol building, he was in a hallway, and saw a cloud of what he believed was tear gas, and he saw a man near him who had been affected by the tear gas. He ushered the unidentified man into a nearby office to get fresh air. He did not know whose office he occupied. He advised that he saw a broken window and vandalism to the office, and when he saw the clear signs of destruction, he knew that being in the Capitol building was wrong. He only stayed in the office a short time, and he believed it was no more than five minutes.

 

The agent in his case also reports: 

COLBATH advised that it felt good to get this off his chest. He stated that he did not want to turn himself in, because he did not feel like he did anything criminal, but that he still felt guilt about his participation. He felt ashamed and like he made “a big mistake.” He did not take any weapons with him to the Capitol or plan to promote sedition or overthrow the government.

 

In other words, Colbath does not seem, at first blush, like a terrible person, or even particularly dangerous on most days. 

You could argue he was duped into believing the election was stolen – and the man who duped him was Donald J. Trump. 

(Sentenced to 30 days’ home confinement, 60 hours of community service, and gets to spend three years on probation.) 

Trump supporter. 

 

* 

544. DONNIE DUANE WREN: The Mississippi man is arrested and charged on October 6, 2021, along with his cousin, Thomas Harlen Smith (see #545). The pair are then named in a 10-count indictment. 

That includes two acts of “physical violence.” 

Wren and his cousin are both convicted by a jury, on May 12, 2023. Wren gets nailed for a pair of felonies, and one misdemeanor. 

He’ll be out of jail long before his cousin. Both men were convicted on charges of assaulting police. 

He gets a year and a day in prison, and two years more on probation. 

Trump supporter, violent

 

* 

Whistling “Dixie.”

545. THOMAS HARLEN SMITH: At the time of his arrest, not much is known about Smith’s political affiliation, nor that of  his cousin, Mr. Wren (#544). 

We do learn that Smith was already facing a  felony charge for stealing gas, when he was foreman of the Oktibbeha County, Mississippi road department. So, let’s just say Mr. Smith is having a bad year. 

We later learn that he was reprimanded at work, after black employees objected to his repeated whistling of “Dixie.” 

You know he’s a right-wing type when you find his name included on the website “American Gulag,” which wants you to believe Smith is a “political prisoner,” and not just some stupid dork who was seduced by President Trump’s siren song of “stolen election” lies. You can be a stupid dork yourself and donate to his defense, and the defense of other suspects, if you visit the site. 

Not long after the riot, Smith posted this explanation on social media. 

And now we know: Smith gets convicted on 11 charges, including nine felonies, after a jury trial. 

We also learn that, yes, he was a Trump fan all along. He drove to D.C., picking up his cousin along the way, to hear his hero speak on January 6. Smith was carrying the old Mississippi state flag – the one with the Confederate battle flag included. Later, Smith kicked one police office in the back, knocking him down, and threw a metal pole at officers, striking two in their heads. Later he posted on social media: “Patriots stood together and battled the tyrannical cops throughout the entire afternoon.” 

For his efforts, aimed at keeping Donald Trump in office for a term he didn’t win, Mr. Smith has now earned a sentence of nine years in prison, and another three on supervised release. 

Trump supporter, right-wing type, violent.

 

*

546. ELIJAH YAZDANI (a.k.a: Loammi Yazdani-Isfehani: The Albany, Ohio man was hit with two misdemeanor charges for his role in the riot – which may amount to little more than entering the Capitol Building on January 6, and looking around. 

You kind of figure he’s a right-wing type when he gets posted to a website called “American Gulag,” which lists many of the January 6 rioters under the label of “political prisoners,” which they are not. 

According to the charging document in his case, he traveled to D.C. with two sisters, after expressing his belief that Mr. Trump had been “unfairly cheated” out of a second term. 

The defendant also told a witness that he did walk around inside the Capitol, but that he committed no violence, and, in fact, all the violence on January 6 was the work of Antifa. When interviewed by authorities, Mr. Yazdani-Isfehani, admitted he was inside the building – as were his two sisters. Loruhama and Abigail Yazdani-Isfehani. They are #634 and #635 on our list. 

All three eventually plead guilty, but Elijah wins the family award for stiffest sentence: 14 days in jail, etc. 

Trump supporter, believed in a “stolen election.”

(CLAIMED TO SEE ANTIFA.)

 

*

 

Chopping down the cherry tree of democracy. 

547. ISAAC YODER: A tipster trips up Mr. Yoder, alerting authorities to the fact he was inside the Capitol on January 6, dressed as George Washington – complete with a sword hanging on his belt. Only in this case, he was there to use a hatchet to chop down the cherry tree of democracy. 

On March 15, 2021, Yoder admitted to authorities that he entered the Capitol. Four days later, an article on the Newsweek website was entitled “George Washington Says if Capitol Rioters wanted Trouble There’d Be ‘Piles of Bodies.’” 

Like so many rioters on January 6, Yoder seemed blissfully unaware that the “piles of bodies” of which he spoke would have been not Redcoats or Hessians, as in days of yore, but fellow Americans. 

Basically: Those of us, 81-million strong, who voted for Biden. 

Yoder did have fun, however, playing dress up. He opted for a bench trial, rather than a plea deal, and told the judge at his trial that he had been “excited” to answer the call of President Trump to come to D.C. and stop an election from being stolen. 

That wasn’t being stolen. 

On May 26, 2023, Yoder was convicted on all four charges he faced, including one felony. On August 25, he learned he won’t be playing dress up for at least the next twelve months. He’ll be wearing prison stripes. 

No swords on belts allowed. 

He also owes $1,500 in fines and restitution. 

Trump “sent us,” he believed the election was stolen.

 

* 

548. William Sarsfield: Mr. Sarsfield came a long way from Gun Barrel City, Texas, just to riot (allegedly), and had to wait a long time to be arrested. But the hammer falls on Valentine’s Day 2023, when he gets charged with a variety of crimes. Charges include both felonies and misdemeanors. 

At first, his wife said he had defended police and reporters from attack that day, which may or may not be true. She also said she had her husband traveled to D.C. for a vacation, before she had to begin dialysis. 

They wanted to hear their favorite president speak on January 6. 

Now, charges against Mr. Sarsfield include assault on a police officer. He is accused of engaging in the battle inside the lower tunnel, where assailants used “stolen police shields to push against and hit” those barring the way. Rioters also “sprayed chemical irritants and threw objects” at the line of police. 

The defendant has admitted he participated in the riot, and was seen to enter the tunnel at three different times, and join the fight. 

Trump supporter.

 

*

 

“Better clean those guns and invest in some level 4 armor.” 

549. Ryan Scott Zink: The defendant is described in court documents as “a 32-year-old white male who lives in Lubbock, Texas.” He’s also a “local musician,” “owner of Pressure Clean Oil, Gas, and Wind” of that city. 

And perhaps a bit nuts. 

Zink can be seen in multiple pictures and videos, doing his part to block the certification of votes for Joe Biden. 

In one social media post, on Jan. 6, he places himself in D.C. and captions the photo, “Stop the Steal!!! Pray for us it’s already getting rough!!” 

Later that day, he makes clear what role he played. He says the media lied about the time rioters breached the building and he has “pictures with time stamps to prove it.” In fact, he seems proud to claim he has proof he was one of the first. “Literally inside the capital,” he says, “shots fired on the floor there is fire and gas and flash bangs have been used multiple serious injuries reported.” 

In a private Facebook message, he adds, “Broke down the doors pushed Congress out of session I took two flash bangs I’m ok I’ll be posting pictures in a bit when we get back I’m hurt but we accomplished the job.” 

He rambles on at some length: 

I went and fought for what I believe in I started no violence and even helped officers and injured people documented did what I felt was right. You don’t like it there’s a little button called Unfriend and do so immediately. A bunch of keyboard heroes saying what you would have done you weren’t there. You would have probably ran when it got heavy. I believe what I believe and if you believe different well that’s part of why I was there today. Standing up for all of us for the truth. We have no idea the hurt and pain this nation suffered today. I witnessed it first hand I saw people who were trained, coached, and dead set on destruction hurt police and in turn inward a woman died and you want to play games and talk shit to me about being there. History was made and I’m a part of it.

 

Not everyone went inside. It was a small group of about I would say 25-30 people and they were the only combative ones I got super close and documented everything I’m not some radical right wing nutjob I literally took pictures of them and saw the tattoos it’s not hard to identify. If you were there you could have seen this it was different in my life and in reporting I have seen what riots and violence looks like this was planned strategic trained tactical this was no ordinary rue it was a planned thing.

 

Punctuation, grammar, coherence? Not really his strengths. 

On January 8, he posts again: “I’m afraid the time for rioting is over better clean those guns and invest in some level 4 armor.” 

Here’s what his Facebook page looks like: 

FUN FACT: Ryan’s dad, Jeff Zink, , who was also present at the Capitol on Jan. 6, ran for a seat in Congress, from Arizona, but got swamped in a heavily Democratic district. 

The elder Zink got 23% of the vote in 2022. The seat is open in 2024, and Jeff will give it another try. 

His campaign in 2022, was built around the unifying theme: of “good vs. evil.” (You can guess who was evil.) Asked if he’d do it again, with his son, Candidate Zink said he would, “absolutely.” 

“Godly men and godly women need to stand up,” he insisted. He also added this nugget, insisting that COVID-19 was “a bioweapon meant to convert the United States to socialism.” He also describes himself as a Christian minister, which is kind of amusing, given Ryan’s call for clean weapons and body armor – and maybe a few dead Biden supporters. Dad has also taught at Grand Canyon University, a Christian institution, where he can mold young minds and make sure if they get infections, they don’t wear masks, and can cough all over one another. 

Thereby, defeating socialism – but not germs. 

In his first run, he was endorsed by “AZ MAGA,” a group which denied that Biden won the 2020 election. 

On September 13, the jury convicts Ryan, and as even he notes, it took them less than 30 minutes to deliberate. 

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

*

“The gravest threat to our Republic since the Civil War.” 

550. GRADY DOUGLAS OWENS: Owens was charged with using a skateboard to strike multiple officers on Capitol Hill. In all, he racked up six charges, including four felonies for assault. 

On April 23, 2021, his lawyer filed a motion to have his detention order revoked, insisting: 

Grady Owens is a 21-year-old college student with no criminal record who has led a remarkable life helping others. During the January 6^th riot on the West Lawn of the U.S. Capitol, his skateboard became a defensive shield in a split second encounter with an unknown force that surprised him. He did not seek to incapacitate or injure a police officer. Grady has never advocated violence against any person or government.

 

Federal officials contested that motion on April 30. 

The court ruled on May 28, first noting, “As defendant concedes, the mob’s riotous actions ‘resulted in deaths, injuries, destruction and the gravest threat to our Republic since the Civil War.’” 

(Trump fans refuse to face that fundamental point.) 

Judge Beryl A. Howell took nearly 27 pages to explain his decision. He noted, on one side, that “videoclips show defendant swinging a skateboard at one MPD officer, yelling and making obscene gestures at MPD officers, and trying unsuccessfully to push past a police line to breach the Capitol building itself.” 

On the other hand he wrote, “Defendant now moves for revocation of the magistrate judge’s order and for pretrial release to the third-party custody of a pastor and music leader at defendant’s church in Spring Branch, Texas.” Grady’s lawyer also noted that the young man traveled to D.C. with his father, Jason Douglas Owens (#551), and his grandparents, purportedly “to pray for this nation, for the leaders, for peace and unity.” 

Judge Howell adds that, unlike some defendants, there is no evidence young Owens planned his crimes. 

Still, the court recognized the danger police faced on January 6. “As the MPD officers approached the Capitol building, they were surrounded by a milling, agitated crowd screaming at and berating the officers variously for being ‘traitors,’ ‘storm troopers,’ ‘pigs,’ ‘oath breakers’ and ‘assholes.’” In addition, prosecutors noted, after Grady raised the skateboard high and brought it down on one officer’s head, he continued to menace police. “He continues to yell at officers including among other indiscernible statements, ‘How do you live with yourselves!?’” and “points at the officers menacingly and makes obscene gestures.” 

Judge Howell rightly observed that federal law requires a defendant be released on bail, unless “the judicial officer finds that no condition or combination of conditions will reasonably assure the appearance [later in court] of the person as required and the safety of any other person and the community.” 

That is, “In common parlance, the relevant inquiry is whether the defendant is a ‘flight risk’ or a ‘danger to the community.’” 

“The weight of the evidence against defendant is strong,” Howell admitted, but mitigating factors won out. “Defendant is 21 years old, has never been arrested nor has any criminal history, and he self reports a minimal history of drinking and marijuana use. … The over thirty letters submitted in support of defendant by family members and friends emphasize defendant’s exceptionally close relationship with his family, church and community. 

Howell therefore agreed to the young man’s pre-trial release. But that was the end of the good news for the defendant. In November 2022, Owens agreed to a plea deal and could face up to eight years in prison for cracking a police officer on the head with his skateboard. He also plead to a single misdemeanor charge, too. 

On June 23, 2023, the young man learned he will be spending 37 months in prison, and paying $3,000 in fines and restitution. 

Trump supporter.

 

* 

“President Trump and the country” are not the same. 

551. JASON DOUGLAS OWENS: Well, dad, nice work. You brought your son (#550, above) to the nation’s capital and you both ended up under arrest. 

Prosecutors allege that Jason Douglass Owens bought plane tickets to D.C. for himself and his son, and they came “to show support for President Trump and the country,” which, of course are not even close to the same. Dad was also accused of assault, among a variety of crimes. 

Like his son, dad is going to jail. As of June 23, 2023, he has been sentenced to two years in prison. He’ll be out before his son, but he’ll be out $4,000. 

Trump supporter.

 

* 

552. DARRELL NEELY: Neely, resident of the District of Columbia, was among those arrested in October 2021. 

USA Today, explained the circumstances: 

During efforts to identify him, the FBI interviewed three people who work with Neely at his radio station, Global Enlightenment Radio Network. Neely told cowokers that he acquired a Capitol Police jacket during the riot as a souvenir, as well as four china plates, the FBI stated in charging documents. He later discussed the riot on his YouTube channel.

 

Let’s just say Neely fits the profile of almost all the other people arrested at that point (and since). As Radio Online notes: 

Federal authorities allege that right-wing radio host Darrell Neely stole a baseball cap worn by a US Capitol Police officer during the Jan. 6 riot, then wore it during a live airing of his show. Three witnesses at the Global Enlightenment Radio Network, run by Neely, told the FBI that Neely bragged about stealing various items from an officer-including a dark-colored jacket with a silver badge, which he reportedly described as a “souvenir.” Neely also claimed he took china plates from inside the Capitol in messages and video calls placed in the midst of the riot, according to an affidavit.

 

The Washington Post reports that one witness, who saw Neely in person on Jan. 6, said he was “in possession of four china plates and a USCP jacket, badge, name tag, and baseball cap” and “boasted that he had attacked a USCP officer.” FBI agents who tuned in to livestreams of Neely’s show in the days after the riot saw Neely wearing the cap. Agents later tracked down the officer to whom the hat belonged, who claimed his or her belongings disappeared after they were removed during “decontamination from lacrimal spray,” meaning tear gas.

 

In August 2022, with his trial fast approaching, Mr. Neely decided he’d rather not face a jury. Instead, he absconded. 

A warrant was soon issued and he was considered a fugitive, which meant he might have had a felony added to his charges. He was caught, however, in September 2022. 

Throw in a domestic violence conviction in 2021, and at least five probation violations related to that case, and then a contempt charge, for failing to pay $5,000 in alimony and child support, and you have to admit, Mr. Neely is the personification of the Trump-loving American who believes in “law and order,” except where he and  the president might be involved. 

Not sure where he stands on some of his other legal problems, but on May 26, Neely won a rare acquittal on a felony charge of civil disorder. 

If you prefer law and order, it was good to see him get nailed on five misdemeanor charges. On September 5, 2023, Neely learns his sentence – and it’s a stiff one for a man facing only misdemeanors: 28 months behind bars. 

FUN FACT: Neely was prepared to flee the country before he was caught, having gone so far as to sell his home and – we assume – pack his travel bag. 

Right-winger..

 

*

____________________ 

“Trump called us. Trump called us to D.C... he’s the commander in chief and the leader of our country, and he’s calling for help – I thought he was calling for help.” 

Daniel Joseph Rodriguez

____________________

 

553. DANIEL JOSEPH RODRIGUEZ: Try as you may, when looking into cases of the people arrested for their roles in the January 6 attack, you just can’t find the elusive Antifa type. You know, the ones who “tricked” the good, patriotic Trump fans into shouting for Mike Pence to be hanged. 

If Trump fans want to know what Rodriguez, 38, was doing in Washington on the day of the Capitol Hill attack, they can watch video of his F.B.I. interview. I don’t think even Trump fans can miss this one. 

Then again, we’re talking…Trump fans. 

The fact is the defendant is crystal clear when agents ask what happened. “Trump called us. Trump called us to D.C... he’s the commander in chief and the leader of our country, and he’s calling for help – I thought he was calling for help,” Rodriguez responded. Then he began crying. 

Through his tears, he admits, he himself is not “a leader.” 

Huff Post does a good job telling his basic story: 

You’d be hard-pressed to find a bigger Trump fan than Rodriguez: He even tried to join the Army when Trump became president, showing up to a recruiting office with a Trump shirt on. So when Trump said that the election had been stolen, Rodriguez actually believed him, and when the president tweeted “Be there, will be wild!” about a protest in D.C. on Jan. 6, Rodriguez started making plans.

 

In a Telegram chat called “PATRIOTS 45 MAGA Gang,” Rodriguez laid out his agenda. “We gotta go handle this shit in DC,” he wrote, later adding: “Congress can hang. I’ll do it. Please let us get these people dear God.” Days before the Capitol attack, before he left the Los Angeles area, federal authorities say Rodriguez told an associate that he’d “assassinate Joe Biden” if he got the chance and “would rather die than live under a Biden administration.”

 

When he arrived in D.C., Rodriguez did put it all on the line for the former real estate mogul he’d watched on “The Apprentice,” the reality-television personality who Rodriguez said was “almost like an old friend.” As the pro-Trump mob seized Mike Fanone, a D.C. Metropolitan Police officer who self-deployed to the U.S. Capitol on Jan. 6, Rodriguez drove a stun gun into Fanone’s neck, shocking him. Fanone suffered a heart attack and barely made it out alive.

 

During his interview with the F.B.I., Rodriguez admitted he did taser Officer Fanone, adding, “We felt that they stole the election... we felt that they stole this country, that it’s gone, it’s wiped out. America’s over... it’s very stupid and ignorant, and I see that it’s a big joke, that we thought, that we thought that we were going to save this country.” 

He also talked about finding “intel” on a computer supposedly in the possession of Nancy Pelosi, proving that the election was stolen. “We thought we were...part of a bigger thing. We thought we were being used as a part of a plan to save the country, to save America, save the Constitution, and the election, the integrity.” 

Rodriguez pled guilty to four felonies, including one for conspiracy, in conjunction with Gina Bisignano (#163 on our list) and Edward Badalian (#554). It is alleged they gathered weapons in preparation for the assault on Capitol Hill, including “a taser, pepper spray, a baseball bat, gas masks, and walkie talkies.” 

In an attempt to lessen the jail sentence they knew was coming, the defendant’s lawyers argued that he drove the stun gun into Fanone’s neck – but “did so in reasonable reliance upon a grant of authority from a government official.” He had listened to Trump’s repeated calls for help. 

“As the leader of this country at that time, former president Trump told individuals that the election had been stolen and that, if they did not fight, they would lose their country. He relayed this message to individuals while telling them all that they were going to march to the Capitol.” 

And he led the fools on. 

(Sedition Hunters by Ryan J. Reilly, pp. 305-306.) 

 

On June 21, 2023, Rodriguez received a crushing twelve-and-a-half year sentence in prison. He’s 40 now; with time off for good behavior he might be out by the time he turns 50. As of today, New Years’ Eve, 2023, when I edit this post, 1,153 days have passed since the last election. 

No evidence it was stolen has been proven by any recount or in any court. 

None. 

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

 

*

 

“If you are gonna die, it best be on Capitol Hill!” 

554. EDWARD BADALIAN: In social media circles, Badalian went by the moniker, “Trump Ed,” (not “Antifa Ed”). He can be seen in video from Jan. 6, standing arms upraised defiantly, shouting, “Fight for Trump!” 

“Liberty or death,” he warns officers trying to block the mob at one point, admonishing rioters to follow him. “Push forward, Patriots! If you are gonna die, it best be on Capitol Hill!” he says. 

Like Mr. Rodriguez, “Trump Ed” was a member of the “PATRIOTS 45 MAGA Gang” chat. He was identified with help from online sleuths. Along with Gina Bisignano (#163), Rodriguez (#553) and Badalian faced a charge of conspiracy. Badalian, for example, posted on the PATRIOTS 45 chat, that those called to D.C. by President Trump would need to be prepared “to violently remove traitors and if they are in key positions rapidly replace them with able bodied Patriots.” 

In the wake of Trump’s defeat at the polls, Badalian began calling for Trump supporters to take drastic action. He suggested that “patriots” surround CNN, let people out, but let no one in. “The constitution works for us and it’s the ultimate law, but no one is willing to enforce it. We the people have to,” he said. 

“Our duly elected leader has called his marching orders. It’s time to stop giving a fuck about optics. We are not trying to win a GODDAMN ELECTION ANYMORE. It’s not about a goddamn popularity contest. If you know the Constitution is what’s right, then it’s time to fight for it.” 

(Not counting the First Amendment part about freedom of the press.) 

(See: Sedition Hunters by Ryan J. Reilly, p. 154.) 

 

Several videos released as part of the court record in his case did serious damage to his defense. One showed a number of rioters inside a trashed Senate office – with ripped up materials, scattered contents, overturned furniture, and a shattered window. We also know one witness admitted rioters defecated in that office before escaping. At least three rioters shown were wearing tactical vests. 

You know: Like tourists. 

Badalian later complained that wearing a location monitor, while awaiting trial, was “cruel and unusual punishment. He also claimed he was following the president’s “marching orders” on January 6. 

On April 4, 2023, he was convicted and awaited sentencing. During a courtroom break Badalian explained to the reporter, Ryan J. Reilly, why he believed he would have been within his rights on January 6 to have taken Speaker of the House Nancy Pelosi into custody. “Any person,” he insisted, “has the right to arrest anyone if they seem them committing a crime or if they have knowledge of them committing a crime. A citizen’s arrest isn’t kidnapping, in that sense, it’s bringing them to justice.” 

Reilly wrote: “As Badalian saw it, citizens could have seized Pelosi and Biden on suspicion of “election interference[.]” 

In fact, you could argue that Ed is one of the slowest of all the slow learners involved in the January 6 attack. At his sentencing hearing on September 26, 2023, he interrupted the judge repeatedly, who said, in response, that it was tempting to lock Badalian up for the full decade prosecutors had requested. 

Instead, U.S. District Court Amy Berman Jackson settled on 51 months behind bars as an appropriate punishment. 

Badalian did not take his sentence well. He shouted at the judge that he had been at the Capitol to protect it from Antifa attack. She called him “a legend in your own mind,” and a “hero in your own head.” As he removed his suit jacket, and gave up his tie, shoelaces, and belt, he turned to U.S. Marshals and asked them did they not feel they had a duty to ignore an unconstitutional order? 

The flaw in the right-wing ointment being – Biden didn’t interfere in the election. He won because most Americans realized Trump was a menace. 

Badalian didn’t. Now he won’t be voting in 2024, and he probably won’t be voting in 2028, since he’s a convicted felon. He must complete three additional years of supervised release without screwing another pooch, and he’s out $2,000 in restitution. 

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

 

* 

555. TIMOTHY DESJARDINS: Mr. Desjardins, of Rhode Island, was charged on November 30 with using a broken table leg to beat a police officer during the attack. He was first stopped around 2 a.m. on the morning of January 7, as he tried to climb over a barricade and enter the Capitol Building. At that time he was carrying a camouflage backpack, with one or two hatchets attached with paracord. 

Desjardins allegedly told officers he was “good” at using hatchets, but refused to give other information. 

The agents initially released Desjardins because they determined there were no warrants out for his arrest. Once he left the FBI building, prosecutors say Desjardins ditched his backpack on the street. Police say they found the backpack a few hours later, inside of which was Desjardins’ ID, two black walkie talkies, three axes, a flashlight, assorted clothing, prescription bottles and a credit card.

 

Investigators say they confirmed Desjardins was at the Capitol during the riot by cross-referencing video from that day with his mugshot after he was arrested in October for allegedly firing a shot that grazed the head of another man in the parking lot of a Providence Walgreens.

 

Desjardins has been charged with six federal crimes, including engaging in physical violence on restricted grounds with a dangerous weapon. He has not yet entered a plea and is being held in jail in Rhode Island.

 

On November 11, a Providence police officer tried to serve a search warrant, related to the shooting incident, at the “We the People” barbershop owned by Mr. Desjardins. The proprietor pulled a pistol and the officer retreated and called for backup. A standoff ensued, lasting several hours. 

Desjardins has already been sentenced to spend eighteen years in prison for that incident, and for a previous shooting, in a Walgreen’s parking lot, where he fired a shot that grazed another man’s head. 

Any additional time, related to his alleged crimes in D.C., at the time of the riot, will be added on as a bonus. 

(LIKELY RIGHT-WINGER.)

 

*

Lost his gun. 

556. MARK ANDREW MAZZA: The Shelbyville, Indiana man faced several serious charges, including bringing a loaded pistol to the January 6 riot. 

Mazza brought a Taurus revolver, loaded with three shotgun shells and two hollow-point bullets, to the Capitol. Police recovered the weapon in the West Front Terrace area on Capitol Hill shortly after 2:30 p.m. on the day of the attack. 

According to court documents video footage shows the suspect in the crowd entering the tunnel to the Lower West Terrace doors at 3:08 p.m. Mazza held doors open in an apparent effort to allow other rioters to break in. He could be seen holding a baton and pushing others toward officers, who were defending the area, and assaulting them. According to court documents, Mazza swung the baton at police and shouted, “This is our f**king house! We own this house!” 

According to court documents, on January 8, two days after the riot, Mazza filed a false police report in Indiana, claiming the revolver was stolen from his car late on the evening of Jan. 5, at a casino in Ohio. Then, he told police, he drove back to Shelbyville, because he was all tuckered out from gambling. 

In reality, 

Federal agents noted that the model of weapon Mazza allegedly carried on Capitol grounds “is one of a few handguns that can fire both shotgun shells and regular bullets through the barrel.”  The choice of weapon suggested to federal agents that Mazza intended “to use the weapon against multiple targets at the same time,” they allege.

 

The gun fell from the waistband of Mazza’s pants during a back-and-forth battle with a police officer listed only as CW-1, or Complaining Witness 1, in court papers. The altercation occurred on the West Front Terrace at about 2:30 p.m. on Jan. 6.

 

According to the Law & Crime website, 

Mazza’s Facebook page contains a litany of pro-Donald Trump images, anti-abortion rhetoric, pro-military messages, and other conservative talking points — including suggests [sic] that Ivermectin is an appropriate COVID-19 treatment and complaints about the validity of the 2020 election.

 

That Facebook page has now been deleted. 

(Mazza pleads guilty on June 17, 2022, including to a charge of carrying a loaded weapon on Capitol Hill grounds. At his sentencing, Mazza told the court he got “caught up in a mob mentality that I never anticipated” – thanks, President Trump – and that he was “not quite the monster that the prosecution has described me as.” The judge considered all the evidence, and sentenced Mazza to five years in prison. As part of his sentence, Mazza will have to forfeit two guns, 1,000 rounds of ammunition and the collapsible baton he took from a police officer.) 

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

 

*

“That’s all garbage lies.” 

557. LEWIS EASTON CANTWELL: Mr. Cantwell, 35, a resident of Sylva, North Carolina was arrested and charged with six crimes, including two felonies, one carrying a penalty of up to five years in prison, another a penalty of up to twenty years behind bars, related to his role in the Jan. 6 riot. 

According to the Smoky Mountain News, Cantwell claims he rode to D.C. with friends, who wanted to attend the Trump rally, but denied he attended the rally himself. In a social media post, later deleted, he said he did attend, however, and in the wake of the violent attack, he was at pains to say President Trump “didn’t say a thing that could be alluded to as instigating it.” 

Cantwell is a veteran, says he voted for Obama twice, despite being a registered Republican, and did a good deal of filming during the riot. As for who the rioters were, he made it clear. “People got mad when [P]ence didn’t do what they wanted, so Trump supporters stormed that building, not Antifa, not BLM, not undercover feds,” he said in one social media post. “That’s all garbage lies. I talked to people up front. Most were veterans and small business owners.” 

In the wake of his arrest, negative publicity forced him to close down a pair of tea shops he owned and operated. 

(Plead guilty, 3/24/22. Sentenced 12/6/22 to five months in prison, three years of supervised release, and fined $2,000.) 

Trump supporter.

 

*

“It was crazy...absolutely insane.” 

558. ROBERT MAURICE REEDER: Mr. Reeder, 51, can be seen in videos from Jan. 6, shouting, “Fight for Trump.” 

He’s a gentlemanly rioter. In a video he compiles, he can be heard at one point admonishing others inside the Capitol Building, “Do not destroy anything.” 

Later, he reports, 

Just left the Capitol, I was one of the last people out. I was in there for over half an hour. I got gassed several times inside the Capitol, many times outside the Capitol. Got shot with pepper balls. It was fucking nuts. We had to do...ah... battle with the Police inside. It was crazy...absolutely insane.

 

In March, Mr. Reeder agrees to plead guilty on one count, and agrees to pay a fine of $500, with a possible six months in jail. 

(He gets three months, instead.) 

Interestingly enough, Reeder later says he is a registered Democrat, and did not support Trump, and describes himself as an “accidental tourist” who entered the U.S. Capitol almost by mistake. His defense lawyer, Robert Bonsib, “claimed that, Mr. Reeder is not politically active, is not and has never been a member of any right-wing or anti-government or extremist group and has, unfortunately, been publicly grouped with many others (whose) views he abhors.” 

Bonsib continued, saying his client, “did not care much for President Trump, although he favored some of President Trump’s policies and he was not a strong supporter of his Democratic opponent in the election.” 

Prosecutors, however, insist that Reeder “bragged” about his participation in the riot. After additional evidence seemed to indicate Reeder helped attack police lines, he ended up being sentenced to three months in prison. 

(AMBIDEXTROUS, POLITICALLY SPEAKING.)

 

*

A nail in the face shield.

559. JOSIAH KENYON: Like a good number of rioters charged for their roles on Jan. 6, Mr. Kenyon, of Winnemucca, Nevada was represented in court by a public defender. Kenyon showed up for the riot wearing a red “Make America Great Again” hat and a “Jack Skellington” costume, based on a character from the movie, “The Nightmare Before Christmas.” For a time, in the wake of the attack, in hopes of evading arrest, Kenyon lived in isolated camps in Northern Nevada. 

Finally arrested in December 2021, he was charged with assault with a deadly weapon, after prosecutors say he used a table leg with a protruding nail to strike several police officers. One was hit in the head. 

“The protruding nail appears to become momentarily stuck between the top of the officer’s face shield and helmet,” an F.B.I. agent noted in the charging document. 

(In June 2022, Mr. Kenyon agreed to plead guilty to the most serious charge against him, and the following April he learned the high cost of his crimes. He will spend six years behind bars, and be forced to pay $43,315 in restitution.) 

His public defender noted that Mr. Kenyon had been consumed by conspiracy thinking in the months leading up to the 2020 election. 

At one point, Kenyon told F.B.I. agents he was a “communist,” that he hated Trump, and wanted to encourage violence – to get Trump supporters to attack police and get killed. He also admitted he was deeply depressed at the time and “really unbalanced.” His public defender says Kenyon was ready to die on January 6, and felt his family would be better off without him. 

On a right-wing fund raising page, however, Kenyon’s story sounds like the kind of right-wing baloney most of these rioters believe. 

“With so many families being hurt by this tyranny we live under, I’d have gladly died for not only my family but for every other oppressed family in my nation. I prayed my family would be better off without me, but now I cry all the time CAUSE I NEED THEM. I don’t truly expect to see them again because in my life very little good I’ve lost has ever come back” – Josiah

 

A husband, father of two young boys, and lover of animals (cats and dogs), Josiah went to the capital on January 6th to stand because he had only he had once again lost all he had, except for his family, due to losing his business during covid lock-downs. He had gone from the streets, where he had been off and on since the age of 14 to a new business owner in Nevada performing custom work and repairs on guns, producing leather accessories, and making knives. In this manner he was hoping to support his family on 40 acres that he had had owner-financed in Nevada.

 

Shortly after losing everything due to lock-downs, his family would experience a car accident that would cause them even more loss, including nearly losing their oldest son. Josiah was able to save his son by removing the seat from the floorboard and getting him to shore. Here Josiah came to have a great appreciation for the Taos New Mexico sheriff’s department, as they would assist his family on more than one occasion.

 

Josiah has not seen his wife or sons since his arrest on December 1, 2021. On September 14, 2022 he pled guilty to charges of assaulting, resisting, or impeding certain officers using a dangerous weapon, inflicting bodily injury (1) in hopes of being sentenced, serving that sentence, and returning to his wife and boys hoping he can still sit and put together Lego kits with them. Josiah and his family are in need of our support, please consider donating to help the family as they continue to navigate all of this. 

  (POLITICAL AFFILIATION UNCLEAR.)

 

* 

560. James Haffner: The South Dakota member of the Proud Boys, 53, was arrested in November 2021, after a picture from August, in which he can be seen with “Stop the Steal” nutcase lawyer Sidney Powell, helped authorities identify him as a participant in the January 6 melee. 

He is accused of assault during the riot, having come prepared like any other “tourist” with mace to spray police. 

Trump supporter, right winger, believed in “stolen election.”

 

*

 

561. Robert Loehrke: Also arrested in November, Loehrke, 30, hails from Georgia; and he’s yet another member of the Proud Boys who allegedly helped lead the attack on Capitol Hill. One of the leaders of the mob, and among the first to breach police barricades, Loehrke could be heard shouting, “Don’t back down, patriots! … The whole ... world is watching. Stand ... up!”

 

(The Washington Post has removed the expletives from his call for action.)

 

Trump supporter, right-winger.

 

* 

They tried to use the flu too (sic) steal our country.” 

562. Tim Levon Boughner: Boughner, 41, of Romeo, Michigan is a recent addition to the list of alleged insurrectionists. 

Prosecutors allege video shows him among a mob spraying officers who were attempting to secure the Capitol building and that he referred to this in a social media post later that day saying he had “f---- those cops up.”

 

On Feb. 17, he allegedly posted, “My life has not been the same since this day … I still don’t know how I ended up on the capital steps having a pepper spray fight with the capital police.”

 

Arrested on December 9, 2021, he is said to have been identified, in part, because of “a distinctive star-shaped tattoo near his right wrist.” 

According to the Macomb Daily, 

Investigators amassed numerous other Facebook posts allegedly written by the suspect that show numerous comments supporting former President Donald Trump after the 2020 presidential election and stating he would be president for four more years, along with more screen shots from the video taken on Jan. 6.

 

The Detroit News adds detail. Boughner was not shy about explaining why he joined the fight on January 6. “I can’t believe I’m saying this but we are going to be at war,” he posted on social media. “USA will be dealing with all the evils in this world. They tried to use the flu too (sic) steal our country.” 

Other thoughts, such as they are, included: 

To a friend: “Never will there be anything like this again bro. “Might even get lucky and stomp some ass. Lmao.”

 

And the day before the siege: “I’m on my way to Washington DC. To make sure Biden’s (sic) doesn’t become president.”

 

Then this (alleged) admission: “Tear gassed peppered sprayed guy got next to me got the rubber bullet. I grabbed a can from them and started spraying. I got it on video lol. That was wild. We made it to the senate (sic) floor till National guard started fight back.” 

Trump supporter, violent, believed the election was stolen.

 

* 

563. THOMAS PAUL CONOVER: As Raw Story notes, Mr. Conover, a resident of Texas, made the trek to D.C. and made it inside the Capitol Building, Coors Light in hand. He enjoyed strolling the halls – maybe shouting, “Hang Mike Pence,” or “Fuck Nancy,” and took photos while holding his soon empty beer can. 

In a video he recorded that day, he can be heard saying how happy he was that he and other Trump supporters had such a sense of decorum. Somehow, he managed to caption his video in all capital letters, saying: 

I PRAY TO GOD THAT NOBODY DOES ANY DAMAGE TO THE STUFF IN HERE, ‘CAUSE I’M NOT DOWN WITH THAT. BUT I’M KIND OF, KIND OF PROUD OF THE PEOPLE THAT STOOD UP AND SAID YOU KNOW WHAT? ENOUGH. YOU DON’T SEE PEOPLE SPRAY PAINTING S*** OR BURNING S*** DOWN.

 

“It’s really kind of cool,” he added. “I’m glad we came.” If convicted, he may decide it wasn’t so cool after all. 

(In April 2022, he is convicted, and for his pains he earns 30 days in a reentry center, 60 hours of community service, and has to pay $3,000 in fines and restitution. Plus, he’ll be on probation for three years.) 

Trump supporter.

 

*

A tip from a family member.

564. JONAS BUXTON (called JAMES BUXTON in another court document): The F.B.I. was tipped off by at least one of Mr. Buxton’s family members. Whoever it was, warned that he might have been armed with an AR-15 on the day of the riot. 

Soon after arrests began, Buxton “quit his job, disappeared, and went into hiding.” Buxton is a “Three Percenter,” a right-wing type. He can be seen in court documents holding an automatic rifle in one picture, garbed in a tactical vest, with a Trump-themed logo of some kind. 

I found it interesting, to note that court documents also show Buxton and others in his group had been warned that D.C. laws regarding weapons were some of the strictest in the land. With that in mind, leaders of his group agreed: 

we need to be entirely unthreatening in our demeanor as well as our attire…and to remain in abeyance of local laws, the wearing of combat uniforms, body armor, tactical vests, helmets, or any other “battle rattle” is prohibited. We are not going there to fight; we are going there to peacefully protest.

 

Buxton wasn’t entirely convinced. According to charging document in his case, he can be seen in surveillance cameras that day, 

wearing a black in color gas mask, black in color jacket with hood, brown tactical vest with a patch in the center of the chest, and brown pants with tan boots. As Buxton continued to move through the interior of the Capitol building, surveillance images later showed Buxton without the gas mask which revealed the presence of a red neck gaiter. Buxton was also seen carrying a yellow flag which helped identify him as he moved throughout the Capitol.

 

The young man from Missouri is not charged with any violence and faces two misdemeanor charges. 

At his trial, he claims he only went inside the building because he needed to use the restroom. His lawyer then files a motion, insisting that Buxton was “caught up in the moment” and “did trespass.” But Buxton had an excuse! “At a time when many reported election fraud following the 2020 election, truth became difficult to ascertain for many citizens.” 

So, when in doubt, riot! Cost: $1,000 in fines and restitution, probation, community service and 18 months on probation. 

Buxton: Christmas with weaponry.

Trump supporter, right-winger,

believed in the “stolen election” fairy tale.