January 6 Rioters - Part XV - 1776: Americans Shooting Americans? (666-720)

 

1776: AMERICANS SHOOTING AMERICANS?

PART XV

 (Rioters #666-720)

__________ 

“The liars were magnificent liars.” 

Mark Sullivan

__________ 

 

FROM THE MOMENT, in the summer of 2015, that Donald Trump descended the escalator and announced he was running for president, up to this day, the blogger has been baffled. Who can believe a syllable this guy has to say? He doesn’t even tell the truth to his wives. 

Yet, to this day, now a year and more, since the attack on Capitol Hill, the ex-president insists he scored a landslide win in the 2020 election. Who believes him now? Who believed him then?

 

* 

REP. Lauren Boebert is a sad specimen of the type. The young congresswoman took her seat just three days before the attack on Capitol Hill. She began raising hell even before arriving in Washington.   

On December 27, 2020, a week before she was sworn in, on a promise to uphold the U.S. Constitution, Ms. Boebert was helping to stir up the suckers who believed in the fairy tale of the ten million votes stolen for Joe Biden. That day, she put out this Twitter gem: “Objecting to the counting of certain electoral votes is NOT ‘overthrowing’ the results of the election if those votes were won through fraud. Winning an election through fraud is what I would consider ‘overthrowing’ the results. That is exactly why we’re fighting for POTUS!” 

(POTUS, of course, being fucking nuts.)

 

At 8:30 a.m., on the morning of the riot, Boebert was at it again, tweeting: “Today is 1776.” 

(When I checked some days later, that tweet had over 40,000 “likes.”)

 

I taught American history for 30 years. And when I saw that simplistic sentiment expressed, I had to ask myself. Did the congresswoman understand what actually happened in the era of “1776?” Was she suggesting that the president’s political opponents, his critics, and those 81 million of us who voted for Joe Biden – were we, in her eyes (and gun sights) like the British and Hessians of long ago? 

Was she advocating musket fire? Was she in favor of Lexington and Concord, all over again, only this time American shooting at other Americans from behind stone walls, and not at Redcoats on the march?

Lexington and Concord:
Only this time Americans would be shooting at other Americans.

 

What was Boebert suggesting – and what were so many of the rioters saying they wanted? Did they hope to trap Mr. Biden and Democratic lawmakers, and even Vice President Mike Pence, in a political equivalent of the siege of Yorktown, and achieve victory by similar means? It seemed to me that Rep. Boebert was far too anxious to start spilling American blood. 

I did a little checking, and stumbled upon an interesting story in the Colorado Times-Recorder, outlining Rep. Boebert’s right-wing militia ties. 

It helped explain who she was – and shed light on the thinking of others who attacked Capitol Hill: 

Boebert has long embraced the far-right militia movement, appearing at events with them and even asking members of the III% United Patriots, also known as the “Three Percenters,” to provide security at campaign events, as reported by CTR’s Erik Maulbetsch in July. The group had a strong presence at Wednesday’s riot. 

Birds of a feather, as they say – only a flock heavily armed. 

According to ABC, in October 2020, Sherronna Bishop, once Boebert’s campaign manager, a woman who bills herself as “America’s Mom,” hosted a self-proclaimed member of the Proud Boys on a Facebook video. In that chat Bishop described the group as “pro everything that makes America great.” 

Bishop has also warned that “illegal Immigrants are bringing a range of diseases into our country” and that climate change is a “hoax.” She expresses anti-vaccine opinions and shares stories from RT, a Russian government-funded website. According to U.S. officials, RT is a state-run propaganda outlet that played a central role in the Russian effort to disrupt the 2016 presidential election.

 

Boebert herself has drawn criticism for engaging in conspiracy theories. Boebert appeared on a QAnon-friendly podcast called “Steel Truth” in May. “Everything that I’ve heard of Q, I hope that this is real,” she said.

 

“Because it only means that America is getting stronger and better, and people are returning to conservative values.”

 

Boebert, then, was not the voice of the people. She was the howl of the mob. 

We saw what the mob did on January 6. We were lucky democracy survived. Once again, below, we look at our fellow Americans who purposefully or inadvertently wanted to be in on the kill.

* 

666. LOIS LYNN MCNICOLL: The defendant was turned in by not one co-worker at the Los Angeles County Department of Public Social Services, but two – which makes you wonder how popular she is with her colleagues. In video from that day, McNicoll is easily identified by the California state flag she had draped over her back. The words “California Republic” had been replaced by “Trump Country,” instead. 

Interviewed by an F.B.I. agent in May 2021, McNicoll explained 

that she learned via YouTube that former President Trump (Trump) would be speaking in Washington D.C. (D.C.) on January 6, 2021. The defendant further stated that accordingly, she traveled from California to D.C. on January 2 or 3, 2021, to be able to attend his speech. On January 4 and 5, 2021, she walked around D.C. sightseeing. On those days, she visited the Capitol building, but did not get close to the building because of the barriers around the Capitol.

 

The next day, she joined the crowd marching to Capitol Hill, and admits she entered through doors that had already been forced open. 

Plead guilty in May 2022. Slapped with two years’ probation, required to complete 80 hours of community service, and docked $500, in September 2022 

Trump supporter.

 

* 

667. GREG RUBENACKER: The FBI received a tip that Greg Rubenacker posted videos on Snapchat from inside the Capitol on Jan. 6, 2021. “Holy s***! This is history! We took the Capitol!” Rubenacker said in one video. In another video, Rubenacker admits he’s smoking marijuana inside the building. 

“Smoke out the Capitol, baby,” he says. Rubenacker is reportedly a DJ based on Long Island. 

In one social media post from the day of the riot, Rubenacker shows the crowd listening to Trump speak, and captions it, “America is pissed.” 

He was turned in to the F.B.I. by someone who knew him from school. 

One of the first rioters to breach the building, he and others chased an officer up several flights of steps at one point. He soon exited the Capito, but then reentered. He and others accosted police inside, with Rubenacker shouting, “You serve this country. Are you even proud of yourself? Are you guys even proud of yourselves? Who are you serving? Who are you guys serving? We are the people! Why are you not protecting us?” 

At one point he swung a water bottle at an officer, and then sprayed police. They pepper-sprayed him in return. Forced out of the Capitol Rotunda, he yelled, “This is a communist act right here. I hope you guys are proud of that. This is communist act by you guys. This is communist act.” 

He has since plead guilty to all ten counts against him, and will spend 41 months in jail and pay a $2,000 fine. 

He’s a Trump fan. 

Trump supporter.

 

* 

668. JERRY RYALS: Mr. Ryals, an apprentice electrician from Oklahoma, traveled to Washington to attend the Trump rally with his boss, Anthony Alfred Griffith Sr., and a friend. 

In a video from that day, shot by Ryals, a male voice can be heard, shouting “We definitely have enough people to overthrow this bitch. They don’t stand a f***ing chance. We got the f***ing doors open up there I guess. We’re working our way in slowly but surely.” 

Ryals also posted photographs and videos of himself inside the Capitol, standing by a statue of George Washington. 

When F.B.I. agents interviewed him at his home soon after the riot, he said that he was pushed into the building by the crowd. Pushed or not, he admitted going into one of the offices and spending an hour inside. A day after the storming of Congress, Ryals posted a photograph of himself just outside the building, “Where we go one we go all,” the post began. “We reclaimed our Capitol. … The media labeled us as ‘barbarians,’ yet every person I talked to today was a good hearted Christian, who all said they’ve never really gone to any rally, protest or anything like what we did.” 

On May 5, 2022, Ryals pleaded to one count in his indictment – a felony. He could have faced five years in prison. 

At a subsequent court hearing, his lawyer asked that Ryals only be sentenced to probation. Ryals, he argued, has already paid a stiff price for listening to Trump’s lies. He lost his job. He and his wife split. Heretofore an “avid hunter,” Ryals – now a convicted felon –also lost the right to own firearms or vote. It was the vote, says his lawyer, that Ryals “cherished so deeply.” 

On October 18, he learns his fate. It’s bad. Not as bad as it could have been: nine months in federal prison. Three years’ supervised release. 

A fine of $2,000.

Trump supporter, QAnon believer.

 

669. RYAN KELLEY: Mr. Kelley’s affiliation is clear at first glance. He’s a Republican – at the time of the riot running for governor in Michigan – but we could hope his arrest and participation in the riot would cost him a few votes. In November 2020, he was a speaker at a “Stop the Steal” rally in Lansing, and assured the crowd, “We’re not going to let the Democrats steal this election.” They didn’t. So, I guess he was right. He did go to D.C. and ended up under arrest. 

Kelley’s arrest is another bummer for Republicans in the state – since five of their candidates for governor were disqualified for…voter fraud. Namely: filing petitions to run with large numbers of fake signatures. 

Kelly goes on to not get elected – and then on July 27, 2023 pleads guilty to a misdemeanor related to his behavior on January 6. 

July 27 happens to be the 996^th day since the last presidential election, and no proof yet shown in any court, local, state, or federal, of significant fraud that would have changed the outcome. 

So, Kelley is a dope. 

On October 17, he learned how far he had fallen, from gubernatorial candidate to inmate in jail. He is sentenced to sixty days behind bars. During his sentencing, he still seems to want to shield Trump. “It’s not his fault, the former president, for my actions that day,” Kelley told the court. “He did invite us there, but my actions are my actions and I own those,” he said. 

A recap, then: We are now 1,078 days out from the last presidential election. Still no proof in any court that significant voter fraud occurred. Kelley is going to jail, because Trump invited him to the riot. 

And the guy currently indicted for election fraud is…Donald J. Trump. 

Even the defendant seems to realize now he had been duped. (He once called the riot itself a “false flag.” 

Standing before the judge, he said “he came to Washington in the first place because Trump had promised to show ‘receipts’ proving the election had been stolen…I was misled into believing those things.” 

“To this day,” he admitted, “those receipts never showed up.” 

Trump “sent us,” wanted to “stop the steal.”

 

* 

670. MELANIE LANHAM (a.k.a. Melanie Archer): Archer, 42, is the mother of three children, and when not rioting, resides in Shaler, Pennsylvania. Neighbors on her street describe her as “a kind and caring woman.” She turned herself in in March 2022. 

CBS News adds, 

“She’s very thoughtful and generous, so from that perspective, I don’t think she’s a bad person,” said a neighbor who didn’t want to be identified.

 

But, at least one neighbor also said, “I’m not surprised she was at the riots.”

 

On January 7, Lanham posted to social media, criticizing the MSM (mainstream media) and insisting the riot was really amazing, and not at all an attempt to keep Donald J. Trump – a pathological liar – in office for four more years: 

And I was one of the few hundred that got in. It was not as they are reporting. . . . I was THERE . . . in it all. It was amazing and handful of Trump posing Antifa were not a representation of the millions who were there. I was surrounded by grandmas and grandpas and ppl from every walk of like and different nationalities, black white, gay straight . . . . it was a very diversified group. And it was AMAZING .

 

She agreed to plead guilty to a single misdemeanor charge, related to her minor role in the attack. 

That garnered her eighteen months on probation. 

Trump supporter.

(CLAIMED TO SEE ANTIFA.)

 

* 

671. JORDAN BONENBERGER: Bonenberger and Lanham traveled to D.C. together, and can be seen in pictures and videos from the January 6 attack on Capitol Hill. In one report, Bonenberger, 26, is described as Lanham’s husband. He joined the Marine Reserves in 2019. 

Both he and Lanham initially refused to talk to F.B.I. agents. 

Bonenberger entered the Capitol at 2:38 p.m. on the day of the riot. Lanham followed six minutes later. 

 He pleaded guilty to a single misdemeanor, got placed on probation, but also got nailed for $2,500 in fines and restitution. 

(ALMOST SURELY A TRUMP SUPPORTER.)

*

A long prison term for another Proud Boy. 

672. JOSHUA PRUITT: I forgot to give Mr. Pruitt an entry, even though the Proud Boy was one of the first rioters arrested, along with Nick Ochs. The body builder and former D.C. bartender first got involved in “politics” when he hooked up with the group, although he was known to flash a white power gesture now and again. 

Now the bartender has had to plead guilty to one felony, and could be looking at a long stretch behind bars of a different kind. 

At his sentencing in August 2022, Pruitt apologized for his role in the riot, including his attacks on police. Still, he explained his motivation: “I did believe the election was stolen. I still do.”  

For Pruitt, who will now be spending the next 55 months behind bars, it was a high price to pay for listening to Trump’s lies. If he didn’t seem to be such a racist, I might even feel sorry for the guy. 

Trump ain’t going to prison. Pruitt is. I hope he puzzles out what that means, over the next four-and-a-half years. 

Trump supporter, right-wing type; violent,

believed the election was stolen. 

* 

673. ANDREW WILLIAM GRISWOLD: As of June 2022, Florida leads all states in contributing rioters to the attack on Capitol Hill. 

After leaving the building, Griswold spoke with a reporter and said, “We took the building. They couldn’t stop us.”

 

“Pelosi, Schumer, all you mofos, back off, this is our country, we are willing to do whatever it takes to keep it,” he continued, according to court documents. “Don’t mess with us. Back off. This is our country. We showed ‘em today. We took it. They ran. And hid.”

 

Griswold plead guilty to a charge of civil disorder and ended up stuck in jail for 75 days, sent a bill for $2,000 in restitution. Let’s hope the former president at least sent him a Christmas card. 

Trump supporter.

 

* 

“If Pence betrays us, we riot.”

674. CORRINE MONTONI: The 31-year-old Lakeland Florida woman faced several charges related to her participation in the riot. She had stated, before the attack, that she would be heading to Washington D.C., to do what she could to save the country. 

On December 16, 2020, for example, she posted on social media: “Insurrection Act coming in hot.. void the fraudulent 2020 election, arrest these traitors and restore order and faith in our justice department. GitMo is readyyyyyyy” 

Twelve days later, she posted: 

“If Pence betrays us, we riot.”

 

“January 6th in DC is going to be YUGEEEE! It’s either going to be a Trump victory party or the first real day of the revolution. Who’s going?!”

 

On Jan. 6, after having helped storm the Capitol, she posted on her Parler account: “We do not want civilians. We do not even want most of the cops. We want the TRAITOR POLITICIANS. This is not a civil war. This is a revolution.” 

According to the criminal complaint in her case, tipsters helped the F.B.I. in its pursuit of Montoni. At least one shared a Facebook video Montoni posted, saying “we have entered the Capitol” and “this belongs to us.” 

“We’re in the capital ’cause this is our house,” she wrote at one point. “We paid for this and they’re trying to steal it from us.” 

Montoni also called the experience of storming Congress (and doing her bit part to thwart democracy) “awesome.” 

Later that same day she posted on social media: “We are done with these traitors. Today we showed them how done we are.” 

Yet, just two days after the riot, Montoni was already angry with those who had called on people like her to attack. Alex Jones, she said, had claimed he was the “leader of the resistance[,]” and he and others had been “screaming 1776 for the last three months” but when it came to doing the “1776” part, she was “on the front line,” while Jones “was cowering in his hotel room.” 

Before long, she deleted all her social media accounts, but the electronic trail could not be erased. Arrest was assured. 

On June 27, 2023, Montoni learned a bitter lesson. She had to plead guilty to one felony count. 

On September 29, she was sentenced to spend 30 days of her life in jail. She must also complete two years of supervised release without further incident. And she’s out $2,000 in restitution. 

Trump supporter, believed in the “stolen election” story.

 

* 

675. STACY BOND: Evidence appears to place Mr. Bond inside the Capitol Building on the day of the riot. 

According to a search of his phone and social media posts, he sent this message on Jan. 6: “I got there right after they broke in, I was pretty pissed, but I went in there just to go in and out the front door and got maced”. 

He and Paula Conlon were indicted together. 

On September 23, 2022, he pleads guilty to one misdemeanor count. She gets hit with community service, eighteen months on probation, a charge of $500 for restitution, and twenty days’ home confinement.

Trump supporter.

 

* 

676. PAULA ANN CONLON: Conlon traveled to D.C. in company with Stacy Bond, and evidence is said to place them both inside the Capitol Building during the riot. A search of her social media posts has her saying she plans to be in D.C. on January 6 – “should be epic,” she wrote. Various comments and communications indicate her belief that the election had been stolen. She and Mr. Bond were indicted together. 

She has since been ordered to pay $500 in restitution and complete a year on probation. 

Trump supporter, believed the “stolen election” story.

 

* 

“POTUS…will be hunted down and arrested.” 

677. ADAM LEJAY JACKSON: Mr. Jackson traveled all the way from Texas to take part in the attack on Capitol Hill. With him, we learn later, was his “Nazi-tattooed brother.” As for Adam, he was wearing an American flag cape when he assaulted police, first throwing a “heavy object,” and then charging them with a “purloined police shield.” 

The blogger will let USA Today give you a description – which might make you think the guy is nuts: 

In a set of messages on Jan. 10, Jackson admitted that he and his brother had been a part of the riot. The friend messaged, “Looks like you guys were all up in it!”

 

Jackson replied, “We were. I’m (expletive) pissed at what is happening.”

 

Unlike his brother, who told a friend he would never go back to D.C., Jackson told his friend he wanted to go back for the inauguration. When the friend asked if the brothers brought the riot shield home, he replied: “No, we left them. Cost to (sic) much to ship home lol.”

 

Days later, he forwarded a message to friends and his brother that stated, “If POTUS doesn’t stop this, he will be hunted down and arrested along with his entire family by the left. That’s a fact. And with him gone, our country is gone too.” The message concluded: “So yes, we are in a full blown Military Operation right now to remove the threats and install our President back in power and control the violence in the big cities.”

 

He was arrested on June 2, 2022, and on September 29, 2023, he pled guilty to felony assault on a police officer. 

On March 21, 2024, he gets the most unique sentence yet. He will have to spend 52 weekends in jail, and then serve a year of home confinement. So, I guess we’ll call it 104 days in jail? The judge in his case said there were extremely complicated factors involved in Jackson’s case – including matters related to a family business. He did add that Trump’s allies “bear responsibility for what happened that day.” 

As a bonus for believing Trump’s lies, he must hand over $6,392 in fines and restitution for his day’s work. 

Trump supporter, violent.

 

 

* 

678. BRIAN SCOTT “SKOOTER” JACKSON: The Jackson brothers flew to Washington from Houston, along with a friend. Both were charged with assaulting police. (I suppose you could say Skooter was the “smart” brother, because on his return to Texas he began asking everyone he knew to delete any videos or messages he might have sent. He himself closed his Facebook account.) 

Authorities say that in at least two messages they were able to recover, he refers to black people with slurs. 

As for what happened that day, Skooter was clear. On the night of the riot, he Messaged a friend: 

Oh shit [name redacted] you have no idea we just fought those hoe ass traitor cops

 

We fought hard inside the capital we are soldiers we fought for America today we made history today!!!

 

We love our president and we stood up for America today be proud we did it and fuck these hoe ass cops that are traitors we fucked that capital up today!!!

 

He also bragged online about stealing a shield from the “popo.” 

On February 28, 2024, he pled guilty, and on August 6, he learned his fate: 37 months in prison. As for what kind of America he wanted to see:

Skooter and his tattoos.

 Trump supporter, violent, right-winger.

 

* 

679. James Brett IV: Mr. Brett is named in a recent indictment, along with three other men who had previously been charged. Those three, Dion Rajewski (#680), Alan Fischer III (#681), and Zachary Johnson (#682) are all members of the Proud Boys. Brett, 48, faces five charges. 

Trump supporter, right-wing type.

 

* 

680. Dion Rajewski: Mr. Rajewski is a member of the Proud Boys. 

Trump supporter, right-wing type.

 

* 

681. Alan Fischer III: Another Proud Boy. (Also known as “A. J. Fischer.”) He is said to have thrown a variety of objects at police, including traffic cones, chairs and a pole as they tried to defend the Capitol. 

Distinctive tattoos on his right arm helped online sleuths identify him, as did pictures from his modeling days. 

While looking for more information on Mr. Fischer, the blogger found a story about the Proud Boys’ plan to take over seven government buildings on January 6. The five steps included: “Infiltrate,” “Execution,” “Distract,” “Occupy” and “Sit-In” and called for fifty Proud Boys to enter each facility. The Boys who entered should “cause trouble” to distract security guards, and make it easy for other Trump supporters to gain entry. If all else failed, members of the group were told to go to nearby stores, hotels, and museums and pull fire alarms, to create further confusion. 

Once crowds were inside, the plan called for sit-ins, even suggesting chants to be used: “We the people,” for example, and “No Trump, No America.”

Fischer as a Proud Boy.

Fischer as a bad boy.

Trump supporter, right-wing type.

* 

“Like something from a medieval battle.” 

682. ZACHARY JOHNSON: A third member of the Proud Boys, Mr. Johnson traveled all the way from Florida to D.C., “to protest Congress’ certification of the Electoral College vote.” He “marched with a group of Proud Boys” to the Capitol, where a group of rioters, including Johnson and the “Boys” overran the first line of police officers and barricades defending Congress. 

Johnson eventually “made his way to Lower West Terrace tunnel and archway. Inside the tunnel, police officers formed a line behind a set of glass doors to stop rioters from entering the building. Soon thereafter, numerous rioters entered the tunnel.” 

Johnson entered the tunnel at approximately 3:15 p.m. and joined other rioters in a collective push against the established law enforcement lines, including, at times, rocking together in a coordinated “heave-ho” fashion. During this time, several rioters stole shields from the officers, which they passed back out of the tunnel.

 

At approximately 3:18 p.m. and 3:19 p.m., the line of officers pushed the rioters, including Johnson, out of the tunnel. Johnson then grabbed a collapsible police baton that an officer had lost during the confrontation with rioters. Johnson posed for a photograph displaying the baton.

 

…While outside the tunnel, Johnson helped pass a sledgehammer and canister of OC/pepper spray up to other rioters closer to the entrance. Those rioters then used the OC/pepper spray to further assault the officers protecting the Capitol.

 

His antics were enough to garner a felony assault charge for Mr. Johnson; and on August 17, 2023, the Proud Boy pleaded guilty. 

 

UPDATE: In a video shot that day, in answer to a question, Johnson explains why he and his friends are there, ready to attack the Capitol. 

“I know exactly what’s going on right now,” he replies. “Fake election. They think they’re going to fucking cheat us out of our vote and put communist fucking Biden in office. It ain’t fucking happening today, buddy.” 

We also learn that he helped co-ordinate the first wave of attackers, at one point passing forward a sledgehammer and a cannister of chemical spray to be used to spray police and later break in a door or window. 

Johnson and four friends later joined the pitched battle for control of a tunnel entrance to the Capitol. Sgt. Aquilino Gonell was active in that fight, and sustained career-ending injuries. He described the fight this way: 

What we were subjected to that day was like something from a medieval battle. We fought hand-to-hand, inch-by-inch to prevent an invasion of the Capitol by a violent mob intent on subverting our democratic process. My fellow officers and I were committed to not letting any rioters breach the Capitol. It was a prolonged and desperate struggle.

 

We also learn in court documents that Johnson was a “fourth degree” member of the Proud Boys, which he defined in a document recovered by authorities from his phone: 

This degree is loosely defined as ‘engaging in a major conflict for the cause.’ Being arrested is not encouraged although those who are immediately become fourth degrees because the court has registered a major conflict. Serious physical fights also count and it’s up to each chapter to determine how serious the conflict must be to determine fourth.

 

Many of the Proud Boys that day wore tactical vests and carried chemical spray. By 10:30 a.m. they were already on Capitol Grounds, not even waiting for President Trump’s speech. He had told them months earlier to “Stand back, but stand by.” Now, they were standing by, and ready to riot.

On December 2, 2023, Johnson learns that he will not be voting for the former president in 2024. In fact, he will be enjoying the hospitality of the federal prison system for the next 42 months. 

As a bonus, once released, he’ll be on supervised release for the next three years.

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

 

* 

683. Brian Boele: Also named in a new indictment, on June 3, 2022, Boele is charged along with Brett and the rest of the crew above (#679-682). 

Refer to the article…. 

Trump supporter, right-wing type.

 

* 

684. ROBERT SCHORNAK: Mr. Schornak believed the election was stolen. He traveled to D.C. to do his part to thwart the theft. 

He joined the riot, got “tear gased, pepper sprayed n batoned [sic],” as he described it, came away with a stolen flag, took selfies inside the Capitol Building, got arrested, and plead guilty. 

Punishment: 28 days in jail, served intermittently, two months on home confinement, $500 in restitution, two years on probation. It’s a relatively light sentence, because he cooperated with the House Select Committee on January 6.

Trump supporter, who believed the election was stolen.

 

* 

685. DANIEL HERENDEEN: Arrested along with Mr. Schornak, Herendeen, 43, from Chesterfield Township, in Michigan is also allegedly seen in photos and videos from January 6. Sadly, the two rioters saw it as a duty to go to D.C., called there (we imagine) by President Trump. 

This online conversation between the two took place in days leading up to the attack on Capitol Hill: 

Schornak: Cant stay home, I would not be able to live w myself

Herendeen: That’s how I feel. I’m supposed to go with [redacted], but it sounds like he might back out. I heard it might be hard to get to DC. I go regardless.

Schornak: Hard, nothing easy ever worth doing. Just call me bro

Herendeen: Good point! Wanna make a plan? I have next two weeks off work. Just worked every day from Thanksgiving till this Thursday.

 

So, call it a vacation trip – one which ended with both men being hauled into court, convicted and sentenced to jail. 

A person who had known Herendeen for years turned him in to the F.B.I. According to Fox News (which now hopes you will ignore the January 6 hearings in Congress), that tipster “said Herendeen showed him black tinted goggles, a combat styled belt, a knife, a canister of what Herendeen described as ‘ANTIFA spray,’ body armor, and a face covering depicting the American flag.”  

Authorities say that he posted pictures from inside the Capitol, and on January 6, on social media, described his part in the attack. Friends praised him for “standing up for our American rights.” 

His punishment: 14 days behind bars, two months of house arrest, a fine, and three years on probation. 

Trump supporter, believed in the “stolen election.”

 

* 

686. TODD TILLEY: Mr. Tilley, of South Paris, Maine was turned in after he texted information to his brother, that indicated he had participated in the riot on January 6. Pence, he told his brother, “screwed us over.” 

Todd wasn’t going to stand for that. Initially, he faced an array of misdemeanor charges, not to mention tense ties at future family reunions. 

In March 2023, he plead guilty to a single misdemeanor, got slapped with seven days in jail, and will spend the next four years on probation. Sixty hours of community service and a $500 fine were added. 

Trump supporter.

 

* 

687. KENNETH RADER: Rader was turned in by a relative, who tipped off law enforcement, noting: 

“My radicalized [family member] Kenneth Bruce Rader Jr. from Sioux City, IA has been sharing videos of himself on Capital [sic] grounds and inside the building and has verbally articulated a full rage [sic] of threats against VP Mike Pence, stating that ‘We’re not done!’ … ‘watch what ‘we’ do after Trump is gone.’”

 

Had these poor fools not been so dangerous, in aggregate, one might even feel sorry for many who fell for Trump’s lies and the delusional bullshit put out for consumption by the believers in “Q.” 

As the F.B.I. agent who filed a charging document in his case noted: 

The Facebook page utilizing the username Kenny Rader also shows that on February 23, 2021, the account holder updated his cover photo to be a picture that includes a large Q. On March 18, 2021, the account holder updated his cover photo to refer to “the Great Awakening.” Through my training and experience, I know that individuals associated with the QAnon conspiracy theory believed that former President Donald J. Trump would be “reinaugurated” on March 20, 2021, and that, at the moment of a “Great Awakening,” the general public would recognize a fantastical conspiracy of Satan-worshipping pedophile Democratic politicians, abetted by celebrities, who traffic children for sexual purposes. QAnon adherents professed belief that former President Trump took office to battle and take down this cabal and would be reinaugurated to do so.

 

Plead guilty on June 7, 2022. Got socked for 90 days in jail, restitution, and a term of probation. 

Trump supporter, he believed (fervently) in QAnon.

 

* 

“Oh, my f***ng God. We just stormed the Capitol. Holy F***.”

688. JAMES DOUGLAS RAHM III: You don’t need to dig too deeply to discover where Mr. Rahm’s political views place him. An Antifa type? 

Hardly. 

On social media we know he posted, bragging about having joined the attack. As prosecutors note, other social media comments included: 

Facebook user asked JAMES DOUGLAS RAHM “Doug are you okay? Are you safe?” JAMES DOUGLAS RAHM responded [to Paul D.] “…riot shields and pepper spray never hurt anyone did they? Home alive. History made. I walked through Pelosi’s office I should have shit on her chair. [followed by 3 laughing emojis].”

 

[In a video he allegedly filmed, showing scenes inside the Capitol Building]: “We’re in. We’re taking our f---ing house back. We’re here. Time to find some brass and kick some frickin’ ass.”

 

In another tip received by FBI on January 11, 2021, an individual, hereinafter Individual 2, said the following: “Doug Rahm posted photos and videos of him on Facebook breaking into the capitol building on January 6^th. He has since taken down most of the posts, however, I was able to get the one video he posted in a comment on Facebook of him inside. He also replied, “Pissed in her office (referring to Nancy Pelosi) when someone commented on his post “Get back inside. Give Pelosi a kiss.”

 

In a second video, revealed later, young Rahm pretty much sums up the rioters’ “plan” that fateful day. “Holy s***, holy s***. Oh, my f***ng God. We just stormed the Capitol. Holy F***.” 

Yeah. Holy fuck. 

You’re a dumb ass, James. You had to plead guilty on October 11, 2023, exactly 1,072 days after the last presidential election. And there was still no proof the election was stolen and now you were facing fines and jail time.

 

UPDATE: Didn’t know this before, but young Rahm sat down for an interview with the January 6 Committee. He said he had voted for Trump, although some of his antics he found “childish.” When asked about Vice President Pence’s decision to count all of the electoral votes, he replied, “I mean, as far as I can tell, he did exactly what he was supposed to do.” 

With that astute comment, I line out the word’s “dumb ass,” above. 

Still, he gets sentenced to 45 days behind bars.

 

FUN FACT: Young Rahm once did a book report on Thomas Paine’s Common Sense, a call to action in 1776: His conclusion: 

For individuals who wish to become true and honorable citizens of the U.S., “Common Sense” by Thomas Paine represents a timeless guide and I feel like I can use some of the key aspects in my life to stay down a righteous path as a U.S. Citizen. I can actively contribute to the development of a just and democratic society through my acceptance of fundamental principles such as individual autonomy, critical thinking, equality, justice, public moral virtue or freedom of expression. Through this reading, Paine has encouraged me to think critically about my role in shaping the country's destiny. 

Trump supporter, he believed the “stolen election” lie.

 

* 

More time in prison than Trump spent in the White House. 

689. BARRY RAMEY: Mr. Ramey was not arrested until April 2022. No doubt he was hoping he might skate. 

He was then hit with an array of charges, including two felony counts for assaulting police, as explained in his charging document: 

According to a review of video footage posted on Propublica’s Parler repository, Florida resident, BARRY BENNETT RAMEY was observed assaulting law enforcement officers by spraying them with an unknown orange substance that is consistent with pepper spray. At approximately 1:48 pm, on the front west side of the U.S. Capitol building under the scaffolding that is part of the platform/staging built for the Inauguration platform, several U.S. Capitol Police (USCP) Officers were attempting to block rioters’ access to the stairwell leading from the Lower West Terrace to the Upper West Terrace of the Capitol building. The group of rioters were yelling at the USCP Officers while they held the line at the stairwell. Eventually several rioters began yelling “push” and the group pushed forward into the officers, pushing them back and up the stairwell. Your affiant reviewed the Parler video and identified RAMEY as part of the group. Specifically, at approximately 0:27 of the video, RAMEY is observed spraying a USCP Officer (Victim Officer 1) in the eyes. This assault resulted in Victim Officer 1 losing ground against the crowd and having to back away up the stairs. At approximately 0:30-32 of the video, RAMEY is observed spraying a second USCP Officer (Victim Officer 2), contributing to the Officer having to move off to the side and away from the group. These assaults were captured via screen shots and video.

 

After participating in the attack, Mr. Ramey (listed as a member of the Proud Boys in Florida) was kind enough to post a review of the Hilton Arlington, a Virginia hotel where he stayed while visiting the U.S. capital.

 

FUN FACT: But not fun for the defendant. While incarcerated, and awaiting trial, Ramey claimed he was stabbed by another inmate, who objected to Ramey’ insistence on watching Tucker Carlson’s show on the prison TV.

 

FUN FACT #2: After an eleven day trial, Mr. Ramey was found guilty on almost all charges, and on July 7, 2023, the gavel fell. Ramey will spend more time in prison, five years, than Trump spent in the White House. 

Trump supporter, right-wing type, violent.

 

* 

690. MARK ROGER REBEGILA: Mr. Rebegila made the trek from Topeka, Kansas to D.C. to be there on January 6, get involved in the attack on Capitol Hill, get arrested and plead guilty to one violation of federal law. (He may, however, face additional charges.) 

The case against him was built in part on a video he took that day: 

On January 15, 2021, the FBI interviewed a witness (W1), who stated that they personally know REBEGILA. W1 further stated that on January 6, 2021, they viewed a video that REBEGILA sent to several people. W1 viewed the video on one of those people’s phones. The video W1 viewed showed REBEGILA filming himself inside the U.S. Capitol. W1 stated that others claimed that REBEGILA sat in a lawmaker’s chair and stole a bottle of liquor from an office in the U.S. Capitol. The reports of REBEGILA sitting in a lawmaker’s chair and stealing a bottle of liquor are under investigation.

 

…REBEGILA further stated that he later deleted the video, and that he deleted the video because he did not want to get into trouble. REBEGILA denied stealing property, assaulting law enforcement officers, or damaging property.

 

He accessorized for the riot with a “Trump 2020” stocking cap, and a large “Don’t Tread on Me” flag. 

So far, he has been ordered to serve 30 days on home detention, two years of probation, ordered to perform 60 hours of community service, and fined $2,000. He told the judge in his case that he asked if he could enter the building, and a police officer “shrugged his shoulders.” 

So in he went. 

He was inside for only nine minutes. 

(POLITICAL AFFILIATION NOT DEFINITIVE; LIKELY TRUMP FAN.) 

 

* 

Is that in the Bill of Rights? 

691. WILLIAM ROGAN REID: Mr. Reid made the journey from Florida, allegedly so he might join in the festivities of the day. A video he is said to have taken inside the Capitol may lead to legal jeopardy. 

Sometime in March 2021, Reid ditched his old Instagram account, and started another under the user name “blumpkinvice.” 

According to the agent handling his case, 

On or about March 24^th, 2021, I reviewed the Instagram account “blumpkinvice,” an open account viewable by the public. On this account, I found a link to a Discord account called “the blumkin#4602” which is also an open account viewable by the public. In a post dated March 11, 2021, the user of the account stated “The 6^th was the breaking point for a lot of people but they’re cowering in fear again because of incaerceration [sic]” In another post dated March 11, 2021, the user of the account stated “The 6^th was our Boston Tea Party.” In a post dated March 13, 2021, the user of the account stated “I rushed the Capitol” “Hi, Feds” “Now you can all relax, i’m the target.” “I’LL FUCKIN DO IT AGAIN”

 

Reid went on, during ensuing months to compare himself to “Hitler on steroids,” and to express a desire to kill minorities, adding, “they all deserve to die.” At one point, he said he loved “the fact that the feds are after my ass.” He wouldn’t go to prison, he predicted, and said he’d die first – for “standing up for our rights.” He said the feds would have “to kill me,” instead. 

(The right to kill minorities? Is that in the Bill of Rights?)

 

The defendant was convicted on multiple counts in August. Prosecutors recommended a sentence of 6.5 years in prison. Reid had, they claimed, shown “no remorse” for his actions. 

In the end, Reid is sentenced to three years in prison, three additional years on probation, and ordered to pay $2.443 in fines and restitution. 

Trump supporter, violent. 

 

* 

692. NICHOLAS REIMLER: Mr. Reimer has plead guilty and been sentenced to three years’ probation, one month of home detention, sixty hours of community service, and ordered to pay $500 restitution. 

He can be seen in surveillance videos from that day, entering the Capitol Building, draped in a white Trump flag. 

Your affiant also interviewed Witness 2, another person that was friends with REIMLER on Facebook and has known him for approximately four years through the same social circle as Witness 1. Witness 2 stated REIMLER had posted several conservative political posts prior to the Capitol riots and Witness 2 recalled a publicly posted Facebook conversation about REIMLER attending the rally on January 6, 2021, and was able to provide screenshots of that conversation, seen below:

 

When not rioting, Mr. Reimer likes to go skiing, and has a Snapchat account under the user name “bustareim.” 

Trump supporter.

 

* 

693. NARAYANA RHEINER: It took some time to track this suspect down, with Mr. Rheiner being arrested only in March 2022. 

In November 2022, he pleads guilty, and the Justice Department provides details of his criminal actions that day. 

At approximately 2:04 p.m., Rheiner went to the front of the police line, and waved other rioters to come forward, yelling at them to “push up” on the line. He pushed against officers and grabbed an officer’s riot shield. He pulled the riot shield out of the officer’s hands, and the officer fell on the ground. 

At approximately 2:44 p.m., Rheiner entered the Capitol through the Upper West Terrace Door. He and other rioters proceeded to the Rotunda area. He joined a group that was attempting to gain access to a hallway that was blocked by officers. Officers deployed chemical irritants against the rioters. Rheiner yelled at them, “You know how many times I’ve been sprayed today? That s--- ain’t nothing!” He also yelled, “Why don’t you just go home!” and “We’re not backing up!” Rheiner ultimately left the Capitol Building through a broken window at about 2:57 p.m.

 

On August 22, 1,022 days after the 2020 election – and still no proof in any court that votes were stolen in large numbers – Rheiner learns his legal fate. Fifteen months in prison,  three years more on probation. 

And $2,000 down the toilet, in restitution. 

Trump supporter, violent.

 

* 

694. HOWARD RICHARDSON: Richardson can be seen in video from the day of the attack, waving a blue and white Trump flag on a pole. At one point he used that pole to assault a police officer. He had previously been booked for arrest in 2020, on an unspecified charge. In September 2021, he was arrested again after allegedly assaulting a motorcycle rider outside his residence. 

In video, he strikes one officer three times with the flag, and only ceases when it breaks in half. He told arresting officers he drove to D.C. from his home on the morning of Jan. 6, but arrived too late to see Trump speak. 

So, he joined the rioters, instead. At first, he claimed he hit the officer only after that officer “swung a piece of metal” at him. Video showed that did not happen. He “also claimed that he was provoked by others who infiltrated the crowd,” an apparent reference to “Antifa types,” who supposedly egged the good Trump fans to attack. 

He plead guilty in April 2022, and learned his fate in August. Prosecutors noted that Richardson, now 72, had hit one officer with the pole three times, hard enough to snap it. For his role in the attack, he was sentenced to 46 months in prison, and might not live long enough to see the next presidential election.

 

Howard Richardson.

Trump supporter.

(CLAIMED TO SEE ANTIFA.)

* 

Jesus wasn’t on Trump’s side.

 

695. MICHAEL LEE ROCHE: In a video from January 6, Roche is seen commenting: 

My name is Michael Roche. We’re here in Washington, D.C. We did get a chance to storm the Capitol. And we made it into the chamber. … We managed to convince the cops to let us through. They listened to reason. And when we got into the chamber … we all started praying and shouting in the name of Jesus Christ, and inviting Christ back into our state capitol.

 

In another picture taken outside that day, he can be seen standing next to the QAnon shaman, Jacob Chansley (#101 on our list). Roche captioned it: “Took a pic of this wonderful man from Az before the media tried to smear him as antifa. My brother was shoulder to shoulder praying in Jesus [sic] name in the main capital chamber holding up the Bible. I want to see those photos. Do not believe what you hear.” 

Ironically, it was right-wing media that tried to sell the idea that Jacob Chansley was an Antifa instigator. 

That fable was blown to bits within days. 

As for Mr. Roche, he made it to the Senate floor on January 6, where he raised his arms in triumph, and shouted, “Jesus Christ, we invoke your name! Amen!” Moment later, he picked up a Bible, which was sitting on the Vice President’s desk, and held it aloft for a photo. 

Sadly, for Roche, Jesus Christ turned out not to be on Trump’s side. Convicted on multiple charges, in June 2023, the defendant was sentenced to 18 months behind bars. He must also complete three years of supervised release, and hand over $2,000, by way of restitution. 

Trump supporter.

 

* 

“WE WANT YOU TO BE A PROUD BOY.” 

696. ANTHONY SARGENT: Mr. Sargent showed up for the riot with a military backpack and joined in the melee as attackers tried to breech police lines. He even had a radio attached to his gear. 

Authorities believed him to be a member of the Proud Boys, and a search for information commenced. 

Open source searches for “Anthony Sargent Proud Boys” revealed the following Twitter accounts: @anontreboursux, @anontreborsuxg2, @treborsux. Using the Internet Archive’s “Wayback Machine,” law enforcement was able to retrieve the profile page for the now-disabled account username @anontreborsuxg2. The user account page contains an image of an individual with a thick black beard resembling SARGENT. The profile information lists the users name as “Sarge Slaughter” with the following description: Ancient City Proud Boy Constitutionalist Unapologetic no mask. The background photo for the account is a recruitment poster in the style of an Uncle Sam U.S. Army recruitment poster that displays the text: “WE WANT YOU TO BE A PROUD BOY;” We are western chauvinists who refused to apologize for creating the modern world.”

 

In the end, you might not want to be a Proud Boy so much now. 

According to court documents, during the January 6 attack on the Capitol, Sargent grabbed and pushed a police officer to prevent him from detaining another rioter; twice shoved two officers away from the Capitol as they tried to retreat to safety; twice threw a heavy object at a set of doors leading into the Capitol with the intent to break the doors’ glass panels, while officers stood behind those doors; and encouraged other rioters to damage the same set of doors. Sargent’s violence was not spontaneous – as a member of the Proud Boys, he vocalized his support for a riot and civil war on the group’s messaging platform in the days leading up to January 6.

 

So, he came, he rioted, and he got arrested. Sargent was charged with multiple crimes, and on July 21, 2023, pled guilty to a felony charge of civil disorder, and various misdemeanor offenses. 

In the end, he got sentenced to five years in prison, three additional years on probation, and had to pay $2,980 in restitution. 

Trump supporter, violent, right-wing type.

Trump supporter, right-wing type.

 

* 

697. TROY SARGENT: Mr. Sargent must have been a popular guy, since authorities got tips from five different people, who provided evidence to show that he was near, or inside, the Capitol on January 6.   

According to the complaint filed against him he was kind of an inept rioter. At one point, he allegedly poses in front of a line of police officers holding shields. In a video, he can be seen, supposedly, moving “forward to the front of the line.” He “appears to throw a punch with his right hand at a police officer, inadvertently strikes another member of the crowd, and then retreats back into the crowd.” He faces multiple charges, including one of assault against a police officer. 

In a letter of recommendation to the judge, a friend of Troy claimed that the defendant had changed for the better since Jan. 6. 

Where Sargent had once been happy to spew conspiracy theories, and it had been difficult to deal with him at family events, he “now sees that his beliefs about Trump were off base, and that while he supported Trump, Trump did not support him at all. He was used, along with many, many others, to create energy and momentum for political causes that had no merit.” 

In December, Mr. Sargent is sentenced to spend the next 14 months in prison for his role in the riot. 

Trump supporter, right-wing individual

 

* 

698. JEFFREY SCHAEFER: On Facebook the rioter from Milton, Delaware went by the name of “Jeffrey Von Rothschild II,” which is funny. Then he posted pictures from inside the Capitol, saying, “They can’t stop us.” That was not. In fact, at one point, he claimed, “I’ve been tear gassed 10 times.” 

A tipster first identified Schaefer as one of hundreds of individuals to break into the Capitol, and included a social media post he had made. 

THE CAPITOL HAS BEEN BREACHED 

IT IS FILLING UP 

THEY CAN’T STOP US 

He ends up getting sentenced to 30 days in jail, and gets hit up for $2,500 in fines and restitution. 

(LIKELY TRUMP SUPPORTER; NOT DEFINITIVE.) 

 

* 

699. AMY SCHUBERT: Mr. and Mrs. Schubert were tripped up by a distinctive jacket she wore to the riot. On the back, it carried a union logo, and read, “Plumbers & Pipefitters Local Union 422 Joliet IL.” 

It might just as well have read, “Kick me. My husband belongs to Local Union 422, and I’m engaged in rioting inside the Capitol Building.” 

A little digging by law enforcement revealed various breadcrumbs of info. Amy is a graduate of Joliet Catholic Academy, for example. 

Trump supporter.

 

* 

700. JOHN A. SCHUBERT: Amy’s husband shows up in surveillance footage inside the building at 2:52. He’s in a gray coat. He also stars in videos from that day, filmed by the missus. 

We also learn that neighbors had complained repeatedly about John and Amy posting Trump yard signs on public property. Not as bad as trying to stop the certification of the electoral vote – but irritating. 

Both have plead guilty, both have been sentenced to 100 hours of community service, and both will be on probation for the next eighteen months. Amy got fined $2,000, John another $1,500. The couple gets to waste another $1,000 on restitution, split in two shares. 

Trump supporter.

 

* 

701. NICHOLAS LATTANZI: Lattanzi, from Delaware, ran into trouble after he brought attention to himself on social media. Posting a picture of himself in a military-style camouflage jacket, he asked, “New jacket who wants to commit war crimes in Bosnia with me?” This got him flagged by his college and the F.B.I. tracked him down. 

Lattanzi is apparently a fan of right-wing commentator Ben Shapiro, and he often posts pro-Trump materials. In one Instagram post, he added the tags #trump2020 and “#trumpriot.”

Now he can add #rioterinhandcuffs.” 

In pictures and video from that day, Lattanzi is seen carrying a white and green “Pine Tree” flag, which first appeared in 1775. According to Law & Crime, 

It has since gained popularity as a symbol of right-wing extremism, and has inspired a movement dedicated to “networking elected officials who are believers in Jesus Christ, who regularly attend and display a commitment to an evangelical, Gospel-centered church and who will commit to live and govern based on biblical, constitutional and Federalist principles.”

 

It appears he may have entered the Capitol Building, but then exited almost immediately, at the direction of a police officer. 

For his efforts, he gets sentenced to fourteen days in jail, and gets billed for $1,000 in fines and restitution.

Trump supporter.

 

* 

702. DOVID SCHWARTZBERG: Schwartzberg might have caught a break when investigators kept misspelling his name. They soon homed in, found evidence he was inside the Capitol, charged him, and in March 2022 won a guilty plea. 

When interviewed by F.B.I. agents, he admitted he was at the Capitol, that he wanted “to be where the action was. “It was intense inside congress today,” he also posted on social media. 

When his case finally came to trail he admitted he was inside the building, only offering up by way of defense that he didn’t want to miss out on “something historic.” He further explained: 

“While I now recognize the wrongful nature of walking through a broken window to enter the Capitol building and encouraging others to do so as well,” he wrote, “at the time, I really didn’t give it too much thought as I was caught up in the moment and the energy of the crowd.”

 

Court documents also included several character statements written on Schwartzberg’s behalf by Brooklyn rabbis.

 

Schwartzberg is one of the dozens of pro-Trump rioters who hail from the New York City region.

 

He plead guilty on March 4, 2022. His sentence included 45 days behind bars, and a charge of $500 in restitution. 

Trump supporter.

 

* 

703. RAFAEL VALADEZ JR.: Just two days after the riot, a tipster reported that Mr. Valadez had posted live-stream videos on social media, documenting his role in the attack. In several scenes, he is allegedly seen entering the building, and later an office inside the Capitol Building, behind another rioter wearing a distinctive, white “Trump” cowboy hat. 

Later, outside the building, Valadez posts video labeled, “A day to Remember.” 

If he ever forgets, he’ll now face a quartet of charges to remind him of the unwisdom of joining the attack. It would appear he entered the building at 2:20 that day, one of the first to breach the Congress. 

On July 1, 2022, he pleads guilty. In October, he learns he will be spending 30 days in jail, and coughing up $500 in restitution. 

(LIKELY TRUMP SUPPORTER; NOT KNOWN.)

 

* 

704. KEVIN DOUGLAS CREEK: The former Marine, and Georgia resident, 46-year-old Creek is up a stream with no paddle. (Okay, terrible joke.) During the attack on the Capitol Creek first pushed, then kicked one police officer, and struck another. A few days after the riot, Creek visited a local hospital, and admitted having been tear-gassed during the riot, and “running up the stairs” in an effort to get inside. 

He is sentenced to spend 27 months in jail, in part because of a felony charge of assaulting police. (His situation was not helped when he admitted that he was armed with mace and a boot knife during the attack.) 

When not rioting, or paying the price thereof, Mr. Creek apparently runs Nailed It Roofing and Restoration. 

The father of two believed the election was stolen – but it wasn’t – and now he will lose two years plus with his children. 

Trump supporter, he believed in the “stolen election” story.

 

* 

705. GLEN MITCHELL SIMON: “Feel like I took about 50 bong rips of pepper spray today. Post victory picture after the ramming through of the capital building,” he posted in the aftermath of the riot. He included the hashtag #FreemanDontaskmotherfucker” And that picture:

When first contacted by F.B.I. agents on Jan. 14, 2021, about his possible participation in the riot, Simon admitted he can be seen in the picture above, but claimed it took him hours to reach that point on the Capitol stairs. Surveillance video showed Simon inside at 2:14, 2:36 and 2:56 p.m. that day. 

Additional video eventually surfaced, and Simon was charged with assaulting a police officer, and indicted anew. He entered a new plea agreement on April 29, 2022, and awaits sentencing for his role. 

The eagle, right, is still at large, and considered a flight risk. 

August 2022: Simon, who showed up on January 6 wearing body armor, and shouted at police, calling them “little f—king spineless f—king oath violating little f—king weasels,” learns his sentence: eight months behind bars. Judge Beryl A. Howell is sympathetic, telling the defendant he understands this will be hard on Simon’s family. But he says Simon is ultimately responsible for his actions that day: 

“You’ve got to use your common sense and your own sense of who you are and how you’d like to conduct yourself as an American citizen,” Judge Howell says, “before just blindly doing what a political figure says.” 

That figure, of course, being Donald J. Trump. 

Trump supporter.

 

* 

Wipe out the Jews. 

706. HATCHET SPEED: Mr. Speed, a Navy Reserve petty officer, is a proud member of the Proud Boys, who ended up facing a battery of charges for his participation in the January 6 attack. 

If you haven’t noticed the trend, we are finding no evidence of Antifa, left-wing types having been involved in the riot. We are, however, loading up heavily on the extreme right-wing folks. 

Prosecutors now say that while at Capitol, Speed texted his riotous pals: “Some people made it to the senate chambers. America spoke today. I hope washington listens.” When asked about Civil War he allegedly said “Well if they steal the election that’s the only other place to go. We came on the day of the count to out [sic] pressure on congress to do the right thing, because if they don’t they won’t like what happens.” 

In fact, that was the bedrock of the Big Trump Lie – that we wouldn’t have a country anymore if Biden was allowed to win. 

So, ballots fail; bullets prevail? To dozens of these rioters, that was the conclusion they drew, almost as if by osmosis. 

On September 7, 2022, Mr. Speed was indicted again, this time charged with additional felonies: Possession of three unregistered firearm suppressors, commonly referred to as “silencers.” 

Federal authorities also warned that Speed had expressed a desire to use violence to further his “anti-government and anti-Semitic ideologies.” He is also said to have bought up $50,000 in new weaponry, after he was arrested the first time, for his role in the attack on Congress, and panicked.

 

* 

March 7, 2023: Mr. Speed was convicted after a trial in front of a federal judge (appointed by Trump). Prosecutors noted that in the time since the attack, Speed had been communicating with an F.B.I. informant. 

His thinking has been summed up: 

Speed was “deeply worried about a Biden presidency” and believed false claims that the 2020 presidential election had been stolen from Donald Trump, the Republican incumbent, prosecutors wrote in a court filing. They said Speed expressed his admiration for Adolf Hitler and told the undercover agent that he believes Jewish people control Biden, a Democrat.

 

“Speed saw the Jews as ‘everywhere,’ fighting to destroy Christians, and he was not willing to sit by,” prosecutors wrote.

 

[Judge Trevor N.] McFadden said the limited trial testimony about Speed’s antisemitism wasn’t a factor in his verdict. But the judge cited statements that Speed made about Jan. 6 in support of his conviction on the obstruction charge.

 

“His own words show the defendant’s actions were knowing and willful,” the judge said.

 

At one point, Speed expressed the opinion that Jews would have to be “wiped out” to save America.

 

FUN FACT: As of March 7, 2023, zero evidence has been uncovered to show that the election was stolen – or even mislaid. Speed and all these others are going to jail in service to the Big Trump Lie.

 

FUN FACT #2: As of May 8, 2023, Speed is a convicted felon and has been sentenced to spend four years in prison. Judge McFadden scoffed at the idea Speed was some kind of “tourist” caught up in the emotions of the moment. He said the defendant had “facilitated violence” and said his calls to kill Jews was one of several “aggravating factors” in deciding his sentence. Speed will serve his new sentence consecutively. That is, added on at the end of his conviction for possession of illegal firearms. 

In all, Mr. Speed will spend seven years in prison – and he also wasted $41,000 buying all the illegal armaments he’ll no longer be allowed to possess. 

Even better, he must pay $12,000 in fines and restitution. 

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

 

* 

A win for a defendant. 

707. MICHAEL “WHIP” GREENE (a.k.a. Michael Simmons): The 39-year-old from Indiana bolsters the point made above. We keep stumbling upon right-wing types in the records of the Capitol Hill arrests. Greene is seen, in the hours leading up to the riot, providing security for the oft-convicted felon and Trump presidential advisor Roger Stone. 

He’s an Oath Keeper member, not a member of some left-wing crew. 

On March 21, 2023, Mr. Greene is convicted on a single misdemeanor charge, but on the serious charge of conspiracy, a mistrial is declared. 

In July, the judge in his case says a jury verdict “must be respected,” and sentences Mr. Greene to perform 60 hours of community service, and complete two years of probation. 

As Jordan Fischer reported for WUSA9, 

Greene, a veteran U.S. Army combat engineer and former Blackwater contractor, was brought in just days before Jan. 6 by Oath Keepers founder Stewart Rhodes to be the militia’s operations leader. He testified twice, at Rhodes’ trial and his own, that his job was to organize security details for VIPs and denied any knowledge of a plan for the militia to obstruct the joint session of Congress.

 

Judge Amit P. Mehta agreed there was an “absence of mens rea evidence,” or evidence of Greene’s criminal intent. 

Outside of court, Greene told Fischer he came to D.C. to “do a job,” and then went home, and that was all he did. He added that, as far as his political views, he didn’t care about the election, “I don’t even vote.” 

He was less than flattering, in describing leaders of the Oath Keepers, themselves. When Ryan J. Reilly, another reporter who has been following all these cases with great care, caught up with Greene, he explained why he felt he deserved such a light sentence. “I’m not, in my mind, thinking ‘Hey, if I take this job, they’re gonna fucking storm the Capitol,’ you know?” 

Then he adds: “Stewart [Rhodes] says outlandish shit.” 

Trump supporter, right-wing individual,

he believed the election was stolen.

 

* 

708. BRIAN STENZ: Mr. Stenz, 51, was wearing a baseball hat and a green silk scarf covering his face when he joined the rioters breaching the building. He might not have been found out, but two people who knew him back home tipped off the F.B.I. In one picture he took, Stenz is seen inside Sen. Jeff Merkley’s office – which he told authorities “appeared to be a giftshop.” 

(Kind of makes you wonder where the man shops.)

 

It was a costly decision. He will be spending 60 days on home confinement and reporting to his probation officer for the next three years. Not to mention, shelling out $500 for restitution and another $2,500 in fines. 

Prosecutors had asked for a stiff sentence, noting: “Stenz has a significant criminal history and knowingly engaged in this conduct during a time when he had criminal charges pending against him in Pennsylvania for falsifying records related to the purchase of a firearm. Yet, he chose to enter the Capitol anyway.” 

(POLITICAL AFFILIATION UNKNOWN.)

 

* 

709. KENNETH SCOTT ARMSTRONG III:  On March 11, 2021, Mr. Armstrong was visited at his place of business and interviewed by F.B.I agents. He admitted that he traveled to Washington D.C., to attend President Donald Trump’s “March to Save America” rally. He later did his part to do some saving, by walking with the crowd to the Capitol and entering the building. To be honest, he didn’t quibble much. Armstrong even sent the F.B.I. a video he took while inside the building. 

Mr. Armstrong was excited when he heard there might be “2-4 million people” at the Trump rally, and although he said the cops were “very nice” after he entered the building, he also admitted on social media that he had seen them firing rubber bullets at rioters. Not everyone was impressed. 

A Facebook friend fumed: “My problem is that I am friends with a traitor, a fascist, a liar, and a thug. I will very much enjoy unfriending you now.” 

He eventually pled guilty and earned two weeks in the slammer, three years more on probation and got a bill for $500.

 Trump supporter.

 

* 

710. ANNIE HOWELL: The F.B.I. was tipped off by someone who knew Howell well enough to have been sent a video she took, documenting her part in the riot. That tipster told authorities that Howell had stated her intent to drive to D.C. on January 5, so she could be present for the president’s rally. 

Ms. Howell certainly had an interesting (i.e. delusional) perspective on what happened that day. On Facebook she spun this tall tale: 

The news is lying to you. Some of these people, were antifa. I watched a woman get shot and another’s head was beaten. One died the other is ICU. I was personally tear gassed 8 times. I was hit in the head with metal rods. People were shot at with rubber bullets. We were gassed 5 times in the matter of 2 minutes and thousands fell to their feet and we couldn’t see or breathe. They wouldn’t stop and beat us relentlessly.

 

Then: 

A police officer shot an unarmed woman today, who was a Trump supporter and KILLED HER. I have countless photos of bloody patriots, including myself. They shot us, hit us with sticks, tear gassed us, shot us with rubber bullets and knocked us to our feet! We couldn’t breathe our see for over 10 minutes. They fired shots, grenades and tear gas and mase back to back to back, relentlessly. Women and children! Who were sitting there!!!!

 

IMAGE IF THEY DID THIS TO BLM.

 

ANTIFA LEADER IS THE ONE WHO BROKE INTO THE CAPITAL!

 

(That post received 62 comments, and 92 shares.) 

If all of this had happened as Ms. Howell claims, you’d have to assume she left the scene drenched in blood and barely alive. 

Luckily, the 30-year-old from Pennsylvania survived her war wounds. She was convicted in December 2021, for he part in the attack, and received a sentence of 60 days in a local jail, to be served 10 days at a time. She will also pay $500 in restitution and remain on probation for three years. 

Trump supporter – apparently indestructible.

(CLAIMED TO SEE ANTIFA.)

 * 

711. ERIC V. VON BERNEWITZ: The Virginia man was convicted in January 2022 and ordered to spend 60 days on home detention, as well as pay a $1,000 fine. His sister said he was there “to support contesting election results of certain states.” 

Trump supporter – believed election was stolen.

 

* 

712. PAUL H. VON BERNEWITZ: He told law enforcement officials that he traveled to D.C. in time for the “Stop the Steal” rally. He said he went to protect his brother, who has a disabled right arm. 

Unlike his brother, when Paul pleads guilty, he gets 30 days behind bars. So let’s hope his brother will come for a visit. It’s a high price to pay for having been inside the Capitol for roughly 15 minutes. 

And also for believing the president’s lies about a stolen election. 

(LIKELY TRUMP SUPPORTER; NOT TECHNICALLY KNOWN.)

 

* 

713. WILLIAM D. MERRY JR.: Bad pun alert (I’ve been spending too much time compiling this list). This Missouri rioter had a merry time attacking the Capitol. 

For his efforts he managed to get 45 days in jail, and was ordered to pay $500 in restitution. 

He traveled to D.C. with his niece, Emily Hernandez (#82 on our list), 21, also arrested for her role in the riot. 

Trump supporter.

 

* 

714. PAUL S. WESTOVER: Westover appears to have been a friend of Mr. Merry. They may now have a chance to serve time as cellmates. 

Like Merry, he earns 45 days in jail, and is ordered to pay $500 in restitution. 

His lawyer told the judge in his case, that Westover traveled to D.C. because he was “concerned about the electoral process.” That is: Another poor dope who believed in Trump’s claims of a “stolen election.” 

Trump supporter – believed the election had been stolen. 

 

* 

Matt Virden: Virden has a chance to talk to a reporter for Vanity Fair long after the riot. He describes the scene as he saw it that day: 

“It was an incredible thing,” a Nevada J6er named Matt Virden tells me. He means the moment that Ashli was killed. He was outside when a man who said he’d been inside staggered from the building. Virden says he could see it, the death, the meaning: “the ghost on his face.” Outside the Capitol, the news “spread like wildfire. Before you knew it, everybody was aware of it. This is a different situation.” Virden says that on the Capitol steps, 500 circled and held hands. (Consider these spiritual numbers: Virden says he saw more than a million souls. Law enforcement put it in the thousands.) They prayed. “Everybody bowed their heads and had incredible reverence for what had happened and what was going on.” The shooting, the blood, the battle. To Virden, it was peaceful. The love. Hand in hand. The spirit. 1776. The dead girl.

 

Asked about his plans to attend the “March to Save America” rally on January 6, Virden told a reporter he was one of the “deplorable creatures,” headed for the nation’s capital. He did not go inside the Capitol Building and has not been charged. 

People who thought just like him did, and others much, much worse. 

Trump supporter.

 

* 

715. LOUIS VALENTIN: Valentin drove to D.C. on Jan. 4, in company with his friend Julio Baquero (#716). They arrived the next day, and joined the march to the Capitol after Trump spoke. He admitted being inside the building during the attack, but for only ten minutes. 

The F.B.I. does some digging after Valentin’s admission – and notes, for example, that he entered the building dressed in his red MAGA hat, and wearing a Jacksonville Jaguars jacket.

Valentin pleads guilty in February to a misdemeanor. 

For his cameo appearance in the insurrection, he wins a ten-day jail sentence, a year on probation, and a $500 fine. 

(He does get to serve his ten days intermittently – that is, on weekends. 

(LIKELY TRUMP SUPPORTER.)

 

* 

716. JULIO BAQUERO: Mr. Baquero told investigating agents he and Valentin were inside the Capitol for  only 15-25 minutes. Baquero said that Valentin saw another person with a knife, and at that point he wanted to leave. 

Federal agents began digging for evidence, and found video showing the pair entering the building around 2:45 p.m. At 3:05 video shows Baquero shouting at one of the police officers, “You’re a traitor.” He also grabs at an officer’s hand, as police force him and Valentin, and other rioters out of the building. A few minutes later, however, Baquero is seen trying to stop police from closing a door to the Capitol Rotunda, to keep rioters from reentering. 

He is then forcibly pulled away by police. 

In February 2023, Bacquero pleads guilty to a felony, related to his conduct. In May, he gets the bill for his actions: 18 months in prison and a fine of $2,000.

(LIKELY TRUMP SUPPORTER; NOT DEFINITIVE.)

 

* 

A carload of dopes.

717. REVA VINCENT: Ms. Vincent and her husband drove a carload of like-minded patriots to D.C. in time for the attack on Jan. 6. They were there “to protest Congress’ certification of the Electoral College” vote. 

For her troubles, she has been arrested, and plead guilty. And, if she’s watching the recent hearings in Congress, she should feel stupid. 

Vincent was inside the Capitol only briefly, but in one social media post bragged about having been nearby when Ashli Babbitt was shot. 

She pled guilty on April 22, 2022. In September, she learns the cost of her stupidity: a $1,500 fine, $500 in restitution, an order to perform sixty hours of community service, and two years on probation.

Trump supporter, she believed the election was stolen. 

 

* 

“Curb stomp crew all in!!!” 

718. DANIEL WILSON: I had to plug Mr. Wilson in here, to replace a duplicated name. He wasn’t nailed until May 26, 2023. By then 934 days had passed since the 2020 election and in no court has any significant voter fraud been proven. 

Wilson, however, was ready to spill American blood, because he believed the election was stolen. 

The charging document in his case includes this passage: 

The FBI has identified a group named the “Coalition of the Unknown” (“COTU”), which was registered to Telegram Messenger (“Telegram”), a messaging app that offers end-to-end encryption of chats and messages. Person 2 is an administrator for the COTU group. Person 2 and others used this group to discuss plans for January 6, 2021. On or about December 19, 2020, then-President Trump tweeted, “Peter Navarro releases 36-page report alleging election fraud ‘more than sufficient’ to swing victory to Trump. A great report by Peter. Statistically impossible to have lost the 2020 Election. Big protest in D.C. on January 6th. Be there, will be wild!”

 

On or about December 22, 2020, Person 1 made the following statement in the COTU group: “January the 6th will be the target date for D.C. this goes to all groups that can help to defend those that can not defend themselves.” A member of the chat going by the moniker “Live Wire,” [Defendant Wilson] responded to Person 1 by stating, “Ooh Rah. Curb stomp crew all in!!!” Later that same day, WILSON wrote, “We are willing to work and coordinate with others but I am a gray ghost ranger.” Based on my investigation, I understand “gray ghost ranger” to refer to WILSON’s affiliation with a militia known as the “Gray Ghost Militia.”

 

About a minute later, WILSON responded, “Some of us in here are extremely active patriots so if you want to start getting boots on the ground reach out we do the damn thing.” A few minutes later, WILSON posted, “What’s the current thoughts on Battle rattle? Everyone has differing opinions my personal opinion is if we’re going to go in and take over the world Guns up. if we’re just trying to put on a show leave them at home.” Another individual responded, “I would always carry it with me at least a vest and plates under clothing.” WILSON responded, “Absolutely you can wear your attire I will have my plates on I was just talking about firearms.” Another individual responded, “I wouldn’t do firearms. Looks bad firing in a crowd. Knives and batons.” WILSON replied, “That’s my opinion you can ask people here that know me I’m a hands-on kind a guy.” Later that same day, WILSON added, “I have to admit I have carried my expandable baton both times I’ve been there I understand it’s against the rules but I haven’t had a problem yet hard knuckle gloves are a must.” Later that same day, WILSON wrote, “It is an easy choice but it’s not an easy choice I stand with you all I will go down swinging.” Later that same day, WILSON posted, “They might set up a perimeter as usual this line was pushed out even further I expect the sixth and the 20th [the planned Biden inauguration] to continue with that trend but they cannot stop us from walking in We’ve already been up there twice so we are starting to understand the lay of the land and how to get around and what to expect if anybody has any questions feel free to ask.”

 

At one point, Wilson proclaimed that it was time for “good men to do bad things,” and promised that the “Curb stomp crew all in” would be ready for action on January 6. He wasn’t sure, however, how far he and the other “stompers” would have to go, posting again:

 

“In my opinion I don’t think it’s time to gun up for the sixth we have to play this out but if they seat biden on the 20th all bets are off it’s gonna happen even if Trump wins we have to get this government under control it’s been crossing my mind if we go to a Civil War do we try to take Washington DC first or do we try to take state capitals first.”

 

On the day of the attack, we also know that Wilson communicated with other right-wing militia folk, via a walkie-talkie cellphone app. His journey through the courts has now continued for a year; in May 2024, he pleaded guilty to conspiracy to injure a police officer. He also pleaded guilty to possession of an unregistered firearm. Again: This guy didn’t need any Antifa type to “lead him on.” 

He came ready to D.C. to fight, and even said he was willing to die – and of course kill others, too.

 

UPDATE: When arrested at his home, Wilson was in possession of six firearms and 4,800 rounds of ammunition – which was illegal, due to his prior criminal convictions. In August 2024, he is sentenced to five years in prison. 

Trump supporter, violent, believed the election was stolen.

 

* 

719. Jeremy Vorous: When Mr. Vorous, of Venango, Pennsylvania realized the F.B.I. had him in its crosshairs, he joked that he might leave the country. “Peru is nice,” he quipped. 

According to his charging document, evidence against him includes all of the following: 

VOROUS posted to Facebook, which your affiant acquired from an anonymous online tip to the FBI, a photo showing himself in the Capitol Crypt in front of the bust of Abraham Lincoln saying “does that look staged to you I promise the beanbags were real the mase is still burning on me aft a shower and 6hrs, the gas was real the flash grenades were also real the dead girl was 10ft from me”. See Figure One, below. In the photo, VOROUS is depicted wearing a dark long-sleeved shirt with “NOT TODAY LIBERAL” in white letters on the front and holding a red, white, and blue cowboy-style hat.

 

In another post, he exclaims, “We shall take what we want.” He also posted about the “coordination” involved in taking the Capitol. 

When interviewed by F.B.I. agents, Vorous talked about how nice police officers were while he was inside the Capitol. In video taken outside, however, an angry Vorous, having been pepper-sprayed, shouts that he’ll come after officers even if “blind.” “At one point VOROUS took out his cell phone and appears to record a video standing in front of law enforcement and yell words to the effect ‘when I can fucking see again, I am ready to go at these pussies again.’” 

Like so many that day, he shouts a great deal about this building being, “our house.” True, in a sense – but also the house of those 81,000,000 of us who voted for Biden. At another point, he swears he’ll remain inside until the electoral count can be stopped. “I will be here until we drag these motherfuckers out,” he warns. 

Trump supporter.

 

* 

720. RONNIE PRESLEY: Mr. Presley can be seen in one January 6 video bragging, “I’m the guy who got you in this building. Don’t take my word for it. Watch the video.” Pictures taken that day also place him inside the Capitol, where he seems to have had a grand time. 

He admitted to law enforcement authorities that he was, indeed, inside, doing his little part to subvert democracy. 

When we checked on his story at one point, Mr. Presley was being represented by a public defender in his case – which meant, if you paid taxes, you were helping the dope out. 

In July 2022, he plead guilty to a single felony charge. He ends up getting slapped with a year behind bars, and other goodies. 

(LIKELY RIGHT-WING TYPE.)