RECENTLY, SEVERAL FACEBOOK “FRIENDS”
insisted I was obsessed with Donald J. Trump. They said I needed to
A.
Go fuck
myself (and then unfriended me).
B.
Love
America more (like them).
C.
Quit
posting “boring drivel” (that was from a former student.) I complimented him on
the use of such an evocative word as “drivel.”)
 |
Dozens of rioters on this list came prepared for an attack. |
*
____________________
I consider Trump the most
dangerous political figure in all of American history.
____________________
In point of fact, I’m not
obsessed with Donald J. Trump. Revolted? Yes. Deeply concerned? Too true. I
consider him to be the most dangerous political figure in all of American
history. And so long as my conservative friends continue to operate under the
delusion that he is not, I will keep posting, hoping to persuade at least a few
who still operate from a foundation of intellectual honesty.
As for Trump’s diehard loyalists,
they concern me, almost as much as he did. I’m not sure they understand how
democracy works.
*
In terms of the January 6 riot,
I got interested in studying the topic, when in short order on Facebook one of
my favorite former students said she believed the rioters were really Antifa
types. Then another former favorite student told me I should look into QAnon,
because it “explained so much.” After the briefest possible look at a link she
provided, I had to tell the second young lady that I thought QAnon was
“nonsense,” and then apologized for being so blunt.
I taught history. I like facts.
I taught history. I like facts.
That meant it was time to look up the stories of 500+ rioters
from that day.
Letters
following each name will be colored, accordingly:
Q = rioter
believed in QAnon mythology.
RW = right-wing
type.
S = rioter came to
D.C. to “Stop the Steal” (also mythological).
T = ordinary Trump
supporter.
Ts = believed
“Trump sent me.”
V = the rioter favored
violence.
A = Antifa type (so far, we’ve found none).
Today, we start the clock again
where we left off in our last post on the topic (which covered rioters #366 to #420) with a look
at rioters #421 to #504.
As I say.
I like facts.
*
“We know they stole it, and we aren’t going to
accept it!”
421. Owen Shroyer: We keep looking for the elusive left-wing
type who purportedly stormed the Capitol on January 6. We keep coming up with
arrestees like Shroyer, whose day job is to host a show on the right-wing Infowars
website.
Supposedly, those dastardly lefties led
freedom-loving, peaceable Trump fans along, and then instigated all the
violence.
According to the F.B.I., however, Shroyer knew
exactly what was going that day and no one had to lead him on. After listening
to then-President Trump stir up the crowd at the “Stop the Steal: rally,
telling them they had to “fight like hell,” Shroyer was ready for action. “Today we march for the Capitol because on this historic January
6, 2021, we have to let our Congressmen and women know, and we have to let Mike
Pence know, they stole the election,” Shroyer told a group he led that day. “We
know they stole it, and we aren’t going to accept it!”
Shroyer was so proud of what the mob had done in
storming the halls of Congress that he called in to a live Infowars
broadcast, to howl that he and his kind now owned the streets.
The day before the riot, Shroyer posted videos
wondering if “Americans are ready to fight.” He went on to say, “We’re not exactly sure what that’s going to look like … if we
can’t stop this certification of the fraudulent election … we are the new
revolution! We are going to restore and we are going to save the republic!”
Now, he claims he and his kind actually tried to “stop the
madness” on January 6, and he’s like a “political prisoner.”
RW, T, S
*
422.
Jason Burton McGrew: The F.B.I has identified Mr. McGrew, another rioter in the January 6 crowd, based in part on a
distinctive tattoo on his belly – which clearly not the most glamorous way to
be identified as a criminal. McGrew is an ex-Marine (as is this blogger) but
before you feel the urge to thank someone for his service, keep in mind he was
already a convicted felon, out of jail but on probation, when he decided
rioting on Capitol Hill might be the ticket.
He
is accused of assaulting two police officers during the riot – but with federal
agents closing in for an arrest, McGrew fled to Mexico. Which proves Mexico
should pay for the border wall. They need it to keep out all our “rapists” and
“killers,” as Donald J. Trump once said.
McGrew
is a QAnon believer, and having returned to this country, he has been arrested
and is currently back behind bars.
V, Q
*
423.
Bradley Stuart Bennett: For Mr.
Bennett, January 6 was like another date with his girlfriend, Elizabeth Rose
Williams, and the lovers posed inside the Capitol Building for several photos.
According
to the Charlotte Observer, “Bennett
was a QAnon devotee from Trinity [N.C.] — just over the Guilford County line in
Randolph County, according to court records. She was a musician, lifestyle
coach and essential oils guru from San Antonio.”
In
the fading hours of January 6, Bennett posted an all-caps rant on social media,
promising more of the same. “TODAY WAS A REVOLUTIONARY MESSAGE,” he said, while
hammering away at the keys. “WE WON’T GO AWAY. WE WILL FIND VICTORY.”
“Patriots
going to war,” is how Bennett put it in a video he made of the Capitol riot, according
to the F.B.I.
RW, T,
Q
*
424.
Elizabeth Rose Williams: On her
lifestyle website, Williams sold coaching advice, along with soothing oils, and
once posted, “My heart is to passionately pursue my own
lifestyle dreams, and one of those dreams includes finding the gold in others
and making it shine!”
Although not necessarily finding gold in
“pedophile liberals,” she didn’t mean. Williams and Bennett also posted QAnon
nonsense and right-wing conspiracy theories on another website,
BattleBorn.LIVE.
“Never take Freedom for granted,” the website
reads. “With political gaming & coverups, with tyranny on display, it’s
time to wake up to a massive coup attempting to steal our FREEDOM.”
RW, T,
Q
*
425.
Daniel Christmann: The
38-year-old New Yorker was arrested on July 28, after tipsters alerted authorities to Instagram
posts he had made, putting himself squarely inside the Capitol on January 6.
(He allegedly entered through a broken window.)
As ABC News explains, back on
January 7, he was asked by a friend if he had been a participant in the riot.
According to prosecutors, he responded, “Yeah im not going to lie,” and went on to brag that
he had “scaled a wall on a garden hose.”
In the November election,
Christmann ran as a candidate for state senator, against the Democratic
incumbent, on the New Moderate Party ticket.
He got 2.3% of the vote.
Hard to tell where he fits on
the political spectrum since he has said he’s fighting both oligarchs and communism.
He also hoped to run for President of the United States on the Libertarian
Party ticket, but never made it out of the party convention. So he settled for
rioting instead.
(POLITICAL AFFILIATION UNCLEAR.)
*
426.
David Lesperance: When federal
authorities identified Lesperance, 69, as a suspect in the riot and went to his
house to question him, the Florida man admitted he had been inside the Capitol.
Then he admitted that he had been with the pastor of his church and the
pastor’s son (see below), without naming them. It did not take the F.B.I. long
to figure out the two men’s names. He also admitted he had taken photos and
videos inside the Capitol but deleted them out of fear “of repercussions.”
Not
much is known about Lesperance’s motivation – but he did travel all the way to
D.C. to listen to then-President Trump babble about how he would “never
concede” the results of the election.
Lesperance
is not known to be particularly dangerous, save for the fact that he and others
like him were hoping to overturn the results of a fair election.
T
*
427. James “Jim”
Varnell Cusick Jr.: Cusick, who founded Global Outreach Ministries in
Melbourne, Fla., has been arrested and charged
with participating in the riot. He and his son, also an officer of the church
(below), were both freed on $25,000 bond.
For some reason, after Pastor Cusick was arrested, the Global Outreach
Ministries website was taken down.
According
to the website (when it was up), the elder Cusick holds ministerial credentials
from the Association of Faith Churches and Ministers. Cusick had promised
anyone who attended services that he would preach, “The uncompromised truths of
God’s Word with passion and purpose at weekly Bible Studies.”
According
to Patheos, his ministry had over 200 followers
of Facebook, put that page has also been taken down.
Right-wing
websites quickly came to the defense
of Pastor Cusick, noting that he was a 73-year-old veteran, and was awarded a
Purple Heart in Vietnam. They also pointed out that his son was “arrested in
front of his distraught three-year-old daughter who asked why they were locking
her dad’s hands. … Videos of the heartbreaking scene were provided to the
Gateway Pundit.”
Cusick’s
daughter Stacey was home when federal agents came to make an arrest and tells a
sad tale that almost makes you forget the people who rioted on January 6 wanted
to overturn the results of a U.S. presidential election – something which had
never happened in 59 tries.
As
reported in the Carolina
Firearms Forum, a conservative online forum:
“They said that they understand that and that
they’re ‘not the bad guys, we’re just here doing what we’re told,'” Stacey
said. “My dad loves this country. He volunteered to go to Vietnam and fight. He
served 16 months there proudly. He has taken so many kids on trips to
Washington, DC, to let them see this great country. He’s very passionate about
this nation. He’s a pastor and he holds the Constitution in a very high regard.
He hates what is happening to this country, but he would never vandalize or
harm any government property, or anything for that matter. He’s a very
upstanding man and I was devastated to see him taken away.”
Her voice shaking as she began to cry, Stacey
added, “there’s just no reason for it. He did nothing to deserve what we saw
this morning. I don’t understand why they would feel okay doing this to someone
like him. I think they felt bad about it, but they kept saying it’s their job.”
Stacey said it made her uneasy to know that
people who see that this is wrong would still be willing to do it, “because
it’s their job.”
Everyone
involved with the church insists father and son would never vandalize property,
and never saw any violence when they were inside the Capitol.
And,
oh, so sad, Lesperance was arrested “as he was coming back from bringing his
wife home from her heart doctor.”
T
*
428. Casey Cusick: The younger
Cusick serves as vice president of the church, graduated from Rhema Bible
Training College in 2014, and spent three years in Israel.
On
the same day father and son were arrested, Mike Pence was speaking at the
Ronald Reagan Presidential Library in California. He told his audience that he
would “always be proud” of the part he played in the January 6 saga.
That
is: He upheld the U.S. Constitution, under extreme pressure and duress, applied
by the president himself.
As
Church Leaders explains, the former VP was
clear:
The
Constitution affords the vice president no authority to reject or return
electoral votes submitted to the Congress by the states.” Although some “in our
[Republican] party” believe “any one person” can pick the commander in chief,
Pence said, “there is almost no idea more un-American.”
True
that.
T
*
429.
Joseph Barnes: Barnes, 35, was facing
several charges related to his role in the January 6 affray. In
June, however, the Austin, Texas man ran a red light on his motorcycle,
collided with an automobile, and was pronounced dead at the scene.
In
video from last January, Barnes can be seen inside the Capitol, yelling, “This
is our house. This is our country. This is our country,” according to court
documents.
Prior
to his arrest, he worked as a real estate agent and had an art business. According to the Austin
American-Statesman, a Facebook post on a page linked to his business
featured a “Come and Take It” flag, known to all Texans, and featured a quote
attributed to Thomas Jefferson: “I hold it that a little rebellion now and
then is a good thing, and as necessary in the political world as storms in the
physical.”
If
you haven’t noticed, many of the rioters liked the idea of spilling the blood
of other Americans in order to make sure they got their way.
(POLITICAL AFFILIATION TECHNICALLY UNKNOWN.)
 |
The original flag, 1836. |
 |
The new version? |
*
430. Cynthia Christine Ballenger: Ballinger and Christopher John Price (below),
her husband, were indicted on July 30, and charged with participating in the attack
on Jan. 6. Social media and Google phone location tracking records appear to
put the couple squarely inside the building.
When interviewed by F.B.I. agents, Ballenger
was less than helpful. She replied to several questions, telling agents that if
they wanted to know something, they should be able to figure it out.
T
(see, #431).
*
“Worth fighting for Trump.”
431. Christopher John Price: Text
messages Price sent to a friend include, “We’re taking over the capitol.
The friend replies, “Trump said to be peaceful.”
Price responds with a photo and notes, “Tear
gas and explosions going off.” At 3:24 p.m. he texts simply, “In.” Other texts:
“Broken glass everywhere” and “Climbing through the window.”
At 3:28, Price messages, “Worth fighting for
Trump.”
The charging document in Ballenger and Price’s
case notes:
On June 24, 2021, the FBI interviewed PRICE at
his workplace. PRICE said, “hypothetically,” if he an [sic] BALLENGER were at
the US capitol on January 6, 2021, they were not among those causing problems
but may have been swept up and just followed the crowd. PRICE said that there
are times when you look back when you have done something, and at the time you
do not know that you are doing anything wrong and you do not feel like you are
doing anything wrong, but then later you find out what you did may have been
wrong. PRICE said that whatever happened on January 6, 2021, and whatever the
consequences may be, it was all in God’s hands now.
T
*
432.
Boyd Allen Camper: The indictment
against Camper, who came all the way from Missoula, Montana just to get
arrested for rioting, is clear.
He’s
a Trump guy, even wearing a “Trump 2020” camouflage-colored baseball hat on
that awful day.
Evidence
against him includes:
Specifically, on January 7, 2021, a two
minute and twenty-six second clip of the CBS News interview was posted to
YouTube, under the CBS Evening News channel. In the video, the interviewer
introduced a person on the grounds outside the Capitol building as Boyd Camper
from Montana. Wearing a blue jacket and camouflage hat, Camper acknowledged
that he was inside of the Capitol, stating “I was on the front line.” He
further stated, “We’re going to take this damn place. If you haven’t heard it’s
called the insurrection act and we the people are ready.” The “front line”
alludes to the initial push of the rioters past police officers and barricades
into the Capitol.
In
another video from that day, according to the indictment,
as the mob tries to battle a way inside the Capitol, “someone in the hallway
can be heard stating ‘they are pepper spraying us,’ and Camper can be heard
asking that people with masks outside the entrance to come forward. Witness #1
also stated that h/she met with Camper after the riot, and that Camper talked
about being inside the Capitol Building.”
Several
photos show Camper inside, with a Go-Pro camera on a long camera stick, filming
the historic day.
Kind
of like having a passenger on the Titanic film the ship going down.
T
*
433.
Russell Dean Alford: Mr. Alford
represents the state of Alabama on this list, and, like so many others, his
arrest comes in part as a result of his desire to document his role in the riot,
in his case on YouTube.
According
to the affidavit for his arrest,
After stating his full name,
ALFORD told the FBI agents that he attended the Trump rally in Washington, D.C.
on January 6, 2021. He explained that he had wanted to attend a Trump rally for
quite some time, and thought this could be his last opportunity to do so.
ALFORD stated that on January 5, 2021, he and a friend drove to just outside
Washington, D.C. and rented a hotel room. The next day, they drove into
Washington, D.C. to attend the Trump rally near the White House.
T
 |
Alford: The rioters go heavy on older white males, the Trump base. |
*
434. Jennifer Heinl: Not only does Ms. Heinl get indicted for her role in the riot, her husband, Michael
Heinl, a 30-year member of the Shaler Township Police Department, files for divorce,
as a result.
Officer
Heinl told reporters that he repeatedly cautioned his wife, 55, not to
travel to D.C. on January 6, but she can be seen inside the Capitol,
conversing with Kenneth Grayson.
She
and Grayson (#3 on our list) had been communicating on social media since
November 11.
Her
lawyer told WPXI radio, “To make it clear, I’ve known Jennie Heinl a long time
and she’s not a criminal. She’s deeply embarrassed.”
T
*
“Trump 2020! Trump 2020! Trump 2020!”
435. John Lolos: Mr. Lolos may be one of the dumbest Trump fans to be
arrested as a result of his role in the Jan. 6 riot. He first made headlines,
two days later, when on a Delta flight scheduled to leave Ronald Reagan Airport
in D.C., he refused to stop yelling, “Trump 2020.” His plane returned to the
gate, where Lolos was arrested.
As an added “bonus,” an
officer tasked with keeping watch on Lolos, “began scrolling through his
personal Instagram feed and watched a video showing several people exiting a
doorway from the East front of the Capitol Building during the insurrection.”
As WUSA9 explains, “Court documents say the officer
spotted Lolos in the group of rioters, wearing the same shirt he was wearing at
the airport, holding a ‘Trump 2020 Keep America Great’ flag hooked with an
American flag.”
A search of the suspect’s baggage turned up the
same pair of flags, still attached. Souvenirs of a fun attack on democracy! Lolos
has now agreed to plead guilty to a single charge related to the riot.
T
*
436.
Chase Kevin Allen: The
Seekonk, Massachusetts man is alleged to have been one in a crowd of rioters who smashed cameras and video gear in a media staging area outside
the Capitol Building on January 6.
The
F.B.I. affidavit in Allen’s case notes, in part,
As individuals moved past metal
barricades that had been set up around the staging area, media members were
forced to flee the area before recovering all their cameras and associated
equipment. Numerous members of the crowd began to destroy the equipment,
including cameras, tripods, lights, shades, and remote broadcasting equipment
that belonged to various media outlets. Numerous members of the crowd yelled
inflammatory rhetoric against the members of the media. One member of the media
who was forced to flee the scene estimated that the equipment from his
particular news organization that was destroyed was valued at between $30,000
and $34,000.
Allen
can allegedly be seen in one video “repeatedly stomping on media equipment” and
yelling at reporters to stop filming the riot and leave the area or remain at
their own risk.
Because
nothing says, “fun with fascism” quite like burning books in 1933, or crushing
cameras in 2021.
(Let’s
all stop for a moment here, to ponder all the times then-President Trump called the free press
the “Enemy of the People.”)
Allen
posts videos he makes on YouTube, including one from the day of the attack, and
told F.B.I. agents he may have titled it, “Cop vs. The American People.”
In
another video, Allen can be seen explaining his disdain for the media, a la Donald J. Trump. “In my opinion,
they’re down with the CCP - the communist Chinese party,” he once said of
reporters. “I don’t trust the seven major news networks, and neither should
you.”
RW
*
437. Anthony Vo: The 28-year-old was arrested on July 26 and charged with participating in the
attack on Congress. On social media, he bragged about joining the assault,
insisting he had been “invited” by President Trump. As The Insider
reports:
When asked online on January 5 as to what he
was doing in Washington, D.C., he wrote online that “president [Trump] asked me
to be here tomorrow so I am with my mom LOL.” In another conversation, the DOJ
alleges Vo said, “My mom and I helped stop the vote count for a bit.”
Several people tipped off the FBI regarding Vo’s
time at the Capitol, including the spouse of someone in Vo’s former college
fraternity. The witness said an image of Vo and his mother inside the Capitol
was circulated among his fraternity members and Indiana University alumni. Two
separate witnesses told investigators Vo was known to engage with “conspiracy
theories” and was an “avid supporter” of Trump.
Mom
has, so far, not been charged.
Ts, S
*
438.
Steven Cappuccio: On August 10,
Mr. Cappuccio was charged with assaulting officer Daniel Hodges during the attack on Capitol Hill. That
included beating Hodges, after he was pinned by a crowd, with his own baton.
As
part of an expansive indictment, Cappuccio and eight others (see #439 to #444
below, and #255 and #396 listed previously) have been charged with a sweeping array
of crimes, with Cappuccio facing nine charges.
RW
*
439.
Dave Mehaffie: The Dayton, Ohio
man is seen in video from Jan. 6, giving orders (or
“directions,” if you prefer) to other members of the mob as they tried to
breach police lines on the day of the riot.
Say
what you like about abortion, Mehaffie is a fervent foe, and his politics are
on the right.
In
a court case in 1997, Mehaffie was one of several protesters accused of
illegally blocking access to an abortion clinic.
After
the judge declared a mistrial, Mehaffie told the Associated Press, “I do believe it’s a victory. God has given a victory over a
federal government that has wholeheartedly endorsed, protected and even
propagated infanticide.”
Asked about his
arrest, Mehaffie told the Dayton Daily News that he was actually trying to protect the police officer that day.
“I would never, ever hurt a police officer,” he said.
Indicted along with eight others, Mehaffie has the distinction
of being charged with the fewest crimes: To wit: five.
RW
*
440. Tristan
Chandler Stevens: Stevens is charged with ten
assorted crimes, including wrenching a shield from a police officer during the riot and using it to strike out at
other officers trying to hold off the mob.
Like all nine
individuals named in his indictment, he faces one charge of “intent to impede,
disrupt and disturb the orderly conduct of a session of Congress.” Or as this
blogger might put it: Stevens wanted to overturn the vote for the president,
simply because he wasn’t satisfied with the outcome.
V
*
441. David Lee Judd: Mr. Judd is accused of throwing a firecracker at police officers on January 6.
Not the worst criminal in the bunch, but Judd is facing a total
of nine misdemeanor and felony charges.
V (?)
*
442. Christopher
Joseph Quaglin: Among other charges, Quaglin is
charged with inflicting bodily harm on a law
enforcement officer on January 6. Included was one charge of using a chemical
spray on officers, and a second of using a police shield to batter defenders of
the Capitol.
In the indictment of
he and eight other men, Quaglin has the distinction of facing fourteen separate
charges.
V
*
443. Geoffrey
William Sills: Mr. Sill is accused of using “a deadly or
dangerous weapon,” that is, “a pole-like object” to attack officers defending
Capitol Hill. He is also charged with taking a baton from an officer and using
it to attack police.
A total of eleven
charges have been leveled against him.
V
*
444.
Patrick Edward McCaughey III:
Also accused of assaulting Officer Hodges. The 23-year-old is allegedly seen in
video from the day of the attack ripping off Hodges’ face shield and telling him to “go home” or “get
squished.”
“The vicious attack
on Officer Hodges was abhorrent and quintessentially un-American,” Acting U.S.
Attorney Michael R. Sherwin said in court. “It is my pledge that anyone
involved in violent attacks on law enforcement at the U.S. Capitol on January 6
will be prosecuted to the fullest extent of the law.”
He faces nine
separate charges.
V
*
445. Derek
Gunby: Mr. Gunby did not help his
defense when, on the morning of January 6, he posted on social media: “Up at Zero Dark Thirty to stop this
steal.”
T, S
*
He shows up on romance novel covers.
446. Logan
Barnhart: Barnhart, from Michigan, was
arrested on August 18. He has been charged with half-a-dozen crimes related to
his alleged participation in the Capitol Hill riot. According to ClickonDetroit,
The 40-year-old calls himself a
physique competitor and his Instagram was filled with shirtless photos as well
as romance novel covers he’s modeled for. He also listed himself as a
carnivore, patriot and fitness enthusiast. That account is now private after
Barnhart was arrested by the feds Tuesday on a six-count indictment.
Huff Post adds a bit of color to the story: “Photos of a
shirtless Barnhart even graced the cover of romance novels with names like ‘Stepbrother
UnSEALed: A Bad Boy Military Romance’ and ‘Lighter,’ which included
the slogan ‘wrong never felt so right.’” Now, he
stands accused of having dragged a police officer down the Capitol Hill stairs
– which might make a good cover for a pro-Trump kind of romance novel.
When then-President Trump sent a
tweet early this year, promoting Jan. 6 as a “Historic day,” Barnhart was quick to pledge
support.
“I’ll be there,” he replied to @realDonaldTrump on Twitter.
Ts
*
447. Ronald McAbee: The Tennessean, 27, faces an array of eight charges, including the most serious, “inflicting bodily injury” on a police
officer. He is part of a group of at least seven men who took part in a
full-blown attack on officers defending the front steps of the Capitol Building
on Jan. 6.
The others arrested in connection
with the same attack: Barnhart (above), Jeffrey
Sabol (#85 on this list), Peter Francis Stager (#112), Michael Lopatic Sr.
(#304), Jack Wade Witton (below), and Clayton Ray Mullins (#226).
V
*
448.
Albuquerque Cosper Head: Mr. Head,
41, faces nine charges, including one for assaulting Officer Michael
Fanone of the D.C. Metropolitan Police.
Like
a number of other attackers on January 6, Head had been in trouble with the law
previously.
According
to one news report,
The Sullivan County [Tennessee] Sheriff’s Office
says Head had several run-ins with the law between 2000 and 2015, with charges
including aggravated domestic assault in 2001, aggravated assault and vandalism
in 2006, driving under the influence and evading arrest in 2007, and aggravated
burglary and public intoxication in 2014.
(POLITICAL AFFILIATION CURRENTLY UNKNOWN.)
*
449. Dr. David Walls-Kaufman:
The defendant is accused of using a cane, crowbar, or similar object to assault
Officer Jeffrey Smith during the riot, inflicting a brain injury.
(Smith took his own life nine
days after the attack.)
As The Guardian explains,
“Jonathan Arden, DC’s former chief medical examiner, has attributed Smith’s
death to post-concussion syndrome, which can lead to symptoms like depression and
suicidal thoughts.”
Walls-Kaufman admitted to an NBC reporter that he took part in the assault on Capitol Hill, but claimed he
wasn’t a Trump supporter.
V
*
450. Taylor F
Taranto: A Navy veteran, Taranto is
accused of handing a weapon to Wall-Kaufman, with which he battered Officer
Smith. In her civil suit against the two men the widow of Officer Smith alleges that on
January 6,
Kaufman was part of the
insurrectionist mob inside the US Capitol and was being escorted out of the
building by MPD officers. Co-Defendant Taranto handed a cane or crowbar (or
similar object) to Kaufman. Kaufman, in turn, violently swung the cane and struck
Officer Smith in the face/head. Officer Smith was in a particularly vulnerable
situation because his face shield was up (leaving his face and eyes exposed).
It appears that Kaufman and Taranto specifically and maliciously targeted
Officer Smith because his visor was in the upright position, making him more
vulnerable to this brutal and vicious attack.
The suit further alleges “the
weapon appears to be the Ka-Bar TDI ‘self-defense’ cane,” perfect if you plan
to join an attack on Capitol Hill.
V
*
451. Thomas Ballard: Ballard, from Texas, is one of the many rioters charged with assaulting police officers on January 6. He is accused of throwing a tabletop at officers, and then striking at them with a baton. He was nattily attired
that day in an “Infowars” baseball cap.
When not rioting, Ballard does
motorcycle repairs for a living.
V
*
452.
Devlyn Thompson: CBS tells the story of Thompson, who plead guilty to various charges on August 6. Charges
included,
assaulting, resisting, or impeding certain
officers using a dangerous weapon — in his case, a baton. According to the
Department of Justice, the 28-year-old used the metal baton in an apparent
attempt to knock a can of pepper spray from an officer's hand. He was also part
of a group that “threw objects and projectiles at the officers, including flag
poles” and stole riot shields to prevent police from being able to defend
themselves, the DOJ said.
He could be facing from 46 to 57 months in
jail.
V
*
453. Madison
Pettit: The 20-year-old Swanton,
Ohio woman entered the Capitol on Jan. 6 with her boyfriend Gabe Burress.
The two were not arrested
until August 20.
(POLITICAL AFFILIATION CURRENTLY UNKNOWN.)
*
454.
Gabe Burress:
Burress admits he and Pettit entered the Capitol Building but says he did so
only after he was pushed by a crowd behind him.
(POLITICAL AFFILIATION CURRENTLY UNKNOWN.)
*
Arrested along with mom.
455.
Jodi Lynn Wilson: Wilson
and her son, Cole (below) have been charged with unlawful entry of the Capitol
on Jan. 6. Wilson at first denied having entered when questioned by F.B.I. agents. When shown
photographs putting her inside, starting at 3:01 on that day she changed her
story and said police officers had “held the door open for (her)” and that an officer
had “told me that’s what I could do, and I went in, and that’s all that I did.”
In
one video from the day of the attack, inside the halls of Congress, Wilson can
allegedly be seen and heard saying, “Just broke in this (building).”
T
*
456.
Cole Temple:
Wilson’s son, 20, has also admitted having entered the Capitol Building.
Temple also told authorities
he and his mother traveled to D.C. to attend the protest of the certification of the electoral votes.
T
*
Helpful hint: If you have any doubt about who the rioters were on
that day last January, Dorothy and Vanessa Treft, a mother-daughter pair, from
Seneca County, in Northwest Ohio, can shed a bit of light. The day after the
attack they talked to reporters about their “incredible” experiences. “Yesterday
was the most beautiful day that I’ve ever had. I am 62 years old,” Dorothy
said.
“For me I feel like our country died yesterday
because everything that we thought to be truth about what we love about our
republic, we didn’t get any due process,” Vanessa said.
(Apparently, young Ms. Treft had not been
following the news about the more than five dozen court challenges filed by
Trump lawyers and rejected by various state and federal courts.)
“We were not rioting and they were shooting off
those flash grenades and everything else like we were the enemy and we were
being attacked. They incited it,” Vanessa said, blaming the attack on the police!
T, S (mom), T, S (daughter).
*
457. Emanuel “Zeke” Stecher: Stecher, who allegedly identified himself in a
video as “Zeke Stecher from New Jersey” from the day of the attack, is charged with assaulting an officer.
If nothing else, Stecher was persistent in his
attack, spending hours in or around the Capitol, and getting sprayed with
chemical irritants on at least three separate occasions.
V
*
458. Joseph Irwin: The former Hardin County, Kentucky deputy
sheriff faces mostly lower-level criminal charges related to his role in the riot. Irwin was
arrested on August 17.
Not much information available.
(POLITICAL AFFILIATION NOT KNOWN.)
*
459. Michael Carico: According to federal investigators, Carico can be seen in videos, inside the Capitol on Jan. 6. He
is wearing the same clothing, gloves and hat which he also wears in a private
Instagram account, namely, “black and brown gloves and camouflage clothing with
an American flag patch on his shoulder.”
In one social media post, Carico
includes hastags #trump2020, #timetofight, and #keepamericagreat.
These are accompanied by a picture
of Carico, in a kneeling position, firing an assault rifle (probably at
imaginary Biden voters).
In one video from the day of the
riot, Carico offers up this nugget of democratic thinking, “Hey, Nancy,” he
says, “go fuck yourself.”
T, S
*
John
Brockhoeft: As Colorado News Online
reports: “Brockhoeft, who was convicted of firebombing an Ohio
abortion clinic and
planning to bomb another in Florida in the 1980s, livestreamed his exploits at
the Capitol on Facebook, writing that he was ‘fighting for our beloved
President Donald J. Trump.’”
Brockhoeft
may have had the sense to stay outside, and has not been arrested yet; but he’s
the kind of person, when you go looking for stories about rioters, who keeps
popping up in all the reports.
T
*
Tayler
Hansen was inside the Capitol, taking
pictures during the riot and has not been arrested yet. He later scored an
interview with Laura Ingraham, and naturally tried to downplay the attack.
He
was filming when Ashli Babbitt was shot. The conservative Washington
Examiner explains:
He rejected the notion that
Hansen [clearly: Babbitt] posed a threat to others. “She was literally there
just to support her president. She wasn’t being violent. She wasn’t breaking
anything. She just happened to be in the wrong place at the wrong time,” Hansen
said.
Ingraham mentioned there were “hard
to make out” images or videos circulating the internet which appeared to show
Babbitt “at the door” in the moments leading up to the shooting. One video
showed a woman starting to climb through a broken window before being shot and
falling back and onto the floor.
Hansen said that a man, who had “started
going berserk and punching,” was breaking windows on a barricaded door before
law enforcement opened fire. Hansen said he heard the shot ring out and saw
Babbitt hit the ground.
“By no means was she kicking any
doors in or even vandalizing anything,” Hansen said of Babbitt, adding later
that he stopped filming and joined others in trying to stop the bleeding, but “there
was nothing we could do.”
Hansen, who said he is a
supporter of law enforcement whose “job” is to “infiltrate these people” in
places such as Portland, Oregon, suggested the other man was part of antifa based on his behavior.
Unlike Ingraham, I’ve taken the time to look into the
backgrounds of hundreds of the rioters on January 6.
So far, including this, I’ve logged twenty claims of Antifa
types leading the attack on Capitol Hill and turned up a total of zero actual
rioters with links to Antifa. In fact, only two rioters, so far, seem to have
had left-wing political views.
RW
*
460. Stacie Ann Hargis-Getsinger: A screenshot from Ms. Hargis-Getsinger’s social media posts,
included in the indictment against her, captures clearly who she is and who the people in that giant
mob on January 6 really were.
We went to the capital after President Trumps
speech. When we arrived Alex Jones was there and told us all to go to the other
side of the bldg for Trumps next speech. When we got there a large group was on
the stairs kept moving forward towards the door. I only saw 2 or 3 people who
looked even remotely like antifa members. The Capital bldg is the peoples
house. WE the citizens own it.
Once it was stormed we also went inside.
Police were using percussion grenades,
batons and tear gas even before the major pushing and shoving started. Inside
they kept dropping teargas inside the capital. 1 girl was shot and killed by
capital police. We never saw any national guard engaging any persons at all. We
never saw any damage inside the capital bldg. We never saw anyone headed
towards the congressional chamber. The media is making this out that we stormed
the capital with guns and bats. Not true. The election was rigged, and this ain’t
over.
And I want to add Us Patriots were
peaceful and literally sharing hand warmers and singing and being vocal. Not
one weapon. Not one fire.
(Once again, a rioter who may have been peaceful sees only the
scenes around her, and not the scenes of violence captured, for example, on
hundreds of police body cameras from that day.)
Hargis-Getsinger faces four charges.
T, S
*
461. Clifford Meteer: According to the criminal complaint filed in his case, on January
5, Meteer promised, in a social media post, “I’ll be in DC on the 6th protesting the stolen election.”
He
can be seen, allegedly, in videos from that day, carrying a sign which read on one side “STOP THE STEAL” and on
the other “SAVE THE REPUBLIC.”
After
the attack, Meteer, 66, also posted this message to a friend: “That’s My House,”
he wrote. “I saw no violence, no vandalism, no mayhem. But, from my point of
view, as I have no doubt that skullduggery was done at the polls, the
legitimacy of congress has been revoked.”
Echoing
Trump.
Getting
arrested as a result.
T,
S
 |
Breaking in for Trump. |
*
462. Darrell Alan Youngers: In the
indictment against Youngers and George Tenney III (#407 on
the list), authorities note that Tenney admits he entered the Capitol Building
on Jan. 6.
Youngers can also be placed, allegedly, inside the Capitol on the day of the riot. He and
Tenney, and a third man, Robbie Norwood (below), also appear to have shared a
room, or communicated with each other while in Washington D.C. Younger is at
right in the photo below.
 |
Youngers at right, with phone. |
According
to one news report, Youngers and
Tenney claimed they spent only a few minutes inside the Capitol before
realizing something bad was going down. In a video from that day, Youngers talked
about his experience. He said he and Tenney were “not being violent,” but “had
forced their way in,” admitting there had been “little fights between the
protestors and the security,” but “no shootouts.”
Yay!
No shootouts!
Youngers
is apparently a former Marine.
T (assumed, based
on his contacts with Tenney and Norwood (below).
*
463. William Robert “Robbie” Norwood III: It
does not help Mr. Norwood’s defense to note that text messages he allegedly sent in the wake of the riot
indicate that he was proud to have attacked Capitol Hill police.
In one message, Robbie explains, “I’m dressing in all black.
I’ll look just like I’m ANTIFA.” Then he texts, “I’ll get away with anything.”
This is idiotic on so many different levels – but Norwood is
too idiotic to realize his own idiocy.
In the midst of a riot, he somehow believes police officers will be differentiating, based
on the color of clothing that rioters wear. On Jan. 7, he texts proudly to
friends: “It worked... I got away with things that others were shot or arrested
for.” “The cop shot a female Trump supporter. Then allowed ‘ANTIFA Trump
supporters’ to assault him. I was one of them. I was there. I took his shit.” He
includes a photo of himself “wearing what appears to be a U.S. Capitol Police
tactical vest underneath a zipped up camouflage jacket.” Later on in a text
message thread, “NORWOOD tells the group: ‘I fought 4 cops, they did nothing.
When I put my red hat on, they pepper balled me.’” Norwood also tells the
group, “I got a nice helmet and body armor off a cop for God’s sake and I
disarmed him. Tell me how that works.”
It “works,” bozo, because rioters like you and your dumbass
friends badly outnumbered the police on Jan. 6.
At least one person on the text thread grasps the same point.
As the indictment against Norwood explains:
In the text thread, T.D., whose
text messages appear in blue [photos are included in the indictment], attempts
to reprimand NORWOOD for his conduct, stating “You admitted to going and being
something you’re accusing other people of being. And then got mad and blamed
others for the same thing you did. What the actual fuck is wrong with you?”
(Photo 8). Eventually, NORWOOD responds, “The one cop who deserved it, got it,”
and “The cops who acted shitty got exactly what they deserved . . . The ones
who were cool, got help.” (Photo 9).
So,
there we are. Norwood is the twenty-first person (in my tabulations) to say
that left-wing types led the riot.
Norwood
even dressed up as an Antifa type.
So
far, I’ve checked the arrest records for 463 individuals – and exactly ZERO are
members of Antifa.
RW,
V
*
464-465. Walter Messer and Therese Borgerding: The two Ohioans were thrilled (I
think you might say) to travel to D.C. last January and riot, all in an effort to stop
pedophile liberals from taking over the United States.
True, that’s not what was about to happen, but they believed it
was. So, time to destroy democracy and stop the imaginary threat!
Messer allegedly texted on that day, “Joe
Biden is claiming Trump supporters were taking selfies with capital police.
This is true. I’m glad the police took time out for these selfies during the
fake riot.”
Court records show that Borgerding
commented on Messer’s post, telling another commenter, who had been critical, “Walt
was there. You weren’t. You have no story to tell. You might want to shut your
mouth.”
Borgerding later commented again about
Capitol police, saying: “I know they helped me and were very friendly and held
the door for us to come in the Capitol Building!” Yes, indeed, that is why only
140 were injured.
According to court records, both Messer and
Borgerding can be seen inside the Capitol, carrying QAnon signs.
T, Q (Messer), T, Q (Borgerding).
The
indictment against Therese Borgerding includes evidence that her husband, Richard
Borgerding, may have breached the Capitol, as well. He has not been arrested. He’s a
Trump supporter too.
T
*
“No way in hell Biden is getting the
presidency.”
466.
Stewart Parks: A picture recovered from Parks’ phone, taken during a Southwest Airlines flight to D.C., features a
“Four More Years” hat in the foreground and bears the caption: “ON THE WAY TO
D.C. TO STOP THE STEAL.”
Another
message he allegedly sent reads, “No way in hell Biden is getting the
presidency.”
On
January 9, a friend on social media messages Parks, “I’m glad you took those
vids down now because the fbi is hunting yall.”
He
is charged with four offenses.
T, S
*
467.
Matthew Baggott: Pictures and
material recovered from Parks’ phone also appear to place Baggott inside the
Capitol on Jan. 6.
At
least one witness told F.B.I. agents that Baggott and Parks had traveled to
D.C. to attend the “Stop the Steal” Rally, which headlined (as well all know)
none other than President Donald J. Trump.
He
faces three charges.
T
*
468.
Robert Ballesteros: According to the
affidavit for his arrest, Ballesteros posted an Instagram video, during which
“an individual” states, “Look at this. We broke into the Capitol building.” In
the background others can be heard screaming, “Our house.”
In
another exchange of text messages, Ballesteros tells a friend he did breach the building, “Put my foot in that door” he says. Then, “Made
my stand[.]”
When
asked if one of his friends joined the riot, Ballesteros replied, nah, he was
“a liberal.”
(POLITICAL AFFILIATION UNKNOWN;
DEFINITELY NOT A LIBERAL.)
*
469.
Luke Wesley Bender: Bender was
turned in by a high school classmate, and arrested on July 30, after he was
recognized in pictures from the day of the riot. In one, he can be seen standing on the Senate dais, near the “QAnon Shaman,” Jacob Chansley (#101
on our list.)
According
to F.B.I. agents, a video on his Instagram account, taken from the top of the Capitol
building scaffolding on January 6 includes a male voice saying, “We’re storming
the Capitol.” The video was captioned: “Today was something special if you were
there. It was great to be apart [sic] of it. #trump2020 #trump #dc #capital.”
He
now faces charges and a possible sentence of 20 years in prison.
T
*
470.
Steven Billingsley: According to the
affidavit for his arrest, Billingsley was ready to rumble on January 6.
In
a series of videos he allegedly recorded that day,
In one video, as BILLINGSLEY
neared the capital, he saw an individual climbing scaffolding and shouted, “Yeah,
baby storm the capital! That’s where the thieves are!” As he walked further toward
the building, he entered the Capitol grounds adjacent to the Peace Monument and
Peace Circle…and crossed over the area that has been cordoned off as restricted
grounds due to the Vice President’s presence at the Capitol. As he stepped over
metal barricades lying on the ground, he stated, “This is where they had it
closed off. We’re going past it.”
As BILLINGSLEY walked farther on the grounds,
he said, “We’re going as far as we can get.” When he neared a barricaded, canopied
entry point on the grounds closer to the Capitol building, he shouted in the
direction of police officers standing guard there, “We are going through the
that barricade. Fuck you people, this is our house.” He continued shouting at
the officers, “We are going through. We can do it the nice way or the hard way…
You guys turned on us.” As BILLINGSLEY talked with others who had gathered near
the canopy, he stated, “Who cares about them cops? We overpower them.” He
screamed at the cops, “We’re going to walk right in there. Go get your little
bicycles.” He told another person, “If they contest one state, we’re tearing
this motherfucker down.
At
one point, Billingsley joins the chanting crowd, “Stop the Steal.” He tells
officers that they can’t “stop three million,” indicating that Billingsley
probably can’t count very well. “This is war,” he adds.
Forced
to retreat at one point, rioters notice members of Congress looking out the
windows of the Capitol. One person remarks, “We don’t want to hurt ‘em.”
Billingsley
disagrees: “No, we do want to hurt Pelosi. I do. Yeah, I would hang her
from that big – you see that tree over there? We’d put a rope and hang her. We
hang her and Schumer over there, they’ll all go, ‘Oh, shit.’”
For
more “fun” with Steven Billingsley, feel free to read from his indictment.
T, V, S
*
471.
Brian Glenn Bingham: Bingham was
turned in by a woman who had served with him in the U.S. Army. But by the time
federal agents began searching his social media posts, all pictures and videos
that might have placed him inside the Capitol Building had been erased.
A
warrant was issued, and Facebook records soon showed that Bingham had, indeed,
breached the halls of Congress. It turned out Bingham was in close proximity to
Ashli Babbitt when she was shot and killed. On January 7, he posted a video, in
which he claimed, “The door [to
the Capitol] was open and we walked in and didn’t break anything, the girl was
killed inside door at right at the end of video You decide? Telling people to
be peaceful as we walked in, hmm.”
Apparently,
Bingham missed all the smashing of windows and doors and the pounding on police
officers that countless news organizations recorded.
In
fact, around 2:55 p.m., as officers try to clear the building,
Bingham allegedly decides to resist:
As the officers are trying to move the
crowd out of the Capitol building, BINGHAM turns to confront the officers. The
officers continue to try to move BINGHAM out and BINGHAM squares up with an
officer and appears to shout at him. As the officer continues to push BINGHAM
toward the doorway BINGHAM appears to throw a punch or a shove at the officer
with his right arm. As BINGHAM continues to scuffle with the officer, other
officers get involved to pull BINGHAM away from the officer he attacked.
Eventually the officers are able to get BINGHAM away from the officer he
attacked and push BINGHAM towards the doorway where BINGHAM then exits the
Capitol building.
Another
video, taken from a different angle shows the suspect “squaring up with Officer [Kwaku] Agyeman
and ultimately attacking Officer Agyeman.”
Additional
police body camera videos
contain sound, and prior to the
altercation, BINGHAM is heard shouting the following at the officers:
“You won’t hurt ANTIFA, but you’ll murder
innocent girls!”
“Where do you want me to move? Push me
again!”
Later in the day, on or about January 6, 2021,
BINGHAM exchanged messages on Facebook with another Facebook user
(“Individual-5”). In the messages, BINGHAM confirmed his assault on the
officers. Below is an excerpt of the exchange:
Individual-5: Are you ok?
BINGHAM: I got to manhandl[e] 5 cops and
live to tell
Individual-5: Lol… All of this does not
surprise me! Stay safe. Trump2020
T, V
*
472.
Sara Carpenter: Carpenter,
51, is a retired New York City cop, who says she went to the Capitol after hearing
instructions from then-President Donald J. Trump. Ironically, the NYPD
worked closely with the F.B.I. Joint Terrorism Task Force to coordinate her
arrest.
As
CNBC reported, “Carpenter
on Jan. 18 told FBI agents during an interview that she drove to Washington on
Jan. 5 and the following morning ‘went to the rally point where Trump’s Twitter
page has instructed all supporters to hear about the election fraud,’ the
filing said.”
According to the former cop, when current cops began pushing the
crowd out of the Capitol, she was trampled and pepper-sprayed. For some reason
she was carrying a tambourine that day. Before she left the building, she
turned, raised her left hand high, and gave it a few shakes.
Ms.
Carpenter now faces three misdemeanor charges, but has cooperated with authorities and
remains free on a non-monetary bond.
She
has turned in both her passport and her tambourine, the latter as evidence in
the case against her.
Ts, S
*
473. Donald Smith: Smith, a UPS driver by day, was arrested, in
part, based on his own claim to have entered Speaker of the House Nancy
Pelosi’s office during the riot.
After telling co-workers that he participated in the storming of Congress, and had “a great time,” he called Jan. 6 “the
best day of his life.”
They turned his dumb ass in to police. “He has
videos on his phone,” said one tipster, “and was bragging about it at work.”
T
*
474.
Kari Dawn Kelly: Kelly was turned
in by a fellow rioter on January 21, during an interview with federal
authorities.
According
to investigators, Kelly climbed through a broken window in the Senate wing of the building. Ms. Kelly
allegedly appears, center of the picture (below), phone upraised.
She
faces four charges, related to the Capitol Hill attack, and was indicted along with Zachary Hayes Martin (a.k.a. Zac Martin, and #183 on our
list), Stephen Quick and Michael Quick (below).
(POLITICAL AFFILIATION NOT KNOWN;
LIKELY TRUMP SUPPORTER.)
*
476.
Michael Quick: Michael told authorities he went to D.C. on January 6, in the words of
Fox News, “to show support so Congress
would investigation [sic] election irregularities.” He said he didn’t realize
he and his brother and friends were trespassing because police allowed them to
enter.
T, S
*
475.
Stephen Quick: Mr. Quick told
investigators he was “ashamed” of having entered the Capitol during the riot.
As Fox News reports, he “consented to having
the FBI search his camera’s SD card, which contained photos and videos of
inside and outside the Capitol that day. Surveillance footage also showed the
two brothers in the building, court records say.”
And
can we just say, right here, that if the two brothers get sent to jail, it
would be nice if they were allowed to share a cell.
T, S
*
477.
Kenneth Kelly: Let’s quote from
Mr. Kelly’s indictment:
On January 9, 2021, the FBI National
Threat Operations Center received an online tip from - Kenneth KELLY ( , the
U.S. Capitol building on Wednesday, January 6, 2021. Specifically, W-1 claimed
that KELLY drove to Washington, DC from his home in Florida to attend this
riot, “knowing full well they were going to break in.” W-1 further claimed that
he/she had text messages that had photos of KELLY and an unknown friend going
to the riot and “breaking into the Capitol building via smashing windows.” W-1
stated that KELLY went by the name “Ken” and KELLY was approximately 58 years
old. W-1 also provided a phone number for KELLY ending in -1533.
Evidence
against him includes photos, videos and text messages he allegedly sent and
received,
Screen Captures 3 and 4 contain a photo
that depicts several individuals climbing what appears to be the outer
structures of the U.S. Capitol building, followed by a text message stating: “Patriots
stormed the White House [sic], broke in while Senate (with a little s) was in
sessiondenating [sic] Arizona. The [sic] were hiding under ther [sic] desks.
Forced into recess. Patriots took back our capital today.”
T
*
478-479.
Nolan Harold Kidd and Savannah
Danielle McDonald: According to extensive photographic and video evidence, Kidd and McDonald were among the first rioters to enter the
Capitol. According to their indictment, “Both
MCDONALD and KIDD are known to reside in Georgia. As described below, your
affiant believes that MCDONALD and KIDD traveled together to Washington, D.C.
on January 5, 2021, and are in many photographs together.”
In
fact, Kidd is said to have shared a social media post, boasting, “Just made it
home, I have tons of photos and videos to share with you guys.”
MCDONALD stated that she and KIDD marched
to the U.S. Capitol, and when they reached the U.S. Capitol, there were
uniformed police officers near the doors telling them to come inside and
showing them where to go.
On January 15, 2021, FBI agents
separately interviewed KIDD in Athens, Georgia. KIDD agreed to speak to the
agents. KIDD told the agents that the doors to the U.S. Capitol were wide open.
In
one video, taken later that day, authorities note that Kidd and McDonald stand
for an interview, conducted (apparently) by another rioter:
At 8:49, the video footage depicted
MCDONALD taking a video of herself stating, “I’ve been tear-gassed three times
today. Three times.” A man behind the camera responds, “Me too. But we broke—we
broke through.” At 9:42, MCDONALD can be heard stating, “We did not break in.”
The
two defendants proudly stand for a variety of pictures inside the building,
with McDonald smiling in one, and saying proudly, “I’m the only girl that made
it into the Senate.”
In
a group chat on January 6, Kidd and McDonald talk about the day’s events, with
Kidd offering: “Me and
Savannah are FUCKING STORMTROOPERS.”
I
think Mr. Kidd might have missed the Nazi implications of that reference. Then
again, he’s a Trump supporter.
Neo-Nazis
are not all that rare in the Trump base.
On
January 7, 2021, McDonald told members of the same chat, “My chest hurts . . .
[b]ut we did the right thing.”
T (Kidd), T (McDonald).
(The
Fox News story about their arrest naturally includes the headline, “DOJ: Georgians arrested for
involvement in Capitol riot said police told them to come inside.” Later, the
story indicates the pair was “invited” in by officers.
How
sweet.)
*
Noodling and rioting for fun.
480.
Brady Knowlton: Knowlton and
Montgomery (below) were indicted together on January 8, and again on April 16. Knowlton has been charged with six crimes as
a result of his alleged participation in the riot.
“Who
is Knowlton?” Fox News asked in a story about the Utah man.
“He’s
a businessman, a dad, a political donor and a noodler,” Erin Cox, a Fox reporter,
explained. Yes: “noodling,” or trying to catch a fish with your bare hands. In
fact, in 2013, Knowlton landed a deal for a short-lived show (three episodes) called
“Catfish King” all about noodling adventures.
Once
again, we wonder. Is Knowlton the elusive Antifa type? It turns out he’s just
another garden variety Republican:
Federal election records show he’s donated to
Republican candidates for president or the U.S. Senate, including Mitt Romney,
Newt Gingrich, Rand Paul and Marco Rubio. His only recorded donation to
President Donald Trump was $50 he gave to WinRed, a Republican Party
fundraising platform, in August of last year.
T
*
481.
Patrick Montgomery: Montgomery faces
ten charges, giving him bragging rights compared to Knowlton. Two of those ten
involve physical assault on officers of the law. The defendant allegedly kicked
one officer and tried to take away his baton.
Montgomery
was initially released from jail, on condition that he surrender any firearms
he owned. But on March 31, the Colorado man participated in a mountain lion
hunt and killed one lion.
It
didn’t help his situation when authorities conducted a background check, and found that Montgomery had a 1996 robbery
conviction on his record and should have been barred from owning weapons at all.
He
is now on house arrest, with a GPS tracking device, until trial.
T,
V
*
482.
Jackson Kostolsky: Resident of
Allentown, Pa., Kostolsky admitted to federal agents that he entered the Capitol Building through
an open door, but proceeded only about five feet before being forced out again
by police.
A
search warrant, however, revealed Kostolsky deeper inside the building and for
some extended period.
He
remains free on a personal recognizance bond and is being represented by attorney Danielle Courtney Jahn. Court
records also indicate that Kostolsky, 31, lives
with his mother, which must be a little humiliating.
As
a condition of his release, Kostlosky [alternate spelling of his name] was
released on $250,000 bail. He must submit to random drug testing and location
monitoring, avoid excessive alcohol or drug use and obey a 7 p.m.-7 a.m.
curfew.
(One
lesson for future rioters: If you plan to break the law, don’t wear distinctive
kinds of clothing.)
 |
The leopard vest was a dead giveaway. |
(POLITICAL AFFILIATION NOT KNOWN.)
*
483.
Philip Edward Kramer: The California
man was turned in by at least one witness whose wife worked with the defendant.
From his indictment we learn that Kramer showed up with exactly
the kind of equipment you might require if you were intent on rioting. Yet,
according to his testimony, he was only carrying a walking cane and a bicycle
lock on a rope in case he was attacked.
On or about January 27, 2021, the FBI
received an anonymous tip (“WITNESS 1”) in reference to Philip Kramer. Witness
1 stated that Kramer worked with their spouse at the Jankovich Company in
Paramount, California. Witness 1 received third party information that Kramer
allegedly participated in the United States Capitol Riot on January 6, 2021.
Upon returning to California, Kramer was reported to be agitated and claimed
there was going to be war on January 20, 2021 [emphasis added], the date of
the Presidential Inauguration for Joseph Biden. According to Wintess 1, Kramer
told coworkers he had purchased a 2x4 to break into the United States Capitol
and that he indeed entered the Capitol on January 6, 2021. There was no contact
information provided for follow up with WITNESS 1.
On March 18, 2021, your affiant contacted
Kramer by telephone at 714-458-0226. During the call, Kramer stated that he was
present at the United States Capitol on January 6, 2021. He agreed to meet with
FBI agents in person for a voluntary interview. On March 19, 2021, your affiant
interviewed Kramer at Starbucks, 8819 Alondra Boulevard, Paramount, California
90723. The interview was conducted outside at a table where Kramer had free and
easy access to leave if he desired. The interview was surreptitiously audio
recorded. Kramer stated that he traveled to Washington, D.C. to attend former
President Trump’s speech on January 6, 2021. He then walked to the United
States Capitol and observed a crowd interacting with United States Capitol Police
on the west side of the building. Kramer walked up to a door of the building
where he had his cellular telephone above his head filming the crowd. Kramer
stated that he was pushed into the door by a crowd and made it approximately 20
feet into the building. At some point Kramer was exposed to pepper spray or
tear gas. Kramer also stated that he carried a snowboard helmet in his backpack
and a walking cane which he intended to use to defend himself if he was
involved in an altercation.
On March 19, 2021, Kramer contacted your
affiant from telephone number 714-458-0226. This telephone call was audio
recorded. Kramer stated that he took a video of the crowd while he was going
into the Capitol, which he sent to his wife. Kramer added that he carried a Master
Lock in his backpack with a climbing rope which he intended to use “in case
someone was coming at my throat or something.” Finally, he stated that he took
a “do not enter” sign from the Capitol, brought it to California, but threw it
away soon after he returned. Kramer stated that he knew he should not have
taken the sign as a souvenir and only threw it away because he was scared after
he heard things got “crazy.”
T,
V
*
“Heads on pikes!”
484.
Thomas B. Adams, Jr.: On January 7, Insider
published an article about the men who stormed the Capitol, written by Abigail Higgins. The
opening line: “Thomas Adams was
one of the first to set foot in the US Capitol.”
“It
was a really fun time,” Adams told her, speaking very shortly after the
building was breached. He was wearing, Higgins noted, “a Trump flag around his
neck like a cape” and seemed proud to show her cellphone footage of his
escapades to back up what he said.
She
writes:
Adams, 39, and his friend Roy Franklin, 65,
said they had traveled from Springfield, Illinois, for the rally the president
had held earlier in the day and had been spurred on by Trump’s claim,
unsupported by evidence, that he had been cheated out of victory. Trump has
refused to acknowledge Biden's victory and called on his allies to block the
certification of the election result. …
Adams and Franklin were at the bottom of the
steps of the US Capitol building around 2 p.m., pressed close to the police
barricade. Hundreds of rioters behind them were pushing forward so hard that
Franklin tripped and fell onto a police officer. The officer barely reacted,
Franklin said.
Once
inside, the pair advanced, along with others, to the Senate chamber. Adams saw
a man dressed like a Viking, bare-chested and flexing his biceps, announce with
a bullhorn, “The government is corrupt and bullshit.” Others cheered him on.
Adams said the scene was “hilarious.”
Franklin
seemed discouraged when interviewed, but Adams was more upbeat. “I think
everything was great until it went from peaceful to everyone acting like a
bunch of 12-year-olds destroying things,” he said.
Higgins
captured the mood of the worst people in the mob that day, writing, “With
nightfall, intentions turned even darker than the events at the Capitol. ‘Next
time we won’t be so peaceful!’ one man shouted. Another peddling Trump T-shirts
shouted into a bullhorn, ‘Who else wants to go BLM hunting tonight?’”
If that
kind of racist hate didn’t get your attention, a video that accompanies the article starts with two
mid-40’s types in MAGA hats center screen. One says, defiantly, “We can take
that place!” and jabs a finger in the direction of the Capitol.
“And
then do what?” the other asks.
“Heads
on pikes!” shouts the first.
Later,
we get a shot of the president, speaking to the crowd earlier that day. “We
will never give up, we will never concede,” he promises. “And we’re going to
the Capitol.”
Think
about what that meant.
The
video is eye-opening, even for this blogger – who has immersed himself in
studying the men and women who ran amok on Jan. 6. One gray-bearded fellow is
shown shouting about how the people in the crowd that day paid their taxes, paid
the salaries of the people inside the Capitol. And what did they get?
“Nothing!” he howled. “They don’t represent us,” he added. “They need to pay
the ultimate price for their crimes. An example needs to be made!”
We
will never concede.
Heads
on pikes.
Pay
the ultimate price.
In
the video, another older man calls out to the crowd, “If you’re scared of
confrontation, do not move forward. Patriots move forward.” He’s using a
bullhorn and adds, “This is our chance to show them how fucking serious we
are.” Someone carrying a “Jesus Saves” flag advances past him, which is ironic,
for sure.
One
man, who has been sprayed with some kind of chemical appears on screen and compares
police defending Congress to the “Gestapo.”
Again,
an irony there.
Near
the end of the film a Trump supporter named Melody Black announces
proudly, “This is America, and we’re all here to fight for our freedom. It is
not their America,” she insists angrily, “It’s our America.”
(Actually,
it is our America, too, if we supported Biden, because, duh, we live in America.
Really, Melody, we do.)
T (Melody, who has not been arrested).
When
interviewed by F.B.I. agents later, Adams claimed he did not realize the building had been broken open, until he and his friend began stepping over
broken glass. He said he had believed it was to be a “peaceful occupy.” According
to the affidavit in his case, “ADAMS
said he heard there were possible factions of Antifa that were there that
possibly created the problem that started in the Rotunda.”
He
does not name Franklin when he is interviewed by federal authorities – and when
I check on August 28, Franklin has not been arrested yet.
(Adams’
claim about the imaginary role played by Antifa is the twenty-second claim
lodged by non-Antifa types on this list.)
T (Adams), T (Franklin,
not arrested).
*
485.
Kevin Sam Blakely: Like so many
other rioters, Blakely was busted in part on the basis of mobile phone data that placed him both inside and outside the
Capitol Building on Jan. 6.
Blakely,
55, owns a vehicle repair company, but now faces a battery of charges for
participating in the attack.
 |
Blakely in red circle. |
(POLITICAL AFFILIATION UNKNOWN AT THIS TIME.)
*
486.
Taylor James Johnatakis: Mr.
Johnatakis is a right-winger in good standing. Age 37, from Kingston, Washington, he
has had his own podcast for years, sometimes using it to talk about his Mormon
faith.
In
the wake of the attack on January 6, he said QAnon was a “good source.” But the
fact Biden’s victory was certified proved QAnon wasn’t real.
(This blogger could have told him that
two years ago.)
In
a post-riot podcast, he told listeners, “We overlap with a lot of things Q
believers believe in, but there is a difference. Q is not my idol, Q is not my
god.”
He
refers to most Americans as “peasants,” and says, we’re all “getting screwed.”
On
Twitter, he calls himself a “Biz Owner, reluctant taxpayer” and works in the construction
field “cause it’s honest.”
On his podcast, the day
after his arrest, Johnatakis felt the need to announce that he did not support
racism or militia groups – but said nothing about his arrest. “To me the
revolution is the Trump revolution, the MAGA revolution, it’s a
color-within-the-lines process,” he added, not a destroy-democracy process
as it appeared on January 6. “Anything I said that sounds different than
that is hyperbole and rhetoric.”
His lawyer also feels a
need to announce that his client is not a
member or supporter of any white supremacist or hate group.
Johnatakis
faces eight charges
for his part in the riot, including two counts of engaging “in an act of physical
violence.”
His
legal case is not helped when a second indictment is filed, linking him with
Craig Michael Bingert (#44 on our list) and Isaac Steve Sturgeon (#258).
Bingert and Sturgeon are also charged
with two acts of physical violence each.
RW, Q
*
487.
Daniel Johnson: Once
again, the lesson is clear. If you’re going to participate in a violent attempt
to overthrow the government don’t brag on social media. Mr. Johnson is charged after tipsters tell authorities that on
Facebook, he wrote, “I was one of the first ones inside the capitol building.”
And,
“lol, Dad and I were one of the first ones inside.”
(Proving,
once again, that these rioters are not particularly good at math, Daniel, at
one point, looks at the mob surrounding the Capitol and opines, “Couple
thousand?? Lol try like 4 million people!!!”)
RW
*
488.
Daryl Johnson: Evidence
also shows that Daniel’s father, Daryl, was among those who breached the Capitol on Jan. 6.
In
response to one critic of the attack on Facebook, Daryl responded, “Brett You
need to look more deeply into what actually happened – what the media is saying
is completely false It was Antifa causing the damage. I was there! Trump
supporters were restraining the Antifa people. Do not believe the reports –
it’s a complete BS”
Daryl
was there and Daryl was clueless. It might be consoling to think that ten
thousand people who loved Trump were led on by a few Antifa types to surround
and attack Congress.
The
problem is, as of August 28, not a single Antifa-type individual has been
arrested for participating in the riot.
Plus:
then-President Trump instructed his followers to march to the Capitol and
“fight like hell” and “never concede.”
To
put it simply, Daryl’s own family holds a 2-0 lead over Antifa in terms of
numbers of persons who joined the assault and suffered arrest.
This
is the twenty-third time a rioter on January 6, or a politician or right-wing
media type has made the “Antifa really did it” claim.
RW
*
“God has
anointed Donald Trump to root out evil.”
489. Luke Coffee: The
41-year-old actor was identified as one of the rioters by a former college
classmate, who happened to be an F.B.I. agent. Coffee is accused of using a
crutch to batter police during the attack.
In a video he posted on social media (since deleted), Coffee
essentially confessed to a role in the attack. “Those cops I fought, uh, I was pushing against, I grabbed a
crutch,” he explains. “And I went in and pushed against the line. I pushed all against
the line and was like trying to drive them back, and God gave me some
supernatural energy, and they sprayed in my eyes.”
As CentralTrack,
a Dallas, Texas website, explains in a story about
insurrectionists from North Texas,
Coffee posted several videos about his experience.
Regarding the events on the
Capitol, Coffee says “I was ready to die last night. We thought we were, we
were totally gassed. And I literally thought I was getting gassed to death like
I was in Nazi Germany, a Jew getting gassed to death. Okay.”
Shortly after that, Coffee
describes the violence as an “Antifa false flag attack” and questions whether
anyone actually died, a fact that is not disputed.
For six weeks afterwards, Coffee went into hiding at a fancy
resort (unnamed), whose owner felt it was “ridiculous” to be charging people
like Coffee with federal crimes related to the riot.
During the pandemic, we learn, Coffee fell down the QAnon
rabbit hole and decided he had to act. Texas Monthly explains:
Several months into the
lockdown, Coffee found himself isolated, unable to work, and with lots of time
to conduct deep dives on the dark web. He encountered QAnon, or as he puts it,
“They found me.” Relatives, who have limited contact with Coffee these days,
say he quickly became “brainwashed” and began to refuse to engage with those
who contradicted his new worldview.
In September Coffee began
actively posting about QAnon conspiracies and releasing Instagram videos
alleging the world was controlled by an all-powerful cabal of politicians,
billionaires, propagandists, and Satanists‚ and that God had anointed Donald
Trump to root out evil in the body politic [emphasis added].
He also began to believe the conspiracy theory that the
election had been stolen. He told a reporter that he went to D.C. on January 6,
“to be part of history.” He wanted to do his part to stop the imaginary liberal
human traffickers and “bring all of this criminal behavior to light.”
So: Another poor soul, sucked in by QAnon.
And Trump.
(Coffee is yet another one of many rioters and
riot-supporting right-wing types to blame the violence on Antifa. His is the
twenty-fourth such claim this blogger has logged. And when I find the first
Antifa suspect arrested, I will be sure to notify readers.
Probably never.)
T, Q, S
*
490.
Robert Fairchild: The 40-year-old
Floridian and U.S. Army veteran was arrested on August 27. He faces nine
charges, including assault on a police officer. He was identified in a video
from the attack by his brother-in-law, a deputy in Georgia. This is going to make the
family Thanksgiving dinner a little awkward this year.
He
faces five charges stemming from the riot.
V
*
491.
Uliyahu Hayah: Also arrested on August 27, Hayah, 45, of Silver Spring, Maryland. He
will surely be charged with at least one count of assault, as the initial DOJ
report on his arrest makes clear.
According to court documents, Hayah was
captured on video entering the U.S. Capitol through the Senate wing wearing a
camouflage backpack, a black head covering and a gas mask while carrying an
American flag. As alleged, around 2:25 p.m., Hayah was on the front line of the
crowd walking against a line of U.S. Capitol Police Officers in the crypt.
Hayah continued walking through the building toward the House of
Representatives Chamber, making his way to the vicinity of the Speaker’s Lobby
moments after Ashli Babbitt was shot. As depicted in publicly available video,
Hayah joined a physical confrontation as law enforcement tried to escort
rioters out of the building. As alleged, he put his hands on a Metropolitan
Police Department (MPD) officer and pushed the officer approximately 10 feet
into the crowd. Hayah exited the building at approximately 2:57 p.m.
V
*
“A complete wacko.”
492.
Daniel Ray Caldwell: Caldwell, 49,
was taken into custody on February 10. Among other charges, he faces one count of
assaulting a police officer during the riot. The former Marine allegedly used a chemical spray in the attack. He showed up for the assault
with his old backpack and wearing a “Guns Save Lives” patch on his olive drab
sweatshirt.
In
a video cited as evidence in the criminal complaint against him, Caldwell
proudly tells two women (off camera):
“Probably 10 minutes after we started storming, a big fight
broke out and the guns go off and one girl got hit in the neck,” Caldwell said,
recalling how police fired rubber bullets. “Then the fights started and they
took their guys and somebody grabbed her and they took off.”
“We stayed there and they kept spraying pepper spray,” he
continued, referring to officers. “I was like, ‘Dude, do it again, and I’ll
spray you back.’ And he did and I sprayed back; got like 15 of them and that’s
when they shot me with that big canon [sic] with rubber bullets.”
One
witness described the former Marine as a “huge White supremacist,” and “a
complete wacko.”
According
to his ex-wife, her ex is not a racist, suffered a traumatic brain injury
during his five-and-a-half years of service, and once owned 13 rifles and four
handguns.
The
judge in Caldwell’s case decided anyone happy to spray fifteen officers might
be a threat to society and ordered him held until trial.
RW
*
Michael
and Diane Andrews: A story about
Caldwell leads to two other members of the mob that surrounded Congress on that fateful day.
Neither has been arrested, but we have yet another claim – by a clueless Trump
supporter who was there that day – that Antifa caused all the trouble – even
though no members of that left-wing group have been proven to have been there.
(This
is the twenty-fifth such claim I have logged.)
In
one picture, posted in front of a broken window, Ms. Andrews adds the caption: “In DC
#StopTheSteaI2020 what an amazing day.”
She also goes by the name Diane Bobic and has a
Twitter account to promote her business as a Dominatrix.
T, S (the Dominatrix), T (Michael).
*
Kevin Whitt: The same story (above) gives us a glimpse
into the thinking of another “protester” that day. Whitt is not accused of
entering the Capitol, but was fired from his job with the Republican Party after his picture
surfaced, showing him on the steps of the building during the mayhem.
A believer in QAnon theories – like Pizzagate –
Whitt bills himself on social media as a “former trans person” and speaks at
various conservative gatherings. He later explained his firing, saying the
Texas GOP was “canceling conservatives, obviously.”
RW, Q
*
Proud Boys and neo-Nazis from the onset.
Really,
the story about Whitt and the Dominatrix, and people like Caldwell who liked
macing police, painted a compelling picture of people operating on the basis of
fantasy beliefs. QAnon. Stolen election. Trump supporters weren’t really Trump
supporters, but gremlins of some kind.
Texas
Attorney General Ken Paxton was there
on Jan. 6, too, at the “Stop the Steal” rally, listening to Trump. Later,
watching the mayhem unfold, he claimed the perpetrators were “not Trump
supporters.”
But as
this growing list shows: They were.
And let’s
give a final tip of the hat to Ali Alexander, the 35-year-old from Fort
Worth, Texas. He was one of the organizers of the “Stop the Steal” extravaganza
that proceeded the attack on American democracy.
At a rally
in Phoenix, on December 19, he stirred up the pro-Trump crowd with this story.
One of his organizers had explained to Alexander a part of their dilemma,
assuming you wanted to overturn an election. “We’re nice patriots, we don’t throw bricks,’” he said.
“I leaned over and I said, ‘Not yet. Not yet!’ Haven’t you
read about a little tar-and-feathering?” Alexander responded. “Those were second-degree
burns!”
Alexander then went on to tell the crowd:
“We’re
going to convince them to not certify the vote on January 6 by marching hundreds
of thousands, if not millions of patriots, to sit their butts in D.C. and close
that city down, right?” Alexander said. “And if we have to explore options
after that…‘yet.’ Yet!”
Alexander’s
supporters cheered, yelling threats like “noose!” and “nothing’s off the
table!”
So, the
people who showed up on January 6, as asked by people like Alexander and
then-President Trump himself – yeah, some large percentage was already
primed for violence by the time they arrived.
Alexander
is said to have plead guilty to a pair of felonies a decade ago, one for credit
card abuse, another for property damage or theft; when I go looking for
documentary evidence I can’t find much.
On the
other hand, I uncover this interesting fact. On January 19, 2017, Gavin McInnes
was among attendees at a DeploraBall event, as he and other right-wing types celebrated
early the rise of their hero, Donald J. Trump.
McInnes
was there for the Big Bang, politically speaking, and his claim to fame now is
that he organized the Proud Boys, who played such a critical role in the
Capitol Hill attack. Another invitee, disinvited at the last minute, was
Richard Spencer, he of neo-Nazi fame. But Spencer did feel safe enough with the
crowd celebrating the rise of Trump to crash an after-party event.
T,S (Paxton), RW, T, S, V (Alexander),
RW, T, V (McInnes), RW, T (Spencer).
*
493. Nicholas
Languerand: A tip leads to Languerand’s
arrest, after his picture and other information allegedly place him in the thick of the riot. “Remember this day forever,” the defendant
posts as a caption to one photo on Instagram.
At one
point, you could say, the suspect reveals clearly who he is. In response to
some online criticism, he says:
My name is Nicholas Languerand and I am a proud Patriot.
Where We Go One, We Go All. Only true fascists censor and slander the
opposition. You are doing precisely what SS soldiers and sympathizers would’ve
done to Jews in 1940s Germany. God is watching.
According to the indictment in his case, the defendant
can be seen at the Lower West Terrace Entrance to the Capitol Building throwing
objects at the police, including “a large orange traffic barrier, a cannister
of pepper spray, and a stick-like object.” He also acquires a police shield at
one point and tries to batter his way through police lines, as he tries to
force a way inside the Capitol.
Q, V
*
494. Christian Cortez: The indictment in Cortez’s case, began with a tip from a former high school
classmate. On January 7, that classmate provided authorities with a YouTube
video link which put the alleged rioter at the forefront of efforts to break
through police lines. “At about 4 minutes and 50 seconds into the video CORTEZ
can be heard off-screen, yelling, ‘Fuck you! Oath breakers! Oath breakers!
You’re a fuckin’ oath breaker!”
After officers spray him in the face, Cortez repeatedly
shouts in rage, “Do it some fuckin’ more!”
(See: Larocca, Benjamin, below.)
T, S
*
495. Benjamin Larocca: A second tipster, also a high school classmate
of Cortez and Larocca, notifies federal law enforcement that the two men were in the middle of the attack on Capitol
Hill.
Interviewed by F.B.I. agents, Larocca voluntarily
admitted he and Cortez had driven from
Texas to Virginia in a rental car on Jan. 4, and stayed in a hotel. On the
morning of Jan. 6 they drove to D.C., where Larocca said they hoped to be part
of a “march.” He further claimed that once inside the Capitol he was merely
“chilling” and shouting, “Our house!”
Cortez (above) told the F.B.I. he and Larocca
came to D.C. to attend the “Stop the Steal” rally. Initially, he told agents that
“he never pushed past any officers and that he tried to stop others from
assaulting officers or vandalizing the Capitol.” Shown videos of his actions,
he had to admit, okay, that was him.
Larocca likely faces misdemeanor charges. Cortez
is likely to be charged with felony offenses.
T, S
*
496. Cody
Connell: Charging papers for the Louisiana man include screenshots of Facebook messages
provided by a tipster. The day after the riot, Connell allegedly writes that
the Jan. 6 riot wasn’t “planned” but pledged to “be back and it will be a lot
worse than yesterday!”
Prosecutors also quoted from another
conversation on an unidentified social media platform on Jan. 7 where someone
asked Connell, “Yall boys something serious lol it lookin like a civil war
yet?”
Connell replied: “It’s gonna come to it.”
V
*
497. Eric Chase Torrens: Torrens is indicted after video posted by Matthew Bledsoe
(#130 on our list) surfaces, highlighting their success in breaking into the
Capitol. Torrens is seen wearing a “fleece-lined white and gray hat.”
“We’re going in,” he shouts.
Another Bledsoe video shows a group of men marching
through the halls of Congress, the crowd shouting, “Stop the steal! Stop the
steal!”
Bledsoe’s video also leads to the indictment of Blake Austin Reed
(#80 on our list), Jack Jesse Griffith (#109) and Bledsoe himself.
On August 19, Torrens pleads guilty to a single count related to his
participation in the riot, carry a maximum sentence of six months in prison and
a fine of up to $5,000. He agrees to cooperate with law enforcement authorities
and share any and all relevant social media and phone evidence.
That includes any “self-incriminating evidence,” although the
government agrees not to pursue further legal action against him.
(POLITICAL
AFFILIATION: YOU CAN PROBABLY GUESS.)
*
498. Joseph Elliot Zlab: When contacted by federal agents, after a tip that Zlab had been
inside the Capitol on Jan. 6, the suspect first claimed he had only circled the
building once or twice. “When asked
if he went in the Capitol building, ZLAB stated that he thought he needed an
attorney because he did not want to say anything incriminating.”
A
search of his phone later turns up multiple pictures
taken on January 6, inside the Capitol Building.
Zlab,
51, who runs JMZ Contractors, an Everest, Washington construction firm, shows
up in a MAGA hat and carrying a “Don’t Tread on Me” flag over his shoulder on the day democracy almost died.
He
faces two misdemeanor charges.
(LIKELY CONSERVATIVE; NOT DEFINITIVE.)
*
“Stealing elections is treason!”
499. James Little: You don’t have to read very far in the indictment against Little to see
where he stands.
On January 6, at 3:20 p.m.,
he texts a person he knows: “We just took over the Capitol!”
That individual responds –
in all caps – “IF YOU DON’T CONDEMN THIS DON’T EVER BOTHER SPEAKING TO ME
AGAIN! HORRIBLE, HORRIBLE PEOPLE. THIS IS A COUP! YOU OBVIOUSLY HATE
AMERICA!!!”
At 3:36 Little responds:
“We are stopping treason! Stealing elections is treason! We’re not going to
take it anymore!”
Little adds that the
recipient of his texts will “thank me for saving your freedom” someday.
Sadly, I suppose, for Mr.
Little, he is easily identifiable in photos and video from the day of the
attack, on the basis of his very bald noggin.
T, S
*
500. Terry Lindsey: Lindsey was indicted along with Glen Wes Lee
Croy (#211 on the list).
Evidence from social
media posts seems to put Lindsey squarely inside the Capitol on January 6.
Review of the Lindsey Profile
revealed photographs, posts, and commentary evidencing Lindsey’s participation
in the January 6, 2021 breach. For example, on January 4, 2021, the following
post appeared on the Lindsey Profile: “Going to D.C. anyone I know going give me
a shout out.” Further posts to the Lindsey Profile from January 5, 2021,
subsequently informed others of Lindsey’s apparent location along the way,
stating, “Just hit West Virginia”; “Just got to Pennsylvania”; and “In
Maryland”.
Even better – for prosecutors – Lindsey posts on social media
at 3:38 p.m. on that grim day: “Inside the Capitol.”
Mr. Lindsey goes on to claim, “Notice how peaceful we were
inside the Capitol. Don’t believe the news we didn’t start shit.”
T
 |
Lindsey, left, Croy, right. |
*
“They need to hang
from these mother****ers.”
501. David
Nicholas Dempsey: You can
get the flavor of who Dempsey is from a video the F.B.I. alleges he posted on
January 6. Standing in front of a gallows erected on Capitol grounds, a Trump
flag in one hand, he howls, “Them worthless ****in’ ****holes like Jerry Nadler, ****in’
Pelosi… they don’t need a jail cell. They need to hang from these mother****ers
[pointing to gallows]…They need to get the point across that the time for peace
is over.”
According to WUSA9,
In the video, Dempsey
can be seen using pepper spray, crutches, a metal pole and a baton or club-like
object to assault police attempting to hold rioters back. Charging documents
also include pictures of Dempsey wearing a yellow-and-black bracelet and posing
with other members of the Proud Boys in marked attire.
Dempsey
may not be a member of the Proud Boys, but appears in at
least one photo flashing the “White Power” hand signal along with
two other like-minded “gentlemen” and two unidentified “ladies.”
RW, V
*
502. Jeffrey
Scott Brown: Brown
faces five charges, including one for inflicting injury on a law
enforcement officer.
Evidence
against him includes his participation in an encrypted group chat, the “about”
description reading: “This group
will serve as the Comms for able bodied individuals that are going to DC on Jan
6. Many of us have not met before and we are all ready and willing to fight. We
will come together for this moment that we are called upon.” The group also
called itself “The California Patriots – DC Brigade.”
Among
other offenses, Brown is accused of deploying pepper spray against police
defending the Capitol on Jan. 6. According to the F.B.I. agent who filed the
indictment against him,
At approximately 3:11 p.m., BROWN can be
seen pointing the can towards the police defensive line and deploying the spray
for several seconds in the direction of the police. Based on my training and
experience, I assess this spray was pepper spray or a similar chemical spray.
On August 26, the DOJ filed an emergency motion in court to block a California judge’s decision
to release Brown from jail pending trial.
RW, V
*
503. Janet West Buhler: According to Buhler’s indictment, a federal
agent was reviewing footage from the riot, related to Michael Lee Hardin (#357
on our list), when he noticed a woman later identified as Ms. Buhler.
Hardin and Buhler appeared to be together as they
walked the halls of Congress and tried to disrupt the final electoral vote. The
agent contacted a witness in Hardin’s case and learned that Buhler was his
stepmother-in-law, who had traveled with him, from Utah to D.C.
Buhler is now charged with five crimes.
T
*
504. Marc Anthony Bru: For a moment, when I study the indictment
against Bru, I think, “I have done it. I have found the Yeti. I have snapped a
picture of Bigfoot at the riot, so to speak.
I see the words “Pacific Northwest Resisters” and mention of their Twitter account.
The F.B.I. agent notes that PNR is “associated with the anti-fascist movement”
and for a moment believe Bru belongs. Then reality intrudes.
Logic slaps me in the face.
PNR has helped identify Bru, who
turns out to be a very proud member,
of course, of the Proud Boys.
If we go looking, we find social media
posts of Bru pointing guns in his pictures at anyone who accesses his accounts.
He identifies himself in one post as a Proud Boy. In another photo, as he marches
on the Capitol on January 6, he flashes the “White Power” salute. In still another,
he appears to be part of a large group following Ethan Nordean (#172 on our
list), the leader of the Boys.
And that’s the type who showed up on
January 6.
RW, V
So, here we are, your favorite blogger having
checked the records for 504 individuals charged in the riot.
One alleged rioter (#89 on our list) was charged,
but turned out to have bragged about his role – which he had never played.
So that would drop us to 503 individuals checked.
Originally, it seemed I might have turned up three with liberal, left-wing
credentials, but in none of those cases is it definitively true. See #15, Antoinne Brodnax (who may have jointed the mob in an effort to
get material for his rap album), #169, John
Sullivan (who went inside to film the
“history” of the day) and, I first thought, #202, Christopher
Ortiz.
Originally, I thought Ortiz might be the third
potential liberal. But I wondered if I could find anything new about him, for
starters, and on August 31 checked his indictment again.
It turned out he believed China had stolen the
election. So I took him off my “list” of three.
That left me with 500 rioters checked so far,
most proven or likely Trump supporters. We had the curious and the clueless,
like #12 Gracyn (Grace Courtright, who wandered the halls of Congress, but
admitted in one text “idk know what treason is,”) QAnon dopes, like #493,
Nicholas Languerand (and dozens more) and “Stop the Steal” true-believers, such
as #5 William Vogel (and more dozens). Even worse, we had the extreme right-wing
types, including at least a hundred primed for violence. Talk of civil
war being necessary, as January 6 being the day for a new revolution, was rife, but such
talk, including from GOP lawmakers like Rep. Lauren Boebert, begged the central
question.
In a civil war, or revolution, who did these
people want to kill?
Answer: Other Americans.
It’s that simple and plain.
(We have also included details of Trump fans who
were not arrested: Ashli Babbitt, who was killed during the attack, Rosanne
Boyland, trampled to death, and at least a dozen others who posted from the
scene about their love for Trump – but didn’t enter the Capitol, except in
spirit. And we’ve added a few right-wing bomb-makers to flavor the stew.)
(I promise to keep checking records as more information
piles up.)
