Rioters storm the capitals: who are they?

Police evacuated the MPs on Wednesday and tried to take control of a crowd of Trump supporters for more than three hours. The intruders leveled the premises, broke into the offices of politicians.

Crowds smashed windows, invaded the Senate and House of Representatives, spread out after cabinets of legislators, including Democratic Speaker of the House of Representatives, Nancy Pelosi, arrived in meeting rooms.

Images of chaos and disorder have traveled the world.

Images of the interior of the Capitol include broken windows, unfolded furniture and scattered documents. The bust of the twelfth president of the United States, Zachary Taylor, is stained with blood.

It is reported that after Wednesday’s incident on Capitol Hill, 68 people have been arrested and will stand trial on initial allegations of violations of the curfew introduced to quell the unrest.

Who are these troublemakers?

While there have been distinctive symbols and flags reflecting specific ideas and views, in practice the motives for the actions of most Americans who have become troublemakers are more or less the same, reports the BBC.

Among the rioters is a QAnon activist

In the images captured by the capitol there are people associated with the most diverse groups of the radical right and defenders of the strangest conspiracy theories. The latter are particularly active both online and at rallies in support of Donald Trump.

One of the most prominent personalities in the image, whose photos are like a virus that spreads on social media, is a painted face man wearing a horned fur hat and waving the United States flag.

His name is Jake Angeli, a notorious supporter of QAnon’s absurd conspiracy theory. He introduces himself as QAnon Shaman. All of the man’s activities on social media show that the American is a frequent guest at various QAnon events, and he posts YouTube posts that apparently prove the validity of the aforementioned conspiracy theory.

In November, he was photographed giving a speech in Phoenix, Arizona, where he claimed, without any basis, that the results of the presidential election were rigged. His personal Facebook account is broken down from photos and memos related to the wide variety of extreme ideas and conspiracy theories.

“Proud guys”

Another noteworthy group whose members have been seen enraged on Capitol Hill is the radical right-wing Proud Boys, writes the BBC.

The organization was founded in 2016 and is made up exclusively of anti-immigrant men. During the first debates of the US presidential election campaign, Trump was asked about supporters and insurgents of white supremacy.

“I’ve said it many times and I want to make it clear once again: I condemn the KKK (Kukluksklan), I condemn all supporters of white supremacy, I condemn the Proud Boys,” Trump told Fox News.

“I know little about the Proud Boys, almost nothing, but I condemn it,” he said.

During the heated debate between Trump and Biden in October, its moderator Chris Wallace called on the president to clearly condemn supporters of white supremacy.

Instead, Trump responded vaguely, “Proud guys, stand back and watch.”

This far-right paramilitary group, to which only men belong, immediately seized on the president’s phrase. One of his well-known social media accounts has a “Come out and stay” logo. Trump added that the real problem is far-left extremists.

The Proud Boys did not hide their joy at Trump’s comments. “We’re stepping back and watching, sir,” the group wrote in one of their social media posts.

Nick Ochs, one of the members of the band, posted a caption from the Capitol on Twitter with the caption “Greetings from the Capitol.”

Hello from the Capital hahaha pic.twitter.com/H1Axdou708

– The dictator of Hawaii chooses Nick Ochs (@OchsForHawaii) January 6, 2021

He also did live broadcasts.

On Ochs’s profile on the Telegram chat app, he introduces himself as a senior with the Proud Boys from Hawaii.

Other members of the group noticed that they wore clothing with provocative symbols. One of the members of the Proud Boys wears a T-shirt that says “6 MWE”, an acronym for the Holocaust, “Six million was not enough.”

For anyone confused about what “proud boys” mean, here’s one with a t-shirt in DC last weekend that means “6 million wasn’t enough.” pic.twitter.com/ugBJyHycUc

– Ann Hedonia (@StiesBeforeGuys) December 16, 2020

Internet influencers

The protests also involve influencers with a large following online. One of them is social media actor Tim Gionet, who goes by the pseudonym “Baked Alaska.”

His live broadcast from the Capitol, broadcast on a single niche platform, drew thousands of viewers.

D. Briefly, T. Gionet is probably best known as the online troll.

The South Poverty Law Center, a nonprofit in the United States, describes him as a “white nationalist,” a label he tried to get rid of in a comment on The Insider.

YouTube banned his channel in October. The decision was made when Gionet posted a video in which he harassed vendors and refused to wear a protective mask. Other platforms, including Twitter and PayPal, have closed their accounts even earlier.

What did Nancy Pelosi leave a nasty note on?

As if the virus had spread, a photo of a person who had entered the office of influential Democratic politician Nancy Pelosi was spread online.

It is named after Richard Barnett of Arkansas.

At the Capitol Building Complex, he told New York Times reporters that he had taken an envelope from a politician’s office and left a note calling him a parasite.

In response to an interview with the New York Times, Republican Congressman Steve Womack said on Twitter: “I feel bad thinking that one of our constituents may have been determined to do it.”

Local media reports that Barnett is linked to a gun rights organization, and was spoken at the Stop the Steal rally after the presidential election, a move that fails to acknowledge Joe Biden’s victory in the election and claims that the outgoing president allegedly stole it. elections.

During an interview at an engagement hosted by the Engaged Patriots, he said: “If you don’t like me, send someone to fix it, but know I won’t give up easily.”

The Barnett-linked group raised funds in October, and the money was donated to the local police department, specifically to purchase body-mounted cameras, local newspaper Westside Eagle Observer reported.

That’s Richard “Bigo” Barnett, 60, of Gravette, Ak., Showing the personalized envelope he took from President Pelosi’s office. He insisted he didn’t steal it: “I left a quarter on his desk.” pic.twitter.com/aST7MCoRwP

– Matthew Rosenberg (@AllMattNYT) January 6, 2021

Flags and symbols

At least one person inside the Capitol waved the Confederate flag, which symbolizes the US states that supported the preservation of slavery during the American Civil War. For this reason, most see this flag as a symbol of racism, and even call for it to be banned. Others see it as an important part of the history of the American South.

In July it was announced that the flag would not be allowed to fly at US military installations, in the context of a new policy to abandon the symbols that sow conflict.

President Trump used to defend the use of the Confederate flag, arguing, “I know there are people who care about the Confederate flag, they don’t think about slavery … I think it’s the simplest free speech.”

The Capitol was also invaded by protesters carrying flags with a rattlesnake curled up against a yellow background, often accompanied by the inscription “Don’t attack me.”

This flag is even better known as the Gadsden flag, reminiscent of the American Revolution and the war with exiled British colonialists. Libertarians adapted it to their needs in the 1970s, according to a New Yorker article, and even later it became a favorite symbol of the Tea Party conservatives.

The flag has been used by right-wing political forces for the past decades, says Professor Margaret Weir of Brown University. She is also loved by anti-government white supremacist groups, who often resort to violence for their own ends, he says.

Other people wearing clothes with Nazi symbols were also observed. During the protests, the crowd photographed a man wearing a “Camp Auschwitz” T-shirt with the words “Work liberates.” Later, the man was seen inside the Capitol.

Man on Capitol Hill today wearing a “Camp Auschwitz” sweatshirt. On the back it reads “Staff” pic.twitter.com/7KRGEIvNme

– Trevor McKee Achilles (@MrTAchilles) January 7, 2021