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WASHINGTON: Federal agents arrested two other Capitol rioters whose images had gone viral, one wearing the Speaker of the House lectern and another wearing horns and a fur skin, while a senior Democratic lawmaker asked the operators of the mobile phones that preserve the content of social networks related to the carnage.
Dozens of people have been charged after the assault on the Capitol on Wednesday, and the FBI asked the public to help identify the participants, given the proliferation of images of the riots on the Internet. Five people have died, including a policeman.
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Jacob Anthony Chansley, who appeared prominently on social media wearing horns, a fur skin, face paint and wielding a spear adorned with the United States flag, turned himself in to police, the Justice Department said.
Rioters in the United States Capitol. (Photo: AFP / Saul LOEB)
Chansley, also known as Jake Angeli, called the FBI office in Washington on Thursday and then told agents that he “came as part of a group effort with other Arizona ‘patriots, at the request of the president that all ‘patriots’ came to DC on January 6, “the DOJ said in a statement.
Federal agents also arrested Adam Christian Johnson, whose photo as he smiled and waved as he carried the lectern to Speaker of the House of Representatives Nancy Pelosi also went viral. Johnson, of Parrish, Florida, also posted a live video on Facebook of himself as he walked the halls of the Capitol, according to the Tampa Bay Times.
The video was removed from online platforms and all of Johnson’s pages were removed.
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On Saturday (January 9), Senator Mark Warner, a Democrat who is the incoming chair of the Senate Intelligence Committee, wrote to the CEOs of 11 mobile phone operators and social media companies, urging them to preserve content and the associated metadata connected to the riot, which erupted when lawmakers met to certify the election of Democratic President-elect Joe Biden.
In his letters, Warner emphasized how the rioters took the time to document the event and share it via social media and text messages “to celebrate their disdain for our democratic process.”
Before his arrest, NBC reported, Chansley gloated over how crowds infiltrated the Capitol, forcing lawmakers to flee.
“The fact that we had a bunch of traitors in office, huddled together, donning gas masks and retreating to their underground bunker, I consider it a victory,” he told NBC News.
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Chansley faces multiple federal charges, including trespassing and disorderly conduct on the Capitol grounds.
Media reports said Chansley had often been seen at rallies in support of Trump. Efforts by Reuters on Saturday to reach his family were unsuccessful, as were attempts to reach Johnson’s family.
It was unclear where Chansley was being held Saturday, or if he or Johnson had legal representation.
Johnson, who will appear in federal court for the first time on Monday, is being charged with leaving Washington.
THREATS TO THE SPEAKER
A man who was arrested in connection with the events on Capitol Hill and the threats to lawmakers told FBI agents that he arrived in Washington on Thursday, a day late for the rally, after being delayed on his way to Ohio, they showed. federal court documents.
Cleveland Meredith was found with a Tavor X95 assault rifle, a Glock pistol, and hundreds of rounds of ammunition, and was arrested in connection with threatening Pelosi after an FBI agent read January 7 text messages Meredith she spoke of “putting a bullet in her head on Live TV” and running her over with his truck, according to a criminal complaint.
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At least a dozen people faced criminal charges in the United States District Court for the District of Columbia in connection with the riots, and at least 40 other people faced lesser charges in the Superior Court of the District of Columbia, a local location. . Many of them were arraigned Thursday and released, with a judge order not to return to Washington unless they were to appear in court or meet with their lawyers.
Among them was Richard Barnett, the man from Gravette, Arkansas, who was photographed sitting at Pelosi’s desk, his feet on the furniture.
Nicholas Ochs, the self-proclaimed leader of the Hawaii chapter of the far-right group Proud Boys and who made an unsuccessful bid for a seat in the Hawaii House of Representatives in November, was arrested upon his return to Honolulu and charged with trespassing on buildings or restricted land, federal prosecutors said in a statement. It was not immediately clear whether he had a lawyer.
Among those arrested Friday for participating in the riots was Derrick Evans, a member of the West Virginia House of Delegates, who announced his resignation Saturday in a one-line statement.
Evans, who had just been elected in November and had been touted on his campaign website as “a pro-Trump conservative who will always stand up, speak out and fight for Christian values,” was broadcast live entering Capitol Hill on Wednesday, and was recorded saying, “We’re in, we’re in! Derrick Evans is on Capitol Hill,” the Justice Department said in a statement.
The FBI and the Washington Police Department’s homicide unit are jointly investigating the death of Capitol Police Officer Brian Sicknick, who was injured while defending the Capitol. Sicknick had just been sworn in at the United States Capitol Police Department, fulfilling a lifelong dream.
Steven D’Antuono, the deputy director in charge of the FBI’s Washington field office, said Friday that rioters who had returned home were not safe from arrest.
“Just because you’ve left the DC region, you can still expect someone to knock on the door if we find out you were part of the criminal activity on Capitol Hill,” D’Antuono said.
