Alleged members of anti-government militia groups and a US military reservist with alleged white supremacist convictions are among the latest suspects charged in the Capitol attack as prosecutors investigate rioters who used military-style tactics. Dozens of suspects are now facing federal and local burdens in the January 6 attack that killed five people.
FBI
A Colorado man affiliated with the radical militia group the “Three Percenters” was charged this weekend by Washington DC federal prosecutors with assaulting a federal officer, obstructing federal proceedings, and other matters related to the crime. siege. Federal prosecutors have also charged three other people in Ohio and Indiana who are said to be linked to another anti-government militia called the “Oath Keepers.” The Indiana suspect was reportedly in a group that sprayed a US Capitol police officer with bear spray.
Evidence against the suspects raises more questions about coordination among the crowd that stormed the Capitol, a law enforcement official told investigative correspondent Catherine Herridge. Identifying rioters who used military-style tactics is a first priority for a task force of senior prosecutors in DC investigating possible charges for sedition, Herridge reported.
The Three Percenters and the Oath Keepers are both part of an extremist movement that has grown since President Barack Obama took office in 2008, according to the Anti-Defamation League. The groups promote the idea that the government plans to take away the rights of US citizens and that resistance should be resisted.
On Saturday, federal investigators charged a man and woman from Ohio who they believe were part of a group of about 8-10 people wearing paramilitary equipment and spotting Oath Keepers’ paraphernalia on a video storming into the Capitol. According to a federal criminal complaint, the group moved “in an organized and trained manner” and forced its way to the front of a crowd gathered around a door to the Capitol.
38-year-old Jessica Watkins and 50-year-old Donovan Crowl of Champaign County, Ohio, are charged with unlawful entry into a restricted area, violent entry and disorderly conduct, and obstruction of official proceedings. According to a criminal complaint, Watkins identified himself on social media site Parler as “CO [commanding officer] of the Ohio State Regular Militia “- a dues-paying subgroup of the Oath Keepers.
On January 6, the complaint alleges that Watkins posted a video on Parler with the caption, “Yes. We stormed the Capitol today. Teargassed, the whole, 9. Pushed our way to the Rotunda. Even got in the Senate. The news is. lie (even Fox) about the historical events we made today. “
Watkins is also alleged to have confirmed she led other Oath Keepers during the siege, by posting another image on Parler of a man in paramilitary gear with an Oath Keepers patch on his arm. According to the complaint, the caption read, “One of my guys at the Stop the Steal Rally today. #Stopthesteal #stormthecapitol #oathkeepers #ohiomilitia.” In another criminal complaint, federal investigators identified the man in the photo as Crowl, who they say is also a member of the Ohio State Regular Militia.
FBI
According to the complaints, both Watkins and Crowl later spoke to the media about their encounters with Capitol Police. In a Jan. 13 interview with the Ohio Capital Journal, Watkins said her group didn’t destroy anything and was respectful of the Capitol Hill police “until they attacked us. Then we stood our ground and drew the line.” According to the complaint, Crowl said the next day that he had told the New Yorker that his intentions were peaceful and “we were protecting the fucking Capitol Hill police.”
Another Oath Keepers suspect, Jon Ryan Schaffer of Columbus, Indiana, wore a blue hooded sweatshirt under a tactical vest with a baseball cap that read, “Oath Keepers Lifetime Member,” according to a federal criminal complaint filed Saturday. He was featured in bear spray photos and surveillance video and verbal arguments with Capitol Police officers in the Capitol Building.
Schaffer, identified by tipsters who knew him as the frontman of an Indiana heavy metal band, has long-held, far-right views, according to the complaint. In a 2017 interview, Schaffer identified himself as an ‘anarchist’, called the federal government a ‘criminal enterprise’ and claimed that the 2016 presidential election was ‘faked’. During another interview at November’s “Million MAGA March” in DC, Schaffer said, “A group of thugs and criminals hijacked this country a long time ago. And now they are making their big move, and it won’t happen … People must wake up and jump out of the Matrix, because they’re going down. They made the move, they’re messing with the wrong people here, believe me. “
A man associated with the Three Percenters group was also charged on Sunday. Based on his social media posts, 24-year-old law enforcement agency Robert Gieswein of Woodland Park, Colorado, runs a private paramilitary training group called the Woodland Wild Dogs. A federal complaint filed Sunday said Gieswein was wearing distinctive military gear during the riot – a camouflage shirt under a reinforced military-style vest with a ‘Woodland Wild Dogs’ patch, an army-style helmet marked with orange tape and patches. goggles and a black camo backpack. Gieswein reportedly sprayed an unidentified substance on federal officers outside the Capitol and encouraged other rioters when they broke a window into the building. Once he entered through the broken window, he was reportedly seen inside with a baseball bat and aerosol can attaching his cell phone to his vest and looking out.
Gieswein was pictured next to another suspect charged on Sunday, Dominic Pezzola, who was wearing a ‘Proud Boys’ shirt. According to a witness, Pezzola, known as “Spaz” according to witnesses, allegedly said the rioters would have murdered people including US House Speaker Nancy Pelosi and Vice President Mike Pence if given the chance.
FBI
Among those charged on Sunday was Timothy Louis Hale-Cusanelli of Colts Neck, New Jersey, a member of the U.S. Army reserves and a contractor at Naval Weapons Station Earle, where he has ‘secret’ security clearance and access to a variety of ammunition. , according to a federal complaint. A confidential source working with an NCIS agent said Hale-Cusanelli admitted to being in the Capitol during the riot, the complaint said, showing the source videos of himself making intimidating and derogatory statements to agents.
The source told the NCIS agent that Hale-Cusanelli is a recognized white supremacist and Nazi sympathizer who posts extremely political opinion videos on YouTube. On January 14, the source recorded a conversation in which Hale-Cusanelli admitted to entering the Capitol and encouraged other members of the crowd to “ move forward ” with both voice and hand gestures. He would have said that if they had more men, they could have taken the entire building.
Hale-Cusanelli also reportedly admitted to taking a flag and flagpole that he threw another rioter “like a spear” at a Capitol police officer, described it as a “murder weapon” and said he intended to kill it. destroy. Hale-Cusanelli is accused of, among other things, violent entry and disorderly conduct and interfering with a law enforcement officer during a civil disorder.
Those charged in the riot last week, included two off duty Virginia police officers, one of them, Jacob Fracker, is a corporal in the Virginia National Guard. The other, Thomas Robertson, has apparently served at different times with both the National Guard and the US Army Reserves, although the military is still trying to determine its current status.
Catherine Herridge and Clare Hymes contributed to this report.