DC police release photos of Trump mob members wanted on federal charges
The FBI and DC Police have released photos of members of the violent Trump mob wanted on federal charges for storming the US Capitol building after President Trump urged them to ‘march’ on Congress to protest the results of the presidential election.
Authorities on Thursday announced they are now in the process of tracking down at least 36 suspects – in addition to the 81 already arrested – who scaled the Senate and House Chambers, ruined statues, fired tear gas and smashed buildings on Wednesday in chaotic scenes.
The suspects, who are part of a group of white supremacists, Holocaust deniers and conspiracy theorists, are wanted on a slew of charges including inciting a riot and weapons charges – and the Department of Justice has promised to bring them all before the courts.
Federal prosecutors on Thursday said 55 cases have been charged so far, but warned it is ‘just the beginning.’
Some of the assailants have already been identified through social media – such as the horned QAnon ‘Shaman’ Jake Angeli and a MAGA fan whose marketing company fired him when they spotted his work lanyard around his neck – but the rest are wanted by law enforcement, and a huge manhunt has been launched across DC and the country.
The pictures taken throughout the nation’s capital were revealed at a press conference on Thursday as a growing number of politicians, including President-Elect Joe Biden and DC Mayor Muriel Bowser, have blamed Trump for the violent uprising that left four people dead.
More than 50 Capitol and DC police were also injured in the riot, including several who were hospitalized.
The president, who has spent weeks falsely attacking the integrity of the election, had earlier urged his supporters to ‘fight like hell’ and protest Congress’ formal approval of the results in yet another failed attempt to stay in power.
As a sitting president, Trump cannot be charged with any crimes until he officially leaves office on January 20 when Biden is inaugurated, however authorities can still open a case and conduct an investigation.
Wednesday’s violent protesters had been egged on by President Trump, who has spent weeks falsely attacking the integrity of the election and had urged his supporters to protest Congress’s formal approval of Biden’s victory
WANTED: Federal and local authorities are trying to track down at least 36 suspects – in addition to the 68 already arrested – who stormed the US Capitol building, defaced property, fired tear gas and trashed officers on Wednesday in chaotic scenes
Police on Thursday released photos of members of the violent Trump mob wanted on federal charges after storming the US Capitol building
Dozens of Trump loyalists were photographed breaking windows, entering both the Senate and House chambers and going into the offices of lawmakers at the Capitol Wednesday
The FBI is now working with various law enforcement agencies to identify perpetrators and charge people with federal crimes
Supporters of President Donald Trump breech the U.S. Capitol as election results are to be certified in Washington DC on January 6, 2021 after breezing past cops
But even if they choose to pursue legal action, details of such are unlikely to be announced in order to avoid Trump potentially pardoning himself and sparking a constitutional crisis.
Acting US attorney for DC Michael Sherwin on Thursday said ‘all options are on the table’ for charges against the rioters as he revealed prosecutors planned to file 15 federal cases for crimes including unauthorized access and theft of property.
He said 40 other cases have already been charged in a District of Columbia superior court.
The first few defendants charged in the chaos appeared in DC Superior Court on Thursday, CNN reported.
Jared Amos, 38, of Florida, pleaded not guilty to unlawful entry to Capitol grounds and violating Mayor Bowser’s 6pm curfew.
David Ross, 33, of Massachusetts, also pleaded guilty to the same charges. Both men have been ordered to stay away from DC area unless they are attending court hearings.
Acting Attorney General Jeffrey Rosen said federal authorities have teamed up with various law enforcement agencies to gather evidence, identify additional perpetrators and charge those people with federal crimes.
‘The Department of Justice is committed to ensuring that those responsible for this attack on our Government and the rule of law face the full consequences of their actions under the law,’ Rosen said in a statement.
In an ironic twist, Rosen said the violent protesters could face up to 10 years in prison for ‘injury of federal property,’ under President Trump’s executive order signed in June.
The order, which came amid nationwide demonstrations following the death of George Floyd, states offenders would be prosecuted for vandalizing government property which is punishable by up to 10 years in prison.
Trump at the time vowed to give ‘long prison terms for these lawless acts against our Great Country’.
Ashli Babbitt, 35, (left and right) has been identified as the woman who was shot and killed inside the US Capitol when Donald Trump’s supporters stormed the building and violently clashed with police. Babbit, from San Diego, was a 14-year veteran of the US Air Force and staunch Trump supporter
Kevin Greason, 55, of Athens, Alabama, was among the four who died in Wednesday’s riots. Social media posts reveal Greeson was a fervent supporter of the president
Greeson was said to have died after suffering a ‘medical emergency’ related to the breach, however police refused to specify details surrounding his death
Rosanne Boyland (left) 34, of Kennesaw, Georgia, was also among those who died in the chaos after suffering a ‘medical emergency’
The extraordinary breach has raised questions from lawmakers on both sides of the political spectrum as to how law enforcement could allow a mob to occupy and vandalize the federal building.
Several members of Congress have since called for the 25th Amendment to be invoked so he is removed from office in the next two weeks while House Democrats have drawn up articles of impeachment.
Mayor Muriel Bowser on Thursday characterized the incident as ‘textbook terrorism’ and joined in the criticism of the police response.
‘Obviously it was a failure or you would not have had people enter the Capitol by breaking windows and terrorizing the members of Congress who were doing a very sacred requirement of their jobs,’ she said.
Former FBI Deputy Assistant Director Danny Coulson told Fox News on Thursday it was clear the wild incident was ‘instigator-generated’.
‘It didn’t just happen. There were people there that came to do it and generated it and caused this horrible mayhem,’ he said.
Coulson said it is likely the remaining suspects will be tracked down and charged soon, now that the FBI and Secret Service can identify them using their ‘good facial recognition ability’ on the photos.
It comes as DC Police Chief Robert Contee released numerous images of the persons of interests in hopes the public could help identify them and lead to their arrests.
‘These images depict individuals engaged in various acts of violence or property destruction,’ Contee said in a news conference on Thursday.
Two men and two women died in the violent siege in Washington DC on Wednesday, including 35-year-old US Air Force veteran Ashli Babbit, who was shot dead by police after she tried to clamber through a barricaded entrance.
Another three victims died after suffering ‘medical emergencies’ related to the breach.
Trump rioters scale the walls of the US Capitol Building after storming past police
Shortly before 2pm, the rioters descended on Capitol Hill while lawmakers were inside certifying the vote. Over the next two hours, the violence escalated. Some broke into politicians’ offices, tauntingly sat at their desks and left threatening notes. One of the protesters was shot dead by cops (bottom right)
They have been identified as Benjamin Phillips, 50, of Ringtown, Pennsylvania, Kevin Greason, 55, of Athens, Alabama, and Rosanne Boyland, 34, of Kennesaw, Georgia, DC Police Chief Robert Contee confirmed.
Further information regarding the nature of their deaths was not released.
Phillips was reported to be the founder of a pro-Trump social media site called Trumparoo and had coordinated transportation for several dozen people from Pennsylvania to Washington.
His profile on the site said he was organizing a bus from the Bloomsburg area to go to the rally and expressed anger at Democratic officials and moderate Republicans.
Members of his group said they last saw Phillips around 10.30am Wednesday, and that he did not show up to meet them for a 6pm departure, The Philadelphia Inquirer reported. They learned from police that he had died and had a somber ride back to Pennsylvania.
US Capitol Police arrested 13 people for unlawful entry charges in Wednesday’s riots.
Another 68 people were arrested by DC Police between Wednesday afternoon and early Thursday morning, with more expected to be charged as authorities continue to identify and search suspects, police said.
Of those arrests, five were related to unlawful firearm possession and two were for other prohibited weapons including metal knuckles and blackjack-like weapons.
The majority of arrests were related to curfew violations and unlawful entry, with 48 arrests made on US Capitol grounds. Only one of the suspected arrested is from the DC area, Contee said.
A 27-year-old Maryland woman, identified as Jessica Reinke, was arrested and charged with defacing public property and assaulting
a police officer, according to police arrest records.
And only one person has been arrested on felony charges so far. The suspect, identified as Joshua Pruitt, 39, of DC, is charged with felony rioting, as well as unlawful entry and curfew violation.
Pruitt is reported to have ties to The Proud Boys, a white supremacist group that has been present at Trump rallies across the country in the past.
Christopher Alberts, from Maryland, was among the crowd of Trump supporters who stormed the Capitol building, an event which he called ‘the beginning of a revolution.’
‘The people that were here today are going to come back even more, and we’re not coming back peacefully, and we’re not coming back unarmed,’ he told The Dispatch. ‘America’s long overdue for revolution.’
The 33-year-old was later arrested and charged with carrying a pistol without a license and possessing a firearm on Capitol Grounds, among other charges.
Alberts had told the publication that he was attacked by police officers as he tried to enter the federal building.
‘The second I got to the tops of the steps they f**king baton my leg. They freaking rubber-bulleted by arm,’ he said.
A list of arrests released by the police department Thursday did not include several suspects identified as participants on social media, including ‘QAnon Shaman’ Jake Angeli or Richard ‘Bigo’ Barnett, who broke into House Speaker Nancy Pelosi’s desk and took a piece of her mail.
Dozens of those involved in the violent siege, labeled as ‘great patriots’ by the president are yet to be identified and the FBI is now asking for the helping in finding them, tweeting they are ‘accepting tips & digital media depicting rioting & violence in the U.S. Capitol Building & surrounding area on January 6, 2021.’
‘If you have witnessed unlawful violent actions, we urge you to submit any information, photos, or videos that could be relevant,’ they added. Police later released images of ‘persons of interest’ they want to identify.
Most of those already arrested have been accused of curfew violations. Others face charges of carrying a pistol without a license.
A pipe bomb was left outside the RNC on Wednesday
The former Deputy Director of the FBI, Andrew McCabe, has said the bureau must make ‘identifying, arresting, and prosecuting every single person that you possibly can that entered that Capitol building yesterday’ a top priority.
But some of those who took part have already been identified online as members of far right groups, white nationalists, Neo-Nazis and supporters of conspiracy theory QAnon. They are from states all over the country including Arizona, Michigan, Georgia, Pennsylvania, North Carolina and Oregon.
Chief Steven Sund, in his first public comment on the mayhem from Wednesday, said in a statement that rioters ‘actively attacked’ Capitol police and other law enforcement officers with metal pipes, discharged chemical irritants and ‘took up other weapons against our officers.’
He described the scene as ‘unlike any I have ever experienced in my 30 years in law enforcement here in Washington, D.C.,” said Sund, a former city police officer.
‘Make no mistake: these mass riots were not First Amendment activities; they were criminal riotous behavior. The actions of the USCP officers were heroic given the situation they faced.’
Lawmakers from both parties have pledged to investigate law enforcement’s actions and questioned whether a lack of preparedness allowed a mob to occupy and vandalize the building.
Mayor Muriel Bowser joined in the criticism of the police response. ‘Obviously it was a failure or you would not have had people enter the Capitol by breaking windows and terrorizing the members of Congress who were doing a very sacred requirement of their jobs.”
A large crowd of Trump supporters had rallied near the White House on Wednesday morning, and the president told them that he would go with them to the Capitol. He didn’t. Instead he sent them off with incendiary rhetoric.
‘If you don´t fight like hell, you´re not going to have a country anymore,’ he said. ‘Let the weak ones get out,’ he went on. ‘This is a time for strength.’
Capitol Police, who are charged with protecting Congress, turned to other law enforcement for help with the mob that overwhelmed the complex and sent lawmakers into hiding. Both law enforcement and Trump supporters deployed chemical irritants during the hourslong occupation of the complex before it was cleared Wednesday evening.
Trump’s mob of ‘Great Patriots’ is made up of white supremacists who celebrate Auschwitz and attend far-right rallies across America – and a Nazi-tattooed ‘Shaman’
The QAnon Shaman, real name Jake Angeli
Angeli has previously admitted his belief in QAnon started after reading conspiracy theories on the internet
The heavily-tattooed Trump supporter who sported horns, a fur hat and face paint and occupied the Senate dais moments after Vice President Mike Pence delivered his rebuke to Donald Trump has been revealed to be an Arizona-based QAnon believer who used to promote himself as a singer and actor.
Jake Angeli, 32, often known as the QAnon Shaman, has become a fixture at recent right-wing rallies while decked out in his signature attire.
One of his tattoos is said to show the symbol of Wotanism, an acronym for ‘Will of the Aryan Nation.’
Dr Adam Rutherford tweeted: ‘I know this jamiroquoi wannabe muthaf***a is kinda funny but his tattoo is the symbol of Wotanism, which is a Nazi/Odin occult that believes Jews control the government, the Holocaust is exaggerated and champions the 14/88 slogan. He’s a real card-carrying Nazi.’
Angeli was at the front of a group of agitators who broke into the Capitol and faced off with DC police who desperately tried in vain to protect the establishment.
He then made his way into the Senate chamber where he was seen shouting and posing for photos.
Angeli flexed his left arm as he stood behind the dais in the Senate chamber where just moments earlier Vice President Mike Pence and Nancy Pelosi had stood.
Angeli leads a mob of supporters breaking into the Capitol Wednesday night causing lawmakers to evacuate the chambers
He was flanked by an American flag and his fellow rioters took photos of him on their smartphones.
The ‘Qanon Shaman’ was also seen screaming in the chamber and clutching a megaphone.
Angeli has become a prominent figure at pro-Trump rallies, always sporting his signature outfit of fur, horns, face paint and bare chest, where he has spouted off about QAnon conspiracy theories.
Most recently he has been active at Arizona rallies calling for the results of the presidential election to be overturned, after Trump has refused to concede and pushed unfounded claims of voter fraud ever since he lost to Joe Biden.
At a pro-Trump rally at the Arizona State Capitol in February, he held aloft a banner reading ‘Q Sent Me’ in reference to QAnon.
He was also seen at reopen Arizona rallies protesting against lockdowns put in place to slow the spread of COVID-19.
In one photo posted on his Facebook account in November, where he calls himself Yellowstone Wolf, Angeli is seen shaking hands with Rudy Giuliani, Trump’s personal attorney – who hours before the violence kicked off encouraged supporters to pursue a ‘trial by combat’.
He has also posted about numerous conspiracy theories including a video claiming there is a ‘globalist plot for world domination thru the plandemic & its numerous different agendas’.
Angeli has previously admitted his belief in QAnon started after reading conspiracy theories on the internet.
‘At a certain point, it all clicked in a way,’ he said in an interview in February, reported AZCentral.
‘Oh, my God. I see now the reality of what’s going on.’
QAnon is the debunked extreme right wing conspiracy theory that claims Satan-worshipping pedophiles are plotting against Trump and are running a global child sex trafficking ring.
An undated profile for Angeli on Backstage.com shows the 32-year-old was a singer, screenwriter and actor.
Richard ‘Bigo’ Barnett
Meanwhile, the insurrectionist who brazenly put his feet on House Speaker Nancy Pelosi’s desk in her office is now known to be a 60-year-old Arkansas man who claims he will run for Arkansas governor in 2022 and describes himself as a white nationalist online.
Richard ‘Bigo’ Barnett boasted outside the Capitol following the siege that he ‘wrote [Pelosi] a nasty note, put my feet up on her desk and scratched my balls’.
A photo from Pelosi’s office showed another threatening note on her desk reading ‘we will not back down’.
In Pelosi’s office, 60-year-old Barnett posed for a photo reclining in the House Speaker’s chair before he later returned to the crowd of supporters outside and flashed a hand-written envelope he had looted
In one selfie on his Facebook page, Barnett is seen posing with a semi-automatic rifle
Meanwhile, in Pelosi’s office, Barnett posed for a photo reclining in the House Speaker
‘s chair before he later returned to the crowd of supporters outside and flashed a hand-written envelope he had looted.
It later emerged Barnett is an independent contractor and was the recipient of a $9,300 PPP loan as part of a COVID relief package, The Daily Dot reports.
Barnett later told the New York Times reporter Matthew Rosenberg he ‘fell’ into Pelosi’s office as he showed off the personalized envelope which was addressed to The Honorable Billy Long and had Pelosi’s signature on it.
‘I didn’t steal it,’ he claimed, saying he ‘left a quarter on her desk’.
‘And I left her a note on her desk that says ‘Nancy Bigo was here you b**ch’.’
He also denied storming her office, claiming he politely knocked on her office door and was pushed in by other protesters.
‘I’ll probably be telling them this is what happened all the way to the DC jail,’ he said.
In a November post on Facebook, where he goes by the alias George Reincarnated Patton, Barnett claimed he will run for governor of Arkansas in 2022 saying he will ‘be running on the COMMON SENSE platform’.
He has also shared images of the Gadsden flag snake – which is regarded as a racist symbol – and boasts of being a white nationalist.
In several photos, he is seen posing with semi-automatic rifles.
Baked Alaska, real name Tim Gionet
Another of the mob was Tim Gionet, an online personality known as Baked Alaska who is described by the Southern Poverty Law Center as a white nationalist who was involved in the far-right Charlottesville rally in 2017.
Another of the mob was Tim Gionet, an online personality known as Baked Alaska who is described by the Southern Poverty Law Center as a white nationalist who was involved in the far-right Charlottesville rally in 2017
Donald Trump signs the tattooed arm of Tim Gionet, an online personality known as Baked Alaska, in 2016
Gionet posted video that showed Trump supporters in ‘Make America Great Again’ and ‘God Bless Trump’ hats milling around and taking selfies with officers who calmly asked them to leave the premises.
The Trump supporters talked among themselves, laughed, and told the officers and each other: ‘This is only the beginning.’
Rick Saccone, former state lawmaker in Pennsylvania
Even elected politicians were part of the mob.
Rick Saccone, who ran for a U.S. House seat in 2018 and was once a state lawmaker in Pennsylvania, bragged on Facebook that ‘we are storming the Capitol’ and that ‘our vanguard has broken through the barricades’.
Saccone also told his followers: ‘We are trying to run out all the evil people and RINOs that have betrayed our president. We are going to run them out of their offices.’
He later deleted that post but not before it was seen by his followers, CBS reports.
Even elected politicians were part of the mob. Rick Saccone, who ran for a U.S. House seat in 2018 and was once a state lawmaker in Pennsylvania, bragged on Facebook that ‘we are storming the Capitol’
He added: ‘Hello Mr. President, we love you. Keep doing what you’re doing. We’re with you. Until next time, in God we trust.’
In a later Facebook post Saccone said: ‘I see some people are twisting the peaceful protest into something else. Everyone from our group was involved in peaceful, first amendment assembly. It was part of the metaphor to storm the castle so to speak.
‘People that I heard breached some barricades to re
ach the steps to wave flags. Some carried a huge American flag up the steps which drew a loud roar of approval from the crowd. No one I no of intended or condones any violence unlike those on the left. Did not see any violence but did see some smoke what some said was tear gas being sprayed at people.
‘I cannot imagine anyone being shot for a trespass. The punishment for trespass is not death. My heart goes out to the young lady who was shot. Again, these were hundreds of thousands of peaceful protestors, especially those from Pa. What do you think?’
Republican Derrick Evans
Derrick Evans, a member of West Virginia’s House of Delegates, streamed live footage from the Capitol as he joined in the march. He later claimed he was ‘simply there as an independent member of the media’.
Derrick Evans, a member of West Virginia’s House of Delegates, streamed live footage from the Capitol Wednesday
Evans, who calls himself an activist online, later deleted the footage showing him rushing inside with the mob.
‘We’re going in,’ he tells followers.
In other clips he could be heard chanting ‘stop the steal’, The New York Times reports.
Joshua Pruitt, Proud Boy
Joshua Pruitt is the only person arrested on a felony charge of violating the Riot Act so far, according to the city’s arrest sheet.
The 39-year-old was taken into custody at the Capitol building.
He is reported to have links to the Proud Boy movement, CNN states.
Paul Davis, lawyer fired from his job
Paul Davis livestreamed his storming of the Capitol to his followers online.
He is understood to have been fired from his job at Goosehead Insurance as a result.
A spokesman for the company told DailyMail.com: ‘His actions are not a representation of or supported by Goosehead in any way. He is no longer employed by Goosehead, An official statement will be released.’
Unidentified: the pro-Trumper wearing a ‘Camp Auschwitz’ shirt, the supporter carrying a Confederate flag
One of those pictured at the Capitol Wednesday wore a racist t-shirt which read ‘Camp Auschwitz’
The pro-Trumper wearing a ‘Camp Auschwitz’ shirt, far left, has not been identified. The FBI are asking for helping in finding rioters
Adam Johnson
Another looter who smiled for a photo as he made off with a lectern has been identified as Adam Johnson – a psychology graduate from Bradenton, Florida.
Another looter who smiled for a photo as he made off with a lectern has been named as Adam Johnson – a psychology graduate from Bradenton, Florida
Photos on his now-deleted social media accounts show him posing next to a sign reading ‘closed to all tours’ inside the building.
Johnson, who was pictured inside the Capitol making off with a lectern, appears to have removed his social media platforms in the aftermath of the siege.
Jon Schaffer, heavy metal musician
Jon Schaffer, the guitarist in heavy metal band Iced Earth was also pictured breaching the Capitol Wednesday, LouderSound.com reports.
Schaffer, 52, warned in an interview last year: ‘They will go down. They’re messing with the wrong people, believe me.’
Leigh Ann Luck
Outside the chaos in the capitol, another vocal Trump supporter Leigh Ann Luck, dressed up as the Statue of Liberty as she shouted in protest against Biden’s victory.
Leigh Ann Luck dressed up as Statue of Liberty poses for a picture as supporters of Donald Trump protested Biden’s victory
The National Guard was deployed to help police enforce a 6pm curfew in DC. Hundreds of protesters remained on the Capitol grounds after the curfew went into effect and Mayor Muriel Bowser refused to say if violators would be arrested.
Earlier in the evening, President-elect Joe Biden called for the ‘mob to pull back’ and said the uprising bordered on sedition.
Trump – after remaining silent for much of the afternoon – posted a video telling his ‘very special’ supporters inside the Capitol that he loves them and understands their pain but urged them ‘to go home’.
He had initially encouraged his supporters to march to the Capitol after a rally earlier in the afternoon before asking them only to remain peaceful when violence broke out.
