Day: January 23, 2021

The Justice Department revealed new charges against a Texas man who allegedly participated in the Capitol attack and posted online death threats against Democratic Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez and a US Capitol Police officer. Garret Miller of Texas faces five criminal charges stemming from the Capitol insurrection, including trespassing offenses and making death threats. Miller allegedly tweeted, “assassinate AOC,” according to court documents. He also said the police officer who fatally shot a Trump supporter during the attack “deserves to die” and won’t “survive long” because it’s “huntin[g] season.” Prosecutors said in newly released court documents that Miller posted extensively on social media before and during the attack, saying a “civil war could start” and “next time we bring the guns.” He was arrested on Wednesday, according to the Justice Department. Federal prosecutors are asking a judge to keep him in jail pending trial, and a detention hearing is scheduled for Monday.

via cnn: Capitol rioter charged with threatening to ‘assassinate’ Rep. Ocasio-Cortez

Federal authorities on Friday charged a prominent right-wing activist from South Jersey and a Monmouth County correctional officer in connection with the Jan. 6 Capitol mob riot in Washington. Stephanie Hazelton, of Medford, who also identifies herself as Ayla Wolf, was seen on video directing members of a crowd of people barreling into police officers and pushing through the building’s West Terrace entrance in an effort to breach the Capitol. She repeatedly said to others that “we need more men” and “we gotta keep going. ” The video, uploaded to YouTube by a self-described conservative channel, Action 8 News, doesn’t show if Hazelton participated in violence that occurred at the same entrance. Another video from the scene shows a group of rioters beat police officers with batons and shields. She hasn’t responded to calls, messages, and a letter left at her home seeking comment. (…) Assistant U.S. Attorney Jeffrey Bender said during an initial court appearance via Zoom on Friday that Hazelton was seen on video “trying to incite or recruit people to participate in the attack.” She faces several counts, including a felony charge of obstructing or impeding law enforcement during civil disorder. Hazelton’s attorney Daryl Kipnis — a New Jersey lawyer who unsuccessfully ran for Congress as a pro-Trump Republican in 2018 — said during the hearing that there are no allegations Hazelton had a weapon or intended to “cause any bodily harm.” In arguing for her release, he said Hazelton home-schools her two small children, and also cited the COVID-19 pandemic and “the risk she would have if she was incarcerated.”

via inquirer: Feds charge an N.J. anti-vax activist and a correctional officer in Capitol riot

Samuel Fisher was allegedly arrested on the Upper East Side Wednesday morning with an arsenal of ammunition, two machetes, and an American flag. A New York City pickup artist accused of bringing firearms to Washington, D.C., and participating in the “violent” Capitol insurrection—then later bragging about it on social media—has been arrested. Samuel Fisher, a 35-year-old who also goes by the name “Brad Holiday,” was arrested Wednesday on several charges, including disorderly conduct on restricted grounds and unlawful entry. According to the New York Daily News, Fisher was taken into custody on the Upper East Side and had with him an arsenal of ammunition, tactical gear, two machetes, an American flag, and at least one shotgun. Prosecutors allege Fisher traveled to D.C with “multiple firearms and a bulletproof vest,” though it is not immediately clear if he carried them inside the Capitol. Fisher also posted several photos and social media messages while at the riots (…) According to a criminal complaint, Fisher began posting about his intent to travel to D.C. for Trump’s rally in December, stating in a Facebook post, “we must stand up to these people and take our world back” and “It’s time to bring the pain upon them.” In another New Years’ Eve post, Fisher revealed he was planning to “exercise my 2A legal rights” during the Jan. 6 rally. In an online essay titled “January 6, 2021, will be the most important day of our lives,” Fisher goes into detail about the need to face off “Communists or Satanists that have blackmailed, bribed, and influenced almost every member of our Government, Media, Educational system, etc.” The essay was written on Fisher’s blog under his online alias “Brad Holiday.” (…) But on his personal website BradHoliday.com, things take a far darker turn: In November 2020, he posted the notorious “Protocols of the Learned Elders of Zion,” the infamous forgery used to justify pogroms and genocide against Jewish people. (…) In October 2020, he was still promoting the debunked “Pizzagate” conspiracy theory, which posits that Clinton aide John Podesta ran a child sex trafficking ring out of the basement of Comet Pizza in Washington, D.C. And a post from December began with the sentence “QAnon is legit,” thus aligning himself with the movement that falsely predicted that Trump would round up and arrest supposed Satan-worshipping cannibalistic pedophiles who they believe run much of the United States. As late as Jan. 9, three days after the riots, he wrote a post with the title “[President] Joe Biden (and his family) Are Degenerate Criminal Pedophiles.”

via the daily beast: Feds Bust Conspiracy-Addled Pickup Artist Who Allegedly Brought Guns to D.C. Riot

A man with ties to metro Detroit has been arrested and charged for allegedly assaulting a law enforcement officer at the Capitol riot with a hockey stick. In an affidavit, federal agents say that Michael Joseph Foy was identified as the man in a New York Times video seen swinging a hockey stick repeatedly at a Metropolitan police officer on the ground that a mob had pulled out from the arch entryway at the Capitol. The FBI notes that it did not appear the officer was acting aggressively, and the attack did not appear to be justified. Based on analysis of the video, the FBI says Foy’s attack lasted for 16 seconds before he was knocked down by another rioter. According to the affidavit, he entered the Capitol later through a broken window

via wxyz: Metro Detroit man arrested for allegedly assaulting police officer with hockey stick at Capitol riot

Kevin Strong reportedly believed that the insurrection on Jan. 6 would lead to World War III. A Federal Aviation Administration employee who subscribed to the QAnon conspiracy theory was already under FBI investigation when he took part in the Jan. 6 attack on the U.S. Capitol, federal authorities disclosed this week. The FBI initiated an investigation into Kevin Strong, a FAA employee in San Bernardino, California, on Dec. 30, a week before the Capitol siege. A witness told the FBI that Strong believed he had “Q clearance” and that World War III was going to occur on Jan. 6. Strong, the witness said, hung a “WW1WGA” flag at his home, and believed QAnon would cover the cost of a truck he recently purchased. (…) Strong, who is about 6-foot-7-inches tall, was living with his uncle on Jan. 16, when FBI agents served him with a search warrant and gun violence restraining order, according to the affidavit. Agents seized a number of his digital devices as well as QAnon paraphernalia and a flag. In an interview with FBI agents, Strong reportedly confessed to being inside the Capitol and showed agents photos he took inside. He admitted to taking a selfie in front of House Speaker Nancy Pelosi’s office.

via huff: An FAA Employee And QAnon Follower Was On The FBI’s Radar. Then He Stormed The Capitol.

A New York City sanitation worker is now facing charges after a video allegedly showed him inside the capitol during the siege. Jeffrey Sabol turned himself in to the FBI Friday morning in Rye to face charges of obstructing a law enforcement officer during a civil disorder. Sabol is allegedly seen on video published by the Washington Post “in a fit of rage” in a tan jacket, black helmet and green backpack, items prosecutors said he admitted to wearing the day of the riot. “What do we see in that video? We see the defendant dragging a police officer down a set of stairs,” assistant US Attorney Benjamin Gianforti said during a court appearance. “This allows another man to beat that officer with an American flag, ironically.” Sabol tried to flee the country following the January 6 insurrection, booking a flight from Logan Airport in Boston to Switzerland, a non-extradition country, according to federal prosecutors. “He buys a ticket to a place where he knows he won’t get shipped back home to face the music,” Gianforti said. Prosecutors said Sabol attempted suicide. He was arrested at the Westchester Medical Center. “This is a man who just can’t face the fact who is facing a felony charge because of his actions January 6,” Gianforti said

via abc7ny: More local arrests in Capitol insurrection, including man who allegedly enabled officer flag beating