January 2021

Right-Wing Activist Banned From Airline for Not Wearing Mask Is Charged in #Capitol Riots – #terror

A right-wing activist known for his unwavering support for former President Donald Trump and for urging Democrats to walk away from their party has been arrested for participating in the Capitol insurrection. Brandon Straka, 43, has been charged with several crimes, including impeding a law enforcement officer during civil disorder and engaging in disorderly conduct with the intent to disturb a hearing before Congress, for his role in the Jan. 6 siege. The ex-New York City hairstylist and self-described “former liberal” is best known for starting the “WalkAway Campaign,” which urged liberal voters to leave the Democratic Party. Earlier this month, Straka announced Facebook had removed the campaign’s page, which had over half a million followers. In June, Straka also made national headlines after he was banned from American Airlines for refusing to wear a mask on a flight to Dallas amid the coronavirus pandemic. In a criminal complaint unsealed Monday, prosecutors state Straka posted several photos and videos during and after the riots. The court documents say investigators were clued into Straka’s involvement when a tipster indicated he had posted a video on Twitter on Jan. 6 in which the activist shouted, “Go, Go!” near the entrance of the Capitol.
“Also—be embarrassed & hide if you need to- but I was there. It was not Antifa at the Capitol. It was freedom-loving Patriots who were DESPERATE to fight for the final hope of our Republic because literally, nobody cares about them. Everyone else can denounce them. I will not,” Straka also wrote in a Jan. 6 tweet. Prosecutors allege that Straka took multiple videos during and after the riots. In one Jan. 7 video, the activist admits, “Yesterday, a lot of us got up very, very early. We went to this event in which Donald Trump spoke. The plan was always to go to the Capitol. We were going to march from that event…to the Capitol, and there was going to be another rally. I was one of the speakers slated to speak at the Capitol.” Straka says that as he was walking to the Capitol, he’d learned “patriots had entered” it. “Wow, so they’re going to basically storm and try to get into the chamber so that they can demand that we get the investigation that we want,” he says in the Jan. 7 video, according to the complaint. Straka then claimed he saw “bursts of teargas coming out of the doors.”

via daily beast: Right-Wing Activist Banned From Airline for Not Wearing Mask Is Charged in Capitol Riots

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#FBI: Another #Marylander charged in connection with US #Capitol #riot – #terror

A 22-year-old Howard County man is in custody in connection with the riot at the U.S. Capitol earlier this month. An FBI spokesperson told the 11 News I-Team agents arrested Matthew Miller, of Cooksville. According to the 11 News I-Team, a judge ordered Miller detained due to “dangeressnous.” Miller told judge he’s “too busy” to cause harm because he’s studying to be an insurance agent after losing his job due to “this stuff.” According to an FBI affidavit obtained by the 11 News I-Team, the FBI said Miller was dressed in a black cowboy hat, a Washington Capitals jersey and a black backpack while he discharged a fire extinguisher on the steps leading to an entrance to the Capitol. The FBI said it collected images through open source media that included online tips and complaints.

via wbaltv: FBI: Another Marylander charged in connection with US Capitol riot

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Warren man arrested by #FBI after involvement in U.S. #Capitol #riots – #terror

A man from Warren has been taken into custody by the FBI on several charges after he was accused of taking part in the U.S. Capitol riots on January 6. A man from Warren has been taken into custody by the FBI on several charges after he was accused of taking part in the U.S. Capitol riots on January 6. Stephen Ayres, 38, was arrested Monday morning on charges of Obstruction of Justice/Congress, Unlawful Entry into Restricted Buildings or Grounds and Violent Entry or Disorderly Conduct on Capitol Grounds. According to an affidavit, Ayres was one of the many people who unlawfully entered the U.S. Capitol building and had posted a video of himself inside the Capitol building as well as in a hotel room to Facebook later that day.
On January 10, the FBI reviewed the video, which had Ayres, another man and a woman in it, describing what they had seen at the Capitol that day. The video was also posted to YouTube, titled “It was all ANTIFA breaking into the Capitol 1-6-2021.” The group claimed that ANTIFA was the organization that led the attacks on the Capitol building and that the police let everyone walk in. The other man in the video said that the police wanted footage of people inside the Capitol to make it look like they were all Trump supporters, according to the affidavit. Ayres then said that the “fake news” would not accurately report on what happened at the Capitol but that they had “seen it all” and they “got footage all over the place on the Capitol” and that they would “probably share some of it here and there.” According to the court filing, they also said that the purpose of that day was to “expose Pence as a traitor” and “the American people are not going to let this slide, especially after today.”

via wfmj: Warren man arrested by FBI after involvement in U.S. Capitol riots

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2 #Virginia #Police Officers Fired Following Involvement in the U.S. #Capitol Riots – #terror #KickThemOut

Two Virginia police officers charged in the storming of the U.S. Capitol in Washington earlier this month have been fired, a town official announced Tuesday. Rocky Mount Town Manager James Ervin announced the firings in a statement, but did not provide any additional details on the terminations of former Sgt. Thomas “T.J.” Robertson and former Officer Jacob Fracker, The Roanoke Times reported. The town had no precedent to refer to for how to deal with this situation, Ervin wrote. “The events of the past few weeks have been challenging for our town, as they have been for the entire nation. The actions by two have driven our beautiful town into the national spotlight in ways that do not reflect our whole community and the people who call Rocky Mount home.” Ervin said in the statement.
Robertson had told the newspaper he and Fracker received letters of termination from the town Friday, offering them the opportunity to resign before the firing took effect. Fracker, reached via text message, declined to comment Tuesday. Federal authorities have charged Robertson, 47, and Fracker, 29, with a misdemeanor offense of knowingly entering a restricted building without authority to do so to engage in conduct that disrupts government business. They also face a petty offense of engaging in disruptive conduct in the Capitol in order to interfere with a session of Congress.

via time: 2 Virginia Police Officers Fired Following Involvement in the U.S. Capitol Riots

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Livestream #DLive – Wie die #Kapitol-Stürmer mit rechten Live-Videos Geld machen – #terror

Als am 6. Januar das Kapitol in Washington von einem Mob gestürmt wurde, filmten sich die Angreifer dabei selber – und streamten die Bilder teils live im Internet. Auf kaum moderierten Livestream-Plattformen wie DLive können die Aufrührer so nebenbei richtig Geld verdienen. Ein Ausschnitt aus dem Livestream DLive „Baked Alaska“ vom 06. Januar 2021: „Occupy the capitol, let’s go! (…) Thank you everyone for sharing this video, let’s get this video up! Over 10.000 people live! Watching me. Applause. America first, America first, America first!“ Ein Livestream, den der Neo-Nazi und Internet-Aktivist Tim Gionet, besser bekannt als „Baked Alaska“, von den Ereignissen im Kapitol sendete. 16.000 Follower sahen live zu, wie er mit anderen Trump-Unterstützerinnen und Unterstützern durch die Flure lief, in Büros eindrang und sich über politische Abgeordnete und Polizei lustig machte: „We need to get our guy Donald J. Trump into office, can we do that real quick? Baked Alaska on DLive! (…) Thank you for all the new followers, hit that follow button!“
Rechstextremer Hass live im Netz Der ehemalige BuzzFeed-Mitarbeiter Gionet hatte sich in den vergangenen Jahren zunehmend radikalisiert und war mit antisemitischen und rassistischen Aussagen aufgefallen. Nachdem ihn fast alle Mainstream-Social-Media-Plattformen wie Twitter, Facebook und auch YouTube gesperrt hatten, wich er auf Livestreams bei DLive aus – und zeigte hier etwa, wie er Supermarktpersonal anschrie, das ihn bat, eine Gesichtsmaske zu tragen, oder wie er wahllos Menschen auf der Straße mit Pfefferspray angriff. (…) Die Fans vergeben sogenannte „Lemons“ an die Streamer – hinter dieser Kryptowährung stehen echte Dollar. Nach Schätzungen von Experten hat etwa Tim Gionet allein am 6. Januar mehr als 2.000 Dollar verdient. DLive wurde 2017 von Charles Wayn als Konkurrenz zu der Gaming-Livestream-Plattform Twitch gegründet. 2019 hatte DLive nach eigenen Angaben fünf Millionen aktive User. Zuletzt hat sich das Netzwerk zu einem Sammelbecken für Rechtsextreme entwickelt. Prominente Figuren auf DLive sind etwa der Holocaust-Leugner und Trump-Anhänger Nicholas Fuentes oder der Comedian und Verschwörungs-Anhänger Owen Benjamin, so Shannon McGregor: „Einige der Stars dieser Plattformen sind das, was wir hier in den USA ‚Alt-Right Influencer‘ nennen

via dlf: Livestream DLiveWie die Kapitol-Stürmer mit rechten Live-Videos Geld machen

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Hannover: 25-Jähriger bei rassistischem Überfall verletzt – #nazischläger

In Hannover haben unbekannte Täter am Freitagabend einen Mann mit dunkler Hautfarbe überfallen. Bei der offenbar rassistisch motivierten Tat wurde der 25-Jährige durch Schläge und Tritte verletzt. Wie eine Polizeisprecherin erst jetzt mitteilte, sollen die Angreifer ihr Opfer zunächst in einer Straßenbahn mit Sprüchen wie “Scheiß Schwarzer!” und “Verpiss dich, du Nigger!” beleidigt haben. Als der Mann später ausstieg, hätten sie ihn zu Boden geschlagen und getreten.

via ndr; Hannover: 25-Jähriger bei rassistischem Überfall verletzt

Sascha Grosser - Springerstiefel gt5.jpg
By <a href=”//commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/User:Sascha_Grosser” title=”User:Sascha Grosser”>Sascha Grosser</a> – <span class=”int-own-work” lang=”en”>Own work</span>, CC BY-SA 4.0, Link – symbolbild

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