An army psychological warfare officer is being investigated for transporting people more than 300 miles to attend Trump’s rally, which turned into deadly riots on Capitol Hill, Army officials confirmed.
Captain Emily Rainey, 30, confirmed to the Associated Press that she led more than 100 people to Washington, DC on Wednesday as part of a North Carolina protest group she leads, called Moore County Citizens for Freedom.
While his commanders at Fort Bragg are reviewing their involvement at the rally, Rainey said he was totally candid about his plans to go – and insisted that his group was not involved in the attack on the Capitol.
“I was a citizen and was doing everything right and within my rights,” the anti-masked avid told the AP on Sunday, saying she was on leave at the time.
“I told my bosses before I left that I was going, and I told them when I got back.”
Her group – as well as most at Wednesday’s rally – were “peace-loving, law-abiding people who were doing nothing but demonstrating our First Amendment rights,” she said.
She even shared a video on Facebook insisting that the protesters were all Antifa, saying: “I don’t know any violent Patriots. I don’t know any patriots who would break the windows of a national jewel like [Capitol]. “
Rainey was assigned to the 4th Psychological Operations Group at Fort Bragg, according to Maj. Daniel Lessard, spokesman for the 1st Special Forces Command.
Known as PSYOPS, the group uses information and disinformation to shape the emotions, decision-making and actions of American opponents.
Members of the United States Armed Forces are allowed to participate in political organizations and events without a uniform, but are prohibited from sponsoring party organizations.
It is not clear whether Rainey’s participation with his group on Wednesday was against DOD policy.
Rainey made headlines last May, after posting an online video where she repeatedly pulled the electrical tape at a playground that was closed under North Carolina’s COVID-19 restrictions.
Police in Southern Pines, a community about 30 miles west of Fort Bragg, accused her of personal property injury due to the incident, after letting her escape twice with warnings.
In Facebook posts, Rainey called her Moore County Citizens for Freedom a “movement”. In a post in November, the group boasted of having a “peaceful protest”, warning at the time: “They should pray that we continue like this”.
With Post Wires