The most disturbing of the allegations so far appear to be against Lonnie Coffman, an Alabama man accused after authorities found 11 homemade bombs, an assault rifle and a pistol in his truck parked two blocks from the Capitol. The truck sat there all morning during the pro-Trump rally, and Coffman was arrested while trying to return to the vehicle after dark.
In another surprising complaint, Cleveland Grover Meredith Jr. is accused of writing in text messages that he wanted to shoot Mayor Nancy Pelosi, and that he brought hundreds of rounds of ammunition and three guns to Washington, DC, after driving from Colorado, according to court records.
On Sunday night, authorities arrested two more men, Eric Munchel of Tennessee and Larry Rendell Brock of Texas. Both drew attention online because of pictures showing them wearing a bulletproof vest inside the Capitol building and carrying plastic tapes that could contain a person.
Lawmakers describe the unfolding of ‘terror’
As new details emerge, it becomes obvious that lawmakers face a more imminent danger than was understood at the time of the live attack on television.
“What was going through my head was, frankly, terror,” said Democratic Representative Susan Wild on CNN’s New Day last week, after having to take shelter on the floor of the House.
The top federal prosecutor in Washington, DC, Michael Sherwin, said he hoped hundreds of people could be charged after the attack, and the investigations could take months to fully understand.
“I wouldn’t be surprised if we find loose group affiliations that have been organized and have plans in place,” said Sherwin on Sunday. “We saw in some of these individuals that we identified – they look almost paramilitary, right? You have the uniform, you have the communication, you have all the paraphernalia. This shows affiliation indications and a command and control. Therefore, I believe that we will find these marks. “
Viral protesters also accused
One of the federal defendants so far, Jacob Chansley – who entered the Capitol shirtless, a bearskin cap, face paint and horns and was captured in many images of the crowd – has already told the FBI that he came to Washington “as part of a group effort, with other ‘patriots’ from Arizona, at the request of the president for all ‘patriots’ to come to DC on January 6, 2021 “, according to their court documents.
Others accused of participating in the confusion, such as the founder of Proud Boys Hawaii, Nick Ochs, and Joshua Pruitt, identified in a November video reciting an oath to the Proud Boys, appear to have sided with marginal groups like the Proud Boys and QAnon who followed Trump.
Several others who were not charged with crimes lost their jobs because they participated in the rally at which Trump spoke. One man, Derrick Evans, resigned from the recently won position in the West Virginia House of Delegates after federal prosecutors accused him. He said he took responsibility for his actions – which allegedly included broadcasting his entrance to the Capitol building live and shouting “We’re in! We’re in, baby!” Later, a man approached him and shook his hand, saying, “Welcome to Congress.”
Next steps
Several of the federal defendants are expected to appear in court for initial proceedings and detention hearings in the coming days, with more arrests likely to occur, which may reveal how armed and prepared others were in the crowd.
None of the 20 federal defendants has been formally indicted by a grand jury yet, a lawsuit that is likely to provide more public details about the seriousness of the violation.
Comprehensive criminal investigation is still in its early stages. Sherwin said on Sunday that hundreds of people could be charged, while the FBI released more than 40 images of people inside or around the Capitol building seeking help to identify.