Members of militant groups that invaded the seat of legislative power earlier this month during the certification of the presidential vote quickly became the main focus of federal officials investigating the January 6 uprising.
At least five alleged troublemakers with links to self-proclaimed militias have been documented in criminal complaints released in recent days, representing a small but alarming segment of the dozens of defendants accused to date.
Some of the groups present, such as The Oath Keepers, try to attract their ranks of former service members and police, relying on their tactical training to patrol and intimidate protests across the country. Many have been radicalized by racial rhetoric and false claims from Trump’s White House, security experts say.
Through court documents and interviews with several officers familiar with the investigation, its organized role in the siege of the Capitol is appearing and being built on cases that could potentially generate accusations of sedition, indicating a concerted effort to incite a revolt against the government.
The information is also central to efforts to examine the police and National Guard officers guarding Washington, DC, this week.
“This is a level one, top priority for the office of the United States attorney general and our federal law enforcement partners, to see if there was this comprehensive command and control and if there were these teams organized to violate the Capitol, and then , perhaps, try to carry out some kind of mission within the Capitol, “said District Attorney General of Columbia Michael Sherwin on Friday.
At dawn on Sunday, FBI agents scattered around a house in rural Woodstock, Ohio. Inside was the founder of the Ohio State Regular Militia, a group of veterans who made the 450-mile journey to the nation’s capital, fueled by what they describe as a sense of patriotic duty, as well as a history of complaints against the government and a belief in false claims about the 2020 elections that aired on social media.
“We arrived in DC. We spent all day protecting several speakers on the main stage of Freedom Plaza,” wrote Jessica Watkins, founder of the Ohio militia, on January 6 in a message posted on the friendly social media site Parler.
She posted about plans to provide health care and security in the planned protests, offering to accompany Trump supporters to their hotels if they felt unsafe. But shortly after arriving at the Capitol protest, Watkins and his fellow militiamen reportedly moved to the front line of a takeover.
Along with eight to 10 other people in paramilitary suits and Oathkeeper paraphernalia (the Ohio State Regular Militia pays fees to that group, according to a billing document), Watkins began “approaching the building’s entrance aggressively. Capitol, “wrote an FBI agent in a federal court filing.
“These individuals,” said the agent, “move in an organized and practical way and force their way to the front of the crowd gathered around a door of the United States Capitol.”
After breaking down the door, she entered the group at the roundabout and faced the police who tried to block the passage, she later wrote in Parler.
“We never broke anything, stole anything, burned anything and, in fact, we were very respectful of Capitol Hill PD until they attacked us,” she wrote. “So we stood firm and drew the line.”
Federal authorities arrested Watkins on Sunday and accused her of intentionally entering a restricted building. Another member of the Ohio group, former Marine Donovan Crowl, was also arrested in that state on Sunday for his alleged role in the disturbances. It is not clear who is representing both in court.
Focus on established extremist groups
The Ohio two arrests are among more than 90 criminal cases publicly opened against insurrectionists in the past two weeks. Prosecutors had initially focused on some of the most notorious and viral crimes, such as the man seen walking around the Senate chambers with ties and the hooligans who wore a “Camp Auschwitz” T-shirt, but began to attack alleged members of the “militia” in In the last days.
Many self-proclaimed militias have long aligned themselves with anti-government and extremist causes in US pockets, and their camouflage equipment and military equipment were not out of place in a horde that also included telltale signs of hate groups, such as Confederate flags and paraphernalia. Nazi.
Groups like the Oath Keepers, described by the FBI as “a large, but loosely organized collection of militias who believe the federal government was co-opted by an obscure conspiracy that is trying to deprive American citizens of their rights”, first became an antagonistic presence prominent in protests in Ferguson, Missouri, in 2014.
The group’s reliance on military tactics adds an explosive element to already highly charged situations, say hate group researchers.
“This dangerous crossover is one of the reasons why we continue to be alarmed by events like the January 6 attack, which provides right-wing extremists with ample opportunity to blend in and potentially influence ‘normal’ Americans,” said Oren Segal of Anti -Difamation League Extremism Center.
While lawmakers voted to certify electoral victory for President-elect Joe Biden inside the Capitol, some men affiliated with so-called militia groups were attacking police officers outside and helping to make way for people convinced that the White House was being robbed to open. way inside.
Colorado man Robert Gieswein, who, according to an FBI testimony, appears to be affiliated with the Three Percenters, a militia movement that believes that “a small force with a just cause can bring down a tyrannical government if armed and prepared” is accused of helping to lift and push a barrier against a group of Capitol police while he tried to enter the building by force.
Jon Schaffer, lead singer of a popular Indiana heavy metal band, reportedly sprayed a Capitol cop with bear spray while wearing a hat that read “Oath Keepers Lifetime Member”, according to FBI documents.
Both men are facing charges of entering a restricted building and engaging in violence. Schaffer was arrested on Sunday in Indiana. It is not clear whether Gieswein is in custody. It is also unclear whether any of the men have hired legal representation.
Organized efforts?
Meanwhile, prosecutors in Washington, DC, have dedicated a team to examine possible allegations of sedition, combing travel records, communications and funding channels of protesters suspected of organizing and planning the attempt to halt the transfer of presidential power, according to Sherwin , the US Attorney’s role.
While searching through a lot of images and videos taken during the insurrection, investigators tracked military-style coordination among some of the protesters.
Some members of the crowd inside the Capitol can be seen on video walking with their hands on each other’s shoulders, which authorities believe indicates that they were trained in certain paramilitary techniques, according to a person familiar with the investigation.
Some also used radios to communicate while moving around the Capitol, according to a policeman familiar with the investigation.
Timothy Hale-Cusanelli, an Army reservist accused over the weekend for his alleged role in the insurrection, used vocal and manual signals to encourage protesters to move through the building, according to court documents.
Federal law enforcement agencies have warned in recent days of the potential for even more extremist-inspired violence across the country, including Wednesday’s inauguration.
It is unclear, however, to what extent the threat will materialize, as failure to protect the Capitol has prompted authorities to erect a protective fortress around the perimeter of Washington’s government center.
Even before his arrest, a conspiracy trend had informed a plan for members of the Ohio State Regular Militia to stay away from Washington during the inaugural events.