Federal police officers discovered a contact between the White House of former President Donald Trump and a member of the far-right nationalist group, the Proud Boys, just days before the January 6 riot on Capitol Hill. The FBI obtained “location, cell phone and call log data” that revealed the information, reports the New York Times, citing an unidentified source who was informed of the investigation. The FBI was unable to find out what the two discussed and the source did not reveal the names of the people on either end of the call.
The news came when the group’s leader, Enrique Tarrio, confirmed that he had called Trump’s associate Roger Stone days before the attack on the Capitol. Tarrio called during a protest outside Senator Marco Rubio’s house and put Stone on speaker to speak to the protesters. An official said that was not the call in question. This means that two members of the Proud Boys kept in touch with people associated with the White House, illustrating how extremist groups had ties to people close to the Trump administration.
Earlier this week, there were reports that federal investigators were investigating communications between members of Congress and members of the crowd that invaded the Capitol. CNN reported that there were “signs of contact” in the days around January 6. But the New York Times says there has so far been no “evidence of communications” between protesters and lawmakers during the attack itself.
At least one person associated with the previous government allegedly participated in the riot. A former State Department aide, Federico Klein, was arrested on Thursday for participating in the riot. Klein thus became the first Trump official known to be charged with crimes related to the Capitol riot. The videos allegedly show Klein assaulting police officers with a stolen riot shield. Prosecutors asked for Klein to be detained before the trial, but the judge set a bail hearing for Tuesday.
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