A psychological operations officer the Army is investigating for leading a group of people from North Carolina to the Washington rally that led to the deadly riot at the US Capitol, he had already resigned his commission, reports CBS News correspondent David Martin. Commanders at Fort Bragg said they were reviewing Captain Emily Rainey’s involvement in last week’s events in the nation’s capital, but she said she acted within military regulations and that no one in her group broke the law.
“I was an ordinary citizen and I did everything right and within my rights,” Rainey told the Associated Press on Sunday.
A defense official told CBS News that the Army is investigating how many soldiers from Fort Bragg accompanied Rainey to Washington. Rainey resigned after receiving a letter of reprimand that ended his career for his actions at a previous protest in the Fort Bragg area, reports Martin.
As the process takes time, Rainey was still active when he led a group of protesters to Washington and is expected to leave the army next month. Fort Bragg officials are now working to determine which other soldiers went to Washington and whether they were part of the Capitol crowd, reports Martin.
Rainey said he led 100 members of the Moore County Citizens for Freedom, which describes itself online as a non-partisan network that promotes conservative values, from North Carolina to Washington, to “take a stand against electoral fraud” and support Trump. She said the group attended the rally, but she did not know anyone who entered the Capitol and that they were returning to their buses hours before an emergency curfew took effect.
Rainey, 30, is 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.
Rainey made headlines in May, after posting an online video of her pulling 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 injuring personal property during the incident. The police told WRAL-TV that they released her with warnings twice before she tore off the tape that closed the playground.
In Washington on Wednesday, the rebels occupied the House and Senate chambers, smashed windows and waved Trump, United States and Confederate flags. The riot followed the rally in which Trump repeated false claims that the election was rigged against him and said that he and his supporters will have to “fight harder” to protect democracy.
So far, at least 90 people have been arrested on charges ranging from misdemeanor violations of the curfew to crimes related to assaulting police officers, possession of illegal weapons and death threats against Mayor Nancy Pelosi, D-Calif.
Rainey said his group and most of the people who traveled to Washington “are people who love peace and abide by the law, who are doing nothing but demonstrating our First Amendment rights.”
Members of the United States Armed Forces are allowed to participate in political organizations and events without a uniform. However, there are caveats. The Department of Defense directive prohibits active military personnel from sponsoring party organizations. It is not clear whether Rainey’s participation with his group on Wednesday was against DOD policy.
Rainey said he attended Trump’s rally while on leave and did not announce that he was an army officer. She said Sunday afternoon that her commanders did not ask about her time in Washington, but she did not immediately respond to a subsequent investigation into the Army investigation.
“I told my bosses before I went that I would go, and I told them when I got back,” she said.
Rep. Ruben Gallego, an Arizona Democrat who is a veteran of the Iraq war, tweeted on Monday that Rainey “needs to be removed from office.”