A right-wing videoblog that once filmed a law enforcement video was arrested on Saturday by the FBI after broadcasting live on Capitol Hill amid the January 6 uprising.
In a criminal complaint released on Saturday, the Justice Department said it arrested Anthime Joseph Gionet, the far-right activist better known as “Baked Alaska”, on charges of violent entry and disorderly conduct on Capitol grounds.
Gionet, who tested positive for COVID-19 just days before the rebellion and currently faces unrelated charges for allegedly spraying pepper on a security guard last year, traveled to DC this month for the “Stop The Steal” events. While protesters stormed Congress, Gionet, a former BuzzFeed employee who became a far-right pro-Trump activist, broadcast himself live at the event on DLive, a popular video platform that ended up removing the stream.
As protesters invaded Congress, Gionet, a former BuzzFeed employee who became a far-right pro-Trump activist, broadcast himself live on DLive, a popular video platform that ended up removing the stream.
But, like many protesters last week, his commemorative Capitol posts may come back to haunt you. Much of the evidence against Gionet presented in Saturday’s prison testimony is directly attributed to his own 27-minute live broadcast.
“The defendant can be heard commenting ‘1776 baby’, ‘I will not leave faces, do not worry’”, the deposition says. “At the 2:52 minute mark on the YouTube video, the defendant, who is broadcasting the event live from his device, turns the phone over to show his face and is clearly identifiable.”
At one point, Gionet filmed himself walking into an office, picking up a phone and staging a “supposed call with the United States Senate staff.”
Later in the video, he went into another office, sat on a couch and put his feet on the table. “The defendant encourages others not to break anything,” adds the statement.
VICE reported earlier this week that the FBI was using Gionet’s live broadcast of the rebellion to find and track other participants. The agency issued several notices last week seeking information about individuals in the pro-Trump mob, which included images taken directly from the Baked Alaska video.
On Friday, Daniel Goodwyn, a “self-proclaimed” proud boy, was arrested by federal officials who said in court proceedings that he was called by name in Gionet’s live broadcast.
Federal officials say they have accused at least 100 people in the wake of the riots, including a Texas realtor who took a private jet to DC, a former gangster Latin Kings, a “QAnon Shaman” peyote lover and a woman who was denounced by a schoolmate after allegedly pinching the name plate of Mayor Nancy Pelosi.
The FBI also announced charges on Saturday against another man who allegedly broke into the Capitol.
Police said that Jack Jesse Griffith, also known as Juan Bibiano, attended the event, citing his own Facebook and Instagram posts, where he allegedly wrote “I even helped hack [sic] the capital today, but it only made things worse. “