“Unidentified protesters are heard instructing the front line of protesters to make a ‘shield wall’ to prevent the police from controlling the protesters with capsicum oleoresin spray,” according to the testimony of a US noncommissioned officer.
At a hearing on McCaughey’s case on Wednesday afternoon, prosecutors asked a judge to deny bail and emphasized the level of coordination of the attack.
“Mob is not the right term, because there is a level of organization here that is worth noting,” said Assistant Attorney General Benjamin Gianforti. “The troublemakers are changing people here who are new. They are passing the armament to the front of the scrum to use against the officers. “
The new records were the latest evidence that the January 6 riots included cells from militarized and organized rebels, as well as the crowd of disorganized Trump supporters who joined the fray. That evidence includes the conspiracy case opened this week against three so-called Oath Keepers, members of an Ohio section of the vaguely connected paramilitary group, who face charges of trying to injure police, obstruct Congress and damage federal property.
FBI and Justice Department officials have emphasized in recent days that they hope the investigation will lead to serious criminal charges that could include seditious conspiracy. But the first criminal complaints focused mainly on trespassing, disorderly conduct and impediment by the police – accusations that prosecutors say is the quickest and safest way to arrest some of the protesters as more detailed and forceful cases are developed.
Then President Donald Trump was impeached during his last week in office for inciting a violent uprising. Many participants in the riots openly cited Trump’s false claims that the 2020 election was stolen as the basis for his decision to break into the Capitol. Trump urged the crowd to march on the Capitol and later told protesters “we love you” – asking them to return home peacefully – even when lawmakers and then Vice President Mike Pence were taking shelter amid the violence. While some have pleaded with Trump for forgiveness, citing his encouragement of the event, Trump has left office without moving to protect himself or participants from the disturbances of legal consequences.
The latest round of filings included charges against Joseph Biggs, who the FBI describes as an “organizer” of the Proud Boys. According to the statement, Biggs encouraged other members of the group to attend the January 6 events in DC and echoed the suggestion of the Proud Boys leader, Enrique Tarrio, that they dress to look like antifa supporters, a violent movement of left.
Biggs was also at the forefront of the group that first invaded the Capitol, according to the FBI, along with Dominic Pezzola, another member of the Proud Boys who was charged with his role in the attack earlier in the week.
“In an image … Pezzola appears to have what I believe is a headset or communication device in his right ear,” said the unidentified FBI agent who closed the case. “His affiant also notes that several individuals were photographed or portrayed in videos with headphones, including other individuals believed to be associated with the Proud Boys.”
The agent also noted that Biggs and other Proud Boys used walkie-talkies during the siege. Biggs chatted with FBI agents after being identified in videos and “denied having any knowledge of any pre-planning assault on Capitol Hill and had no idea who planned it.”
Prosecutors and investigators described McCaughey’s conduct as exceptionally depraved. Videos of the episode show DC policeman Daniel Hodges making faces and screaming in pain as he is immobilized between a doorframe and a crowd advancing against him.
“The violent attack on Officer Hodges was abhorrent and essentially anti-American,” said Michael Sherwin, the District Attorney for the District of Columbia. “McCaughey’s alleged actions were an attack on Officer Hodges, the Capitol and the rule of law itself.”
The head of the FBI Field Office in Washington, Steven M. D’Antuono, called McCaughey’s behavior “violent, barbaric and completely out of control”.
However, aspects of a sworn statement that a U.S. deputy marshal submitted to a federal judge in Washington to obtain an arrest warrant for McCaughey indicated possible defenses in the case.
Although surveillance and video from the camera used on the body appear to leave little doubt that McCaughey was launching himself at Hodges, even as he screamed in agony, the events in the tunnel on the west front of the Capitol were chaotic and at times there seemed to be a horde of furious rioters popping up against the police and the doors.
The marshal, whose name has been erased from public court records, says that in a recording made near McCaughey someone can be heard saying, “Come on, man, you’re going to be crushed, just go home.”
However, McCaughey is not on camera at the time, and the statement acknowledges elsewhere that he seems to express concern for Hodges, saying, “Hey you, hey you, this guy is not doing very well.”
The marshal says that after Hodges was placed behind the police line, McCaughey continued to beat other officers with his shield and by then the crowd behind McCaughey had thinned, undermining any defense he might have from being pushed by others.
“At the time of the strikes, no other protester was in contact with McCaughey who might have inadvertently made McCaughey move towards uniformed police,” wrote the marshal.
U.S. Justice Robin Meriweather approved the arrest warrant on Monday, accusing McCaughey of assaulting police officers, civil unrest, entering buildings or restricted land and violent entry or disorderly conduct, court records show.