Federal authorities prioritized not only militias, but others who were involved in the attack on police. The FBI also arrested members of the Proud Boys, a far-right nationalist group.
On Sunday night, Donovan Crowl, 50, a former US Marine, and Jessica Watkins, 38, an Army veteran, surrendered to authorities in Ohio after they posted photos of themselves on social media wearing combat clothes and saying that they had invaded the Capitol. They were charged in a criminal case for illegal entry, disorderly conduct and obstruction of an official case.
The FBI said Ms. Watkins considered herself commander of the Ohio State Regular Militia, which is affiliated with the Oath Keepers. In a social media post by Ms. Watkins, Mr. Crowl was portrayed with the caption: “One of my guys on the Stop the Steal Rally today.”
Federal prosecutors also revealed the charges this weekend against Robert Gieswein, 24, of Woodland Park, Colorado, who they say is affiliated with Three Percenters.
Gieswein, who runs a private paramilitary training group called Woodland Wild Dogs, was among the first wave of invaders that violated the Capitol, court documents said. Photos of the attack show him wearing a military vest, goggles and an army-style helmet, fighting with Capitol Police officers to remove metal barricades and brandishing a baseball bat. In a criminal complaint, prosecutors cited a video of Gieswein encouraging other protesters as they smashed a Capitol window with a wooden plaque and plastic shield and then scaled the broken glass into the building.
Gieswein was photographed inside the building with another suspect, Dominic Pezzola, a former Marine and member of the Proud Boys, who was charged last week.
After the attack, Mr. Gieswein said in a documentary interview that he attacked the Capitol to “get corrupt politicians out of office,” according to court documents, adding, “They completely destroyed our country and sold them to the Rothschilds and Rockefellers. . ”