Twenty federal criminal defendants related to last week’s pro-Trump riot at the U.S. Capitol have been surrounded around the country since the insurrection, with the allegations showing the danger of the crowd.
Some of the defendants are accused of bringing weapons and bombs to the Capitol, which indicates extremism in parts of the crowd.
Others were photographed ransacking the building, smiling as they posed with items from Congress, such as the pulpit of mayor Nancy Pelosi, or at her employee’s table, or publicly boasted of the crowd’s violent and destructive ride.
Here are some of the main people arrested so far linked to last week’s attack:
Weapons and bombs brought to DC: The most disturbing of the allegations so far appear to be against Lonnie Coffman, an Alabama man accused after authorities found 11 homemade bombs, an assault rifle and a pistol in his truck parked two blocks from the Capitol. The truck sat there all morning during the pro-Trump rally, and Coffman was arrested while trying to return to the vehicle after dark.
In another surprising complaint, Cleveland Grover Meredith Jr. is accused of writing in text messages that he wanted to shoot Mayor Nancy Pelosi, and that he brought hundreds of rounds of ammunition and three guns to Washington, DC, after driving from Colorado, according to court records.
On Sunday night, authorities arrested two more men, Eric Munchel of Tennessee and Larry Rendell Brock of Texas. Both drew attention online because of pictures showing them wearing a bulletproof vest inside the Capitol building and carrying plastic tapes that could contain a person.
Viral protesters also accused: One of the federal defendants so far, Jacob Chansley – who entered the Capitol shirtless, a bearskin cap, face paint and horns and was captured in many images of the crowd – has already told the FBI that he came to Washington “as part of a group effort, with other ‘patriots’ from Arizona, at the request of the president for all ‘patriots’ to come to DC on January 6, 2021, “according to court documents.
Others accused of participating in the confusion, such as the founder of Proud Boys Hawaii, Nick Ochs, and Joshua Pruitt, identified in a November video reciting an oath to the Proud Boys, appear to have sided with marginal groups like the Proud Boys and QAnon who followed Trump.
Several others who were not charged with crimes lost their jobs because they participated in the rally at which Trump spoke. One man, Derrick Evans, resigned from the recently won position in the West Virginia House of Delegates after federal prosecutors accused him. He said he took responsibility for his actions – which allegedly included the live broadcast of his entrance to the Capitol building and shouting “We’re in! We’re in, baby!” Later, a man approached him and shook his hand, saying, “Welcome to Congress.”
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