Records show that some of the protesters who invaded the United States Capitol did not vote in the same election as they protested.
They were there to “stop the theft” and to keep the president they revered in office, but records show that some of the rebels who invaded the United States Capitol did not vote in the same election they were protesting.
One of them was Donovan Crowl, a former Marine who advanced towards the entrance to the Capitol in paramilitary attire on January 6 while the Pro-Trump crowd shouted “Who is our president?”
Subsequently, federal authorities identified Crowl, 50, as a member of a self-proclaimed militia organization in his home state of Ohio and affiliated with the extremist group The Oath Keepers. Her mother told CNN that he had told her “they would overtake the government if they … tried to take the Trump presidency from him.” She said he was increasingly angry during the Obama administration and was aware of his support for former President Donald Trump.
Despite these seemingly pro-Trump views, an Ohio county election official told CNN that he registered in 2013, but “never voted or responded to any of our confirmation notices to keep him registered,” so he was removed from electoral lists in late 2020 and the state said he was not registered in Ohio. An Illinois county secretary, where Crowl was previously registered, also confirmed that he was not an active voter anywhere in the state.
Crowl was indicted by a federal grand jury on charges of destruction of government property and conspiracy to allegedly coordinate with others to plan his attack. He remains in custody after a judge said: “The suggestion to release him to a residence with nine firearms is not valid.” In an interview cited by the government, Crowl told the New Yorker that he had peaceful intentions and claimed that he had protected the police. Crowl’s lawyer did not comment on his client’s voting history.
Many involved in the insurrection professed to be motivated by patriotism, falsely claiming that Trump was the legitimate winner of the election. However, at least eight of the people who now face criminal charges for their involvement in Capitol events did not vote in the November 2020 presidential election, according to an analysis of the voting records of the states where the protesters were arrested and the states where they were arrested. public records show that they lived. They came from various states in the country and were aged between 21 and 65 years.
To determine who voted in November, CNN obtained voting records for more than 80 of the initial prisoners. Most voted in the presidential election, and while many were registered Republicans, some were registered as Democrats in the jurisdictions that provided information about the party – although who voted was not publicly disclosed. Public access to voter registration records varies by state, and CNN was unable to view the records of some of the accused.
Among those who did not vote were a 65-year-old Georgia man who, according to government documents, was found in his van with a fully loaded pistol and ammunition, and a Louisiana man who publicly boasted that almost two hours had passed. the Capitol at home after attending Trump’s “Stop the Steal” rally. Another was a 21-year-old woman from Missouri who, according to prosecutors, shared a video on Snapchat showing her parading with a piece of wooden plaque from Mayor Nancy Pelosi’s office. And a Florida man previously convicted of attempted murder, accused by the government of refusing to leave the Capitol, probably had no option to vote because of his unpaid court fines.
Jessica Stern, a professor at Boston University who spent about 30 years researching extremists, said that although she did not speak to the individuals involved in the events at Capitol, from her interviews with other violent extremists, she believes that a number of factors can were at stake. They could have believed that the system was rigged, as the “Stop the Steal” movement claims, in which case there would be no point in voting. They could be more attracted to the theater, the violence or the attention they would get at a demonstration like the Capitol than to actually achieve their intended objective – in this case, different electoral results.
Stern speculated that it was a combination of these reasons, adding that feelings of anger and humiliation often attract people to extremist groups and violence. She said that for someone to actually vote, “you would have to believe in the ethics of voting more than you thought it was a waste of time … and see it as a moral imperative. You have to believe that the system works for everyone, that it is for the good of the country. “
Jack Griffith, a 25-year-old from Tennessee, was trumpeting his arrival in Washington DC with a Facebook post saying, “THE CAVALARIA IS COMING !!!!”, using the hashtag “#MAGA”, according to court documents. Shortly after leaving Capitol on January 6, he posted a message of disappointment. “I hate to be that guy, but the New World Order has beaten us,” he wrote. “Trump was our biggest champion and it still hasn’t been enough. He tried his best. He did so much, but he’s just a man … I even helped invade (sic) the capital today, but it only made things worse … Why, God? Why? WHY DID YOU ABANDON US? Unless … Trump still has a plan? “
These online missives describing his participation in the siege of Capitol Hill were later used by the Department of Justice to build a criminal case against him. Griffith faces a number of charges, including violent entry or disorderly conduct on Capitol grounds.
Election data from Tennessee and Alabama, where public records show that Griffith lived, showed that he voted in the 2016 and 2018 elections, but not in the 2020 presidential elections. The public defender who initially represented him declined to comment. Another lawyer listed as his representative has now not responded to requests for comment.
Court records detail how Gracyn Courtright, a veteran of the University of Kentucky, posted a series of images on Instagram showing herself marching with a large American flag and another with her arms raised in triumph outside the Capitol, with the caption “I can’t wait to tell to my grandchildren I was here. “Later, she posted a picture of you with a shirt on display with the caption:” Infamy is as good as fame. Anyway, I end up better known. XOXO. “
Courtright, who was charged with crimes, including intentionally entering a restricted building, was also identified in a surveillance footage dragging a Congressional “Members Only” sign by the Capitol, according to court records. “Idk what treason is,” she wrote in a conversation shared with the FBI by an informant, who confronted the college student in a series of Instagram messages. Courtright is not registered in Kentucky, where he attends the school, according to election officials. She is registered in her home state of West Virginia, but records show that she did not vote in the 2020 election. Her lawyer told CNN that Courtright did not dispute the fact that she did not vote in the election, but refused to do more. comments.
In a series of social media posts he shared directly from the Capitol, Edward Jacob Lang of New York portrayed himself as ready for a revolution. “1776 started,” he wrote in one that was quoted by the government, showing him standing on the Capitol steps. “I was the leader of Liberty today. Arrest me. You are on the wrong side of the story, ”said another. After leaving Capitol, he continued to encourage followers to join the “patriotic movement” with him. “GIVE ME FREEDOM OR GIVE ME DEATH,” he posted.
Federal prosecutors said the January 6 video shows Lang trying to attack police with a baseball bat, wearing a gas mask and a riot shield. He now faces a variety of federal charges, including assault, resistance or impediment by certain officers or employees, civil disorder and violent entry. A recent ProPublica story also revealed how Lang had used the online messaging app Telegram in an attempt to radicalize the “normies” and convince them to join local militia groups – encouraging people in the days after the Capitol riot to stock up weapons and prepare for war.
Although state records show that Lang is registered to vote and participated in some previous elections, county and state officials confirmed to CNN that he did not vote in the November election. Lang’s lawyer said in a statement that Lang claimed from prison that he had produced an absence ballot, saying, “Mr. Lang has always represented himself as a libertarian … He is not a devoted supporter of Trump, but he believes that those who take office will not defend citizens’ First and Second Amendment rights. “
New York law requires absentee ballots to be posted by election day and received the following week to be counted. When questioned about Lang’s claim that he sent an absentee ballot, the Sullivan County Election Council instructed CNN to file a request for open records to receive any information. The request was not answered before the time of publication.
Lang’s lawyer also said the 25-year-old was a “naive and impressionable young man” that was sparked by Trump’s rhetoric. He cited Senator Mitch McConnell’s statement that “the crowd was fed with lies” and said that he hoped Lang and others would not be found guilty “just because of their associations, beliefs and presence”.
A man who identified himself with Lang’s father’s name declined to speak to a reporter, saying: “We hate CNN. We are Trump professionals, goodbye. ”In a statement to a local newspaper, Lang’s father attributed his son’s actions on Capitol Hill to” a substance abuse problem. “
Arie Perliger, a professor at the University of Massachusetts Lowell who specializes in right-wing domestic terrorism, said he was not surprised to learn that some of the protesters did not vote, especially militia members like Crowl, as membership in the militia is often rooted in distrust. from the government. Still, he said he feared this could reflect a growing erosion of faith in the American democratic process, which is a “risk we need to think about”.
“When we see that significant ideological groups are failing to participate in the democratic process, it could mean that they are looking for other ways to participate, and those other ways can be more violent,” said Perliger, who oversees a database of right-wing extremists. of violence in the United States. “We must be concerned if we see an increasing number of ideological groups reducing their involvement in electoral politics.”
What should we investigate next? Send us an email: [email protected].