Many of the alleged protesters facing charges have also embraced this conspiracy. But according to a CNN review of court documents, nearly a dozen defendants explicitly refused, saying that they and other Trump supporters deserve credit for breaking into the Capitol – not Antifa.
“There are a lot of memes and posts going around saying that the people who were fighting last night were all Antifa bullies etc.,” defendant Jose Padilla reportedly posted on Facebook the day after the January 6 attack. “I just want to say that, as a first-hand observer from all points last night, it was not Antifa. They were patriots who were trying to restore the Republic.”
Another alleged Capitol rioter, Jonathan Mellis, posted: “Don’t you dare try to tell me that people are blaming the antifa and the BLM. We are proud to take responsibility for invading the castle.” He also used a common term to suggest that leftist groups were too cowardly to carry out an attack.
Padilla and Mellis are among the defendants accused of assaulting police officers, in addition to crimes of trespassing on property. Prosecutors say Mellis hit the police with a large stick and that Padilla used a large Trump metal sign as a battering ram against the police line.
None of these men filed the indictment, and none of the lawyers is listed on the court’s agenda.
At least one CPAC speaker this week promoted the lie, although he admitted that some Trump supporters participated in the attack on the Capitol. Conservative broadcaster Wayne Dupree said, “Antifa was there, BLM was there, the MAGA people were there, everyone was there.”
“I was in the Capitol building 2 days ago,” Robertson posted on Facebook, according to court documents. “I am a (member of the Virginia Citizens Defense League pro-gun group), a member of the NRA and a soldier and police officer on duty. The damage control by Republicans in DC is trying to say that it was ANTIFA. It wasn’t. Possibly some were there “Sure. Did it cause that? No.”
He was charged alongside Jacob Fracker, a fellow Rocky Police officer who was also fired. The Pentagon says that Robertson was previously on the US Army Reserve and was sent to Iraq during the war, and that Fracker is currently a corporal in the Virginia National Guard.
The two men pleaded not guilty on Thursday at a virtual federal court hearing in Washington, DC.
In the video, the man is supposedly heard saying, “Don’t break s – t … don’t vandalize s – t … we are no goddamn Antifa.”
Another defendant even begged his rowdy colleagues to be proud of their actions that day.
“Be ashamed and hide if you need to – but I was there. It was not Antifa on the Capitol. They were freedom-loving Patriots who were DESPERATE to fight for the ultimate hope of our Republic,” tweeted Brandon Straka, who spoke at a rally “Stop the Theft “on the eve of the insurrection.