Alleged members of anti-government militia groups and a U.S. Army reservist with alleged white supremacist beliefs are one of the latest suspects in the U.S. Capitol attack when prosecutors investigate riot police using military-style tactics. Dozens of suspects they now face federal and local charges in the January 6 assault that left five people dead.
FBI
A Colorado prosecutor affiliated with the radical militia group the “Three Percentages” was charged by federal prosecutors in Washington, DC over the weekend with assaulting a federal officer, obstructing federal proceedings and other charges related to the siege. . Federal prosecutors also charged three other people in Ohio and Indiana who are allegedly linked to another group of anti-government militias, the “Oath Keepers.” The Indiana suspect was allegedly among a group that sprayed a U.S. Capitol police officer with bear spray.
Evidence against the suspects raises further questions about coordination among the crowd that stormed the Capitol, a law enforcement official told investigative correspondent Catherine Herridge. Identifying riot police using military-style tactics is a top priority for a task force of prosecutors above DC investigating possible charges of sedition, Herridge reported.
The three percent and guardians of the oath are part of an extremist movement that has grown since President Barack Obama took office in 2008, according to the Anti-Defamation League. The groups promote the idea that the government is trying to take away the rights of American citizens and that they should be resisted.
On Saturday, federal investigators charged an Ohio man and woman who they say were part of a group of about 8-10 people carrying paramilitary equipment and Oath Keepers paraphernalia seen in a video breaking into the Capitol. According to a federal criminal complaint, the group moved “in an organized and practiced manner” and was forced toward the front of a crowd gathered around a door of the Capitol building.
Jessica Watkins, 38, and Donovan Crowl, 50, of Champaign County, Ohio, face charges that include illegal entry into a restricted area, violent entry and disorderly conduct, and obstruction of an official procedure. A criminal complaint says Watkins identified himself on the Parler social network as “CO [commanding officer] of the Ohio State Regular Militia “: a subset that pays the Oath Keepers fee.
On Jan. 6, the complaint alleges that Watkins posted a video to Parler with the caption, “Yes. Today we stormed the Capitol. We razed everything. 9. We entered the roundabout. It reached the Senate until “The news is a lie (even Fox) about the historical events we have created today.”
Watkins also confirmed that he led other guardians of the oath during the siege, posting another image in Parler of a man with paramilitary equipment with a patch of guardians on his arm. According to the complaint, the headline read: “One of my Stop Rally guys today. #Stopthesteal #stormthecapitol #oathkeepers #ohiomilitia.” In another criminal complaint, federal investigators identified the man in the photo as Crowl, who they say is also affiliated with the Ohio State Regular Militia.
FBI
According to the allegations, both Watkins and Crowl later spoke to the media about their encounters with Capitol police. In a Jan. 13 interview with the Ohio Capital Journal, Watkins said his group did not destroy anything and was respectful of Capitol Hill police “until they attacked us. Then we stood firm and went mark line “. According to the complaint, the next day Crowl says he told the New Yorker his intentions were peaceful and “we protected Capitol Hill police.”
Another Oath Keepers-linked suspect, Jon Ryan Schaffer of Columbus, Indiana, wore a blue hooded sweatshirt under a tactical vest with a baseball cap that said “Oath Keepers Lifetime Member,” according to a federal criminal complaint filed Saturday. He was seen in surveillance photos and videos carrying bear spray and participating in verbal altercations with Capitol police officers inside the Capitol building.
According to the complaint, Schaffer, identified by tipsters who knew him as the leader of an Indiana heavy metal band, has far-right far-right extremist views. In a 2017 interview, Schaffer identified himself as an “anarchist,” described the federal government as a “criminal enterprise,” and claimed the 2016 presidential election was “cheating.” During another interview at the November “Million MAGA March” in DC, Schaffer said, “A group of thugs and criminals kidnapped this country a long time ago. And now they’re making their big move, and it won’t happen. “People have to wake up and get out of the Matrix because it’s going down. They’ve made the move, they’re getting involved with the wrong people here, trust me on that.”
On Sunday, a man linked to the “Three Percentage” group was also charged. According to his social media posts, 24-year-old Robert Gieswein, a police officer from Woodland Park, Colorado, leads a private paramilitary training group called Woodland Wild Dogs. A federal complaint filed Sunday said Gieswein was wearing distinctive military equipment during the riot: a camouflage shirt under a military-style vest reinforced with a “Woodland Wild Dogs” patch, an army-style helmet marked with orange ribbon and patches , glasses and a black camouflage backpack. Gieswein allegedly sprayed an unidentified substance against federal officials outside the Capitol and encouraged other riot police when they broke a window in the building. Once he entered through the broken window, according to the complaint, he was seen inside carrying a baseball bat and a spray bottle that his cellphone fixed on his vest and he looked outside.
Gieswein appeared alongside another suspect on Sunday, Dominic Pezzola, who was seen wearing a “Proud Boys” T-shirt. According to a witness, Pezzola, who according to witnesses is known as “Spaz,” allegedly said riot police would have killed people, including U.S. House Speaker Nancy Pelosi, and Vice President Mike Pence if they had had the opportunity.
FBI
Among those charged Sunday were Timothy Louis Hale-Cusanelli of Colts Neck, New Jersey, a U.S. Army reserve member and contractor at Earle Naval Arms Station, where he holds a security clearance. ” secret “and has access to several rounds of ammunition, according to a federal complaint. A confidential source working with an NCIS agent said Hale-Cusanelli admitted he was inside the Capitol during the riot, according to the complaint, and that he showed videos of the source making harassing and derogatory statements to officers.
The source told the NCIS agent that Hale-Cusanelli is a declared white supremacist and Nazi sympathizer who posts videos of extreme political opinion on YouTube. On January 14, the source recorded a conversation during which Hale-Cusanelli admitted that he entered the Capitol and encouraged other members of the mob to “move forward” with a voice and manual signals. He allegedly said that if they had more men, they could have taken the entire building.
Hale-Cusanelli also allegedly admitted to taking a flag and a flagpole that he observed another anti-riotism throwing “like a javelin” at a Capitol police officer, who described it as a “murder weapon” and said that he intended to destroy it. Hale-Cusanelli is charged with crimes such as entry violence and disorderly conduct and obstruction of a police officer during a civil disorder.
Defendants in the riot last week included two Virginia police officers off duty, one of whom, Jacob Fracker, is a corporal in the Virginia National Guard. The other, Thomas Robertson, apparently served at different times in the U.S. National Guard and Army reserves, although the military is still trying to determine his current status.
Catherine Herridge and Clare Hymes contributed to this report.