CHARLOTTE, NC (AP) – Army investigates a psychological operations officer who led a group of North Carolina people to the Washington rally that led to the deadly riot at the U.S. Capitol by supporters of President Donald Trump .
Fort Bragg commanders review Captain Emily Rainey’s involvement in last week’s events in the nation’s capital, but said he was acting under military regulations and that no one in his group was breaking the law.
“I was a private citizen and I did everything right and within my rights,” Rainey told The Associated Press on Sunday.
Rainey said he led 100 members of Citizens for Moore County Freedom, which is described online as a nonpartisan network that promotes conservative values, to the Washington rally to “defend itself from election fraud” and support and Trump. He said he did not know anyone who entered the Capitol and returned to their buses hours before an emergency curfew came into effect.
Rainey, 30, is assigned to Fort Bragg’s fourth group of psychological operations, according to Major Daniel Lessard, a spokesman for the first command of the special forces. Known as PSYOPS, the group uses information and misinformation to model the emotions, decision-making, and actions of American adversaries.
It’s not the first time Rainey’s actions have been scrutinized. In May, the captain made headlines after posting an online video of his cautionary tape throw at a playground that was closed under North Carolina COVID-19 restrictions.
Police in Southern Pines, a community about 48 miles west of Fort Bragg, accused her of injuring personal property. Police told WRAL-TV who let her go with warnings twice before she tore down the tape closing the playground.
The military gave Rainey “appropriate administrative action” for the incident and resigned in September, according to Lessard. He said the process of resigning an officer can take six months or more and that Rainey will have to leave the army in April.
On Wednesday in Washington, insurgents seized House and Senate chambers, smashed windows and waved Trump, American and Confederate flags. Five people, including a Capitol police officer, were killed. The riot he followed the rally where Trump repeated false claims that the election had been called against him and urged his supporters to “fight like hell.”
So far, at least 90 people have been arrested under charges ranging from curfews violations to crimes related to assaults on police officers, possession of illegal weapons and death threats against House Speaker Nancy Pelosi, D-Calif.
Rainey said his group and most of the people who traveled to Washington “are peace-loving and law-abiding people who did nothing but prove our rights to the First Amendment.”
Members of the U.S. military are allowed to participate in non-uniformed political organizations and events. However, there are warnings. The Department of Defense directive prohibits active duty members from sponsoring partisan organizations. It’s unclear if Rainey’s involvement with his group Wednesday goes against DOD policy.
Rainey said he attended Trump’s rally while on leave, did not announce he was an army officer, and told his bosses in advance that he would go. “We are confident that justice will prevail that proves our innocence,” he told AP.
In June, Rainey wrote an article for the online military publication SOFREP on navigation through regulations around political activity. “The more you know about the rules, the freer you are,” he wrote.
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Bleiberg reported from Dallas and LaPorta in Delray Beach, Florida.