A right-wing activist known for his unwavering support for former President Trump and urging Democrats to step away from his party has been arrested for participating in the Capitol uprising.
Brandon Straka, 43, has been charged with several offenses, including preventing a police officer during a civil disorder and practicing disorder with the intent of disturbing a hearing before Congress, for his role in the Jan. 6 siege.
The former New York City hairdresser and self-proclaimed “former Liberal” is best known for starting the “WalkAway Campaign,” which urged Liberal voters to leave the Democratic Party. Earlier this month, Straka announced that Facebook had removed the campaign page, which had more than half a million followers.
In June, Straka also made headlines after American Airlines was banned from refusing to wear a mask on a flight to Dallas amid the coronavirus pandemic.
In an unsealed criminal complaint Monday, prosecutors say Straka posted several photos and videos during and after the riots. Judicial documents indicate that investigators had clues about Straka’s involvement when an informant indicated that he had published a video on Twitter on Jan. 6 in which the activist shouted, “Go, go!” near the entrance to the Capitol.
“Also, be ashamed and hide if necessary, but I was there. I was not Antifa at the Capitol. Freedom-loving patriots were DESPERATE to fight for the final hope of our Republic, because literally no one cares. “Everyone can report them. I won’t,” Straka also wrote in a Jan. 6 tweet.
Prosecutors allege that Straka made several videos during and after the riots. In a video from January 7, the activist admits: “Yesterday, many of us woke up very, very early. We went to this event where Donald Trump spoke. The plan was to always go to the Capitol. We were going to march from this event … to the Capitol, and there would be another rally. I was one of the speakers scheduled to speak at the Capitol. ”
Straka says that as he walked toward the Capitol, he had learned that the “patriots had entered.”
“Wow, so they’re basically going to make a storm and try to get into the chamber so they can demand the investigation we want from us,” he says in the Jan. 7 video, according to the complaint.
Straka, then, claimed he saw “bursts of tear gas coming out of the doors.”
“Shortly afterwards a man came out,” who told him, “They’ve cleared Congress. Everyone is leaving. There’s no one else inside. Everyone is turning around. No one else is coming in,” Straka says.
Despite Straka’s long video claiming he was not directly involved in the riots, screenshots from his Twitter account show that he encouraged MAGA supporters to storm the Capitol.
“Patriots at the Capitol – HOLD. EL. LINE !!!! ”He wrote in a January 6 tweet. In another, Straka added that “I arrived at the Capitol a few hours ago when the Patriots were assaulting from all sides. I was about to enter myself when the police started firing tear gas at us from the door “.
“I am just confused. For 6-8 weeks, everyone on the right said “1776!” and that if the congress progresses it will mean a revolution! So the congress is moving forward. The Patriots are storming the Capitol, now everyone is virtually pointing out their shame that this will happen, ”Straka wrote in another message.
The complaint notes that the FBI received a lot of advice about his involvement, including one from a relative, who said they saw a video of Straka on the “cusp” of entering the Capitol. The relative added that Straka can be heard saying, “Let’s go in. Let’s go in,” in a video later posted on Youtube titled “Straka attacking the Capitol on January 6.”
In the eight-minute video made Jan. 6, a Capitoline police officer is seen holding a protective shield as he tries to stop a crowd of riots. As the individuals pass in front of the officer to break into the Capitol, Straka is heard shouting, “Take it off” and “Grab the shield!”
Then, several people in the crowd grab the officer’s coat of arms while Straka continues to shout, “Grab it! Take it!”
As Straka continues to approach the Capitol entrance, he turns the camera to look at himself and states, “They’re using gas. Right now they are gassing us ”.
Straka’s popularity among right-wingers increased after he started the “WalkAway” campaign in 2018. On Monday he was invited to the podcast by Newsmax host Greg Kelly to discuss “his war with the far left” and Facebook’s decision to withdraw its campaign page.
It was not immediately clear when the interview was recorded. (According to court records, however, prosecutors originally filed charges against Straka on Jan. 20).
In June, Straka was banned from American Airlines after refusing to wear a mask on a flight to Dallas. After a heated exchange with an airline employee during the boarding of the flight at La Guardia airport, they made him get off the plane.
In an interview with The New York Times after the incident, Straka claimed he had a medical condition that prevented him from wearing a mask. (Straka, however, did not delve into his condition).
“I had the feeling that the airline succumbed to the mafia mentality, which, I’m sorry, is happening everywhere in our country right now,” Straka insisted.