WASHINGTON (AP) – As supporters of President Donald Trump gathered outside the Capitol last week and sang the national anthem, a line of men wearing olive helmets and armor deliberately stepped on the marble stairs in a single line. the neck of the front jacket.
Training, known as the “Ranger File,” is a standard operating procedure for a combat team that is “stacking” to break a building, which can be recognized immediately for any U.S. soldier or navy serving in Iraq and Afghanistan. It was a creepy sign that many of the mafia vanguard who stormed the seat of American democracy had military training or were trained by those who did.
An Associated Press review of public records, social media posts and videos shows that at least 21 current or former U.S. military or law enforcement members have been identified as near the Capitol riot., with more than a dozen others investigated but not yet named. In many cases, those who stormed the Capitol appeared to employ tactics, armor, and technology, such as two-way radio headphones that were similar to those of the police themselves facing each other.
Experts in extremism themselves have warned for years about the efforts of far-right militants and white supremacist groups to radicalize and recruit people with military and police training, and say the January 6 insurgency that left five people dead saw some of their worst problems. they realized the fears.
“ISIS and al-Qaeda would drool over having someone with the training and experience of a U.S. military officer,” said Michael German, a former FBI agent and member of the Brennan Center for Justice of the United States. New York University. “These people have training and skills that far exceed what any foreign terrorist group can do. Foreign terrorist groups have no members with badges. “
Among the highlights came a lieutenant colonel retired from the Air Force and a decorated Texas combat veteran who was arrested after being photographed wearing a helmet and body armor on the Senate floor, wearing zippered handcuffs.
Another San Diego Air Force veteran was shot dead by a Capitol police officer while trying to jump over a barricade near the House of Commons. A retired Navy SEAL, among the most elitist special warfare operators, posted a video on Facebook about how to travel from his Ohio home to the rally and apparently approved the invasion of “our building, our house “.
Two police officers from a small Virginia town, both former children, were arrested by the FBI after a selfie was posted inside the Capitol, one throwing his middle finger at the camera.
An active-duty psychological warlord is also under control of North Carolina, which organized three buses of people heading to Washington for the “Save America” rally in support of the president’s false claim that he was robbed of the November election.
Although the Pentagon declined to provide an estimate of how many other active-duty servicemen are being investigated, top military leaders were concerned enough before the inauguration of President-elect Joe Biden issued a warning very unusual to all members of the service. this week that the right to freedom of expression does not give anyone the right to commit violence.
The U.S. Capitol Police Chief was forced to resign after the breach and several officers have been suspended pending the outcome of investigations into his conduct, including one who took a selfie with a riot police and another who was seen wearing one of Trump’s reds. Make the United States big again. ”
The AP’s review of hundreds of videos and photos of the insurgent riot shows dozens of people mingled among the crowd wearing military-style equipment, including helmets, armor, backpacks and two-way radios. Dozens carried bear spray cisterns, baseball bats, hockey sticks and pro-Trump flags attached to canes that were then destroyed by police officers.
A close examination of the group climbing the stairs to help break the Capitol shows that they wore military-style patches that said “MILITIA” and “OATHKEEPER.” Others wore patches and insignia representing far-right militant groups, including the Proud Boys, the Three Percenters, and several self-proclaimed state militias.
The Oath Keepers, which claims to have thousands of current and former law enforcement officers and military veterans as members, have become accessories in protests and counter-protests across the country, often heavily armed with semi-automatic rifles and tactical shotguns.
Stewart Rhodes, an army veteran who founded the Oath Keepers in 2009 in reaction to Barack Obama’s presidency, had been saying weeks before the Capitol Revolt that his group was preparing for a civil war. and that he was “armed, ready to enter if the president calls us.”
Adam Newbold, the retired Navy SEAL of Lisbon, Ohio, with a military career of more than two decades that includes multiple combat for value, said in a January 5 Facebook video: “We are ready, very capable and very skillful patriots prepared for a fight “.
He later posted a follow-up video deleted since after the riot saying he was “proud” of the assault.
Newbold, 45, did not respond to several AP messages, but in an interview with the Task & Purpose website he denied ever entering the Capitol. He added that due to the consequences of the videos, he has given up a program that helps prepare potential SEAL applicants.
Retired Lieutenant Colonel of the Air Force, Larry Rendall Brock Jr. of Texas, was released Thursday in jail after a prosecutor alleged the former fighter pilot had zippered handcuffs on the Senate floor because he planned to take hostages.
“It means kidnapping, containing, perhaps attempting, perhaps executing members of the U.S. government,” said Jay Weimer, U.S. deputy prosecutor. “His previous experience and training make him even more dangerous.”
Army commanders at Fort Bragg, North Carolina, are investigating the possible involvement of Captain Emily Rainey, a 30-year-old psychological operations officer and Afghanistan war veteran who told the AP that he was traveling with 100 other people to Washington to “oppose election fraud.” He insisted that he acted in accordance with military regulations and that no one in his group entered the Capitol or violated the law.
“I was a private citizen and I did everything right and within my rights,” Rainey said.
More than 110 people have been arrested on charges related to the Capitol riot so far, ranging from curfew violations to serious federal crimes related to theft and possession of weapons.
Brian Harrell, who served as deputy secretary of infrastructure protection in the Department of Homeland Security until last year, said it is “obviously problematic” when “extremist bad actors” have a military and law enforcement background. law.
“Many have specialized training, some have seen combat, and almost all have been fueled by misinformation and propaganda from illegitimate sources,” Harrell said. “Conspiracy theories feed them, they have the feeling that something is being stolen from them and they are not interested in debating. This is a powdered cocktail that hopes to blow ”.
The FBI warns of the potential for more bloodshed. In an internal bulletin released Sunday, the office warned of plans for armed protests in the state’s 50 capitals and in Washington, DC, in the coming weeks.
Meanwhile, police departments in such important cities as New York, Los Angeles, Las Vegas, Houston and Philadelphia announced they were investigating whether members of their agencies participated in the Capitol riot. The Philadelphia area traffic authority is also investigating whether seven of its police officers who attended Trump’s rally in Washington violated any law.
A Texas sheriff announced last week that she had reported one of her lieutenants to the FBI after she posted photos of herself on social media with a crowd outside the Capitol. Bexar County Sheriff Javier Salazar said Lt. Roxanne Mathai, a 46-year-old prisoner, was entitled to attend the rally, but is investigating whether she may have broken the law.
One of the posts Mathai shared was a photo that appeared to have been taken on Jan. 6 among the mass of Trump supporters outside the Capitol, with the headline, “I will not lie… “In fact, it’s the best day of my life. And it’s not over yet.”
A lawyer for Mathai, a longtime San Antonio mother and resident, said he attended Trump’s rally but never entered the Capitol.
In Houston, police chief Art Acevedo said an 18-year-old veteran of the department suspected of joining the crowd that violated the Capitol was on leave and will face a disciplinary hearing.
“There is no excuse for criminal activities, especially from a police officer,” Acevedo said. “I can’t tell you how angry I feel at the thought of a police officer and other police officers, thinking they’re going to storm the Capitol.”
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Bleiberg reported from Dallas and LaPorta from Delray Beach, Florida. Robert Burns and Mike Balsamo in Washington; Jim Mustian, Michael R. Sisak and Thalia Beaty in New York; Michael Kunzelman in College Park, Maryland; Juan A. Lozano to Houston; Claudia Lauer in Philadelphia; Martha Bellisle in Seattle; and Stefanie Dazio in Los Angeles contributed.
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Follow Associated Press investigative journalist Michael Biesecker at http://twitter.com/mbieseck; Jake Bleiberg at http://twitter.com/JZBleiberg; and James LaPorta at http://twitter.com/JimLaPorta
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Contact the AP Global Research Team at [email protected]