A psychological operations officer the military is investigating for driving a group of people from North Carolina to the Washington rally that led to the deadly riot at the U.S. Capitol he had already resigned from his commission, CBS News correspondent David Martin reports. Fort Bragg commanders said they were reviewing Captain Emily Rainey’s involvement in last week’s events in the country’s capital, but said he was acting within 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.
A Defense official told CBS News that the Army is investigating how many Fort Bragg soldiers accompanied Rainey to Washington. Rainey had resigned from his commission after receiving a letter of recrimination from his professional for his actions in a previous protest in the Fort Bragg area, Martin reports.
As the process takes time, Rainey was still in active service when he led a group of protesters in Washington and is due to leave the army next month. Fort Bragg officials are now working to determine which other soldiers went to Washington and whether they were part of the crowd that stormed the Capitol, Martin reports.
Rainey said he led 100 members of Citizens for Freedom from Moore County, which is described online as a nonpartisan network that promotes conservative values, from North Carolina to Washington for “opposing election fraud.” and support Trump. He said the group attended the rally, but did not know anyone entering the Capitol and returning to the buses hours before an emergency curfew came into force.
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.
Rainey made headlines in May 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 30 miles west of Fort Bragg, accused her of injuring personal property for the incident. Police told WRAL-TV they let her go with warnings twice before she tore down the tape that closed the playground.
On Wednesday in Washington, insurgents seized House and Senate chambers, smashed windows and waved Trump, American and Confederate flags. The riot followed the rally where Trump repeated false claims that the election had been called against him and said he and his supporters would have to “fight a lot harder” to protect democracy.
To date, at least 90 people have been arrested on charges ranging from curfew violations to crimes related to assaults on police officers, possession of illegal weapons and death threats against the chamber president. , 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 and did not announce he was an army officer. He said Sunday afternoon that his commanders had not asked about his time in Washington, but did not immediately respond to a subsequent investigation into the Army investigation.
“Before I went there I told my bosses I was going there, and I told them when I came back,” he said.
Rep. Ruben Gallego, an Arizona Democrat who is a veteran of the Iraq war, tweeted Monday that Rainey “should get out of his job.”