It turns out wanting to star in your own insurrection film is not that bright an idea if your revolution fizzles. On top of closed-circuit cameras mounted all over the Capitol, it seemed every other would-be revolutionary was shooting cell phone video. Those images plus TV and print photos are ready-made evidence for authorities trying to identify and arrest participants in the Trump insurrection. Not wearing masks during a raging pandemic as a political statement makes it easier than it otherwise would be.
Arrest records provide details of some of the “very fine people” behind the riot (AP):
The insurrectionist mob that showed up at the president’s behest and stormed the U.S. Capitol was overwhelmingly made up of longtime Trump supporters, including Republican Party officials, GOP political donors, far-right militants, white supremacists, members of the military and adherents of the QAnon myth that the government is secretly controlled by a cabal of Satan-worshiping pedophile cannibals. Records show that some were heavily armed and included convicted criminals, such as a Florida man recently released from prison for attempted murder.
The Associated Press reviewed social media posts, voter registrations, court files and other public records for more than 120 people either facing criminal charges related to the Jan. 6 unrest or who, going maskless amid the pandemic, were later identified through photographs and videos taken during the melee.
The evidence gives lie to claims by right-wing pundits and Republican officials such as Rep. Matt Gaetz, R-Fla., that the violence was perpetrated by left-wing antifa thugs rather than supporters of the president.
Like we needed AP to confirm that. Here’s one:
Michael Thomas Curzio was arrested in relation to the riots less than two years after he was released from a Florida prison in 2019 after serving an eight-year sentence for attempted murder. Court records from Florida show that he shot the boyfriend of his former girlfriend in a fight at her home.
For some reason people like that see themselves in Mr. “I Could Shoot Somerone on Fifth Avenue.” Here’s another:
Also facing federal charges is Cleveland Grover Meredith Jr., a Georgia man who in the wake of the election had protested outside the home of Republican Gov. Brian Kemp, whom Trump had publicly blamed for his loss in the state. Meredith drove to Washington last week for the “Save America” rally but arrived late because of a problem with the lights on his trailer, according to court filings that include expletive-laden texts.
“Headed to DC with a (s—-) ton of 5.56 armor-piercing ammo,” he texted friends and relatives on Jan. 6, adding a purple devil emoji, according to court filings. The following day, he texted to the group: “Thinking about heading over to Pelosi (C——’s) speech and putting a bullet in her noggin on Live TV.” He once again added a purple devil emoji, and wrote he might hit her with his truck instead. “I’m gonna run that (C—-) Pelosi over while she chews on her gums. … Dead (B——) Walking. I predict that within 12 days, many in our country will die.”
Beside weapons found with Meredith at a Washington, D.C. Holiday Inn “agents also seized a stash of THC edibles and a vial of injectable testosterone.”
Many others who attended the riot claim they never inhaled, um … invaded the Capitol * :
Commanders at the U.S. Army’s 1st Special Forces Command at Fort Bragg in North Carolina are investigating Capt. Emily Rainey’s involvement in the Wednesday rally. The 30-year-old psychological operations officer told the AP she led 100 members of Moore County Citizens for Freedom who traveled to Washington to “stand against election fraud” and support Trump. She insisted she acted within Army regulations and that no one in her group broke the law.
Federal authorities have arrested the now-infamous zip-tie guys seen in pictures in the well of the Senate. Retired Air Force Lt. Colonel Larry Brock was arrested Sunday in Texas. Internet and federal investigators identified the maskeless Brock (seen in a green helmet, green tactical vest) by unit patches on his gear. Nashville bartender Eric Gavelek Munchel wore a mask to hide his identity. But again, his distinctive tactical gear made him easy to pick out in enough photos and video before and after the assault. He too was arrested on Sunday.
In the aftermath of the assault and in anticipation of more unrest leading up to the Jan. 20 inauguration for President-elect Joe Biden, airlines called on the TSA to place identified rioters on the no-fly list:
“We support the swiftest action with clear consequences and clear rules for keeping these people off planes,” Sara Nelson, president of the Association of Flight Attendants (AFA), a union representing 50,000 flight attendants on 17 airlines, said.
Rep. Bennie G. Thompson, the Chair of the House Committee on Homeland Security, has called for the Capitol rioters to be added to the TSA’s No-Fly List, but that may not happen before the inauguration.
That was Thursday. Nelson said in a statement some pro-Trump flyers on their way to the Wednesday rally engaged in “mob mentality behavior” on flights.
An American Airlins pilot threatened to land his 4-1/2 hour, Washington Dulles-to-Phoenix flight in Kansas on Friday after rowdy Trump fans began chanting “USA! USA!” :
American Airlines on Thursday announced that it will no longer serve alcohol on flights to and from the nation’s capital after flight attendants ‘were forced to confront passengers exhibiting politically motivated aggression towards other passengers and crew.’
Alaska Airlines is not waiting. It banned 14 travelers from future flights on Friday after “unacceptable” behavior on a flight leaving Washington Dulles for Seattle:
Seattle-based Alaska said a number of passengers on a flight out of Washington late Thursday “were non-mask compliant, rowdy, argumentative and harassed our crew members.”
Such actions guarantee future scenes such as the one filmed at a Washington, D.C.-area airport Sunday. One sobbing MAGA straggler got booted from his flight home.
We don’t know the man’s identity or why the TSA (or the airline) placed him on a no-fly list. It seems he feels facing consequences is only for people who don’t love America enough to ransack the Capitol.
Police in some cities arrested Black Lives Matter protesters last summer merely for stepping off the curb.
* UPDATE: Rainey, who received “a career-ending letter of reprimand for her actions at an earlier protest in the Fort Bragg area,” has resigned her commission.