NEW: Audio of militia members narrating the Capitol invasion (using Zello walkie-talkie app)

[Nevilledog]

Link to tweet

Tweet text:
Lois Beckett
@loisbeckett
NEW: Audio of militia members narrating the Capitol invasion:

“We have a good group: 30 to 40 of us. We’re sticking together and sticking to the plan."

“We are in the main dome right now."

"Keep going.”

"...Everything we fucking trained for.”

Revealed: walkie-talkie app Zello hosted far-right groups who stormed Capitol
Audio and chat logs show insurrectionists communicated via the app, which has avoided proactive content moderation
theguardian.com
6:16 PM · Jan 13, 2021

https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2021/jan/13/zello-app-us-capitol-attack-far-right

[MagickMuffin]

1. So, there is a digital footprint that we can find these Terrorists?

If so, THEY BE GOING TO JAIL!

[LisaL]

2. Yep.

Apparently they were going to kidnap politicians.

[UpInArms]

3. These people are delusional

Last edited Thu Jan 14, 2021, 12:10 AM - Edit history (1)

The user’s Zello messages also bear strong resemblance to posts on Watkin’s Parler profile, according to our research: “Yeah. We stormed the Capitol today. Teargassed, the whole, 9,” she wrote on Parler. “Pushed our way into the rotunda. Made it into the Senate even.”

Watkins, who could not be reached for comment, told the Journal that she did not believe she had done anything wrong.

[MagickMuffin]

4. "She believed she didn't do anything wrong

That's what happens when you believe in fantasies.

You be GOING TO JAIL FOR TRYING TO OVER THROW THE GOVERNMENT.

[PatrickforO]

10. No worries. She will have plenty of time to confront her crimes in her cell.

[mackdaddy]

5. So is there a digital record of all of these channels?

I could not tell from the article if the instant voice chats had a longer term record, or if they were not kept.

Would make a big difference for investigators.

[dalton99a]

6. Ohio Bartender and Her 'Militia' Drove to D.C. to Join the Capitol Breach

https://www.citybeat.com/news/blog/21147932/ohio-bartender-and-her-militia-drove-to-dc-to-join-the-capitol-breach

Ohio Bartender and Her ‘Militia’ Drove to D.C. to Join the Capitol Breach
A Champaign County bartender who runs a self-identified militia, joined by three others in her unit, drove to Washington D.C. last week to join what descended into a seditious mob invasion of the U.S. Capitol.h
Jake Zuckerman, Ohio Capital Journal
Jan 13, 2021 11 AM

[foo_fighter999]

8. Hmm...I'm not sure I believe her

According to the article:

Watkins dismissed characterizations of the riots as insurrectionist or violent as media spin. She said she and several other militia members who she entered the complex with saw the invaders marveling at the art and architecture of the Capitol like tourists.


But from the article the OP linked to:

As she narrated her march toward and into the Capitol, others in the Zello channel cheered on the insurrection and called for the kidnapping of politicians.

“You are executing citizen’s arrest,” said “1% Watchdog”, the creator of the channel, evoking the viral image of a man carrying zip ties in the Senate chamber. “We have probable cause: treason, acts of treason, election fraud, all kinds of felony crimes, no competent authority,” he said, referencing claims of voter fraud that have been promoted by Donald Trump and other Republican lawmakers but repeatedly debunked by journalists and the courts.

So, which is it? Was she just there to "marvel at the art" with the others, or did her group have more sinister motives that she is now denying because the mission failed? I think we all know the answer to that.

[Baked Potato]

9. It seems bars and restaurants really figure in all this.

I notice flex-cuff dude is/was a bartender. Freak congress woman from Rifle, Colorado owns a bar. I read an article about Northern California militias and the leadership has ties to bars and restaurants.

I think the common theme is the virus hurts them personally because of lost wages and tips. But, they like to forget that Trump screwed this from the beginning so now Dems have to start over. It’s that individual mentality that drives them. Very selfish.

[brewens]

7. It occurred to me the terrorists had no plan B. There must be a lot of them panicked and trying

to organize some other attack. They won't find a secure way to communicate that can't be traced. I wouldn't be surprised to see some of them cornered, shootouts and standoffs, any second now. You also had a lot of guys that feel like they missed out, maybe looking for some way to make a name for themselves. They might attack anything they think is an enemy.

[crickets]

11. I wondered what they used when radio instead of cell phone comms was mentioned earlier on.

From the article:

Being slow to respond may threaten the future of Zello, which relies on servers from Amazon Web Services and access to the Google and Apple app stores. By booting Parler from their platforms, the three companies have demonstrated they may not tolerate companies hosting extremist content.

So far, that’s not true of Zello.

Interesting. Zello might have to get busy or get gone.

“Zello was completely unresponsive,” said Talia Lavin, an outspoken critic of platforms that host extremist speech and the author of Culture Warlords. She led a campaign on Twitter in October to pressure the company to take more urgent action against Oath Keepers and other militias on the app. “They gave every indication of not caring at all about public opinion.”

Talia Lavin's Twitter thread is worth a look, with lots of info and links:

Link to tweet

Link to tweet

@Zello itself has known for months about this; according to info from inside the company they have known about many of these groups since violent anti-BLM counterprotests began in June. They have taken no significant action to curb this activity. 9/

😡

Great find, Nevilledog.

[SweetieD]

12. How long have they been training for this?