Arrested in Capitol Riot: Organized Militants and a Horde of Radicals

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Jennifer Valentino-DeVries
@jenvalentino
In January, the feds unveiled charges against more than 175 people in the #Capitol siege. We reviewed all of them, and this is what we found: a couple organized groups, and a mass of angry people united by a belief in the lie of a stolen election. 1/

Arrested in Capitol Riot: Organized Militants and a Horde of Radicals
Yes, there were Proud Boys, QAnon zealots and military veterans. But most of those arrested so far were united largely by a belief that the election was stolen, a New York Times analysis found.
nytimes.com
12:25 PM · Feb 5, 2021

https://www.nytimes.com/interactive/2021/02/04/us/capitol-arrests.html

In the weeks since the Jan. 6 attack on the U.S. Capitol, federal prosecutors have announced criminal charges against more than 175 people — less than a quarter of those involved in the melee, but enough to provide a rough portrait of the mob and the sprawling investigation into its actions.

At least 21 of those charged so far had ties to militant groups and militias, according to court documents and other records. At least 22 said they were current or former members of the military. More than a dozen were clear supporters of the conspiracy theory QAnon. But a majority expressed few organizing principles, outside a fervent belief in the false assertion that President Donald J. Trump had won re-election.

The accused came from at least 39 states, as far away as Hawaii. At least three were state or local officials, and three were police officers. Some were business owners; others were unemployed or made their living as conservative social media personalities. Many made comments alluding to revolution and violence, while others said the protests had been largely peaceful.

A New York Times review of federal cases through the end of January suggests that many of those in the horde were likely disorganized, but some groups and individuals came to the events of Jan. 6 trained and prepared for battle. The early charges set the stage for those to come as the Justice Department promises to prosecute even those accused of misdemeanor trespass and also devotes resources to more serious crimes, like conspiracy and homicide.

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In January, the feds unveiled charges against more than 175 people in the #Capitol siege. We reviewed all of them, and this is what we found: a couple organized groups, and a mass of angry people united by a belief in the lie of a stolen election. 1/

Arrested in Capitol Riot: Organized Militants and a Horde of Radicals
Yes, there were Proud Boys, QAnon zealots and military veterans. But most of those arrested so far were united largely by a belief that the election was stolen, a New York Times analysis found.
https://www.nytimes.com/interactive/2021/02/04/us/capitol-arrests.html

Extremism expert @milleridriss told me the arrests so far reveal "a spectrum of planned and spontaneous violence." On one end you have Proud Boys and Oath Keepers. Next, you have people like Michael Foy, accused of bringing a hockey stick to a protest and beating an officer. 2/

You also have people who didn't likely plan to be violent but picked up a fire extinguisher and threw it. And then you have the largest group of those charged so far: people who disrupted Congress or trespassed but aren't charged with violence or property crime. 3/

This isn't to excuse people who went into the Capitol or say they were innocents caught up in a mob. But the dynamic is important for what it says about current extremist tactics and future acts. It's easier to disrupt organized groups than "lone wolves" or spontaneous actors. 4/

It could be that there is strategic use by smaller groups of large, radicalized but disorganized crowds. Something similar may have happened in Germany last year, when a far-right core tried to storm the Reichstag amid a broader protest. Via @kbennhold 5/

Far Right Germans Try to Storm Reichstag as Virus Protests Escalate
Germany has handled the pandemic well and its government enjoys high public trust. But the minority opposing coronavirus rules includes a far-right faction that worries officials.
https://www.nytimes.com/2020/08/31/world/europe/reichstag-germany-neonazi-coronavirus.html

There's lots to unpack here, and we'll look at more in the coming weeks. It was wonderful to work with this fab team. @gr_ashford @DeniseDSLu @haeyoun @eleanor_lutz @alex_leedsmatts @karenyourish @SeamusHughes @trbrtc @_stella_cooper @CoraEngelbrecht @btdecker.