Keystone (archive image)
Was the storm on the US Capitol planned for a long time on January 6th? Investigators assume an organized approach by extremist groups.
When members of the paramilitary group Oath Keepers stormed up the steps of the US Capitol with the mob on January 6, the investigative authorities believed they had a plan: “Arrest this gathering, there is reasonable suspicion of treason and electoral fraud,” the order read on an encrypted messenger app with which some extremists communicated during the siege.
Shortly before, members of the right-wing extremist Proud Boys with radios and earphones had mixed with the mob, led, according to the prosecutor, by a man who had “war powers” for the attack. According to the authorities, these two extremist groups, whose members had traveled to Washington with thousands of other supporters of the outgoing President Donald Trump, were not spontaneously incited by Trump that day – they had planned the attack on the seat of the US Congress.
“It wasn’t just a march”
With the help of the secured internal communication and other evidence from court documents and hearings, the investigators want to prove that small cells of the extremist groups were hiding in the crowd and had planned a military-style attack on the heart of US democracy. “It wasn’t just a march. It was an unbelievable attack on our government institutions, ”said US Assistant Attorney Jason McCullough at a recent hearing.
The Proud Boys and the Oath Keepers make up only a fraction of the more than 300 Trump supporters who have so far been charged with the siege of the Capitol. However, some of its leaders, members and allies became the focus of the Justice Department’s extensive investigation. For some of the rioters, this may mean more serious criminal charges. At the same time, references to the planning of the attack could also underpin the assurances of Trump and his supporters that the then president did not instigate the riots and could not be prosecuted for it.
Five fatalities
Five people were killed, including a police officer, in the storming of the US Congress, which led to the second impeachment proceedings against Trump.
Meanwhile, some of the defendants’ lawyers accused prosecutors of distorting statements and actions of their clients in order to portray the attack as a deliberate, orchestrated insurrection. You yourself want the riots to be understood more as a spontaneous outburst of anger after the elections, the aim of which was to stop Congress confirming the election victory of Democrat Joe Biden.
In the case of an alleged leader in the Proud Boys attack on the Capitol, the prosecution suffered a defeat last week when a judge ordered his release from custody. Reason: The evidence against him is “more than thin”.
“Two days of war games”
According to the authorities, the Oath Keepers began preparing for acts of violence as early as November. According to seized excerpts from internal communication, the group discussed logistics, weapons and training, including “two days of war games”.
“I need you ready to fight” until inauguration, Ohio member Jessica Watkins wrote to a recruit in November, according to court records. “When Biden becomes president, our lifestyle as we know it will be history. Our republic would be history. Then it is our duty as Americans to fight, kill and die for our rights », it said in another message from her, also in November.
When the mob stormed the Capitol, Oath Keepers leader Stewart Rhodes communicated on the messenger service Signal with some of the alleged rioters: “All I see is Trump complaining. I don’t see any intention of doing anything. So the patriots take it into their own hands. You have enough, ”writes Rhodes, who has not yet been charged, according to the investigators at around 1.40 p.m. A short time later, he instructed the group to “come to the south side of the Capitol on the steps.”
According to investigators, members of a military-like formation climbed the steps of the Capitol and entered the building at around 2:40 p.m. through a door on the east side. Only 20 minutes earlier, House and Senate MPs and Vice President Mike Pence had been brought to safety.
Terrifying chat messages
“We’re on the mezzanine, right in the main dome. We let it rip. They throw grenades, they shoot people with paintballs, but we’re in here, ”said Oath Keepers member Watkins, according to the prosecutor, on a channel called Stop the Steal J6 on the Zello walkie-talkie app.
The Proud Boys met at the Washington Monument and were already at the Capitol before Trump finished his speech in front of thousands of supporters near the White House. In the opinion of the prosecutor, hearing the president’s speech was not part of their plan. The group who wore headgear with orange markings was led by Ethan Nordean with a megaphone. According to the public prosecutor’s office, in their planning for January 6th, the Proud Boys had discussed using non-members or normal people to “burn this town down” and “beat some pigs in the ground”.
So far, nine people close to the Oath Keepers have been charged with planning and coordinating the assault on the Capitol. At least eleven leaders, members or allies of the Oath Keepers are accused by the Justice Department of participating in a coordinated attack.
Defense lawyers insist that the prosecution presented the January 6 events in a misleading manner and with shaky evidence. Some defense lawyers also tried to blame Trump for the Capitol storm that incited the perpetrators.
For their part, Nordean lawyers stress that the prosecution has not produced any evidence that he used encrypted communications to lead the group’s attack on the Capitol. Nicholas Smith, one of his lawyers, said: “The government has repeatedly made allegations about Ethan’s activities and then withdrawn them without substantiating them.”
–
