money Feds Arrest More Rioters Including FL Man Pictured With Pelosi’s Lectern
Law enforcement has closed in on two of the most visible figures in Wednesday’s riot at the U.S. Capitol, arresting the shirtless, horn-wearing “QAnon shaman” and a man who walked off with the House Speaker’s lectern.
Federal and local law enforcement worked together to locate Adam Johnson, the grinning man photographed with Pelosi’s lectern, leading to his arrest on a federal warrant on Friday night. He was being held at the Pinellas County jail.
An acquaintance identified Johnson earlier this week to the Bradenton Herald, which described him as a stay-at-home father-of-five who traveled to the Capitol from Parrish, Florida.
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The lectern had been stored under a staircase on the House side of the Capitol building, according to the Department of Justice. A day after the riot, it was found by Senate staff near the rotunda.
“A search of open sources led law enforcement to Johnson, who is allegedly seen in a widely circulated photo inside the Capitol carrying the lectern,” federal officials said in a statement.
The Miami Herald reports that the 36-year-old has a history of social media posts that criticized the Black Lives Matter movement and law enforcement officers. Those posts have since been taken down.
Phoenix, Arizona resident Jacob Anthony Chansley, also known as Jake Angeli, was also arrested Saturday after being identified as the man seen entering the Capitol building in horns, a bearskin headdress, and red, white and blue face paint, according to a statement from the U.S. Attorney’s Office for D.C.
“This individual carried a spear, approximately 6 feet in length, with an American flag tied just below the blade,” the statement said.
According to a criminal complaint, Chansley voluntarily called in to the FBI’s Washington field office and confirmed that he was the individual in the headdress. He allegedly told officers he had come to the Capitol with other “patriots” from Arizona, “at the request of the president.”
Chansley—who regularly dons this costume for Arizona protests to raise awareness of the violent pro-Trump QAnon conspiracy theory—was charged with knowingly entering or remaining in a restricted building without lawful authority, and with violent entry and disorderly conduct on Capitol grounds.
Jake Angeli was photographed inside the Senate chamber on Wednesday.
Investigators have tracked down a handful of participants in the days since the extraordinary insurrection—many of whom broadcasted their own participation.
On Friday afternoon, the self-described white nationalist who allegedly stormed Pelosi’s office and posed for gleeful photos at her desk was charged with theft of public property among other offenses.
Richard Barnett, a 60-year-old from Arkansas, showed off a personalized envelope he took from Pelosi’s office and told The New York Times: “I left a quarter on her desk.”
Another man, Cleveland Grover Meredith Jr., was charged with making interstate threats to the Speaker after allegedly texting a friend about “putting a bullet in [Pelosi’s] noggin on Live TV.”
According to CNN, Meredith also told friends he was coming to Washington with “a shit ton of ... armor piercing ammo,” and texted about running over Pelosi.
Meredith previously caused a stir by erecting a giant billboard reading “#QANON” near his car wash in Acworth, Georgia. He was also spotted carrying a rifle to counter-protest a Black Lives Matter demonstration this summer, telling a local paper he disagreed with “the violence surrounding” the BLM movement.
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Doug Jensen, a 41-year-old Des Moines resident seen confronting a police officer during the Capitol riot while dressed in a QAnon t-shirt, was arrested on five charges and fired from his job as a laborer at Forrest & Associate Masonry.
Derrick Evans, a West Virginia state delegate who live-streamed the riot, was also arrested on charges of entering a restricted area of the U.S. Capitol. He resigned on Saturday.
Lonnie Coffman, a 70-year-old man from Alabama, was arrested after the feds discovered he came to the riot allegedly armed with a small arsenal, including a semi-automatic rifle, 11 Molotov cocktails and homemade napalm.
So far, prosecutors have filed federal charges in over a dozen criminal cases. Another 40 cases have been filed in Washington, D.C. Superior Court, including charges for unlawful entry, curfew violations, and firearms crimes.
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