Please ensure Javascript is enabled for purposes of website accessibility
Feds: Capitol Mob Aimed to 'Assassinate' Elected Officials
gvw_ap_news
By Associated Press
Published 3 years ago on
January 15, 2021

Share

PHOENIX — The pro-Trump mob that stormed the U.S. Capitol last week aimed to “capture and assassinate elected officials,” federal prosecutors said in court documents.

The revelation came in a motion prosecutors filed late Thursday in the case against Jacob Chansley, the Arizona man who took part in the insurrection while sporting face paint, no shirt and a furry hat with horns.

The details, tucked into the court papers, shed new light on the seriousness of the Capitol riot. They suggest that investigators believe there was a much more organized effort afoot, despite claims from rioters that it was a spontaneous outburst of anger over the election and President Donald Trump’s loss. Trump had been repeating baseless claims of election fraud for weeks.

Prosecutors say that after Chansley climbed up to the dais where Vice President Mike Pence had been presiding moments earlier, Chansley wrote a threatening note to Pence that said: “It’s only a matter of time, justice is coming.”

Pence and congressional leaders had been ushered out of the chamber by the Secret Service and U.S. Capitol Police before the rioters stormed into the room.

“Strong evidence, including Chansley’s own words and actions at the Capitol, supports that the intent of the Capitol rioters was to capture and assassinate elected officials in the United States Government,” prosecutors wrote in their memo urging the judge to keep Chansley behind bars.

Gerald Williams, Chansley’s attorney, didn’t return a phone call and email Friday morning seeking comment. A detention hearing is scheduled in his case for later Friday.

The FBI has been investigating whether any of the rioters had plotted to kidnap members of Congress and hold them hostage, focusing particularly on the men seen carrying plastic zip-tie handcuffs and pepper spray.

Prosecutors raised a similar prospect on Friday in the case of a former Air Force officer who they alleged carried plastic zip-tie handcuffs because he intended “to take hostages.” But so far, the Justice Department has not publicly released any specific evidence on the plots or explained how the rioters planned to carry them out.

Chansley, who calls himself the “QAnon Shaman” and has long been a fixture at Trump rallies, surrendered to the FBI field office in Phoenix on Saturday.

QAnon Is an Apocalyptic and Convoluted Conspiracy Theory Spread Largely Through the Internet

News photos show him at the riot shirtless, with his face painted and wearing a fur hat with horns, carrying a U.S. flag attached to a wooden pole topped with a spear.

QAnon is an apocalyptic and convoluted conspiracy theory spread largely through the internet and promoted by some right-wing extremists.

Chansley told investigators he came to the Capitol “at the request of the president that all ‘patriots’ come to D.C. on January 6, 2021.” An indictment unsealed Tuesday in Washington charges him with civil disorder, obstruction of an official proceeding, disorderly conduct in a restricted building, and demonstrating in a Capitol building.

More than 80 people are facing charges stemming from the violence, including more than 40 people in federal court. Dozens more were arrested for violating a curfew that night. The federal charges brought so far are primarily for crimes such as illegal entry, but prosecutors have said they are weighing more serious charges against at least some of the rioters. Some were highly-trained ex-military and police.

Michael Sherwin, acting U.S. attorney for the District of Columbia, said this week that he has organized a group of national security and public corruption prosecutors whose sole focus is to bring sedition charges for the “most heinous acts that occurred in the Capitol.”

During a hearing in Texas on Thursday, a prosecutor urged a judge to keep Col. Larry Rendall Brock Jr. locked up, saying the man meant to “take hostages.” Brock was arrested Sunday in Texas after being photographed on the Senate floor during the deadly riot wearing a helmet and heavy vest and carrying plastic zip-tie handcuffs.

“He means to kidnap, restrain, perhaps try, perhaps execute members of the U.S. government,” Assistant U.S. Attorney Jay Weimer said, without providing specifics.

Brock’s attorney, Brook Antonio II, noted that he has only been charged with misdemeanors. Antonio said there was no direct evidence of Brock breaking doors or windows to get into the Capitol, or doing anything violent once he was inside.

RELATED TOPICS:

DON'T MISS

LA Police Make Arrest in Murder of Fresno Human Trafficking Fighter’s Daughter

DON'T MISS

Fresno Man Charged With Murder in Woman’s Fentanyl Death

DON'T MISS

Kendrick Lamar and Drake’s Feud: A Timeline

DON'T MISS

Stock Market Today: Wall Street Drifts to a Mixed Finish in a Quiet Day of Trading

DON'T MISS

US Service Member Shot and Killed by Florida Police Identified by the Air Force

DON'T MISS

Fresno Area Elementary School Teams With Quiq Labs for STEAM Exploration

DON'T MISS

Four-Time Grammy Winner Debuts Song Inspired by College Protests

DON'T MISS

Planned Fresno Probation Gun Buyback Program Runs Afoul of State Law and SEIU

DON'T MISS

Watch: Israel’s Oversized Influence in American Elections

DON'T MISS

Own a Business? Learn How to Get a Piece of the $5.5 Billion Visa/Mastercard Settlement

UP NEXT

Four-Time Grammy Winner Debuts Song Inspired by College Protests

UP NEXT

Watch: Israel’s Oversized Influence in American Elections

UP NEXT

Own a Business? Learn How to Get a Piece of the $5.5 Billion Visa/Mastercard Settlement

UP NEXT

Boy Scouts of America Changing Name to More Inclusive Scouting America After Years of Woes

UP NEXT

Thief Uses Sleight of Hand to Swipe $255K Tiffany Ring, Cops Say

UP NEXT

Pulitzer Prizes in Journalism Awarded to The New York Times, The Washington Post, AP and Others

UP NEXT

A Subset of Alzheimer’s May Be Caused by Two Copies of a Single Gene: New Research

UP NEXT

Liar, Liar: Potential Trump VP Pick Noem’s Claims Are on Fire

UP NEXT

Merced’s Treacherous ‘Tunnel Lane’ Removed from Northbound Highway 99

UP NEXT

US Airstrike Targeting Al-Qaida Leader in Syria Killed a Farmer, American Military Says

Stock Market Today: Wall Street Drifts to a Mixed Finish in a Quiet Day of Trading

13 hours ago

US Service Member Shot and Killed by Florida Police Identified by the Air Force

13 hours ago

Fresno Area Elementary School Teams With Quiq Labs for STEAM Exploration

14 hours ago

Four-Time Grammy Winner Debuts Song Inspired by College Protests

14 hours ago

Planned Fresno Probation Gun Buyback Program Runs Afoul of State Law and SEIU

14 hours ago

Watch: Israel’s Oversized Influence in American Elections

16 hours ago

Own a Business? Learn How to Get a Piece of the $5.5 Billion Visa/Mastercard Settlement

17 hours ago

Special Report: How a 1965 Law Makes It Hard for the Poor to Get Mental Health Treatment

17 hours ago

CA Restaurants Shouldn’t Be Shocked That ‘Junk Fees’ Ban Applies to Them

19 hours ago

Did California’s Massive COVID Homeless Shelter Program Work? A New Evaluation Probes the Results

19 hours ago

LA Police Make Arrest in Murder of Fresno Human Trafficking Fighter’s Daughter

On Monday, the Los Angeles Police Department arrested a 14-year-old girl for the March murder of Kendra McIntyre, the daughter of Breaking t...

12 hours ago

12 hours ago

LA Police Make Arrest in Murder of Fresno Human Trafficking Fighter’s Daughter

12 hours ago

Fresno Man Charged With Murder in Woman’s Fentanyl Death

12 hours ago

Kendrick Lamar and Drake’s Feud: A Timeline

13 hours ago

Stock Market Today: Wall Street Drifts to a Mixed Finish in a Quiet Day of Trading

13 hours ago

US Service Member Shot and Killed by Florida Police Identified by the Air Force

14 hours ago

Fresno Area Elementary School Teams With Quiq Labs for STEAM Exploration

14 hours ago

Four-Time Grammy Winner Debuts Song Inspired by College Protests

14 hours ago

Planned Fresno Probation Gun Buyback Program Runs Afoul of State Law and SEIU

MENU

CONNECT WITH US

Search

Send this to a friend