Please ensure Javascript is enabled for purposes of website accessibility
3 Active-Duty Marines Charged in Jan. 6 Capitol Riot
gvw_ap_news
By Associated Press
Published 2 years ago on
January 21, 2023

Share

Getting your Trinity Audio player ready...

A Marine who said he was waiting for “Civil war 2” and two other active-duty members of the military have been charged with participating in the riot at the U.S. Capitol, authorities said in newly filed court papers.

Micah Coomer, Joshua Abate and Dodge Dale Hellonen were arrested this week on misdemeanor charges after their fellow Marines helped investigators identify them in footage among the pro-Trump mob on Jan. 6, 2021, according to court papers.

Dozens of people charged in the riot have military backgrounds, but these three are among only a handful on active duty. A Marine Corps officer seen on camera scuffling with police and helping other members of the mob force their way into the Capitol was charged in 2021.

No defense lawyers for the men were listed in the court docket, so it was not immediately clear whether they have attorneys to comment on their behalf.

Their service records show they are all active-duty Marines. Maj. Kevin Stephensen, a spokesman for the Marine Corps, said it is aware of the allegations and “is fully cooperating with appropriate authorities in support of the investigation.”

Coomer, of Indiana, is stationed in Southern California’s Camp Pendleton; Abate, of Virginia, is at Fort Meade in Maryland; and Hellonen, of Michigan, is stationed at North Carolina’s Camp Lejeune, according to the Marines.

‘Everything in This Country Is Corrupt’ One Said

The men spent about 52 minutes inside the Capitol, authorities say. At one point while in the rotunda, they put a red “Make American Great Again” hat on a statue to take pictures with it, according to court papers. Hellonen was carrying a “Don’t Tread on Me” flag, authorities said.

Coomer posted photos on Instagram that appeared to be taken inside the Capitol with the caption “Glad to be apart of history,” according to court documents. Days after the 2020 election, he and another person discussed over Instagram message how he believed the election was rigged.

And in late January 2021, he told another person in a message that “everything in this country is corrupt.”

“We honestly need a fresh restart. I’m waiting for the boogaloo,” Coomer wrote in a message detailed in court documents. When asked by the person what’s “a boogaloo,” Coomer responded “Civil war 2,” authorities said.

The boogaloo is an anti-government, pro-gun extremist movement. Its name is a reference to a slang term for a sequel — in this case, a second U.S. civil war. The movement is named after “Breakin’ 2: Electric Boogaloo,” a 1984 sequel to a movie about breakdancing.

Supporters have shown up at protests over COVID-19 lockdown orders and protests over racial injustice, carrying rifles and wearing tactical gear over Hawaiian shirts. The shirts are a reference to “big luau,” a riff on the term “boogaloo” sometimes favored by group members.

During an interview related to his security clearance in June, Abate acknowledged walking through the Capitol with two “buddies,” investigators said. Abate said they “walked around and tried not to get hit with tear gas.”

Abate Worked with NSA

The Pentagon said Abate was assigned to the Marine Cryptologic Support Battalion, which supports the National Security Agency. One of the largest U.S. intelligence agencies, the NSA spies on electronic communications around the world and has a critical role in deterring cyberattacks and foreign influence operations.

A spokesperson for the NSA declined to answer questions about when the agency learned of Abate’s statement that he had entered the Capitol or if it took action prior to his arrest to restrict his access to classified information.

The trio face charges including illegal entry and disorderly conduct.

Many Active Duty and Ex-Military Were Among Jan. 6 Rioters

Among Jan. 6 defendants with military backgrounds are members of the far-right extremist group the Oath Keepers, accused of plotting to violently keep President Donald Trump in power. The group’s leader, Stewart Rhodes, a former Army paratrooper, was convicted of seditious conspiracy in November.

A Navy reservist from Virginia accused of storming the Capitol was convicted this week on charges that he illegally possessed silencers disguised to look like innocuous cleaning supplies. Hatchet Speed is scheduled to go on trial in his Jan. 6 case later this year.

And a former U.S. Army reservist described by prosecutors as a Nazi sympathizer was convicted of storming the Capitol to obstruct Congress from certifying President Joe Biden’s electoral victory. Timothy Hale-Cusanelli, who was employed as a security contractor at a Navy base, was sentenced to four years in prison in September.

Nearly 1,000 people have been charged so far in the riot and the tally increases by the week. Almost 500 people have pleaded guilty to riot-related charges and more than three dozen have been convicted at trial.

DON'T MISS

What Are Fresno Real Estate Experts Predicting for 2025 and Beyond?

DON'T MISS

First California EV Mandates Hit Automakers This Year. Most Are Not Even Close

DON'T MISS

Trump Compares Russia and Ukraine to Children Fighting

DON'T MISS

Trump Administration Imposes Sanctions on Four ICC Judges in Unprecedented Move

DON'T MISS

SpaceX Will Decommission Dragon Spacecraft, Musk Says as Feud With Trump Escalates

DON'T MISS

Erika Sandoval Gets Life Sentence in Notorious Tulare County Murder

DON'T MISS

Israeli Military Strikes Beirut’s Southern Suburbs

DON'T MISS

We Are Being Governed by the Trump Organization Inc.

DON'T MISS

Wondrous Webster Has the Makings of a Wonderful Family Member

DON'T MISS

Trump Threatens Musk’s Government Deals as Feud Explodes Over Tax-Cut Bill

DON'T MISS

Fresno Police Want Your Tips to Solve Taylor Washington Homicide

DON'T MISS

Derek Carr Explains Mysterious Retirement. He Didn’t Want to ‘Just Take the Saints’ Money’

UP NEXT

American Doctors Are Moving to Canada To Escape the Trump Administration

UP NEXT

Loretta Swit, Emmy-winner Who Played Houlihan on Pioneering TV Series ‘M.A.S.H.,’ Has Died at 87

UP NEXT

1 in 4 US Children Have Parents With Substance Use Disorder, Study Finds

UP NEXT

Dozens Sickened in Expanding Salmonella Outbreak Linked to Recalled Cucumbers

UP NEXT

Speaker Johnson Raises Campaign Money in Fresno

UP NEXT

Business Insider Cuts 21% of Workforce, Memo Shows

UP NEXT

Harvard Agrees to Relinquish Early Photos of Slaves, Ending a Long Legal Battle

UP NEXT

Silence on E. Coli Outbreak Highlights How Trump Team’s Changes Undermine Food Safety

UP NEXT

Trump Pardons Tax Cheat After Mother Attends $1 Million Dinner

UP NEXT

NPR Sues Trump Administration Over Executive Order to Cut Funding

Erika Sandoval Gets Life Sentence in Notorious Tulare County Murder

52 minutes ago

Israeli Military Strikes Beirut’s Southern Suburbs

2 hours ago

We Are Being Governed by the Trump Organization Inc.

2 hours ago

Wondrous Webster Has the Makings of a Wonderful Family Member

2 hours ago

Trump Threatens Musk’s Government Deals as Feud Explodes Over Tax-Cut Bill

2 hours ago

Fresno Police Want Your Tips to Solve Taylor Washington Homicide

4 hours ago

Derek Carr Explains Mysterious Retirement. He Didn’t Want to ‘Just Take the Saints’ Money’

5 hours ago

What Do Valley Leaders Say About Trump’s Threat to Yank High-Speed Rail Funding?

5 hours ago

Were Cuts in Rooftop Solar Payments Legal? CA Supreme Court Hears Arguments

5 hours ago

Fresno Rainbow Pride Marks 35th Year with Saturday Parade and Festival

6 hours ago

Trump Compares Russia and Ukraine to Children Fighting

As Germany’s chancellor, Friedrich Merz, sat beside him watching in silence, President Donald Trump compared Russia and Ukraine to two...

41 minutes ago

41 minutes ago

Trump Compares Russia and Ukraine to Children Fighting

48 minutes ago

Trump Administration Imposes Sanctions on Four ICC Judges in Unprecedented Move

52 minutes ago

SpaceX Will Decommission Dragon Spacecraft, Musk Says as Feud With Trump Escalates

52 minutes ago

Erika Sandoval Gets Life Sentence in Notorious Tulare County Murder

2 hours ago

Israeli Military Strikes Beirut’s Southern Suburbs

2 hours ago

We Are Being Governed by the Trump Organization Inc.

Webster, GV Wire's Adoptable Pet of the Week, June 5, 2025
2 hours ago

Wondrous Webster Has the Makings of a Wonderful Family Member

2 hours ago

Trump Threatens Musk’s Government Deals as Feud Explodes Over Tax-Cut Bill

Help continue the work that gets you the news that matters most.

Search

Send this to a friend