Sequel to Capitol break-in Jan. 6, 2021, Part 5 of 6. (Part 4 was published March 25.)
The FBI has conducted the biggest manhunt in American history to hunt down those who attended the rally, whether they entered the Capitol building or not. They hired 38 different companies to identify and spy on suspects and report anything the Joe Biden administration disagrees with. The suspect’s information ends up on a government database.
As of this writing, of the 725 people arrested, 78 remain in jail, 87 have been sentenced, and 38 received prison time. Eighty were convicted of a misdemeanor. Those who were sentenced to prison served 45 days on average. Seven were convicted of a felony and received sentences of four to six years. A man who waved a Trump flag got eight months. Scott Fairlamb punched a police officer in the face and received a 41-month sentence.
America was never a country that held people in solitary confinement for months without so much as a hearing. Now the U.S. has political prisoners for the first time in history. American citizens, some of whom have committed no violence, remain rotting in prison without so much as a hearing. They have endured horrific abuse. People are being held in egregious conditions absent due process. Most showed up to protest, which does not equate to domestic terrorism. Most have been accused of improperly parading and demonstrating, which is a misdemeanor offense. Some are also accused of assaulting police officers, or seditious conspiracy, which is considered a felony.
FBI Director Chris Wray called it domestic terror. It would be interesting to know how many of those who were arrested and/or convicted, if any, are Antifa, BLM, or left-wing activists. Or did they only arrest and/or prosecute Donald Trump supporters?
QAnon Shaman, aka Jacob Chansler, sauntered (per the video) into the Capitol building with his face painted, carrying a spear, and wearing a Viking fur cap with horns. He was sentenced to 41 months in prison on Nov. 17.
Special DEA Agent Marc Ibrahim was invited to the rally by an FBI informant he served with in Iraq, who encouraged him to enter the Capitol building. He refused but was arrested anyway. He went to the rally because he believes his calling is to protect the people, but he did not enter the building. However, he was forced from his job and indicted for being NEAR the Capitol. He lost his security clearance and faces 15 years in prison for being a domestic terrorist.
Richard Barnett, a 60-year-old from Arkansas, entered the Capitol. There was a large crowd moving into the Capitol and he was pushed in along with the group. A reporter asked him if he wanted to take a picture, and told him to sit at Nancy Pelosi’s desk. He sat down and put his feet on her desk and the reporter took his picture. He was carrying an inoperable stun gun with the batteries removed. He faces 11 years in prison. He turned himself in and was arrested. He was charged with entering a restricted building with a deadly or dangerous weapon, obstructing an official proceeding, parading and demonstrating.
Tim Hale Cuccinelli was a contractor working at a Navy base. He didn’t have a weapon, but he had memes on his phone that said negative things about Joe Biden and Nancy Pelosi, so the FBI spied on him and they took the memes off his phone. They interviewed four dozen of his coworkers and then called him the “Face of White Supremacy.” So, his was a “thought” crime.
Robert Reeder was arrested Feb. 24, 2021, and was charged with entering the Capitol, “parading” in the Capitol and sentenced to three months in prison and a $500 fine on a misdemeanor. He was fired by his employer and his church asked him to stop coming.
Thomas Caldwell, a 67-year-old retired Naval lieutenant commander, was forced to spend weeks in jail even though he never entered the Capitol. He was named “Defendant No. 1” in a conspiracy that claimed he threatened elected leaders. Federal agents in body armor and helmets came to his home before dawn with a SWAT team and an armored vehicle with a battering ram. They called with a bullhorn for him and his wife Sharon Caldwell to come out. They ransacked his house for four and a half hours. They took his computer and family photos. They trashed his 1963 restored Thunderbird, which had belonged to his deceased grandfather. Caldwell had never even had a speeding ticket. They accused him of being the “Commander” of the Oath Keepers, when in fact he was a retired lieutenant commander in the U.S. Navy. He voluntarily gave them a two-hour interview. He said it was obvious they didn’t know anything about him. He spent 53 days in jail. His wife was able to hire an attorney, David Fisher, who saw there was no merit to the charges, and asked to see their evidence and, as they didn’t have any, the judge said he could go home. He remains charged with two counts of conspiracy to obstruct an official proceeding, trespassing charges, tampering with documents (sending text messages). The ordeal has traumatized and bankrupted them. It’s a moral atrocity. Remember, neither he nor his wife went inside the Capitol building – they only went to the rally to hear Trump’s speech.
Couy Griffin, Cowboys for Trump member, didn’t enter the building but was arrested and lectured by a judge for his beliefs in the 2020 election before being put in pretrial detention. So, they put a man in jail for disagreeing – another horrible stain on our country.
One guy was told he could leave jail, but he can’t watch FOX News or anything political anymore. One guy was sent back to jail because he was caught watching a Mike Lindell movie.
Very few have been convicted of a crime unless you consider social media posts, mean thoughts, or memes a crime. On the other hand, several prominent members of the right and left groups have not been charged. On Jan. 5, Oath Keepers member Ray Epps (per video) urged everyone to go into the Capitol the next day. The crowd immediately discounted him, believing he was working as an informant for the FBI and chanted “FED FED FED.” He has not been arrested to this date. Yet there are several videos of him urging protesters to enter the Capitol.
Beverley Scott
Valencia
