Transcripts For CNNW CNN Special Report 20210117 : vimarsana

CNNW CNN Special Report January 17, 2021

On in and yanked our senators out by the hair of the head and drug them out and said no more. Extremists. Conspiracy theorists. Freedom and lawmakers. Were in, were in. Many are now wanted by the fbi. I know that everyone here will soon be marched over to the capitol building. As american patriots, we have to do what we can to take back this country. Were going to walk down, and ill be there with you. What is are you going to do . Whatever we have to do. What do you think 1776 was . On january 6th, thousands of Trump Supporters came to washington, d. C. From all over the country, believing the president s claims about election fraud. But some in this crowd would soon become a mob, launching an attack on the u. S. Capitol. Theyre absolutely domestic terrorists. It is very clear that these are groups that engage in violent, criminal acts for a political purpose. Its that combination of Violent Crime and political ideology or social ideology or racial ideology. Who planned the assault and how were they able to incite hundreds of people to willfully break the law . No one leader has so far emerged. But Fringe Groups were clearly front and center during the attack. Im here to stop the steal. Q stands for qanon, a right wing conspiracy whose followers believe that politicians and celebrities work with governments around the group to engage in child sex abuse and worship satan. The thing thats really alarming about qanon is the speed which the radicalization seems to happen and the number of people being brought into this. Freedom this qanon supporter, with the horns and painted face, was filmed and photographed all over the Capitol Grounds and made no attempt to ground into the crowd. Hes known as the qanon shamen. Hes been seen at other trump rallies in the past. Hes been charged with knowingly entering a Restricted Building Without Lawful Authority and with violent entry and Disorderly Conduct on Capitol Grounds. He told the fbi he was in washington as part of a group effort with other patriots from arizona at the request of President Trump, who called on patriots to go to washington, d. C. On january 6th. His attorney said the president should pardon him and said he did not break into the capitol, because the doors were held for him by capitol police. Chancely is a veteran, he served in the navy from 2005 to 2007. Now hes in a detention center. I think theres no question that the qanon adherence will be looked upon by the fbi and Law Enforcement as a potential threat unto themselves. I think they have proven that, not just the crazy thing thas say on the internet, but in a way that add heer whether tha driving from North Carolina with your ar15 and shooting up a pizza restaurant or going to the capitol, this is a serious threat and extremist idealology that we have to keep an eye on. Hes not the only one arrested and charged. Watch as this Police Officer faces a mob headed towards the senate chamber. The officer runs up to the second floor. The man in front follows him and lured away from an entrance to the senate chamber. This man is wearing a qanon tshirt. Hes tweeted about qanon and retweeted other supporters. He was arrested back in des moines, iowa, charges he now faces violent entry, and blocking Law Enforcement during the riot. Both doug jenson and jacob chancely traveled to d. C. From out of state. Whether they came intending to break into the capitol is still unknown. Every time we talk about the attack on the capitol of january 6, 2021, we need to keep in mind what their purpose was. And their purpose was to delay or prevent the certification of the vote in the president ial election of 2020. This was not random acts of violence. This was not a crowd that just happened to get out of control. This was a planned event. You really dont end up with a crowd of that size, of that direction, of that cohesiveness, without a significant degree of preplanning and premeditation. That takes all sorts of forms. But primarily, its communication. Communication to likeminded individuals to recruit people, to travel in many cases very long distances, to draw people to spend their own money and time, to travel here to the capitol to engage in that activity. So that doesnt happen spontaneously. I think we know for many people who have been arrested, many folks live far away from the d. C. Area. So theres clearly a high degree of planning and premeditation to pull together a crowd like that here. Capitol hill Police Officers were vastly outnumbered by the crowd that day. Officer michael fenome was in this group of police at one of the entrances. The attacker there is eventually pulled him outside, where he said he was tasered several times. I remember guys were tripping me of my gear, three rioters pulling my badge off my chest, they ripped my radio off my vest and started pulling like ammunition magazines from their holder. And then some guy started getting ahold of my gun and they were screaming out, kill him with his own gun. At that point, you know, it was just like selfpreservation. You know, how i survived this situation. And i though aught using deadly force, i thought about shooting people. And then i just came to the conclusion that if i was to do that, i might get a few, but im not going to take everybody, and theyll probably take my gun away from me and that would give them the justification they were looking for to kill me, if they hadnt made that up in their minds. The other option was to try to appeal to somebodys humanity, and i just remember yelling out that i have kids, and it seemed to work. This video shows the mob storming into a tunnel of the capitol building, where they were crushing d. C. Officer Daniel Hodges at the door. There was a guy that ripped my mask off and took my baton and beat me with it. He was practically foaming at the mouth. These people were true believers in the worst way. [ screaming ] thing i was i was calling out. An officer brought me to the rear, so i was able to extricate myself. Officer fanone said there were some in the mob that tried to help them, but he says they should have never been there in the first place. I think the conclusion i come to is like, thank you. But [ bleep ] you for being there. There were warning signs online from extremists. This talks about operation occupy the capitol and called on others to attack the buildings on january 6. It reads, we will storm the government buildings, kill cops, kill federal employ es and agents and demand a recount. One read, trump or war, today, that simple. And some of the attackers on january 6 did seem to want war. This is eric from tennessee. He was photographed with zip ties, plastic restraints and Law Enforcement says he had an item in a holster on his right hip and wearing paramilitary gear. Hes been charged with entering restricted grounds without authority and one count of Disorderly Conduct on Capitol Grounds. This is larry brock from texas, a retired air force reserve officer and seen holding a white flex cuff, used by Law Enforcement to detain suspects, according to a Court Document supporting his arrest. The fbi found brock after a woman who said she was his exwife recognized his photo. Prosecutors say he may have intended to restrain lawmakers evacuated from the senate floor before he and other rioters broke in. He told the new yorker magazine he picked them up from the ground, and he was opposed to vandalizing the capitol. Hes been charged with one count of knowing entering restriked grounds without authority and one count of violent entry and Disorderly Conduct on Capitol Grounds. You continue bring click armor and a kevlar helmet to a conversation, or even a protest. You bring that sort of gear with you, you bring handcuffs with you because you expect to have to take people into custody. You bring the kevlar suit and armor because youre worried about getting shot. I think its a great indicator of what these folks expected to encounter during the riot. Not every rioter in the capitol belongs to a fringe movement. And not everyone came ready for war. The doors to the capitol are open. I think what we saw at the capitol was really the coming together of several different strands of political affinity. One is sort of the dyed in the wool trump protestors. Another is the radicalized qanon conspiracy believers. Finally, we have a third group, which is the subject of my research, which is the more radicalized, longer term activists in the white power movement. And that movement, you know, since the late 1970s and early 80s has attempted to overthrow the government through violent means, has brought together extremists from neonazi clans and militia groups and helped to create this sort of cell driven, leaderless activism on the militant right. Its really kind of a fascinating aspect to think of President Trumps appeal to such a broad Cross Section of extremists. So in these crowds, and in that crowd on january 6th, you have white supremists, you have the proud boys, you have antigovernment groups, just right leaning political groups, you have the Conspiracy Theory folks from qanon and other groups. On the domestic terrorism side, we are much more used to seeing divisions between those niche groups. It seems they have all now been united behind a common cause. And that common cause is President Trump and holding him up as their leader. Not just politically, but spiritually and emotionally. Its a really fascinating, and i think dangerous combination of different groups. A dangerous combination of different groups and individuals that led to death that day in the capitol. Authorities have arrested more than 40 people on federal charges in connection with the riots. Theyre asking for more help from the public. Tips, videos, photos, thig that can help them build their case against those charged and those theyre searching for. There are hundreds still on the loose, and a manhunt on the way for some who may have been planning violence in the near future. We cannot do our job without the help of the american people. If you have information, contact 1800callfbi or submit photos and videos to fbi. Gon uscapitol. Still a father. But now a friend. Still an electric car. Just more electrifying. Still a night out. But everything fits in. Still hard work. Just a little easier. Still a legend. Just more legendary. Chevrolet. Making lifes journey, just better. 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It was captured on a recording by one of her staffers. Her staff hid inside that room for more than two hours. Rioters made it into the speakers private office, where they damaged property and stole items. This man, Richard Barnett of arkansas, was photographed with his foot up on a staffers desk and later filmed outside with some of Nancy Pelosis stationery. Im in her office. I had my foot on her desk. He told a local new station, he had a right to be in the speakers office. I was sitting at my desk. That aint her desk. I threw my feet up on the desk. Hes been arrested and charged with entering restricted grounds without lawful entry, and theft of public money, property, or records. This man posted a selfie, smoking a cigarette with the caption, hello from the capitol, lol. He also spoke to the media, claiming he was there as a journalist. His name is nick oaks, the founder of the hawaii chapter of the socalled proud boys. Proud boys is a extremist group. Some members espouse White Supremacy ideology. We have pictures of them flashing hand signs. So we can think of that group as sort of an armed white power group that has become a de facto Security Force for various trump rallies and on the ground force of violence and other places. The socalled proud boys say they reject racism. Other groups at the capitol that day were clearly affiliated with the White Supremacy movement. Experts say signs of white power activism were all over the capitol during the riot. What we have to remember is that white power is designed not as a rigid system of groups that are distinct from one another, but as a social landscape that people regularly move through. Those kinds of connections and that circulation of activists is part of the reason that is critical, not to look at any one of these events as isolated but to think about the movement as something much bigger and much more interconnected. So the action at the capitol, which included a variety of these activists, probably also included some people who wouldnt affiliate with any group but do contribute to them. And probably also included some people that dont make their enemies known. This rioter was clear about his affinity, and his display of the confederate flag. Although there are clear traces of extremism on what we saw january 6, it went far beyond anything we have experienced here. Im not sure that the confederate battle flag has ever been displayed in the United States capitol. And so it was a tragic moment to see those photographs from that individual walk through the rotunda bearing the confederate battle flag. His name, according to authorities is kevin sigfreud from delaware. Hes been charged with Disorderly Conduct and degradation of government property. He was arrested with his son, hunter, who faces the same charges for his role. This is derek evans, a lawmaker from west virginia, who broke the law instead of upholding it. According to authorities, he participated in the breakin at the capitol. A supporter of President Trump and was with some of the rioters when they breached the capitol. Our house, move, move were in were in lets go he was arrested and charged with one count of knowingly entering a Restricted Building Without Lawful Authority and one count of Disorderly Conduct on Capitol Grounds. He claimed he was filming the breakin as a member of the media, and his lawyer said he was forced into the building due to the crowd size. He was released after a Court Hearing and soon after that, he resigned from office. Evans was a politician who was safe from the rioters. But it would have likely been much different if the rioters found the lawmakers in the capitol. I cant emphasize how serious what transpired on january 6th is. From my perspective, it is fortunate for the country that this was not a mass casualty event. Judging from the fact that there has now emerged to be individuals who were was to engage in violence. I think were incredibly lucky that they didnt get their hands on any of the political figures of significance, particularly figures like Speaker Pelosi and others who have drawn their attention. I cant say whether any specific individuals the that group, you know, had the specific intent to go find and seek out individual members. But that is something that is definitely part of the ongoing fbi investigation. And as they get more people in custody and more people begin talking about what they were thinking, how they planned and executed the attack, those are the kind of facts that the fbi would be looking for. The fbi and federal prosecutors are looking not only into who participated in the attack on january 6th, but also who helped plan it. The investigation could include some elected officials. Were looking at significant felony cases tied to sedition and conspiracy. Our Office Organized a strike force of very Senior National security prosecutors and public prosecutors, their only marching orders from me are to build seditious and conspiracy charges

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