[ad_1]
The Department of Justice announced that six California men, four of whom identify as members of the “Three Percenter” militia, were indicted Jan. 6 with conspiracy to obstruct Congress.
The indictment, unveiled Thursday, alleges that the group orchestrated travel to the capital with the declared intent to “fight”, responding to President Trump’s call to protest the results of the presidential election. Prosecutors said some of the defendants were wearing tactical gear and at least one carried a knife as he crossed a police line at the Capitol.
The case represents the first conspiracy indictment filed against members of the Three Percenters, an extremist anti-government group that, according to the Anti-Defamation League, derives its name from an inaccurate claim that only 3% of American colonists fought against the British during this period. Revolutionary War, likening the US government today to British colonialism.
They are the third militia or extremist groups to be cited in a conspiracy case linked to the Capitol riots. Already, federal prosecutors have indicted 16 alleged department guards in one conspiracy case, and 15 alleged or affiliated members of the Proud Boys have been indicted in four separate conspiracy cases. The Justice Department had previously indicted at least four other troublemakers it said were affiliated with the Three Percenters organization.
Alan Hoster speaks during a pro-Trump “election integrity” rally he organized at the Orange County Voter Registration Office in Santa Ana, California, on November 9, 2020. Paul Bersebach/MediaNews Group/Orange County Register via Getty Images
The defendants, Alan Hoster, 56, Russell Taylor, 40, Eric Warner, 45, Felipe Antonio “Tony” Martinez, 47, Derek Kinison, 39, and Ronald Milley, 51, are charged with crimes that included conspiracy to obstruct official proceedings. , obstruction of formalities, and other illegal entry fees.
The indictment — which was first reported by Seamus Hughes, director of the extremism program at George Washington University — also alleges that at least four members of the group discussed plans to bring firearms and other weapons to Washington, but only charged one defendant, Taylor, with Illegal possession of a dangerous weapon, a knife, in the Capitol.
The attack on the US Capitol is more
Taylor is the director of the American Phoenix Project, a group that Hoster founded in the spring of 2020 to protest government-imposed pandemic restrictions.
Only one of the accused, Warner, is alleged to have entered the Capitol, though the other five are accused of joining rioters in Upper West Terrace, an area of the Capitol where officers suffered the most brutal battles.
After the November presidential election, prosecutors allege Hostetter used the American Phoenix Project group to promote violence in response to the results. On November 27, 2020, Hostetter posted a video on the American Phoenix Project’s YouTube channel in which he promoted 6 conspiracy theories about the 2020 election – false allegations that then-President Trump’s votes were “stolen”. “Some people at the highest levels need to be exemplified by one or two or three executions,” he said.
In December, after Mr. Trump tweeted about the planned January 6 gathering, stating it was “going to be wild,” members of the group began making plans. Taylor posted a link to Mr Trump’s tweet and asked “Who’s going?”
Evidence in the indictment indicates that he went to Washington with the intention of targeting the Capitol. On December 29, Taylor posted on encrypted messaging app Telegram, “I personally want to be on the front and be one of the first to break through the doors!”
On January 1, Taylor created a group on Telegram called “California Patriots DC Brigade”. All six defendants joined, along with more than 30 others.
“Many of us have never met before and we are all ready and ready to fight,” Taylor wrote in the chat. The goal, he said, was “to organize a group of fighters who support each other’s backs and ensure that no one tramples on our rights.”
Taylor asked group members to specify if they had previous experience in the military or law enforcement, and wrote, “I suppose you have some sort of gun that you bring with you and plates as well,” referring to body armor.
Prior to their trip to the capital, prosecutors said the group used Telegram and other online platforms to discuss travel plans, trade in what weapons to bring and set up radio channels to coordinate while in the Capitol. In multiple discussions online, members of the group made disguised gestures to fetch the weapons.
Hostetter texted Taylor that he would be traveling to DC on December 31 and asked if they could “call” the day before, “so you can give me the backpack,” he wrote, adding three “hatchet” emojis.
Taylor replied, “Oh my God, I want to pack that.” “Alan, do you bring firearms?”
Hostetter replied, “Never (Instagram now monitors all text messages…this was a public service announcement)”, followed by three laughing-crying emojis.
In a January 1 post, Kenison wrote to the group that he intended to drive from California to DC, “because our baggage will be too heavy.” He said he, Millie and Martinez planned to bring in “a lot of equipment,” including medical equipment, radios, multiple cans of bear spray, knives, flags, goggles and helmets.
The group discussed what guns could be carried in the capital – a city known for its strict gun laws – and Taylor suggested bringing an ax, bat or a large metal flashlight.
“I think you can only carry most fixed blades and not in government buildings,” Taylor said. “Something tells me though that if we were inside government buildings he wouldn’t be at the top of our list.”
The group also discussed bringing in firearms, according to the indictment, although no firearms violation was charged. Kenison wrote to his other co-conspirators asking if they wanted to bring a “pistol” and “another long iron.” Millie wrote to the group, “The shorter the better. Mine would be able to hide under the seat. I’ll get it. 18” barrel. “
Prosecutors said Kenison sent a selfie-style photo that showed him with a bandolier of rifle ammunition around his body, and wrote, “I got a bandolier.”
The group arrived in D.C. before the January 6 rally, and Taylor, as director of the American Phoenix Project, spoke at a separate January 5 rally in front of the US Supreme Court.
According to prosecutors, Taylor said in his speech, “I stand here in the streets with you in defiance of a communist coup that is set to take over America. … We are free Americans and on these streets we will fight and bleed. Before we allow our freedom to be taken from us.”
At about 11:30 p.m. that night, the indictment stated that Taylor posted a photo on an encrypted messaging service that showed equipment arranged on a bed: a khaki backpack, a black carrying jacket, two hats, a wireless radio, and a lightning rod. Helmet, scarf and knife. He wrote: “Now I am preparing for tomorrow.”
Prosecutors allege that on January 6 Taylor wore a body armor, carried a knife in his jacket pocket and carried a lightning rod in his bag. During Mr Trump’s address in the morning, prosecutors said Hostetter and Taylor stayed outside the Ellipse safe zone because they were carrying items that weren’t allowed inside under Secret Service regulations.
Later in the day, prosecutors said Hoster and Taylor, still carrying his knife, joined the rioters in the West Terrace basement of the Capitol as they attempted to infiltrate a string of law enforcement officers. Taylor said, “Move the Americans forward!” He turned to the officers a few meters away from him, and said, “Last chance guys, go away!”
Taylor and Hosteter allegedly then pushed the two officers onto Upper West Terrace, and Taylor yelled at the other hooligans, “Inside!” Before moving towards the Capitol. Later, Taylor texted other people to say that despite “breaking into the capital,” he did not enter the building because he “had weapons.”
At around 6:15 p.m., Taylor wrote on Telegram: “I’ve been pushing traitors all day. We’ve stormed DC!”
Later that night, someone texted Taylor to ask what would happen next. He replied: “Rebellion!”
.
[ad_2]
Picture Credit!