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Accused Capitol Hill rioter Anthony Antonio appears on CNN to apologize for participating and blame Donald Trump for his actions (screenshot)
One of the suspected Capitol rioters took to CNN to apologize for his actions and blame Donald Trump for calling on him and others to attack the Capitol.
Anthony Antonio appeared on CNN Friday to deliver a mea culpa for his participation in the botched insurgency that has left five people dead.
He said he visited Washington on the day of the riot because Mr. Trump had indicated he wanted the event to be “big” and “savage.”
“The President of the United States, who was still President of the United States at the time, calls us all in Washington,” Antonio said. “‘Let’s go check it out. Let’s see why he’s calling us in Washington.'”
Mr Antonio also took the opportunity to apologize to a Capitol Hill police officer whom he assaulted during the riot and to blame himself and the former president.
“He called people in Washington DC that day. He said ‘get down to the Capitol.’ Personally, I wouldn’t have walked down Pennsylvania Avenue and walked to the Capitol, on the grass of the Capitol …” , did he declare. “I told you where I had to go. I had to go to Freedom Plaza, that was my plan … so [Mr Trump] didn’t say ‘get down to the Capitol’, I wouldn’t have come down to the Capitol. “
Since the day of the uprising, 465 people have been arrested for attacking the Capitol, and that number is likely to rise as the Justice Department uncovers more evidence.
At least 50 of the rioters served or served in the military.
The Justice Department said the Capitol investigation is possibly the most complex it has ever undertaken. Not only are there hundreds of indictments against individual rioters, investigators are also trying to build a conspiracy case against the Proud Boys and Three Percenter and Oath Keeper gangs for their coordinated attacks on Capitol Police.
Many rioters on Capitol Hill tried to escape or reduce their charges by accusing Mr. Trump of instigating the event.
The story continues
Perhaps the most notable of the rioters using this tusk is Jacob Chansley, better known as the buffalo headdress wearing “QAnon Shaman”.
Mr Chansley’s defense attorney Albert Watkins drew criticism and condemnation when he suggested his client and other accused rioters “had brain damage” and were “people who took buses short”.
He also claimed that the accused rioters were not “bad people,” but said they were brainwashed by Mr. Trump’s propaganda, which he compared to Hitler’s.
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