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A Washington state man who was involved in an armed brawl at a controversial downtown Portland protest over the weekend has also been charged, along with his son, for his presence in the attack from the Capitol in Washington DC on January 6.
Jeffrey Grace’s continued involvement in far-right street politics since January – which has included trips to the southern border – indicates widespread accusations against those involved in the attack on Capitol Hill have failed to deter at least some pro-Trump activists to continue their direct actions.
Grace, 62, from Battle Ground in southwest Washington, was captured by a photographer at the scene of the clash, which involved anti-fascists on the one hand, and armed right-wing demonstrators on the other.
Some of the protesters appeared to be members of the Proud Boys, which are designated as a hate group by the Southern Poverty Law Center and are banned as a terrorist group in Canada.
Right-wingers, including Grace, had gathered to defend a church service led by Artur Pawlowski, a Polish-Canadian preacher whose events have long drawn anti-fascist counter-protests in Canada and abroad.
Saturday’s service was reportedly disrupted by anti-fascists, leading to street fights involving pepper spray, paintball guns, batons and other weapons. One of the far-right groups was captured by a journalist in front of the camera brandishing a long gun in the streets.
Grace was captured leaving the scene of the fight in the back of a truck, holding a stick.
The next morning on his Instagram account, he admitted that “I came down in favor of a pastor’s right to speak”, and that “we made the perimeter security”.
At another point in the video, Grace said that “people say you can’t fight Antifa with that” raised her fists and continued “well guess what you can”.
Grace uses his social media to promote his online store, where he sells merchandise, including t-shirts with images of the Capitol on the slogan “OUR HOUSE”.
Federal prosecution documents alleged that federal agents found in the recycle bin of Grace’s cell phone a “selfie-style” video of him and an individual believed to be her son Jeremy outside the USCapitol building, all of them. two repeatedly saying: “Our house”.
In interviews with local media, Grace admitted the central accusation in the document: that he entered the Capitol building illegally. Grace did not respond to several Guardian attempts to contact him.
Pawlowski, the preacher, sparked much controversy in his home province of Alberta after taking a series of far-right political positions. He has previously attributed the flooding in Alberta to divine discontent with homosexuality and has participated in anti-containment tiki torch rallies in Calgary.
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