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FBI Special Agent Jeremy Desor said the videos revealed that during the melee Straka was part of a crowd on their way to a door on the Capitol. Desor does not claim that Straka entered the building, but says that as others tried to charge through the entrance, the activist shouted, “Come on! Go!”
Desor said that when a Capitol Hill police officer tried to fight his way through the crowd with a riot shield on his head, Straka urged others to tear it off him.
“Take it away from him,” Straka reportedly shouted. “Take it! Take it!”
Straka gained notoriety in the media during Trump’s efforts to reverse President-elect Joe Biden’s victory. Straka has spoken at various previous Stop the Steal events in Capitol Hill, Michigan and elsewhere. According to the complaint, he said he was supposed to speak at such a rally at the Capitol on January 6, but that event was scuttled after the riot broke out and police evacuated the crowd.
In his speech the day before the riot, Straka called the audience “patriots” and repeatedly referred to a “revolution,” Desor said. Straka also told attendees to “fight back” and added: “We are sending a message to the Democrats, we are not leaving, you have a problem!” the agent reported.
In media appearances, Straka has described himself as a Manhattan-based gay ex-liberal. He and his “#walkaway” slogan have become a favorite in some conservative neighborhoods over the past two years, featured on programs such as the “Judge Jeanine” show on Fox News.
Court records show that the criminal complaint against Straka was approved by a federal magistrate in Washington last Tuesday.
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