Trump supporters who raped the Capitol: ‘It wasn’t Antifa’

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Many of the alleged rioters accused have also embraced this plot. But according to a CNN review of court documents, nearly a dozen defendants explicitly pushed back, saying they and other Trump supporters deserve credit for storming Capitol Hill – not Antifa .

“There are a lot of memes and messages going around saying that the people who were fighting last night were all Antifa provocateurs etc.”, the accused Jose Padilla allegedly posted on Facebook a day after the attack January 6. “I just want to say that as a first-hand observer of every point from last night, it wasn’t Antifa. It was patriots trying to restore the Republic.”

Another suspected Capitol rioter, Jonathan Mellis, posted: “Don’t try to tell me people blame this on the antifa and the BLM. We proudly take responsibility for storming the castle.” He also used a vulgar term to imply that leftist groups were too cowardly to carry out an attack.

Padilla and Mellis are among the defendants who are accused of assaulting police officers in addition to trespassing offenses. Prosecutors say Mellis hit officers with a large stick and that Padilla used a large metal Trump sign as a ram against the police line.

None of these men pleaded, and no lawyers were entered in the court register.

Their comments undermine the baseless plot that shifts responsibility from Trump’s most ardent supporters onto Trump’s opponents. Even some prominent Republicans have disowned the false flag theory, but the narrative is alive and well in some GOP circles.

At least one speaker at CPAC this week promoted the lie, although he admitted that some Trump supporters participated in the assault on Capitol Hill. Conservative radio host Wayne Dupree said: “Antifa was there, BLM was there, the people at MAGA were there, everyone was there.”

In a Senate hearing Tuesday on security failures, Republican Senator Ron Johnson of Wisconsin brazenly promoted false claims that the crowd was full of “bogus Trump protesters” and “agent provocateurs.” Most Republicans on the panel did not accept these conspiracies.
A Capitol riot accused called on GOP lawmakers for blaming Antifa. Thomas Robertson, a police officer from Rocky Mount, Va., Touted his ties to law enforcement and conservative groups. He has since been fired from the police department, according to a press release.

“I was in the Capitol building 2 days ago,” Robertson said on Facebook, according to court documents. “I am a (member of the pro-gun group Virginia Citizens Defense League), a member of the NRA and a soldier and police officer on duty. Damage control by Republicans in DC is trying to say it was to the ANTIFA. “Of course. Did that cause it ?? No.”

He was charged alongside Jacob Fracker, a fellow Rocky Mount police officer who was also fired. The Pentagon says Robertson was previously in the U.S. Army Reserve and deployed to Iraq during the war, and that Fracker is currently a corporal in the Virginia National Guard.

The two men pleaded not guilty Thursday in a virtual federal court hearing in Washington, DC.

Prosecutors said they recovered a video on the phone of one of the infamous “zip tie guys” who was pictured in the Senate chamber holding plastic handcuffs.

In the video, the man was reportedly heard saying, “Don’t break the shit … no vandalizing shit … we’re not a whore of Antifa.”

Another defendant even implored his fellow rioters to be proud of their actions that day.

“Be embarrassed and hide if you need to – but I was there. It wasn’t Antifa on Capitol Hill. It was freedom-loving patriots who were desperate to fight for our Republic’s last hope.” , tweeted Brandon Straka, who spoke at a “Stop the Steal” rally on the eve of the insurgency.

Some of the comments on Antifa by alleged rioters have already been highlighted by the Huffington Post and the Washington Post. At least 265 people face charges related to the attack on the Capitol, although prosecutors say more cases are under seal or are pending.



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