The insurrectionists of 1/6/21 would disagree with the idea that they weren't trying to "stop the steal"...or in other words overturn our system of peaceful exchange of power...or in other words mutiny or insurrection.
Maga can now try to claim otherwise, but they are surely the only ones buying the bullshit.
The article has pictures of each of these insurrectionist traitors. Enjoy.
The truth about the Jan. 6 rioters that Donald Trump calls 'hostages'
The way former President Donald Trump tells it, the men and women who stormed the Capitol because they believed his lies about the 2020 presidential election are "hostages" and “unbelievable patriots” who are being mistreated by the justice system.
But an NBC News review of hundreds of cases against Jan. 6 defendants found that just 15 people charged in connection with the Capitol attack are currently being held pretrial at the order of federal judges. That number of pretrial detainees has decreased in recent months, as more and more Jan. 6 defendants have taken plea deals or been found guilty, and as federal judges have been hesitant to hold new arrestees in pre-trial custody more than three years after the attack.
Trump has called Jan. 6 detainees “hostages” and even opens rallies by playing a recording from the “J6 Prison Choir.” Trump has said he’ll pardon “a large portion” of the rioters “very early on” if he wins in 2024 and recently vowed to “free the Jan. 6 Hostages” as one of his “first acts as your next President.”
Below are the current pretrial Jan. 6 detainees identified by NBC News, the charges they face and the status of their cases. All of those who have been arraigned so far have pleaded not guilty; four are still awaiting arraignment.
Daniel Ball: Charged with assaulting law enforcement and throwing an explosive device
The device flashed and exploded multiple times on the officers in the tunnel. One of these explosions included a loud boom that caused all the officers and some rioters/protesters in the crowd to flinch in unison,” according to an FBI affidavit issued in support of Ball’s 2023 arrest.
One officer described a hearing impairment that lasted months. Another officer described the pain in their ears as 10 out of 10. A third officer said they temporarily lost hearing, a fourth said their ears rang for three hours, and a fifth said there was a continued ringing in their ears for days.
“For many other officers that were interviewed, it was the most memorable event that day,” the FBI said in an affidavit. Some officers who were defending the tunnel at the time of the explosion reported feeling the pressure of the blast, according to the bureau. Some thought it was a fragmentation grenade and anticipated pain or significant injury. Some thought they were going to die. Some officers suffered psychological trauma from the explosion.
Ball allegedly returned to the battle after the explosion, throwing a wooden furniture leg, the FBI said. Ball was allegedly aiming for an officer but struck a rioter instead. He is now charged with using the explosive device to commit a felony and with assaulting, resisting or impeding officers with a deadly or dangerous weapon.
Why he’s in jail: Ball has a criminal history and is accused of using an explosive device at the Capitol.
John Banuelos: Accused of firing a gun during the Capitol attack
Months later, in July 2021, Banuelos fatally stabbed a 19-year-old in a public park in Utah but was not charged after he claimed self-defense, police said. But he did tell police in Utah that he’d been at the Capitol on Jan. 6 and that he’d had a gun on him, police records show.
Why he’s in jail: Banuelos has an extensive criminal history, including five convictions, according to prosecutors. He also allegedly threatened Americans who identified him to the FBI and is charged with firing off a gun at the Capitol.
Online sleuths helped identify Tim Boughner, a Michigan man they called #BlackPufferWhiteScarf, using a prior mugshot from a 2017 arrest. He was arrested on Jan. 6 charges in December 2021 and faces three felony charges, with federal authorities alleging he assaulted officers with chemical spray.
Why he’s in jail: On top of his extensive criminal history and risk of flight, a judge ruled that he needs psychiatric treatment before he’s competent to stand trial.
Dominic Box: Arrested on DUI charge while out on pretrial release in his Jan. 6 case
Joseph Daniel Hutchinson III, Jonathan Pollock, and Olivia Pollock: Went on the run in Florida
Jonathan Pollock had been a fugitive for 2.5 years, since his initial indictment in the summer of 2021. Olivia Pollock and Hutchinson had been fugitives since the summer of 2023, when they failed to show up to their trial.
All three defendants wore tactical gear on Jan. 6 and are charged with assaulting, resisting or impeding certain officers as well as theft of government property. Jonathan Pollock is accused of the worst violence of the bunch, with the government saying he grabbed an officer by the waist and pulled the officer down a set of stairs, punched another officer in the face and stole another officer’s police shield.
Hutchinson, authorities said, charged the police line and began throwing punches, while Olivia Pollock attempted to strip an officer of their baton and elbowed the officer in the chest.
Why they’re in jail: They were fugitives before their capture and have been ordered detained until trial.
Edward Kelley: Charged with plotting to murder FBI employees after his release in Jan. 6 case
Anti-abortion activist Edward Kelley of Tennessee was initially arrested in May 2022 after the FBI identified him as the fourth rioter to breach the Capitol. In addition to assaulting a law enforcement officer outside the Capitol, the government alleges Kelley used a piece of wood to break a window, jumped through the window and then forced open a fire door, allowing the first mass of rioters to flood inside the building and chase Capitol Police Officer Eugene Goodman up the stairs, toward the Senate chamber.
Why he’s in jail: He was initially released on his Jan. 6 charges but then allegedly plotted to murder the FBI employees who were investigating him.
Jacob Lang: Unapologetic rioter charged with repeatedly assaulting law enforcement
Jacob Lang — who can be seen on video hitting law enforcement officers with a baseball bat and riot shield — faces multiple charges of assaulting law enforcement officers, as well as felony charges of civil disorder and obstruction of an official proceeding. He was arrested in January 2021.
“I was the leader of Liberty today,” Lang wrote on Facebook after the riot, wrongly tagging himself at the White House. “Arrest me. You are on the wrong side of history.”
He said the day after the attack that it was “war” at the Capitol, not a mere protest.
Lang, the government notes, hosts a weekly podcast for a conservative conspiracy website from behind bars and paints himself as a “political prisoner.” Lang has cycled through lawyers and recently hired Anthony Frank Sabatini, a Republican and former Florida state representative who is running for Congress.
“I don’t play the watered-down version of Jan. 6, the ‘there was mistakes made that day.’ No, no, I think that was well within our rights and constitutional duty to overthrow the chains of tyranny,” he said in one podcast.
Why he’s in jail: A judge cited overwhelming evidence that he repeatedly assaulted officers and a continued willingness to engage in violence.
Christopher Maurer: Charged with swinging a pipe at officers
The government says that Maurer was part of the lower west tunnel assault and tried to pull a police shield and strike officers who were helping another rioter who was experiencing a medical emergency. Maurer exited the tunnel but later returned swinging a long metal pipe at officers, according to the FBI. He is charged with assaulting, resisting or impeding certain officers with a deadly and dangerous weapon, among other charges.
“F--- YOU A--HOLES!” Maurer allegedly yelled after the attack, holding up both of his middle fingers.
Law enforcement observed Maurer near Falmouth, Maine, with a 1999 gold Ford Expedition that he appeared to be living out of in early 2023, shortly before his arrest.
Why he’s in jail: Maurer, who was living in a van, conceded to detention in March 2023.
Jeffrey McKellop: Former Special Forces soldier accused of attacking police
Jeffrey McKellop, a retired U.S. Army Special Forces soldier and military contractor, is accused of repeatedly attacking law enforcement officers, including with a flagpole. He was arrested in March 2021, and the government argued that the gas mask-wearing rioter “weaponized his extensive military training and experience” during the Capitol attack. The government provided a photo that, it says, shows the officer McKellop “stabbed in the face” with the flagpole.
Why he’s in jail: Was ordered held by a judge to undergo competency evaluations before trial.
Christina Legros: Found by a judge to lack the mental capacity to care for herself
Edward Richmond Jr.: Previously killed an Iraqi civilian, yet had an AR-15 in his home
Edward Richmond Jr., known to online sleuths as “Buff Lightyear” due to the outfit he wore — “black helmet, goggles, shoulder pads, an orange two-way radio, and a Louisiana State Flag patch,” per the government — during the Capitol attack, faces a host of charges for his actions that day.
The 40-year-old was arrested in January in Louisiana, and a federal magistrate judge initially ordered him released. The government appealed to a federal judge in Washington, arguing that Richmond showed up to the Capitol “dressed in full tactical gear, carrying a baton” on Jan. 6 and “stayed at the front of the mob fighting against police for almost two hours,” carrying a police riot shield, helping take furniture out of broken windows and carrying a large wooden plank to use against officers. The government noted Richmond was previously “convicted of manslaughter after shooting a handcuffed Iraqi cow herder in the head with his rifle” and was sentenced to three years of confinement and dishonorably discharged from the military.
Why he’s in jail: He was banned from owning weapons after being convicted of killing a handcuffed Iraqi civilian, but authorities say an AR-15 was found in his home.
Taylor Taranto: Showed up at Obama’s house with guns and ammo after Trump posted the address
When Walls-Kaufman was sentenced in June 2023, ultimately receiving 60 days of incarceration after admitting he “scuffled” with officers, Taranto showed up to the sentencing hearing. Taranto had been living out of his van and often showed up to the city jail, where supporters of Jan. 6 defendants hold regular, livestreamed vigils. Days after Walls-Kaufman’s sentencing, Taranto showed up outside the home of former President Barack Obama in the nation’s capital after Trump posted a screenshot that included the address on his social media website. (Trump has not commented publicly on the case.) Federal authorities arrested Taranto and said he illegally had weapons and more than 400 rounds of ammunition in his van.
He is now facing charges related to Jan. 6 as well as for the illegal weapons he is accused of having near Obama’s home. Taranto has not yet entered a plea; but during his detention proceedings, his attorneys argued that his mental health needs would be better addressed at home with his family.
Why he’s in jail: A judge ordered Taranto held after he showed up outside Obama’s home with weapons in his van.
Gregory Yetman: National guardsman charged with attacking officers who fled from the FBI
Gregory Yetman, a former New Jersey National Guard police sergeant, was arrested after a 48-hour FBI manhunt in New Jersey in November 2023. Online sleuths had referred to Yetman as #GreenHeavySprayer, because he was seen on video cited by the FBI using a large chemical sprayer to assault a line of police officers. Yetman faces several charges, including felony charges of assaulting officers and obstruction of law enforcement during civil disorder, as well as misdemeanors. Yetman, according to authorities, fled into a wooded area when the FBI showed up at his home and later turned himself into a police station dirty and unkempt.
Why he’s in jail: He was ordered held after he fled the FBI, is accused of assaulting law enforcement with chemical spray and is set to take a plea deal.
