Jewish American Heritage Month

Posted By admin on January 10, 2021

As protesters stormed America's home of democracy, the focus quickly turned to who they are - and why they were there.

Among the sea of "Make America Great Again" red caps there were those dressed in elaborate costumes and others wearing what appeared to be full-on assault gear, while some brandished highly offensive flags and clothing.

Sky News looks at some who have been identified:

Ashli Babbitt

The 35-year-old Air Force veteran was shot dead by a plain-clothed police officer after storming the Capitol with other protesters and attempting to enter the House chamber, Washington Police Chief Robert Contee said.

Her husband, Aaron, told KUSI TV she served four tours of duty during her 14 years in the Air Force and was from San Diego.

He said she was a strong supporter of Donald Trump and her Twitter account showed she had recently retweeted several pro-Trump messages, including a video by the president urging supporters to join the Washington march.

A fellow Trump supporter, who witnessed the shooting, said she did not listen to police and secret service telling them to "get back, get down, get out of the way".

"As we kind of raced up to grab people and pull them back they shot her in the neck and she fell back on me," he told WUSA 9.

The day before Wednesday's protest, she tweeted: "Nothing will stop us....they can try and try and try but the storm is here and it is descending upon DC in less than 24 hours....dark to light!"

Her death is being investigated by Washington Police.

The Q Shaman/QAnon Shaman

One of the most distinctive protesters was a bare-chested man with the US flag painted on his face, wearing a furry hat with horns and holding an American flag on a spear.

His name is Jake Angeli and he has been a regular at right-wing political rallies in Arizona, where he is from, since 2019.

He was seen during the Capitol protests confronting a Capitol Hill Police officer and posing on the speaker's chair in the US Senate for a photo.

The horned protester is a known promoter of QAnon, a right-wing conspiracy theory based on the cryptic posts of an individual or group named "Q" who is supposed to be a high-level government agent with Q-level security clearance.

They claim to possess inside knowledge of the Trump administration's secret fight against an evil global cabal, including alleged secret investigations in Washington such as politicians running a child sex trafficking ring.

Angeli has spent much of his time since 2019 outside the Arizona Capitol shouting about various conspiracy theories, mainly related to QAnon.

He told The Arizona Republic he wears the fur hat, paints his face and wears no shirt with ragged trousers to attract attention.

Another QAnon promoter, whose name is unknown, led the charge into the Senate Chamber.

Man with a Confederate flag

The man has not been identified, but the image has certainly shocked many Americans as it is the first time the Confederate flag has ever been flown inside the Capitol.

He walked through the Rotunda by himself with the large flag - something that never happened during the American Civil War in the 1860s.

Baked Alaska

Tim Gionet, known as "Baked Alaska", is a white nationalist activist who was part of the group that entered offices in the Capitol.

A well-known online personality from Alaska, he livestreamed himself from inside an office and talked to others about what they were doing in the Capitol.

During the livestream, watched by 16,000 people on blockchain service DLive, he said he might sleep inside the office and use the landline to call Donald Trump.

He is known for holding neo-Nazi and white supremacist views, supporting Mr Trump and promoting antisemitic conspiracy theories online.

His YouTube channel was banned in October 2020 after he filmed himself committing crimes and harassing people.

Baked Alaska filmed himself being taken out of the Capitol by police, who he swore at.

Derrick Evans

A Republican Delegate for West Virginia, Derrick Evans, filmed himself and fellow Trump supporters banging the Capitol's door.

Wearing a helmet, he can be seen getting into the building and shouting: "We're in" Keep it moving, baby!"

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He then panned the camera around the Capitol Rotunda, the ornate hallway between the Senate and the House which has paintings of America's founders.

"No vandalising," he shouted at protesters.

Mr Evans removed the video from his Facebook page and was told by the West Virginia State House of Delegates speaker he would need to "answer to his constituents and colleagues".

He later said he was heading back to West Virginia and "was simply there as an independent member of the media to film history".

Camp Auschwitz and neo-Nazis

A man standing by the Capitol steps wearing a hoodie branded with "Camp Auschwitz: Work brings freedom" on the front, and "staff" on the back was trending on Twitter the following day as people condemned him.

He was then seen inside the Capitol building.

Oren Segal, vice president of the Anti-Defamation League's Centre on Extremism, said he saw members of several white supremacist and neo-Nazi groups among the pro-Trump crowds in Washington.

The New Jersey European Heritage Association and Nationalist Social Club members were among them, he said.

Adam Johnson

Pictured walking through the Capitol with a stolen lectern as he waved at photographers, Adam Johnson is a psychology graduate from Florida.

Photos on his social media showed him posing next to a sign that said "closed to all tours" inside the Capitol.

He deleted his social media profiles soon after the protest.

People on social media mistakenly thought his name was "Via Getty" because a photo being shared was taken by the Getty picture agency.

The Proud Boys

There were reports of protesters wearing 6MWE shirts, meaning six million wasn't enough, in reference to the six million Jewish people murdered during the Holocaust.

The Proud Boys, a far-right, neo-fascist, and male-only organisation that promotes and engages in political violence, are known for using the 6MWE slogan.

Members of the Proud Boys were spotted at the Capitol, including Nick Ochs from Hawaii, who livestreamed from inside the Capitol and tweeted a selfie of him smoking, saying: "Hello from the Capital lol [sic]."

Richard 'Bigo' Barnett

A 60-year-old man who describes himself as a white nationalist online, Richard "Bigo" Barnett was pictured with his feet on House Speaker Nancy Pelosi's desk.

Outside the Capitol, he showed a New York Times reporter a letter he had taken from her desk, but claimed he had not stolen it because he left a quarter on her desk.

He said he left a note on her desk that said: "Nancy, Bigo was here, you b****."

A Facebook post from the mayor of Gravette, the city he is from in Arkansas, said citizens have been receiving threats after seeing Bigo's picture.

"The vast majority of the citizens who live in Gravette AR are salt of the earth people, who would help their neighbours at a moment's notice," he said.

The FBI is seeking information about anybody who stormed the Capitol and is asking anybody who witnessed unlawful violent actions to send them any information, photos or videos to them here

Link:
US Capitol: Q-Anon, Confederate flag man, and Baked Alaska - here are the people who stormed the building - Sky News

Category: Anti-Defamation League
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