1/6 Insurrection Investigation

[Rick Plant]

Proud Boy who flipped is a game-changer for investigators going 'up the chain' after Jan. 6 organizers



In an interview with Vice News, two former prosecutors explained the importance of a key member of the Proud Boys taking a plea deal in exchange for providing more information about lead-up to the Jan. 6 insurrection, saying it's a game-changer for investigators.

Last week, 34-year-old Charles Donohoe became the first Proud Boys leader to plead guilty with regard to charges of conspiracy to obstruct an official proceeding and assaulting an officer, and he agreed to cooperate in exchange for a lighter sentence.

According to former U.S. Attorney Barbara McQuade who oversaw the Eastern District of Michigan from 2010 to 2017, Donohoe's plea deal is "a significant development in the case against the Proud Boys defendants."

To date, investigators were putting their case together based upon texts and online communications, but having a higher-ranking Proud Boys member providing details will make additional prosecutions easier.

“His agreement to cooperate means that any trial against other Proud Boys members will include his testimony, which will be important evidence for the prosecution," McQuade explained before adding his cooperation might "signal his ability to provide information up the chain to organizers and leaders who planned the attack.”

“We are learning that the attack on the Capitol was not a spontaneous event for all participants, but instead was planned by at least two groups, the Proud Boys and the Oath Keepers,” McQuade elaborated. “Investigators will want to know how high up that planning and coordination went.”

According to Vice's Tess Owens, "Court documents filed in the case so far reveal that prosecutors planned to rely heavily on group chats between the alleged conspirators in the weeks running up to the riot, as well as video evidence from the day itself."

According to Fordham law professor Bruce Green, "From the prosecutors point of view, they have a witness who is likely to be quite credible, who can put the pieces together in a way that is much more compelling than if they were just dealing with communications."

"In a statement of offense signed by Donohoe, he claimed he was heavily involved in exclusive planning chats in the weeks running up to Jan. 6. He said that Tarrio recruited him around Dec. 20, 2020, to join a special new leadership chapter of the Proud Boys called the Ministry of Self Defense (MOSD)," Vice is reporting." Donohoe recalled that he was 'privileged' to be included in this group and was invited into a group chat on an encrypted messaging app that included Tarrio, Ethan Nordean, Joseph Biggs and Zachary Rehl —all high-profile Proud Boy leaders who are now his co-defendants."

Vice's Owens added, "Under the terms of Donohoe’s deal, he’s looking at around six years in prison (including the year he’s already served in jail). Without that deal, he’d be facing a maximum sentence of 20 years in prison for the conspiracy to obstruct an official proceeding, and a maximum of three years for assaulting, resisting or impeding law enforcement officers."

You can read more here: https://www.vice.com/en/article/g5qeq9/proud-boy-flipped-cases-january-6

[Rick Plant]

West Virginia man pleading to Jan. 6 charge fell in behind Proud Boys now in conspiracy case



The purported leader of the Proud Boys in West Virginia came into contact with many of the loosely-knit, right-wing group’s leaders during the Jan. 6 insurrection, according to documents filed in his case.

Jeffery Finley of Martinsburg pleaded guilty this month to a federal charge of entering a restricted building because he was among the crowd surging into the U.S. Capitol.

His plea could result in a maximum of one year in prison, a fine of $100,000 and supervised release of no more than a year. He’ll also have to pay a fine of $500, determined to be his share of about $1,495 million in damage to the Capitol.

Hundreds of people now face charges from the breach of the U.S. Capitol on Jan. 6.

A mob storming the U.S. Capitol that day disrupted the constitutional duty of counting Electoral College votes and prompted the evacuations of representatives, senators and Vice President Mike Pence. One woman was fatally shot while trying to climb into the chambers, three others died from “medical emergencies” and more than 100 police officers were injured.

Finley's statement of offense identifies him as “president of a West Virginia chapter of the Proud Boys.” The court filing goes on to specify “each chapter is anonymous, and as president of his chapter Finley was the highest ranking of his men.”

Four higher-profile members of the Proud Boys have been charged with conspiracy. They are alleged to have worked together to obstruct the congressional certification of Joe Biden’s Electoral College victory, including through encrypted messaging.

One of the encrypted message threads was called “Boots on the Ground.” About 60 people were in the message thread, including the four Proud Boys charged with conspiracy. Another was the West Virginia resident, Finley, according to his charging documents.

Finley joined the “Boots on the Ground” message thread about 1:30 p.m. Jan. 5, 2021, according to the statement of offense in his case.

On the morning of Jan. 6, he met up at the Washington Monument with members of the Proud Boys from his chapter and other chapters across the country.

As the day went on, Finley encountered some of the Proud Boys now at the center of federal conspiracy charges.

Among them were Ethan Nordean, Joseph Biggs and Zachary Rehl.

A fourth, Charles Donohoe, was seen from a distance. Donahoe pleaded guilty this month in federal court: “Donohoe believed that storming the Capitol would achieve the group’s goal of stopping the government from carrying out the transfer of presidential power. Donohoe understood from discussions that the Proud Boys would pursue their objective through the use of force and violence.”

Ethan Nordean

Finley followed Proud Boys leaders as they left the Washington Monument and marched on the National Mall toward the U.S. Capitol, according to the federal court documents. Among the group, Finley recognized a Proud Boy named Ethan Nordean, known as “Rufio,” leading the march.

Nordean, a resident of the State of Washington, is one of the Proud Boys now charged with conspiracy.

After the 2021 presidential election, that Nov. 27, Nordean posted on social media a call to action.

“We tried playing nice and by the rules, now you will deal with the monster you created. The spirit of 1776 has resurfaced nd has created groups like the Proudboys and we will not be extinguished. We will grow like the flame that fuels us and spread like love that guides us. We are unstoppable, unrelenting and now unforgiving. Good luck to all you traitors of this country we so deeply love… you’re going to need it.

Over more than two hours on Jan. 6, Finley marched with the group to the east side of the Capitol and then back to the west side. During that time, his statement of offense indicates, Finley saw Nordean break off from the group to talk to a small group of other Proud Boys leaders, including Joe Biggs, Zachary Rehl, and Charles Donohoe.

Nordean and Biggs directed the group to the Peace Circle near the Capitol grounds.

In late-January, 2021, after Nordean had been charged in the Capitol riot, he posted a bitter message about President Donald Trump. The message was entered into evidence by federal prosecutors.

“I’ve followed this guy for 4 years and given everything and lost it all. Yes he woke us up, but he led us to believe some great justice was upon us…and it never happened,” Nordean wrote on Jan. 20, after Proud Boys members were charged, “now I’ve got some of my good friends and myself facing jail time cuz we followed this guys lead and never questioned it.”

Joe Biggs

As members of the Proud Boys approached a barricaded area at the pedestrian entrance to the Capitol, Finley saw a leader from Florida, Joe Biggs, lead the crowd in chants: “Whose house? Our house!” and “Whose Capitol? Our Capitol!”

According to the federal documents, Finley witnessed someone in the crowd start to tear down the barricades.

The man, Ryan Samsel, has alleged that Biggs pressured him to start pushing down the barricades.

Biggs is among the Proud Boys charged with conspiracy. Leading up to Jan. 6, Biggs had advised Proud Boys to abandon their usual black-and-yellow clothing to blend in. “Jan 6th is gonna be epic,” he wrote on a social media site.

The crowd, including members of the Proud Boys, began rushing forward. “To Finley, there appeared to be a coordinated effort to pull the barricades apart,” according to the statement of offense.

Members of the Proud Boys, still led by Nordean, began moving more barricades, overran law enforcement and went up the stairs to the upper west terrace.

Zach Rehl

Finley followed the crowd and saw Zach Rehl, leader of the Proud Boys in Philadelphia. Rehl is among the Proud Boys charged with conspiracy.Finley knew him as “Captain Trump.”

On the terrace, Finley heard Rehl and others from his chapter discussing what was going on inside the Capitol. Rehl then asked the group, including Finley, whether they wanted to go inside, according to Finley’s statement of offense.

Finley entered through the Senate wing door about 2:55 p.m., following Rehl and some of his group into the building. “While doing so,” according to the statement of offense, “Finley understood that law enforcement did not want people to go inside the Capitol.”

Inside, Finley lost sight of Rehl and the others. Finley took a selfie at the door to an office, left the building and then left the Capitol grounds.

About 5 p.m., Finley posted a video message to the encrypted “Boots on the Ground” app and, in part, addressed Rehl as “Captain Trump.”

"I just got out myself, dude, I was in there, you know, [expletive] taking pictures with the boys. Yo, Captain “Trump. proud of your [expletive] boy.”

Finley continued by describing security outside the Capitol: “We literally can’t get back in. [Expletive} crazy, crazy, crazy lockdown. If you guys come out, you’re not getting back in. That’s 100%”

https://wvmetronews.com/2022/04/17/west-virginia-man-pleading-to-jan-6-charge-fell-in-behind-proud-boys-now-in-conspiracy-case/

[Rick Plant]

GOP's Ronny Jackson may have been communicating with Oath Keepers during Jan. 6 riot: court documents



Rep. Ronny Jackson (R-TX) may have been in contact with Oath Keepers members during the Jan. 6, 2021, attack on the U.S. Capitol.

A newly released trove of text messages shows members of the right-wing militia discussing security for some top Donald Trump allies ahead of the congressional certification of Joe Biden's election win, and Oath Keepers co-founder Stewart Rhodes asked an associate for Jackson's cell phone number, reported Politico.

“Dr. Ronnie Jackson — on the move," wrote an unidentified person. "Needs protection. If anyone inside cover him. He has critical data to protect."

“Help with what?” Rhodes replied. “Give him my cell.”

A spokesperson for Jackson, who had served as White House physician to Trump and his two immediate predecessors, did not respond to request for comment.

Kelly Meggs, an Oath Keepers member among six indicted on seditious conspiracy charges, mentioned on Jan. 3, 2021, that allies had discussed militia members “on the call with congressmen” and “wanted to say thank you all for providing and protecting us.”

https://twitter.com/hugolowell/status/1516236408259756033

[Rick Plant]

Kimberly Guilfoyle meets with the Jan. 6 committee — and this time she cooperated: report

On Monday, Donald Trump Jr.'s fiancé Kimberly Guilfoyle spoke with the House Select Committee investigating the Jan. 6 attack on the U.S. Capitol. The Daily Mail posted photos of Guilfoyle as she entered the O'Neill House Office Building.

Guilfoyle gave deposition to the House committee after being subpoenaed for the information related to her work on former President Donald Trump's 2020 campaign and in the lead up to Jan. 6. Guilfoyle was also in the VIP holding area with the president ahead of his speech to the rally crowd on Jan. 6 at the Ellipse.

Earlier this year, she was asked to deliver information during a phone call with the committee but hung up after she realized there were Democrats involved in the preliminary questioning.

But as of Monday, she is cooperating again.

"Guilfoyle, under threat of subpoena, agreed to meet exclusively with counsel for the select committee in a good faith effort to provide true and relevant evidence," a statement read from her attorney, Joseph Tacopina, during the first attempt at interviewing Guilfoyle. "However, upon Guilfoyle's attendance, the committee revealed its untrustworthiness, as members notorious for leaking information appeared."

Tacopina claimed that the hearing was "hijacked" because the committee members participated in the call.

According to the committee's chair, Rep. Bennie Thompson (D-MS), Guilfoyle "apparently played a key role organizing and raising funds for that event."

Read the full report:

https://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-10728461/Kimberly-Guilfoyle-arrives-federal-office-building-Washington-meet-Jan-6-committee.html

[Rick Plant]

‘He Has Critical Data’: Signal Chats Between Oath Keeper Members on Jan. 6 Show Effort to Help Trump’s Former White House Doctor During Siege



Members of a right-wing militia group sought “protection” for a Texas representative believed to have “critical data” while inside the Capitol building as it was violently breached by supporters of former President Donald Trump on Jan. 6.

According to a late-night court filing Monday, Edward Vallejo, 63, and other members of the anti-government Oath Keepers militia group were in near-constant contact in the days leading up to, and including, Jan. 6, when hundreds of Trump supporters overran police at the Capitol and temporarily stopped Congress from certifying Joe Biden‘s win in the 2020 presidential election.

Included in 109 pages of texts from a group chat on the Signal messaging app were a handful of references to Rep. Ronny Jackson, a Republican from Texas who had previously served as Trump’s White House doctor and was Trump’s one-time nominee for Secretary of Veterans Affairs. He later withdrew his nomination following allegations of misconduct.

The text messages were submitted as part of a 337-page exhibit attached to Vallejo’s motion to be released from pretrial detention. He has been held in detention since being arrested in January and charged with seditious conspiracy, the most serious charge yet in the federal government’s ever-increasing prosecution of those who participated in the Capitol breach.

Oath Keepers founder Stewart Rhodes was also charged in January, and he has been kept in custody since then.

“He Has Critical Data to Protect.”

“Ronnie [sic] Jackson (TX) office inside Capitol – he needs OK help. Anyone inside?” the first text message to mention Jackson read. The sender’s name was redacted. The message was sent at 3 p.m., around an hour after the Capitol building was first breached.

“Hopefully they can help Dr. Jackson,” another person, whose name is also redacted, replied at 3:03 p.m.

“Dr. Ronnie [sic] Jackson – on the move,” someone wrote at 3:08 p.m., including a picture of Jackson. “Needs protection. If anyone inside cover him. He has critical data to protect[.]”

“Help with what?” Rhodes replied at 3:10 p.m.

“Give him my cell,” Rhodes also wrote.

“Isn’t he the wrong color,” an unidentified person asked at 3:14 p.m., referring to the message with Jackson’s picture.

“What do you mean?” another person asked at 3:17.

“Disregard. Confused him with someone else,” the first person responded at 3:22 p.m.

No further mention of Jackson was made in the filing text messages.

Jackson has issued multiple strongly-worded denials of any connection or affiliation to the Oath Keepers and blamed the “liberal media” for spotting his name in a court filing from an avowed supporter of Trump, in whose administration Jackson himself had served.

“Like many public figures, Rep. Jackson is frequently talked about by people he does not know,” a spokesperson for Jackson said in a statement emailed to Law&Crime. “He does not know nor has he ever spoken to the people in question. In fact, he stayed behind with Capitol Police to help defend the House Floor and was one of the last Members to be evacuated. The liberal media’s attempt to drag him into a ‘story’ and make him part of something he has nothing to do with is yet another example of why millions of Americans are exhausted by the relentless, biased coverage of January 6th and its continued use as a political tool.”

A spokesperson for Jackson did not immediately reply to requests for a possible explanation as to why his name would be mentioned in the group text messages.

The Signal chat logs also show that there was at least an attempt at communication between one leader of the Oath Keepers and Enrique Tarrio, the leader of the right-wing extremist Proud Boys group who was arrested in March and charged with conspiring to organize the Jan. 6 Capitol attack.

Rhodes and Vallejo’s co-defendant Kelly Meggs, referred to as “OK Gator 1” in the Signal chat logs, shared the news on Jan. 4 that Tarrio had been arrested for burning a Black Lives Matter flag at an historically Black church earlier that day.

“Not confirmed,” Meggs wrote. “I just called him no answer But he will called he’s out [sic].”

According to Tarrio’s indictment, Tarrio and Rhodes met in a parking garage the night of Jan. 5. A documentary film crew apparently picked up audio of a person referencing the Capitol during that exchange.

A Man with a “Passionate Yet Gentle Nature” Who Was Prepared for “Armed Conflict” and “Guerrilla War”

In Vallejo’s motion to be released on bond, his lawyer paints a picture of a patriot and a family man, a recovering alcoholic who has been sober for decades and do-gooder dedicated to improving the lives of veterans. He was accepted into the Army on his third try, his brief says, and was honorably discharged within two years, following an asthma attack.

“Although he served only briefly in the Army, Ed has a lifelong passion for assisting veterans,” the brief says, noting his relationship with a non-profit group called Homefront Battle Buddies (HBB). Vallejo, who has lived in Arizona for 50 years, has also been involved in local and national politics, and served as an alternate delegate for Ron Paul at the 2012 Republican Convention. He has a “passionate yet gentle nature” and a love of animals, the brief adds.

In explaining why he drove from Arizona to Washington, D.C. ahead of Jan. 6, apparently prepared for “armed conflict” and “guerrilla war” according to the indictment, Vallejo says that he essentially trusted the wrong people.

“Vallejo placed enormous trust in both Rhodes and President Trump at this momentous time,” his brief says. “Indeed, Ed was so trusting that he set out without even knowing where he was supposed to be going.” He had apparently planned on camping somewhere in the capital area, and had brought 200 pounds of food “in expectation of setting up a camp kitchen on a farm.”

On Jan. 6, he was stationed at the Comfort Inn Ballston in Virginia, about 10 miles away from the Capitol.

“Vallejo back at hotel and outfitted,” he texted to the Signal group at around 2:24, shortly before the building was first breached. “Have 2 trucks available. Let me know how I can assist.”

“QRF standing by at the hotel,” he texted the group again at 2:30 p.m. “Just say the word[.]”

According to prosecutors, Vallejo was standing by, ready to join the violence at any moment as part of a “Quick Reaction Force,” or QRF, which the government says was armed and ready to deploy by boat over the Potomac River at Trump’s direction.

Vallejo, however, says in his brief that the QRF was a defensive measure that would have been used to evacuate, or “exfil,” people who wanted to be removed from the chaos at the Capitol.

“Vallejo’s offers of assistance were not offers to bring truckloads of weapons into D.C. to siege the Capitol; they were offers to evacuate (‘exfil’) Oath Keepers from a dangerous situation, in line with the purpose of QRFs discussed by credible, uncharged Oath Keeper leaders,” Vallejo’s brief says. “This meaning is made evident by Vallejo’s next several messages, which were more explicit, and by the fact that no Oath Keeper member ever asked Vallejo to they wanted to stay, not be evacuated. Against this backdrop, the government’s insistence that Vallejo (who took no part in any Oath Keeper planning) stood ready to deliver caches of arms into D.C. to support an attack on the Capitol is simply guilt assuming speculation that ignores the presumption of innocence.”

Vallejo was not part of the “stack” of Oath Keeper members that breached the Capitol. Although he stuck around until the next day expecting to see more protests, there were none. He eventually drove home to Arizona, stopping briefly at Graceland in Memphis. According to his brief, he has led a “peaceful life” since then and is not a danger to his community.

Prosecutors are likely to disagree, having already successfully argued for Vallejo’s ongoing detention in January.

https://lawandcrime.com/u-s-capitol-breach/he-has-critical-data-signal-chats-between-oath-keeper-members-on-jan-6-show-effort-to-help-trumps-former-white-house-doctor-during-siege/

[Rick Plant]

DC judge has rejected a change of venue request by high-profile Jan 6 defendant Thomas Webster, a former NY police officer.

Judge cites reduced media attention and prior Jan 6 trials in which "voir dire has been successful in identifying unbiased jurors".

[Rick Plant]

Court has scheduled April 29th hearing in accused Oath Keeper Edward Vallejo's request for release from pretrial jail.

Circle that on the calendar... these messages indicate it could be particularly noteworthy.

LATE LAST NIGHT:  Accused Oath Keeper Jan 6 conspirator filed motion for release from pretrial jail

Ed Vallejo included dozens of pages of messages allegedly exchanged by OathKeepers on Jan 6 and days prior

Some mention need to protect Rep. Ronny Jackson (R-TX), former Trump doctor.

[Rick Plant]

Sentencing set for June 22 in the US Capitol of Derrick Evans of West Virginia, who had been elected to the state legislature before Jan 6, 2021.

Guilty plea to civil disorder count. Circle the date to hear what judge says to an elected rep.
https://justice.gov/usao-dc/pr/west-virginia-man-pleads-guilty-felony-charge-offenses-committed-during-jan-6-capitol