Seditionaries: FBI net closes on Maga mob that stormed the Capitol
Guardian, Feb 7, 2021: … Already the number of people who have been arrested, either by the FBI, Capitol police or local Washington DC officers has reached 235, spanning more than 40 states. As the investigation widens and deepens, the focus is tightening on anyone considered to have acted as a coordinator of the action in an attempt to take out the ringleaders.
The FBI has set up a special strike force of experienced federal prosecutors who have been given the express instruction to pursue aggressive sedition and conspiracy charges. So far at least 26 people have been charged with conspiracy or assault.
“Sedition is the most serious crime that anybody could be accused of from 6 January,” Gomez said. “It’s advocating the overthrow of the US government. It involves not just talking about overthrowing democracy but having the means and wherewithal to carry out those actions.”
As more has become known about those arrested, the strategy being pursued by the FBI has also revealed itself. In several cases, people who participated in the storming of the Capitol were picked up and charged with relatively minor offenses such as trespassing or theft of mail simply as a means to get them into prosecutorial clutches.
Once in the system, more serious charges could then be added as intelligence came in. That pattern of escalating charges can be seen in the cases of Nicholas DeCarlo from Texas and Nicholas Ochs from Hawaii.
Initially, the pair were accused of unlawful entry into federal property. But new conspiracy charges were added this week in which they are alleged to have planned out their travel across state lines, raised money to pay for it, and then made the trip to Washington DC in a premeditated attempt to obstruct the certification of Joe Biden as winner of the US presidential election.
If convicted, DeCarlo and Ochs each face maximum sentences of 20 years in prison and a $250,000 fine.
Prosecutors have made clear that they are ramping up the charges against select individuals as a means of discouraging further violence from Trump supporters and their far-right and white supremacist allies. “We are going to focus on the most significant charges as a deterrent, because regardless of if it was just a trespass in the Capitol or someone planted a pipe bomb, you will be charged and you will be found,” Sherwin said.
The FBI’s work has been greatly assisted by the plethora of intelligence swirling around online – in many cases posted by the suspects themselves. Take the hapless duo, DeCarlo and Ochs.
A photo of the pair, posing thumbs up in front of the memorial door of the US Capitol on which they had scrawled the words “MURDER THE MEDIA”, was easily found online. It has been included in the indictment against them, and earned them the special attentions of the media assault strike force set up by federal prosecutors to investigate violent threats against members of the media.
That photo is one of at least 200,000 digital media tips that have poured into the FBI from across the country, some coming from friends and even family members who recognized individual rioters from the profusion of video and stills footage plastered across the internet and promptly informed on them.….
read … Seditionaries: FBI net closes on Maga mob that stormed the Capitol
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Texas Man, Self-Proclaimed Leader of Honolulu Proud Boys Now Indicted by a Federal Grand Jury for Conspiracy to Obstruct Congress
Men Inked "Murder the Media" on U.S. Capitol Door
News Release from USDOJ DC, Feb 3, 2021
WASHINGTON, D.C. –A federal grand jury in the District of Columbia has returned an indictment charging a Hawaii man who purports to have founded the Honolulu chapter of the Proud Boys and a Texas man with conspiring to obstruct the United States Congress’ certification of the results of the 2020 U.S. Presidential Election, as well as other crimes they committed to achieve that goal. Together, and with others, the two men planned and raised money for their effort, and then traveled to Washington, D.C., where they joined a crowd that stormed past barricades and law enforcement officers to halt a Joint Session of the U.S. Congress on January 6.
John C. Demers, the Assistant Attorney General for National Security; Michael R. Sherwin, the Acting United States Attorney for the District of Columbia; and Steven D’Antuono, the Assistant Director in Charge of the Washington Field Office announced the indictment.
Nicholas DeCarlo, 30, of Burleson, Texas, and Nicholas R. Ochs, 34, of Honolulu, Hawaii, were each indicted for conspiring to commit an offense against the United States, in violation of Title 18, United States Code Section 371, that is, to corruptly obstruct, influence, or impede an official proceeding, in violation of 18 U.S.C. § 1512(c)(2); one count of theft of federal government property, in violation of Title 18, United States Code, Section 641; one count of depredation against federal government property, in violation of Title 18, United States Code, Section 1361; and three counts of unlawful entry, disorderly conduct, or violent conduct in restricted buildings or grounds, in violation of Title 18, United States Code, Section 1752(a)(1), (2), and (4).
The indictment was unsealed this afternoon. DeCarlo and Ochs previously were taken into custody on January 26 and January 7, respectively. The defendants will be arraigned before a United States District Judge.
The indictment against DeCarlo and Ochs alleges that prior to January 6, DeCarlo and Ochs agreed to travel to Washington, D.C., in order to stop, delay, and hinder the certification of the results of the November 2020 Presidential Election. To advance and finance that effort, the indictment alleges, DeCarlo and Ochs, using the Internet, raised funds to support their travel and, on January 5, did travel from their respective locations in Texas and Hawaii to Washington, D.C.
The indictment further alleges that on January 6, DeCarlo, Ochs, and other individuals entered the Capitol building behind an initial wave of individuals who had stormed the Capitol building unlawfully. Thereafter, DeCarlo and Ochs traveled throughout and occupied the Capitol building, depicting their actions inside the building in real time through photographs and videos that they posted to social media. While on U.S. Capitol grounds unlawfully, DeCarlo and Ochs defaced the U.S. Capitol by scrawling onto its Memorial Door the words “MURDER THE MEDIA[.]”
Also, according to the indictment, DeCarlo and Ochs stole a pair of flexible handcuffs belonging to the United States Capitol Police.
This case is being prosecuted by the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the District of Columbia and the Counterterrorism Section of the DOJ’s National Security Division. The indictment is the result of an ongoing investigation by the FBI’s Washington Field Office and the United States Capitol Police, along with the Media Assault Strike Force of the United States Attorney’s Office for the District of Columbia, a specialized team staffed by senior prosecutors highly experienced in investigating and prosecuting cases involving victims of violent crime and focused on potential assaults, threats, and property damage directed at members of the media.
An indictment is a formal accusation of criminal conduct, not evidence of guilt. A defendant is presumed innocent unless proven guilty. If convicted, DeCarlo and Ochs each face a maximum sentence of 20 years in prison, a fine of up to $250,000, and 3 years of supervised release.
The ATF and FBI continue to urge the public to report suspected use of explosive devices, or violent, destructive acts associated with the recent unrest. Anyone with information can call 1-888-ATF-TIPS (1-888-283-8477), email ATFTips@atf.gov or submit information anonymously via ReportIt.com.
The FBI is looking for individuals who may have incited or promoted violence of any kind. Anyone with digital material or tips can call 1-800-CALL-FBI (800-225-5324) or submit images or videos at fbi.gov/USCapitol.
The FBI also urges anyone with information about or anyone who witnessed any unlawful action against any member of the media to contact the FBI’s Toll-Free Tipline at 1-800-CALL-FBI (1-800-225-5324) to report potential leads. In particular, the FBI seeks help in identifying persons depicted in photos taken during assaults on media members. The FBI has posted these photos on its website at https://www.fbi.gov/wanted/capitol-violence, which can be sorted by the label “Assault on Media”, and on Twitter at https://twitter.com/FBIWFO/status/1357062685461008385 and https://twitter.com/FBIWFO/status/1354991604663255045.
The United States Attorney’s Office strongly encourages members of the press to report any instances where a reporter, journalist, photographer, videographer, or other media personnel was assaulted or threatened, or where their property was damaged or destroyed by the rioters on January 6. Such information will help secure the First Amendment rights of all press personnel. Any information, including video and photographic evidence, can be emailed to USADC.CAPITOLRIOTS-PRESS-INJURY-DAMAGE@usdoj.gov.
Attachment(s): Download DeCarlo-Ochs indictment filed_02032021
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SA: Proud Boys Hawaii founder faces possible 20-year prison sentence after federal indictment
CB: Hawaii Proud Boy Nick Ochs Charged With Criminal Conspiracy
Jan 7, 2021: Hawaii Republican Candidate Arrested at Airport--Allegedly Photographed Attacking Capitol
Jan 23, 2021: Feds charge suspected accomplice of ‘Proud Boys Hawaii’ founder in U.S. Capitol riot
Feb 3, 2021 HNN: Hawaii extremist group founder indicted for alleged role in Capitol attack
Feb 4, 2021 UKDM: Social media posts by a third man arrested Wednesday indicate that he planned the raid in retaliation to earlier stabbing of a Proud Boys member in December
Feb 5, 2021: Reporting or rioting? Grand jury indicts pair from insurrection who claim they’re journalists