Antifa? Closer look at who rioted at Capitol
USA TODAY is identifying people seen breaking into the building.
A QAnon shaman from Arizona. A firefighter from a small Florida city. A contractor with a history of financial troubles. A 70-year-old man.
Participants in the riot at the U.S. Capitol on Wednesday came from many backgrounds and across the country with one common purpose – to protest what they saw as a stolen election. In social media posts and conversations with family, they staunchly support President Donald Trump.
Thousands upon thousands of protesters were in the nation’s capital and participated in peaceful protests. But several hundred rushed the U.S. Capitol Police and invaded the historic building, scaling walls and rummaging around.
Here’s what we know about some of them:
Richard Barnett
A photo of Richard Barnett lounging behind House Speaker Nancy Pelosi’s desk with his feet kicked up flew around the world within hours.
The 60-year-old Arkansas contractor, nicknamed “Bigo,” bragged on camera outside the Capitol about how he was escorted out, but not arrested. He’s a staunch Trump supporter known by Republicans in his community, and he attended a “Stop the Steal” rally in Northwest Arkansas in November.
Self employed, he runs businesses out of his home in Gravette, a small town of about 2,300. He has a long history of financial woes, including those brought on by COVID-19.
Jake Angeli
In another viral photo, a bare-chested Arizona resident Jake Angeli sports a fur, horned hat and painted face. Angeli is a QAnon supporter who has been a fixture at Arizona right-wing political rallies over the past year. He calls himself a QAnon shaman.
Angeli told the Arizona Republic in 2020 that he wears the unusual costume as a way to attract attention, so he can speak to people about his beliefs about the QAnon conspiracy theory and
other subjects.
Adam Christian Johnson
Another viral photo shows Adam Christian Johnson smiling under his Trump cap, casually holding a podium under his arm. National outlets reported it was Pelosi’s lectern.
Photos on his Facebook page, which has since been deleted, show the 36year-old from Manatee County, Florida, descending into the nation’s capital for the rally. Johnson had misdemeanor drug arrests in 2004 and 2005 and was involved in a sealed domestic relations court case from 2010.
The registered Republican is a father of five with his wife Suzanne, a family physician, and they live together in a six-bedroom, 4,000-square-foot, pool home in Southwest Florida.
Andy Williams
Small-town firefighter Andy Williams appears below a sign for Pelosi’s office. Unsmiling, and wearing a Trump cap, hydration backpack and a mask pushed under his chin, Williams clutches a cellphone and points to the sign over his head. The photo quickly made its way to his employers in Sanford, Florida. City spokeswoman Bianca Gillett said Thursday that his participation in the riot is under investigation by the city.
Derrick Evans
Derrick Evans, a Republican member of the West Virginia House of Delegates, posted video of himself wearing a helmet inside the Capitol.
“We’re in! Keep it moving, baby!” Evans said in front of a doorway packed with people holding flags and saying they’d been pepper sprayed.
His video, which was later deleted, showed him milling around the Rotunda, with its historic artwork, yelling “No vandalizing.” His appearance spawned calls for his suspension or resignation from some of his fellow lawmakers. Tayler Hansen
Tayler Hansen, founder of a movement called Baby Lives Matter, posted a graphic video he took inside the Capitol, showing the aftermath of the shooting of Ashli Babbitt, who died from her injuries. Capitol Police shot her as she tried to climb through a window.
Although Hansen agreed to be interviewed, he could not be reached by USA TODAY on Thursday.
David Fitzgerald
Among dozens arrested after curfew Wednesday was David Fitzgerald, who frequently posts in support of Trump on Facebook, including writing “MAGA. Lvl 13” on a photo he posted this week.
Fitzgerald, 48, had traveled to Washington from Illinois. In a nearly eightminute video he posted on Facebook, Fitzgerald seems to be in a parking lot with the Capitol in the distance. Fitzgerald seemed to try to exit through barricades around the lot, following news crews being escorted out. Asked if he had a press pass, Fitzgerald seemed to say no.
“You gotta stay here,” a man replied. “There’s a curfew. You’re under arrest.”
A cellphone listed for Fitzgerald did not work and he did not respond to a Facebook message.
Anthony Tammaro
When Anthony Tammaro left his home in rural northern Pennsylvania to join the throngs of Trump supporters marching in Washington, his wife was not surprised, given his interest in the campaign. She too is a Trump supporter, but decided not to join him on the trip.
After seeing clips on the news that the event turned violent, she had only heard from her husband once.
“He was way in the back and getting pushed around,” she said. “I talked to him at about 9 p.m., and that’s the last I heard from him. I’m worried. I was up all night.”
Her husband, known as “Tony,” was among those arrested at the Capitol on Wednesday for curfew violation and unlawful entry. His Facebook profile is full of rants about the election results, including a Nov. 25 post cursing out President-elect Joe Biden. The profile states he works at Goodwill Industries of Northern Pennsylvania.