The revelation is one of the most disturbing details federal prosecutors have released this week as they explore the scope of the arsenal available to help pro-Trump rioters who stormed the Capitol. Other individuals are accused of taking guns and ammunition to the Capitol site, and more charges are expected to come as an extensive investigation unfolds.
The details of the gunfighting in the pickup are contained in federal documents that accused Lonnie Leroy Coffman of Falkville, Alabama, of federal offenses. A Bomgroep the arsenal found in the scramble for federal facilities to secure after being attacked by pro-Trump insurrection and other bombs around Washington, DC, is found.
The Department of Justice on Friday announced charges of 13 accused of riot-related Capitol, including a West Virginia lawmaker and a man who entered the home office, Speaker Nancy Pelosi, and sat at her desk.
The uprising on Capitol Hill shook the country’s capital and the descriptions of the charges contribute to a growing understanding of the extremist elements of the crowd.
While Coffman has been arrested and charged with possession of an unregistered firearm and carrying a gun without a license, Friday’s affidavit to police makes some of the most extreme allegations to date about the great danger. around the Capitol building Wednesday.
Only after pleading for assistants and congressmen in the beleagured Capitol did President Donald Trump release a video urging the rioters to “go home” while still stirring up their unfounded grievances over a stolen election.
Coffman, 70, told police he filled mason jars with “melted whipped cream and gasoline”. Federal investigators believe the combination, if exploded, would have the effect of napalm “insofar as it better holds the flammable liquid to objects that hit it after explosion,” according to the court report.
Police also found rags and lighters. The court documents state that the objects and the explosive-filled mason jugs ‘close to each other’ constitute a combination of parts that can be used as a ‘destructive device’.
Coffman parked his pickup at 9:15 a.m. ET on First St SE on the Hill, near the National Republican Club, commonly known as the Capitol Hill Club. According to the indictment, the building is within a block of a large U.S. House office building and the Library of Congress. Police also had a pistol in the passenger seat and an M4 Carbine assault rifle, as well as rifle magazines loaded with ammunition.
When police found him a block further after dusk and searched him, Coffman also carried a 9mm pistol and a 22-caliber in his front pockets, police said. None of the weapons found in his truck or on his person were registered with him.
Coffman appeared before a federal judge this week and will be held at least until his next court appearance on Tuesday. He has not yet filed a lawsuit in court. The federal public defender representing him did not respond Friday to a request for comment on the allegations against him.
More federal charges announced
A total of 13 people are facing federal charges as a result of the riot, the Justice Department said Friday.
The complete court records have not yet been made available to all defendants and only a handful of the individuals have appeared in court. In addition to those charged, the Justice Department said additional charges had been “filed and that investigations are underway.”
Hoffman is not the only person currently facing gun charges. Christopher Alberts, of Maryland, is accused of wearing a bulletproof vest and carrying a handgun and 25 rounds of ammunition at Capitol Grounds.
“The lawless destruction of the U.S. Capitol building was an attack on one of our country’s largest institutions,” U.S. Attorney Michael Sherwin said in a news release Friday.
“My office worked quickly with our law enforcement partners at all levels and used every resource to identify, arrest and prosecute these individuals who participated in the heinous criminal acts at the U.S. Capitol.”
Steven D’Antuono, assistant director in charge of the FBI’s field office in Washington, explained: ‘Just because you left the DC region, you can still expect a knock on the door when we find out you’re part of the criminal activity at the Capitol, “
“The FBI spares no resources in this investigation,” he said, pointing out that agents from all 56 field offices are involved in the investigation by seeking videos, social media and tips from the public.
“Today’s charges are just the beginning of the results of the extensive work that the FBI and our partners have been doing over the past few days, and we are far from finished,” D’Antuono added.
Ken Kohl, the second highest-ranking official in the U.S. Attorney’s Office for DC, said Friday: “We have literally hundreds of prosecutors and agents working from three commando centers on a job that is 24/7. “
He added: “The department will spare no funds in our efforts to hold all these people to account. This is going to be something we will continue to do in the coming hours, days and weeks to continue this investigation.”
Man arrested at Pelosi’s desk
Barnett, known as Bigo, was charged with knowingly entering restricted buildings or sites without legal authority, violent trespassing and disorderly conduct on Capitol grounds as well as theft of public property, according to a criminal charge. .
It was not immediately clear if Barnett had a lawyer.
Barnett is being held by the FBI, Sheriff Benton County, Arkansas’s Public Information Officer, Lieutenant Shannon Jenkins, told CNN. “He is in the custody of the FBI. He was not booked into our facility. He was transported to another facility and into the custody of the FBI,” she said in an email.
Upon inquiry, Jenkins did not provide the name of the facility to which Barnett was transferred.
According to authorities, Barnett was caught with a US flag and cell phone at about 14:50 ET on video surveillance entering Pelosi’s office area, and left with only his cell phone six minutes later.
Barnett was photographed with his trunk on Pelosi’s desk and the flag draped nearby.
He later spoke to media and was captured on video containing an envelope from Pelosi’s office. Barnett told the reporter, “I did not steal it.” He said he bled the envelope and laid a quarter on her desk, according to court reports signed by a special agent at the Capitol police station.
Security questions about Capitol Hill are big
Although more arrests are being made in connection with the Capitol intrusion, lawmakers say they are surprised at the lack of readiness among law enforcers, as it has been known for weeks that Trump would promote a rally he said was aimed at to prevent certification. of Joe Biden’s victory.
In response, U.S. Police Chief Steven Sund resigned. He said in a statement on Thursday that Capitol police and other law enforcement officers had been “actively attacked” with metal pipes and other weapons.
“They were determined to enter the Capitol building by inflicting heavy damage,” Sund said.
“The violent attack on the American Capitol was different from what I experienced in my thirty years in law enforcement here in Washington DC,” he added. “Maintaining public safety in an open environment – specifically for activities with the first amendment – has long been a challenge.”
The direct marketing company Navistar, for example, announced that an employee had been terminated after being photographed with his company ID badge in the broken Capitol.
“While we support all employees’ right to peaceful, lawful exercise of freedom of speech, any employee who engages in dangerous behavior that endangers the health and safety of others will no longer have a job at Navistar Direct Marketing,” the company said. in a statement to CNN.
This story was updated Friday with additional information.
CNN’s Jamiel Lynch contributed to this report.