The most disturbing allegations so far appear to be against Lonnie Coffman, an Alabama man charged after authorities found 11 homemade bombs, an assault rifle and a handgun in his truck parked two blocks from the Capitol. The truck sat there all morning during the pro-Trump rally, and Coffman was arrested when he tried to return to the vehicle after dusk.
In another notable complaint, Cleveland Grover Meredith Jr. accused of writing in text messages that he wanted to shoot the house’s speaker Nancy Pelosi, and that he had brought hundreds of ammunition and three rifles to Washington, DC after driving from Colorado. according to court records.
On Sunday night, authorities arrested two more men, Eric Munchel of Tennessee and Larry Rendell Brock of Texas. Both attracted attention online because of photos showing them wearing armor in the Capitol building and wearing plastic straps that could restrain a person.
Legislators describe ‘terror’ unfolding
As new details emerged, it became obvious that lawmakers were more threatening than the attack on live television understood.
“What went through my head was honestly scary,” Democratic Rep. Susan Wild said on CNN’s New Day last week after she had to hide on the floor of the House.
Washington, DC’s largest federal prosecutor, Michael Sherwin, said he expects hundreds of people could be charged in the aftermath of the attack, and investigations could take months to fully comprehend.
“I would not be surprised if we find licentiousness in groups that are organized and have plans,” Sherwin said Sunday. ‘We have seen in some of these individuals what we have identified – they look almost paramilitary, do not they? You have the uniform, you have communication, you have all the accessories. It shows indications of affiliation and a command-and-control. So I believe we are going to find those features. ‘
Viral rioters also charged
One of the federal defendants so far, Jacob Chansley – who wore no shirt in the Capitol, a fur coat, face paint and horns and was trapped in many images of the crowd – has already told the FBI that he came to Washington “as part of a group effort, along with other Arizona patriots, at the request of the president that all ‘patriots’ come to DC on January 6, 2021,” according to his court documents.
Others accused of taking part in the fight, such as Nick Ochs, the founder of Proud Boys Hawaii, and Joshua Pruitt, who were identified in a November video in which they presented an oath to the Proud Boys, apparently ‘ had an alliance with fringe groups like the Proud Boys and QAnon. Trump followed.
Several others who were not charged with crimes lost their jobs because they attended the protest to which Trump spoke. One man, Derrick Evans, resigned from his recently won seat in the West Virginia House of Delegates after federal prosecutors charged him. He said he was taking responsibility for his actions – which allegedly streamed his entry into the Capitol building alive and ‘We are in! Later, a man came up to him and shook his hand and said, “Welcome to Congress.”
Next steps
Several of the federal defendants will appear in court in the coming days for trials and detention trials, with more likely to make arrests that could show how armed and prepared others were in the crowd.
None of the 20 federal defendants has yet been formally charged by a grand jury, a process that is likely to provide more information about the seriousness of the offense in public.
The extensive criminal investigation is still in its earliest stages. Sherwin said Sunday that hundreds of people could be charged, while the FBI released more than 40 images of people inside or around the Capitol.