Many of the alleged rioters facing charges have also accepted this conspiracy. But according to a CNN review of court documents, nearly a dozen defendants have explicitly backed down, saying they and other Trump supporters deserve the honor of storming the Capitol – not Antifa.
“There are a lot of memes and reports flying that say that the people who fought last night were all Antifa provocateurs, etc.”, accused Jose Padilla apparently posted on Facebook one day after the January 6 attack. ‘I just want to say that as a first-hand observer of every point of last night, Antifa was not. They were Patriots trying to restore the Republic. ‘
Another suspected Capitol rioter, Jonathan Mellis, said: “Dare you not try to tell me that people blame it on antifa and BLM. We proudly take responsibility for storming the castle.” He also used a vulgar term to imply that the left groups were too cowardly to carry out an attack.
Padilla and Mellis are among the accused charged with assaulting police officers in addition to committing offenses. Prosecutors say Mellis beat officers with a large stick, and that Padilla used a large Trump plate as an abused ram against police.
None of these men filed a plea, nor did a lawyer appear in court.
At least one speaker at CPAC promoted the lie this week, although he admitted that some Trump supporters took part in the attack on Capitol. Conservative radio presenter Wayne Dupree said: “Antifa was there, BLM was there, MAGA people were there, everyone was there.”
“I was in the Capitol building 2 days ago,” Robertson posted on Facebook, according to court documents. ‘I’m a member of the Virginia Citizens Defense League group, an NRA member and a serving soldier and police officer. Damage control by Republicans in DC trying to say it was ANTIFA. It was not. Possibly some were there “Of course. Did it cause? No.”
He was charged along with Jacob Fracker, a colleague of the Rocky Mount police who was also fired. The Pentagon says Robertson was previously in the U.S. Army Reserve and was deployed to Iraq during the war, and that Fracker is currently a corporal in the Virginia National Guard.
Both men pleaded not guilty at a virtual federal court hearing in Washington, DC on Thursday.
In the video, the man is allegedly heard saying: “do not break st … do not destroy st … we are not a goddamn Antifa.”
Another accused even begged his fellow rioters to be proud of their actions that day.
“Be embarrassed and hide if you need to – but I was there. It was not Antifa at the Capitol. It was patriots who loved freedom and who were desperate to fight for the final hope of our Republic,” Brandon said. Straka tweeted. A “Stop the Steal” march on the eve of the uprising.