Thread by @capitolhunters

#SeditionHunters - events in DC required planning. Cindy Chafian organized the fiery Jan 5 rally where Ali Alexander led the crowd in “Victory or Death!” On Jan 6 she marched up the West Capitol steps with bullhorn & entourage and cheered during the assault on Officer Fanone. 1/

Cindy’s been organizing rightwing rallies since the Nov. 2020 election, with speaker lists full of extremist voices: Alex Jones (InfoWars), Michael Flynn, Roger Stone. Security always provided by the shadowy Flynn-connected 1st Amendment Praetorian group. 2/

Husband Scott Chafian, USN Surface Warfare & Anti-Terrorism Officer, held commands providing combat readiness training to foreign countries. Ret. at Lt. Cmdr. 2012 & launched a private firm (ETC Intl) offering similar “training engagements in support of security assistance.’’ 3/

On insurrection weekend, Cindy’s 1/5 rally had the fieriest speakers. She’d feuded with Amy Kremer (Women for America First), but on 1/6 morning still sat in the VIP section at Kremer’s Ellipse rally with Alex Jones & wife, Mike Flynn Jr., Nick Fuentes of America First... 4/

As soon as Trump’s speech ended, Alex & his entourage marched to the Capitol. Cindy & the women (including Jones’ wife) started later & took golf carts instead, with Scott joining in a 2nd cart. They drove like important people in a hurry, using their bullhorns. 5/

Cindy and Scott Chafian were still in a hurry after reaching the Capitol grounds, pushing through the crowd to reach the Lower W. Terrace where the brutal tunnel fight was underway. 6/

The important Chafians expected a path to be cleared: “I need to get through, I’m sorry, I gotta get through.” People in the crowd commented as they were pushed aside: “Where are you guys going? Where are they going?" "Guys - oh my god, I’m seriously getting smushed here”. 7/

The drawn-out tunnel fight was likely not to plan. The precision-directed mob reached the tunnel within minutes of the E. Capitol door breach & tried to walk in -- but DC MPD officers had retreated there & made a decisive stand: “We’re not letting them in the building!” 8/

As the battle intensified, Cindy’s group watched from the NW risers. By 3:19 PM, police had pushed back out to the tunnel entrance, exposing officers at the front. Officer Fanone was dragged into the mob while Cindy cheered and chanted. 9/

Cindy’s cheer at 3:21 PM is timed from sync’ed video. 2 officers in yellow push out to rescue Fanone, deep in the mob out of frame to R. While some yell “don’t hurt the cop!”, those with raised hands are chanting “police stand down!” See video at link. 10/

After Fanone's beating, organizers tried to regain control over the mob. Scott Chafian left his group and headed down towards the tunnel just as leaders were negotiating with police and 3%er Anthony Antonio (#BlackGlove805) used the bullhorn to ask the crowd for calm. 11/

The timing of Scott Chafian’s movement is solid: the photographer on the ledge (credentialed media) was up there for only a minute, after Fanone was returned to the police line & while Antonio gave his speech. (Video at link)
12/

The Chafian group stayed throughout the tunnel fight, even as the level of violence escalated over time. They are re-gathered in the risers by 3:47 PM, and Cindy is still watching at 4:06 PM when rioters attack police with a giant ladder. (Photo Shannon Stapleton, Reuters) 13/

Scott Chafian departed down the NW steps around 4:30 PM (L), after Trump’s “go home” statement. We know the time because Scott is seen right behind tunnel fighter #RaybanTerrorist, sunglasses off after being pepper-sprayed; he gets his eyes washed at 4:33 PM (R). 14/

On Jan 6 evening, after the Capitol was cleared, Cindy showed that her goal had been to disrupt the presidential vote certification. Millie Weaver of Infowars was also at the Capitol; she tweeted that the count would restart at 8 PM. “Time to go back out,” Cindy replied. 15/

What does it mean that the Chafians were on the Lower W Terrace all afternoon? Many right-wing figures were seen on Capitol grounds, including much of the Ellipse rally VIP section & at least 11 speakers listed on Cindy’s Jan 5 rally permit (marked in yellow)... 16/

... but the Chafians were not at a distance; they were face to face with horrific violence, and both moved toward it. Why was an organizer of the rallies not only witnessing violence but seeming to supervise at the attack? It’s time to ask those questions. 17/

Cindy’s many activities and events from November 2020 leading up to January 6 have been extensively documented by @visionsurreal. 18/

Many analysts consider the Dec 12 rally, that Cindy helped organize, a kind of ‘dress rehearsal’ for Jan 6, to practice gathering & moving a crowd in DC (photo). On Jan 6, the rally permit said “Women for America First will not conduct an organized march from the Ellipse…” 19/

... but the rally crowd was led down Pennsylvania and Constitution Aves. to the Capitol, where inciters with bullhorns steered their movements for hours. It’s also time to acknowledge that on Jan 6, the crowd was an instrument being used. 20/

The rally organization that pulled in crowds was rapid and efficient. Cindy created the “Eighty Percent Coalition” on Dec. 27 & held a smoothly-run event 9 days later on Jan 5th, with Scott helping with security. 21/
nps.gov/aboutus/foia/u…

Scott Chafian’s tie to a private defense or “security” company is not unusual. The figures surrounding Jan 6 include others with military + security, intelligence, or counterterrorism backgrounds. These people aren’t against the establishment - they ARE the establishment. 22/

Both Cindy and Scott Chafian show their extreme views on social media. On Jan 8 Cindy sent a series of menacing Tweets including “#NightoftheGreatPurge” and “It has begun” On Jan 9 she tweeted “War”. 23/

Cindy's not done yet - on July 15, 2021 she Tweeted "No one can stop what's coming" 24/

Scott Chafian keeps a lower social media profile, but has made some telling comments on his boss Chris Just's Facebook: "That gun needs a chainsaw bayonet". 25/

Did we mention that Scott Chafian wrote a master's thesis on the Nazi response to Russian tanks during WWII? You can read it for yourself. He makes the odd choice in his acknowledgements to honor the Nazis who "stood up for what they believed in" 26/
apps.dtic.mil/sti/pdfs/ADA42…

The defense contractor set that Scott Chafian moves in isn't only ideological though. In his boss Chris Just's Facebook, a buddy jokes about whether declassifying material would be "good for your mercenary world"... 27/

Ambition, hatred, and financial interests can all be fuel for insurrection; organizational skills help pull it off. Given their actions on Jan 6, the Chafians have some explaining to do. 28/

This research is the sum of contributions by many #SeditionHunters, often anonymous. Special h/t to the #Bluehatz group, @visionsurreal, @BetoAngelMommas, & @StevieG54099097 for video. For now you can watch the full Chafian 'reel' on Rumble... 29/
rumble.com/vk49ur-cindy-a…

..since YouTube cancelled our main channel last week. Being canceled means these videos must be hitting a nerve!

Several good media articles have covered the lead-up to Jan 6, including the money trail, rally organization, & the Chafians’ role. 30/
WSJ: wsj.com/articles/jan-6…

More articles related to the Chafians from
CNN: cnn.com/2021/01/31/pol…
NYT: nytimes.com/2021/01/31/us/…
31/

And while we work on a hosting solution, sync'd Capitol videos and perp 'reels' are up on Rumble:
rumble.com/c/c-969823

To new folks: joining the #SeditionHunters is easy, just pitch in! It's not just hunting IDs, but graphics, video, data entry, analysis - many options. 32/

#SeditionHunters - On Jan 6, rally organizer Cindy Chafian & husband Scott rushed to the Capitol in golf carts. (Overheard: ‘We’re inside. They need help, let’s go!’) Turns out, the “help” was...Nathan Hughes, who ran into the tunnel & helped drag Officer Fanone into the mob. 33/

This finding ties VIPs Cindy and Scott Chafian DIRECTLY to the violence at the Capitol. They knew the Capitol was under attack, raced to get there, forced their way through the crowd, watched the mob attack police --- and brought someone to participate in that attack. 34/

Hughes foresaw & predicted violence against police. At 2:10 PM on Jan 6, 1 minute before the first Capitol breach, he posted: “I will always back the blue until the blue doesn't back us.” At 3:19 PM he helped drag MPD officers into the violent mob that beat them. 35/

Background: Hughes is tied to the Chafians through buddy Matt Couch, head of the America First media group, an MC at Cindy’s Jan 5 DC rally. Both Hughes & Couch are from Bentonville, AR. Here they are at a 2020 Trump rally in Georgia; both were in DC for Nov, Dec. rallies too 36/

On Jan 4 AM in DC, Hughes & Couch met up with other rightwing figures. Couch then got a call from Proud Boy leader Joe Biggs about the arrest of Enrique Tarrio, meant to have had ‘war powers’ on Jan 6. By evening, Couch & Hughes were in a hotel room working on damage control 37/

On Jan 6, Hughes was up past 2 AM, then tweeted by 7:36 AM from the Ellipse. Though he was in Cindy Chafian’s VIP tent on the 5th, seems he didn’t make the cut on Jan 6 - instead lined up for the 1st row behind the VIPs. Note his own-merch T-shirt & striking ‘Mechanix’ gloves 38/

After Trump’s speech, Hughes changed Tshirt & hat & added a bandana (he’s an anti-masker), then rode in Scott Chafian’s golf cart to the besieged Capitol. Time is after 2:11 PM since bystanders heard: “We’re inside. They need help, let’s go” “We’re already in. Don’t stop now” 39/

Some of these quotes were reported in charging docs for Anthony Puma. Those coming to the Capitol knew of the breaches, came for a purpose. (The man on the back of the cart is J.T. Mott, from AR like Hughes and Couch. He entered the Capitol, now arrested.) 40/

When the group reached Capitol grounds, Hughes brought up the rear of the Chafian ‘stack’ that pushed through crowds to the W. Plaza, headed for the stairs to the Lower W. Terrace. 41/

At the stairs, Hughes left the group, rushed ahead and climbed the wall to get to his destination faster... 42/

. .. then RAN into the tunnel to join the fight. Sync’d video puts this at 3:15 PM, when officers defending the tunnel had begun pushing the mob back, regaining ground. 43/

Hughes pushed to the front of the tunnel mob and can be seen reaching out to grab officers. He's clearly identifiable from his red bandana and Mechanix gloves. Fanone is identifiable by his nametag, helmet number, and tattoos. 44/

Hughes stayed for a full hour of brutal fighting at the tunnel, though he never again entered - instead hung around outside near likely organizers. At the end of the day he climbed up to confront officers as they cleared the Upper W. Terrace. 45/

The Chafians stayed the whole hour too, watching the tunnel fight from the risers. This picture is timestamped 4:17 PM, the same time that Trump finally Tweeted his “Go home” video. (Lev Radin, Pacific Press). 46/

At 5:12 PM on Jan 6, when the Capitol attack was effectively over, Hughes tweeted "'Mostly Peaceful' protest". Then a bit later: “We ain’t done”.

By Jan 7 he's agreeing with Robert Patrick Lewis of 1AP, calling "Patriots" to the next "part of the mission". 47/

#SeditionHunters - new update & correction on the Nathan Hughes story, as we work on sync'd multicam video of the assault on Officer Fanone on Jan 6. Soon after Fanone was dragged out, a SECOND officer (“Officer X”) was also ejected from the tunnel into the crowd. 48/

Inside the tunnel just before, Hughes & three others swarmed an officer. We now believe this is Officer X, & the group was reaching to wrest their shield away. While this group obstructed, Fanone was pulled by #Unlucky13 along the N edge of the tunnel and out into the mob. 49/

We’ll show more soon in a 34-minute sync’d video (months of work by editors @RiversideKitty and @StevieG54099097). Note that Officer X is Capitol Police, but is wearing an MPD helmet, maybe scavenged. We’ll blur their face since they’ve kept out of the public eye so far. 50/

The complexity of these mob assaults means that multi-cam analysis is key to understanding how they unfold. There’s no doubt about Nate Hughes’ identity, though; he stayed near the tunnel in plain view afterwards. Here he is joining the crowd in chanting “drag them out”. 51/

And, a day after this thread and a separate Raw Story article appeared, Hughes deleted his Twitter account. (h/t @BitsButterfly for noting it). 52/

Hughes & buddy Matt Couch are part of a large rightwing network. On Nov. 14th, in DC for the ‘rehearsal’ rally, they had dinner with Anna Khait, the Russian poker player & Survivor contestant who worked as a ‘honeypot’ for Erik Prince’s Project Veritas 53/
cardschat.com/news/anna-khai…

Khait’s targets included union activists, a State Dept. employee, even Trump’s security advisor H.R. McMaster. Besides Hughes & Couch, her Nov 14 dinner included Chad Prather, talk show host & anti-masker now challenging Greg Abbot in the Republican primary for TX governor. 54/

On Dec. 6, Hughes & Couch were in Georgia for an “election results protest prayer rally”. Here they are with Ali Alexander, Michael Coudrey, Scott Presler (all seen on Capitol ground on Jan 6) and again Anna Khait. 55/

On Dec. 29, Nate posted about Baofeng radios, the same model used by Proud Boys and many others on January 6. On Jan 1, Matt Couch posted “I’ll see you all in Washington DC!”, tagging his group from Dec. 6 (Ali Alexander, Michael Coudrey, Scott Presler). 56/

On Jan 4 morning, Couch tweeted he was with Hughes & a big group, including #SeditionVIPs Pastor Greg Locke, Tina Forte, Michael Coudrey, and Mindy Williams, also Anna Khait, Dustin Stockton, & Cordie Williams. 57/

On Jan 5, Hughes and Couch walked to the Freedom Plaza rally in a group including Ali Alexander, Michael Coudrey, and the Oath Keeper tagged as #ThumbOK. (1:01 in link below). 58/
rumble.com/vch5s5-america…

Couch and Hughes were fixtures in the Jan 5 rally VIP tent. Here they're just behind the now-arrested #IamJohnStrand and #IamSimoneGold, and the likely soon-to-be-arrested #IamTaylerHansen. 59/

In the evening, at the concert by #SeditionVIP #IamBrysonGray, Hughes was still in the VIP tent, along with rally speakers Pastor Mark Burns and Robert Patrick Lewis of 1st Amendment Praetorian. 60/

Why did Hughes get a prime spot in the Chafians’ golf carts? It’s worth comparing him to some of the #SeditionVIP’s who rode behind. Scott’s cart stopped to pick up hitchhikers, including LA-based agitator #IamKennedyLindsey and her finance-industry friend #IamDianelleLacy. 61/

Lacy and Lindsey were together all day 1/6 at the Capitol but make an odd-couple pair: Lacy’s much older; her LinkedIn now says she's a VP at BlackRock Capital. On Jan 5th evening she hung out with LA right-wing figures Genevieve Peters (#IamGenevievePeters) and Elsa Aldeguer 62/

Cindy (Pfingston) Chafian’s cart held friends-and-family: Alex Jones’ wife Erika & Kaitlyn (Pfingston) Carwin. Carwin calls herself a writer; we found 1 byline, a review of Andy Ngo’s bio “Unmasked: inside antifa’s radical plan to destroy democracy.” 63/
nationalfile.com/review-andy-ng…

Carwin otherwise seems establishment: Pepperdine MPP (alum profile: “My morning runs in Santa Monica were always accompanied by Milton Friedmann lectures”), internship at Hoover Instit., husband a Chicago lawyer, uses words like “jejeune” and “myriad” 64/
publicpolicy.pepperdine.edu/giving/wavemak…

The Carwin group offers 2 lessons. First, the Capitol attack was not driven by economic anxiety: funders, organizers, leaders were well off. (Hughes’ companies’ 2020 FB ad spending was over $280K.) And second, the actual attack was not a surprise to this class. Everyone knew. 65/

This crowdsourced research is a group effort by #SeditionHunters; it is not possible without many contributors. Video by @StevieG54099097 and @OnTheHudsonNYC. @chadloder ID'd the LA folks & found the shot of Lindsey & pals hitching a ride. 66/

Epilogue: Raw Story called Cindy for follow-up articles on her & Hughes. Besides complaining about video, Cindy says "I mean, it was pretty obvious what the experience was...I really don't have anything else to say about it". 67/
rawstory.com/cindy-chafian/
rawstory.com/nathan-hughes/

Finally, to clarify: the general norm is that results go to FBI first, so anything reported here is typically 1-2 months behind findings, to not compromise investigations. Hughes was noted as a person of interest in February, and reported in the tunnel in July. 68/