#SeditionHunters - at the impeachment trial in 2021, we saw chilling footage of Sen. Chuck Schumer trying to evacuate and nearly running into invaders - he did a U-turn and fled. Now we know who he encountered: the hulking Proud Boy Joshua Pruitt, #BaldBulldog. 1/
Here's what Schumer nearly ran into - a massive, muscled bodybuilder, inducted into the Proud Boys only in November as they prepped for the Capitol attack. Read about encounter in Pruitt's new Statement of Offense - he just pled guilty (h/t @emptywheel) 2/
documentcloud.org/documents/2205…
Minutes before, at 2:28 PM, Pruitt (#BaldBulldog) helped lead the mob breaking the police line in the Crypt above. They seemed fixated on getting down to the Visitor's Center quickly. 3/
Maryland Proud Boy Pruitt moved separately from the main Proud Boy crew breaking into the Visitor's Center, the #OrangeTapeGroup (mostly from the Kansas City chapter). In the Visitor's Center they all came together though - Pruitt here w/ bare arms. 4/
The hulking, intimidating Joshua Pruitt #BaldBulldog was a fairly late addition to the Proud Boys. He was inducted only at the first DC "rehearsal rally", on Nov 14, 2020. Video from Brendan Gutenschwager. 5/
Pruitt was inducted a month before PB leader Joe Biggs' famous text Dec. 19, right after the attack was green-lit, saying they needed better-quality Proud Boys: "Let's get radical and recruit real men". But maybe recruiting stepped up already in Nov. 6/
docs.google.com/spreadsheets/d…
Pruitt's guilty plea may help us understand one of the ongoing Jan 6 mysteries: the goal of the rush to the Visitor's Center. To intercept lawmakers, block police reinforcements, something else?
(Here's longer impeachment footage, Swalwell narrating) 7/
And for the record, here's a selfie from Joshua Pruitt #BaldBulldog, posing with an assault rifle. We are incredibly lucky that the Capitol attack was not worse than it was. 8/
Update: just pulled Josh Pruitt #BaldBulldog in Capitol surveillance cam. Here he's moving from the Crypt toward the stairs down to the Visitors' Center, a bit over 2 minutes before his near-miss with Schumer. Neither he nor the #OrangeTapeGroup seem in a hurry, no urgency. 9/
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