Rod of Iron Ministries, a Moonies spinoff that incorporates the AR-15 into worship, mobilized support for the Jan. 6 insurrection as part of vibrant far-right network in NE Pennsylvania, alongside Frank Scavo & Teddy Daniels. /1 rawstory.com/rod-of-iron-mi…
Pastor Sean Moon led Rod of Iron members onto the scaffolding on the west side of the Capitol. One ROI member reflected: "If the scaffolding collapsed from so many people, it would be tragic, but it would be a good way to die as an offering." (photo via @Shutterstock) /2
While Pastor Sean led the main group to the west plaza, Rod of Iron Ministries member Robert Pickell joined rioters pushing against the police line outside the Columbus Doors on the east side. /3
Bonus for North Carolina readers: Although my story only glances on this aspect, one of the conservative figures cultivated by Pastor Sean Moon is Mark Robinson, now our lieutenant governor.
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THREAD: Status hearing on Proud Boys defendants Dominic Pezzola, William Pepe and Matthew Greene taking place right now. Pezzola used a stolen riot shield to bust out a window in the initial breach of the Capitol. Pepe shoved aside a barrier to allow rioters to reach Capitol. /1
The three defendants, who are being tried together, are all from New York State. Pezzola is from Rochester, Greene from Syracuse, & Pepe from the New York City area. /2
Most of the discussion right now is about discovery, which is understandably "voluminous." /3
THREAD: Evan Neumann of Mill Valley, CA, who is wanted on charges of assault & disorderly conduct at the US Capitol on Jan. 6, remains at large. /1
Neumann is accused of punching a Metropolitan DC police officer & striking officers w/ a barricade, while accusing them of "defending the people who are going to kill your f***ing children." /2
Neumann was charged on March 23. Five weeks earlier, FBI agents followed Neumann from his home in Mill Valley to the international terminal at San Francisco International Airport, but he declined to answer questions about whether he physically engaged with law enforcement. /3
THREAD: 1/5 Nick Fuentes, who marched at Unite the Right in Charlottesville & rallied Trump supporters outside the Capitol on Jan. 6, is so freaked about Juneteenth becoming a national holiday that he's straight-up attacking Holocaust remembrance & defending Nazism. #JuneTeenth
2/5 For Nick Fuentes, commemorating the end of slavery, just like recognizing the genocide of indigenous people & acknowledging the Holocaust of Jews, is all a prelude to "white genocide" — a ridiculous and false belief without foundation in reality.
3/5 Speaking of the Holocaust, Nick Fuentes suggests talking about it at all amounts to a conspiracy against white people. The murder of 6 million Jews during WW2? "Who cares?"
My reporter's notebook for this piece: During lunch break for the "Voter Integrity Bootcamp," presenter Jay DeLancy told me: "They don't like you." Members of the "host committee" for the training wanted me to leave. DeLancy said they mentioned a story I wrote about "Muslims."
Based on recognizing 1 individual from a previous assignment, I surmise that the story they didn't like was about a 2017 meeting in which a Winston-Salem, NC man expressed the desire to kill Muslims, & others identified area mosques & prominent Muslims. triad-city-beat.com/local-conserva…
1/7 Bradley Bunn, a Colorado man associated with the boogaloo movement who was arrested by the FBI while on his way to a May 1, 2020 anti-lockdown rally, has pleaded guilty to federal weapons charges for making pipe bombs in his home. justice.gov/usao-co/pr/nor…
2/7 Bunn pleaded guilty to 1 count of making destructive devices & 4 counts of possessing destructive devices. Under the plea agreement he signed, he could face up to 10 yrs in prison for each count. Sentencing is scheduled for June 3.
3/7 Bunn had previously served 13 yrs w/ the Colorado National Guard in special forces, where he rose to the rank of captain, according to the @denverpostdenverpost.com/2021/03/04/lov…
THREAD: 1/ Vincent James Foxx (lower left), who hosts the white nationalist podcast "Red Elephants," is mentioned by Stephen Baker aka "Ignoramus" in his livestream from the Capitol insurrection. Baker told his followers: "Red Elephant is right at the door." #CapitolRiots
2/ 38 seconds later, Baker says, "And Vincent James was like one of the first people in, I'm almost positive." It's noteworthy that Vincent James Foxx is on the FBI's radar. If there's hard evidence that he did indeed storm the Capitol, it likely spells legal trouble for him.
3/ Vincent James Foxx is one of the leading voices of the white nationalist right that is working to radicalize disillusioned Trumpers since the Jan. 6 insurrection. His Telegram channel has 32,352 subscribers. #CapitolRiots