3 Active-Duty Marines Arrested, Charged for Roles in Jan. 6 Capitol Attack

One of many Marines expressed a want for the Capitol assault to ignite a second civil struggle.

Three active-duty U.S. Marines have been arrested for his or her involvement within the January 6, 2021, assault on the U.S. Capitol constructing.

The three men — Cpl. Micah Coomer and Sgts. Joshua Abate and Dodge Dale Hellonen — had been ardent loyalists to then-President Donald Trump. Surveillance footage of the assault exhibits the three males collectively, adorned in MAGA (“Make America Nice Once more,” Trump’s 2016 presidential marketing campaign slogan) gear.

At one level, the three males placed one of their red MAGA hats on a statue inside the building, probably after members of Congress had been evacuated because of the escalating violence.

The Marines every face a number of costs, including for disorderly conduct within the Capitol.

Maj. Kevin Stephensen, a spokesman for the Marine Corps, told news outlets that officers are conscious of the allegations in opposition to the three active-duty Marines, and are “totally cooperating with applicable authorities in help of the investigation.”

Within the days and months after the assault, the Marines made quite a few references to witnessing and collaborating within the Capitol breach. Abate, for instance, admitted during an interview for a security clearance that he was within the Capitol on January 6, saying that he didn’t speak about it as a result of the assault had been “portrayed negatively” by the media.

Coomer was extra open about his involvement within the breach, posting footage of himself contained in the Capitol on his Instagram account. Upon additional inquiry into his social media interactions, the Division of Justice (DOJ) found that he was hoping that the attack would ignite a second civil war.

“The whole lot on this nation is corrupt,” Coomer stated to a different Instagram person. “We truthfully want a contemporary restart. I’m ready for the boogaloo.”

When requested what he meant by that time period, which refers to a far proper anti-government motion, Coomer responded, “Civil struggle 2.”

Two years after the Capitol assault, the investigation into the breach is ongoing. No less than 978 people have been arrested and charged with crimes referring to the day’s occasions, in keeping with a database compiled by Enterprise Insider. Coomer, Abate and Hellonen were not included in that publication’s analysis.

A number of people with ties to the navy, largely retired veterans but additionally some active-duty members, have been charged or arrested for his or her involvement within the assault. Many took half in direct violence in opposition to safety personnel charged with protecting order within the constructing — for instance, Robert Morss, an Military veteran, directed members of the mob to build a “shield wall” to counteract the Capitol Police’s efforts to dam them from getting into the constructing, encouraging them to make use of shields they’d introduced as weapons.

Dozens of members of the Oath Keepers, a far proper group comprised of present and former authorities, navy and legislation enforcement officers, additionally participated within the Capitol assault. No less than 12 members of that group, a few of whom led the preliminary cost into the constructing, had been charged with seditious conspiracy. The group’s chief, Stewart Rhodes, was convicted of seditious conspiracy in late November.