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Where Are They Now: Tracking the Prominent Trump Supporters Spotted — Or Arrested — in the Capitol Riot

In the wake of the riot in D.C., in which a mob stormed the Capitol building, forcing the evacuation of lawmakers and leaving five people dead, law enforcement has brought charges against a series of the rioters.

Many of those spotted at the protest, some of whom have already been arrested, are known online as prominent supporters of President Donald Trump. Thousands of his supporters were assembled in D.C. for a protest of the certification of Joe Biden’s win. They attended a Trump rally, where the president told them to head to the Capitol building to protest. There, the large group overwhelmed police and broke into the Capitol building. Officials said the mob, clad in MAGA hats and waving Trump flags, attacked police with metal pipes, chemical irritants and other weapons.

Defenders of the president, from Fox News hosts to members of Congress, have pushed the conspiracy theory that the mob was composed of Antifa members disguised as Trump supporters.

There is no evidence to support this theory, and the Justice Department has dismissed it.

A number of the individuals in the mob have been identified. Many of them, perhaps not aware that they could face serious legal repercussions, live-streamed the break-in or identified themselves to the press. Some where white nationalists or neo-Nazis, others held Confederate flags, making for a scene reminiscent of Charlottesville. One wore a sweatshirt that said “Camp Auschwitz” and another wore a shirt that said the 6 million Jews killed were not enough.

Below are some of the most prominent figures spotted at the protest. Some have been arrested and charged, others have not.

Baked Alaska

White nationalist troll Tim Gionet, also known as Baked Alaska, live-streamed himself from inside the Capitol on the blockchain platform DLive, according to a report from Insider. An estimated 16,000 people watched the 20-minute livestream. Gionet’s video shows him inside an office, trying to “call the U.S. Senate,” and the livestream also apparently included footage of at least one protestor taking a selfie with Capitol police. Gionet also livestreamed his confrontation with Capitol police as they ejected him from the building. Just two days before the riot, Gionet — seen maskless in his livestream — posted a video saying he had recently tested positive for coronavirus.

Jake Angeli

Known as the “Q Shaman,” prominent QAnon supporter Jake Angeli was photographed inside the Capitol wearing a hat with fur and horns, his body covered in tattoos of Norse symbols that have been co-opted by white supremacist and neo-Nazi movements. Photos of Angeli — a longtime fixture at pro-Trump events in Arizona, according to a report from the Arizona Republic — went viral this week as the chaos unfolded. Although some have baselessly associated Angeli with Antifa and Black Lives Matter following the Capitol insurrection, these claims have been disproven.

Federal authorities announced on Saturday that they have arrested Angeli and charged him with illegally entering the Capitol, as well as violent entry and disorderly conduct on Capitol grounds.

Richard Barnett

Richard “Bigo” Barnett, 60, of Arkansas, was pictured in the office of House Speaker Nancy Pelosi (D-CA), sitting with his feet up on what he thought was her desk (it wasn’t) after having illegally entered the Capitol. Barnett, who recently posted on Facebook that the was a white nationalist and prepared for a violent death, told New York Times reporter Matthew Rosenberg that he had taken an envelope from Pelosi’s office, and left a vulgar note on what he believed was her desk.

On Friday police said Barnett has been arrested for illegally entering Pelosi’s office and taking mail.

Derrick Evans

Newly-elected West Virginia state lawmaker Derrick Evans (R) shared a video he took of himself and other pro-Trump rioters as they breached the security around the Capitol and entered the building. Evans later deleted the video, in which he is wearing a helmet and is clearly part of the effort to get inside the building. Despite calls for Evans’ resignation, his attorney has said that Evans will not resign, and that he was “exercising his First Amendment rights to peacefully protest and ?lm a historic and dynamic event,” according to a local news report.

According to NBC Washington reporter Scott MacFarlane, the Justice Department has charged Evans with illegally entering the Capitol.

John Schaffer

John Schaffer, guitarist for metal band Iced Earth, is alleged to be among those who stormed the Capitol. According to Billboard, Schaffer, a Trump supporter, has worn Confederate flag bandanas on stage, and has claimed that Covid-19 is a “psychological warfare campaign on the people more than it is a serious pandemic.” His apparent picture has been included in the D.C. Metropolitan Police’s roundup of “Persons of Interest in Unrest-Related Offenses.”

Adam Johnson

Adam Johnson, 36, of Parrish, Florida, was photographed carrying what is believed to be Nancy Pelosi’s lectern through the Capitol, according to a report from the Bradenton Herald. He reportedly posted to Facebook about his plans to travel to Washington D.C. for the pro-Trump protests over the certification of the presidential election. Johnson reportedly has five kids, is a stay-at-home dad who makes and sells furniture, while his wife is a doctor. He reportedly has a criminal history of marijuana possession and probation charges.

Federal authorities announced Jan. 9 that they arrested Johnson and charged him with illegally entering the Capitol, theft of government property, and violent entry and disorderly conduct on Capitol grounds.

Jenny Cudd

enny Cudd, of Midland, Texas, posted video of herself boasting about participating in breaking down the door of Nancy Pelosi’s office, stealing her gavel, and witnessing someone sitting at a desk in Pelosi’s office and taking a picture of themselves. Cudd, a former mayoral candidate, bragged that the picture was on Fox News. Later, Cudd told a local CBS station that she didn’t “do anything illegal, vandalize, or hurt anyone,” and is now getting death threats. She also said that she plans on bringing a gas mask to future protests.

Nick Ochs

Proud Boy Hawaii founder Nick Ochs posted a picture of himself, smiling and smoking, from inside the Capitol, with the caption “Hello from the capitol lol.” Federal authorities have since arrested Ochs and charged him with trespassing into a restricted building, the Daily Beast reports. In addition to running the Hawaii chapter of the far-right Proud Boys, Ochs pushes his extremist views online as part of the “Murder the Media” podcast and YouTube collective. In 2020, Ochs was the Republican candidate in his district’s state House race; he lost in a landslide to Adrian Tam, a Democrat and Hawaii’s only openly LGBTQ state representative, who won 68% of the vote.

Douglas Sweet

Douglas Sweet, a Trump supporter from Virginia who also attended the deadly Unite the Right rally in Charlottesville in 2017, was arrested after entering the Capitol building. According to a local news report, Sweet was arrested shortly after entering the Capitol building, which had already been breached by the time he arrived. Sweet, a member of the neo-Confederate fringe group The Hiwaymen, spent eight hours in jail and has since returned home. BuzzFeed News reported that Sweet’s daughter, Robyn, has said she is “ashamed and disgusted” by her father, who she says disowned her because of her support for racial equality and Black Lives Matter.