The number of Donald Trump supporters who swarmed the Capitol in a deadly, violent assault was at least in the thousands. The number of those Trumpists who shoved past police to enter the Capitol building itself and prowl the halls searching for members of Congress was in the hundreds. Over a week after that insurgency, the number of people arrested is only about 100.
That number seems small … because it is. But there are some reasons why it’s taking so long. For example, the warrant for two police officers in Virginia shows that the FBI is doing far more than just matching names with images from the day of the insurgency, slapping on a charge of unlawful entry, and calling it a day. If each of the warrants is as detailed as this one, the effort represented to bring these criminals to justice is, by several factors, larger than the number of people that broke windows, tore down American flags, and attacked the Capitol Police. But you may be able to find your “favorite” traitor in a new database that’s logging those who have been arrested so far.
As HuffPost reports, charges against officers Thomas Robertson and Jacob Fracker were filed on Tuesday, just six days after the pair of Rocky Mount, Virginia, cops took part in the assault on the Capitol. The criminal charges include not just a picture of Fracker and Robertson inside the Capitol building posing in front of a Revolutionary War general, but some telling insights from the two men’s social media history.
In social media posts, Defendant Robertson is quoted as saying, ‘CNN and the Left are just mad because we actually attacked the government who is the problem and not some random small business ... The right IN ONE DAY took the f***** U.S. Capitol. Keep poking us.’
Clearly, not only were the pair not expecting to be arrested for their role in attempting to overthrow the United States government, they were quite proud of it. They bragged about taking the Capitol and threatened to do more if their demands were not met.
And somehow, they were deluded enough to believe this was all just dandy.
A now-deleted Facebook post by Defendant Fracker containing the caption, ‘Lol to
anyone who’s possibly concerned about the picture of me going around ... Sorry I hate freedom? … Not like I did anything illegal … y’all do what you feel you need to …’
How brazen were Robertson and Fracker about their little adventure in insurgency? Enough that they talked about sending copies of their inside-the-Capitol images to their pals on the Rocky Mount police force while doing an interview with Newsweek. And it seems the FBI really did “do what you feel you need to,” which was to arrest the two men on charges of violent entry and disorderly conduct, with a hint that additional charges are on the way.
This wonderful pair are just two of the names Business Insider has cataloged in a database of insurgency-related arrests. Most of those listed so far are charged with just curfew violations or illegal entry, but some of the most blatant examples—like Richard Barnett, who invaded House Speaker Nancy Pelosi’s office—have already been saddled with a significant list of charges. Adam Johnson, seen running off with the speaker’s lectern from the House floor, earned a “theft of government property” charge.
What’s missing so far on all of these entries are the big charges: sedition, insurrection, or treason. Whether or not those charges appear and the people involved in this attempted overthrow suffer consequences that go beyond a slap will go a long way in determining how likely it is that this event, or something similar, will happen again.
