Mob aimed to kidnap elected officials, prosecutors say

Sherwin said there appears to have been confusion among some prosecutors in part because of the complexity of the investigation and number of people involved. Prosecutors raised a similar prospect Thursday in the case of a former Air Force officer who they alleged carried plastic zip-tie handcuffs because he intended “to take hostages”.

The sprawling investigation involves multiple cities and jurisdictions, in part because so many of the rioters simply went home; only 13 were arrested in the moments after the building was cleared.

The details, tucked into the court papers, suggest that investigators believe there was a much more organised effort afoot, despite claims from rioters that it was a spontaneous outburst of anger over the election and President Donald Trump’s loss. Trump had been repeating baseless claims of election fraud for weeks.

The prosecutor in the case against Chansley said when he climbed up to the dais where Vice President Mike Pence had been presiding moments earlier, Chansley wrote a threatening note to Pence that said: “It’s only a matter of time, justice is coming”.

Pence and congressional leaders had been ushered out of the chamber by the Secret Service and Capitol Police before the rioters stormed into the room.

Gerald Williams, Chansley’s attorney, didn’t return a phone call or respond to email Friday morning seeking comment. A detention hearing is scheduled in his case for later Friday (Saturday AEDT)

Chansley, who calls himself the “QAnon Shaman” and has long been a fixture at Trump rallies, surrendered to the FBI field office in Phoenix on Saturday.

Prosecutors say that after Chansley climbed up to the dais where Vice-President Mike Pence had been presiding moments earlier, Chansley wrote a threatening note to Pence that said: “It’s only a matter of time, justice is coming.”

Pence and other congressional leaders had been ushered out of the chamber by the Secret Service and US Capitol Police before the rioters stormed into the room.

“Strong evidence, including Chansley’s own words and actions at the Capitol, supports that the intent of the Capitol rioters was to capture and assassinate elected officials in the United States Government,” prosecutors wrote in their memo, urging the judge to keep Chansley behind bars.

Gerald Williams, Chansley’s attorney, didn’t immediately return a phone call and email seeking comment. A detention hearing is scheduled in his case for later on Saturday AEDT.

Chansley, who calls himself the “QAnon Shaman” and has long been a fixture at Trump rallies, surrendered to the FBI field office in Phoenix on Saturday.

News photos show him at the riot shirtless, with his face painted and wearing a fur hat with horns, carrying a US flag attached to a wooden pole topped with a spear.

QAnon is an apocalyptic and convoluted conspiracy theory spread largely through the internet and promoted by some right-wing extremists.

Chansley told investigators he came to the Capitol “at the request of the President that all ‘patriots’ come to DC on January 6, 2021”. An indictment unsealed on Tuesday in Washington charged him with civil disorder, obstruction of an official proceeding, disorderly conduct in a restricted building, and demonstrating in a Capitol building.

More than 80 people are facing charges stemming from the violence, including more than 40 people in federal court. The federal charges brought so far are primarily for crimes such as illegal entry but prosecutors have said they are weighing more serious charges against at least some of the rioters.

Michael Sherwin, acting US attorney for the District of Columbia, said this week that he has organised a group of national security and public corruption prosecutors whose sole focus is to bring sedition charges for the “most heinous acts that occurred in the Capitol”.

During a hearing in Texas on Thursday (Friday AEDT) a prosecutor urged a judge to keep Colonel Larry Rendall Brock jnr locked up, saying the man meant to “take hostages.” Brock was arrested on Sunday in Texas after being photographed on the Senate floor during the deadly riot wearing a helmet and heavy vest and carrying plastic zip-tie handcuffs.

“He means to kidnap, restrain, perhaps try, perhaps execute members of the US government,” Assistant US Attorney Jay Weimer said, without providing specifics.

Brock’s attorney, Brook Antonio II, noted that the man has only been charged with misdemeanours. Antonio said there was no direct evidence of Brock breaking doors or windows to get into the Capitol, or doing anything violent once he was inside.