When they spotted a familiar face at the Capitol riots, they reported it to authorities
(CNN)When crowds of former President Donald Trump's supporters stormed into the US Capitol weeks ago, hundreds of photos and videos emerged: clips of crowds chanting violent threats, selfies inside the building, photos of ransacked offices and broken windows.
Americans
watched in horror. Then, colleagues, friends and family members began
pointing out the faces of people they knew, had shared holidays with
and, in the midst of a national security crisis, they began reporting
them to federal officials.
Patrick McCaughey, who was charged with assaulting a police officer
seen on video getting crushed by a door and screaming in pain, was
reported to the FBI by someone who knew him from childhood, according to
court documents. McCaughey's attorney declined to comment.
Andrew Ericson, a 23-year-old man from Oklahoma, was charged with two misdemeanors related to the riot after an acquaintance reported his social media livestream to authorities, court documents show. Ericson's attorney declined to comment.
Matthew
Mazzocco was charged with knowingly entering or remaining in a
restricted building or grounds without lawful entry and violent entry
and disorderly conduct on Capitol Grounds after a tipster told federal
agents Mazzocco posted pictures at the Capitol on a Facebook youth
sports page, court documents show. CNN reached out to Mazzocco and his attorney but has not heard back.
After a public call for help,
the FBI has now received more than 200,000 digital tips from the
public, Steven D'Antuono, assistant director in charge of the FBI's
Washington, DC, Field Office, said late January.
"Some
of you have recognized that this was such an egregious incident that
you have turned in your own friends and family members," D'Antuono said. "We know that those decisions are often painful -- but you picked up the phone because it was the right thing to do."
At least 150 people have been charged by federal prosecutors in
connection with the insurrection. Court documents show at least two
dozen of those cases involved tips to the FBI from familiar faces:
former romantic partners, old classmates, social media followers,
siblings, neighbors, some who said they had noticed a pattern of
concerning behaviors before January 6.
While
the tipsters' motivations are unknown, Nathaniel Herr, an associate
psychology professor at American University in Washington, DC, said it's
likely many felt obliged to do something after the authorities' call
for assistance.
"When
the FBI is making a call, it feels like, 'Here's a legitimate place
that I can finally report this thing that's been bothering me for a long
time,'" Herr told CNN. "I would bet, in many of the reporters'
experience, it was something that had been brewing for a while and now
it was like, 'OK, someone's asking me for help.'"
'Choose a side or die'
Among
those who turned to authorities is 18-year-old Jackson Reffitt, who
reported his own father. Guy Reffitt, of Texas, was charged with
knowingly entering or remaining in a restricted building or grounds
without lawful authority and obstruction of justice. Investigators
tracked his cell phone location and identified him in photographs taken
at the Capitol, according to an affidavit. CNN reached out to Guy Reffitt and his attorney but has not heard back.
Jackson
Reffitt told authorities he had heard his father admit he went to the
US Capitol to "protect the country" and that he brought his gun with
him. According to the affidavit, he said Guy Reffitt told them the FBI
was now watching him. The son also told investigators his father said he
would do "what he had to do" if Jackson Reffitt reported him to
authorities, the affidavit states.
"He said, 'Choose a side or die,'" Jackson Reffitt told CNN's Chris Cuomo. "And if I chose a certain side, I would cross a line and he would do something he didn't want to do."
Guy
Reffitt also threatened his daughter, telling her that if she put his
comments on social media, he would "put a bullet" through her phone, the
affidavit said, citing what Jackson Reffitt told investigators.
According to the document, Guy Reffitt's spouse did not believe he would
act on his words.
Nicole
Reffitt, Guy Reffitt's wife, told CNN in a statement she stands with
her family and called Reffitt a "loving husband devoted father, loyal
friend and passionate patriot."
"Many
statements have been taken out of context," Nicole Reffitt said in the
statement. "I want it to be clear that no one present during the
conversation in question ever felt that they were in any danger or felt
like they were being threatened. We have texts that prove this."
Some were annoyed, she said, "but they never ever feared for their safety."
"Our
home has always been an open door for people who need a warm bed, peace
or a simple hug. Our home welcomes all people of all colors, faiths
beliefs and opinions," her statement said. "Guy in particular listens to
everyone and tries to understand all sides."
Sarah
Reffitt, Guy Reffitt's 23-year-old daughter, told CNN her father "would
never harm or hurt anybody," and added she feels "betrayed" by Jackson
Reffitt's statements.
"My dad is a good man who always would help another in need no matter their political stance, religion or ethnicity," she said.
"I
feel disappointed in him for making that decision even at all to go up
there and risk his life and endanger others and put his family in this
situation," Jackson Reffitt told Cuomo. "It might be my fault for
talking to authorities but I don't want to think that. He's an adult and
he made his own decisions."
Another tip to the FBI came from Larry Brock's ex-wife, according to an affidavit. Brock, a retired Air Force Reserve officer,
walked into the Capitol wearing a green helmet, green tactical vest
with patches, black and camouflage jacket and beige pants and holding a
white flex cuff, usually used by law enforcement to detain subjects,
according to a news release from the Department of Justice.
His ex-wife told the FBI she recognized him in a picture.
"I
just know that when I saw this was happening I was afraid he would be
there," she told authorities, according to the affidavit. "I think you
already know he was there. It is such a good picture of him and I
recognize his patch."
Brock
has been charged with knowingly entering or remaining in any restricted
building or grounds without lawful authority and one count of violent
entry and disorderly conduct on Capitol grounds. CNN has reached out to
Brock and his attorney but has not heard back.
For some, a gradual change
For
some tipsters, the riots were the culmination of a bewildering descent,
propelled by conspiracy theories and radicalization on social media.
But
flagging concerning behaviors of a family member or friend isn't easy,
experts say, especially when many are unsure if those activities will
lead to violence.
"In
the aftermath of all these international terrorism cases that we would
see, even people in the US, time and time again the family members, the
friends would say the same thing: 'I saw something that seemed out of
the ordinary, but I didn't know what it meant or didn't know what it was
and I didn't really want to confront that person,'" said Javed Ali, a
former senior director for counterterrorism at the National Security
Council. "I think you're seeing the same phenomena play out here."
Jackson Reffitt said that for the past four years, he watched as his father "snowballed," becoming more active online, more involved with groups including "far right extremists."
According to the affidavit,
someone with the name Guy Reffitt previously posted a comment on a
"Texas Freedom Force" website, which investigators said is a "militia
extremist group."
"He's been a lot more, I don't want to say aggressive, but a lot more scared," Jackson Reffitt said.
"He
would never say the stuff he did to me a couple of years ago... not
once would he even think about something like that," he added.
Similar stories are sprinkled across federal authorities' allegations.
One
witness told investigators that Kevin Strong, of California, who is
charged with three crimes in connection to the riots, had been showing
signs of "behavioral changes over the last few months, including
stockpiling items" and telling people to prepare for martial law and
hanging a flag with a Qanon-affiliated slogan on his house, an affidavit said. The witness also said Strong had sent messages to someone else claiming "World War 3 is going to occur on January 6."
CNN reached out to Strong and his attorney but has not heard back.
"As
someone who used to look at this phenomenon of radicalization more on
the international terrorism side, and looking at how people were
similarly radicalized or mobilized to violence just like what happened
on the sixth, from the al Qaeda ideology and the ISIS ideology, there
are a lot of parallels to that world," Ali said.
The
fact that there were so many reports to the FBI about loved ones shows,
he added, that people's "antenna was up" and they saw things that "in
retrospect made them think twice about the person who they ultimately
turned in."
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