Tag: Jan. 6 Coverage

IN-DEPTH: Whistleblower Retribution Worse Than Combat Tours, Suspended FBI Agent Says

VERNON, Wis.—What hit home the hardest for suspended FBI Special Agent Garret J. O’Boyle was a hand-crafted note made by his 7-year-old daughter, Gwen. A sensitive and conscientious girl, Gwen colored her note with blue marker—Dad’s favorite color. On the cover she drew a blue heart. Inside she penned her best words of encouragement. “I…


18-Year Prison Term a Predetermined Outcome of ‘Show Trial,’ Oath Keepers Leader Says

The way Oath Keepers founder Elmer Stewart Rhodes III sees it, in today’s political environment, Thomas Jefferson could easily be convicted of seditious conspiracy to oppose the authority of the U.S. government. In a 1787 letter to William Stephens Smith, Jefferson famously said, “The tree of liberty must be refreshed from time to time with…


EXCLUSIVE: Jacob Chansley, the Jan. 6 ‘QAnon Shaman,’ Is Out of Prison and Seeks ‘Unity’ for America

Jacob Chansley, better known as the ‘QAnon Shaman,’ became the face of the breach of the U.S. Capitol on Jan. 6, 2021. Now, after having served a prison sentence of 29 months, including two months in a halfway house, Chansley is praying for national unity as he seeks to have his conviction overturned. The Arizona…


DeSantis Vows to Consider Pardons for Jan. 6 Defendants, Trump ‘On Day One’ of Presidency

Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis has promised that, if elected president, he would be “aggressive” in issuing pardons to Jan. 6 defendants, potentially including former President Donald Trump. “On day one, I will have folks that will get together and look at all these cases, who people are, victims of weaponization or political targeting, and we…


Oath Keepers Leader Stewart Rhodes Sentenced to 18 Years in Prison for Jan. 6 Crimes

A U.S. judge on May 25 sentenced the founder of the Oath Keepers militia group to 18 years in prison for seditious conspiracy and other crimes related to the U.S. Capitol breach, after a defiant Rhodes stood before him and insisted he is a “political prisoner.” “For decades, Mr. Rhodes, it is clear you have wanted the democracy…


Arkansas Man Who Put Feet on Desk in House Speaker Pelosi’s Office Gets 4.5 Years in Prison

An Arkansas man famously photographed with his feet on a desk in House Speaker Nancy Pelosi’s office on Jan. 6, 2021, was sentenced to 54 months in prison on May 24 in Washington. Richard “Bigo” Barnett, 62, of Gravette, Arkansas, was also sentenced to 36 months of supervised release and fined $2,000 by U.S. District…


Texas Winery Owner Sentenced to Nearly 7 Years in Prison for Jan. 6 Actions

A Texas winery owner who supplied the helmet used by a rioter to bash out the windows of the House Speaker’s Lobby entrance at the U.S. Capitol on Jan. 6, 2021, was sentenced to 83 months in federal prison on May 23. In addition to his 83-month prison sentence, Christopher Ray Grider, 41, of Eddy,…


EXCLUSIVE: FBI Used Information Supplied by Megan Paradise to Support Jan. 6 Criminal Charges

California resident Megan Dawn Paradise—who urged protesters to charge up the Capitol’s east steps on Jan. 6 before stealing an autographed baseball from the office of House Speaker Nancy Pelosi (D-Calif.)—testified about a fellow Californian to the FBI, leading to two criminal charges being filed against the man. The FBI used information supplied by Paradise,…


Bipartisan Lawmakers Express Outrage Over FBI Misuse of Surveillance Tool to Spy on Americans

Lawmakers from both sides of the aisle on May 19 expressed alarm after an unsealed court order revealed the FBI misused a controversial surveillance tool to collect intelligence on U.S. citizens, including individuals suspected of involvement in the Jan. 6 Capitol breach and George Floyd protests. The details of the inappropriately collected information were outlined by…


Bank of America Gave FBI Access to Jan. 6 Bank Records Without Customers’ Knowledge: Whistleblowers

Whistleblowers told Republicans on the House Judiciary Committee that Bank of America gave Jan. 6 connected bank records to the FBI without customers’ knowledge or consent. In their testimony, whistleblowers claimed that the FBI had become “enveloped in politicization” and made several claims of “serious abuses” over an extended period of time. Among those abuses,…