US riot: Employees fired after being spotted in siege at Capitol Hill
8 Jan, 2021
By: Sarah Sharples
Rioters identified participating in the breach of the United States Capitol Building are being fired by their employers.
From lawyers to real estate agents, companies around the US have been quick to remove staff involved in the siege.
After documenting his experience on Instagram of being tear-gassed outside the Capitol, North Texas lawyer Paul Davis found himself jobless. In the footage, he demanded an audit of the election, with riot police seen behind him.
His employer, Goosehead Insurance, announced Davis was no longer employed by the company.
Public Facebook posts from realtor Libby Andrews showed her smiling happily on the Capitol steps surrounded by fellow rioters and drinking a glass of champagne later that day to celebrate the storming.
Hours later her employer, @properties, announced on Facebook that it had had a "tremendous amount of outreach regarding the actions of our agent" and she had been terminated immediately. It added that the company does not "condone violence, destruction or illegal activities".
Libby Andrews of [at]Realty was terminated from their position as agent today. Scroll through for a pic of the champagne they used to celebrate "storming the capital". pic.twitter.com/5yMxywRafc— Spooky Itch (@JMYaLes) January 7, 2021
A man captured in images wearing a Navistar company badge inside the Capitol was identified and dismissed by the Maryland company.
"While we support all employee's rights to peaceful, lawful exercise of free speech, any employee demonstrating dangerous conduct that endangers the health and safety of others will no longer have an employment opportunity with Navistar Direct Marketing," the company said in a statement.
He worked as a professor at Pennsylvania's Saint Village College for more than two decades teaching international relations and global terrorism, but a video he posted to social media showed him wearing a Trump hat, among the crowd gathered outside the Capitol.
In a now-deleted social media post, he said: "We are storming the Capitol. Our vanguard has broken through the barricades. We will save this nation. Are u with me?"
His employee confirmed that Saccone has resigned and hit out at what had happened in Washington.
By: Sarah Sharples
Rioters identified participating in the breach of the United States Capitol Building are being fired by their employers.
From lawyers to real estate agents, companies around the US have been quick to remove staff involved in the siege.
After documenting his experience on Instagram of being tear-gassed outside the Capitol, North Texas lawyer Paul Davis found himself jobless. In the footage, he demanded an audit of the election, with riot police seen behind him.
His employer, Goosehead Insurance, announced Davis was no longer employed by the company.
Public Facebook posts from realtor Libby Andrews showed her smiling happily on the Capitol steps surrounded by fellow rioters and drinking a glass of champagne later that day to celebrate the storming.
Hours later her employer, @properties, announced on Facebook that it had had a "tremendous amount of outreach regarding the actions of our agent" and she had been terminated immediately. It added that the company does not "condone violence, destruction or illegal activities".
Libby Andrews of [at]Realty was terminated from their position as agent today. Scroll through for a pic of the champagne they used to celebrate "storming the capital". pic.twitter.com/5yMxywRafc— Spooky Itch (@JMYaLes) January 7, 2021
A man captured in images wearing a Navistar company badge inside the Capitol was identified and dismissed by the Maryland company.
"While we support all employee's rights to peaceful, lawful exercise of free speech, any employee demonstrating dangerous conduct that endangers the health and safety of others will no longer have an employment opportunity with Navistar Direct Marketing," the company said in a statement.
Some rioters saw the writing on the wall and handed in their resignations, such as former Republican state lawmaker Rick Saccone.
He worked as a professor at Pennsylvania's Saint Village College for more than two decades teaching international relations and global terrorism, but a video he posted to social media showed him wearing a Trump hat, among the crowd gathered outside the Capitol.
In a now-deleted social media post, he said: "We are storming the Capitol. Our vanguard has broken through the barricades. We will save this nation. Are u with me?"
His employee confirmed that Saccone has resigned and hit out at what had happened in Washington.
"We teach our students the importance of the sanctity of human life, the rule of law, civil discourse, free speech and civil engagement," Saint Village spokesman Mike Hustava told the Pittsburgh Post Gazette.
"We strongly condemn the extreme actions of those in our nation's capital who engaged in violent and lawless acts against the people, institutions and processes of our democracy."
He added that the college believes all individuals have the right to an opinion, but there will be tolerance when beliefs and opinions devolve into illegal and violent activities.
An online petition with more than 10,000 signatures has demanded the resignation of West Virginian lawmaker and Republican Derrick Evans, who was sworn in for his first term last month. He deleted a live-streamed video on his social media showing him storming the Capitol while wearing a helmet and chanting Trump's name. Other politicians called for an investigation into his actions and for his access to the Statehouse to be removed.
Even emergency service personnel have come under the spotlight after the protest turned violent.
A firefighter has been placed on leave and an investigation launched by the Sandford Fire Department in Florida after he was accused of being part of the mob, with a photo appearing to show him inside the Capitol, a spokesperson said.
"At this time, we are following the investigative process," a spokesperson told WFTV. "The administrative investigation will look into all aspects of the nature of the photograph and will address any city policy and/or law violations that could possibly arise throughout the investigation."
/cloudfront-ap-southeast-2.images.arcpublishing.com/nzme/7KWLHISAXFRT7EVVY5QMJEXLXI.jpg)
"We strongly condemn the extreme actions of those in our nation's capital who engaged in violent and lawless acts against the people, institutions and processes of our democracy."
He added that the college believes all individuals have the right to an opinion, but there will be tolerance when beliefs and opinions devolve into illegal and violent activities.
An online petition with more than 10,000 signatures has demanded the resignation of West Virginian lawmaker and Republican Derrick Evans, who was sworn in for his first term last month. He deleted a live-streamed video on his social media showing him storming the Capitol while wearing a helmet and chanting Trump's name. Other politicians called for an investigation into his actions and for his access to the Statehouse to be removed.
Even emergency service personnel have come under the spotlight after the protest turned violent.
A firefighter has been placed on leave and an investigation launched by the Sandford Fire Department in Florida after he was accused of being part of the mob, with a photo appearing to show him inside the Capitol, a spokesperson said.
"At this time, we are following the investigative process," a spokesperson told WFTV. "The administrative investigation will look into all aspects of the nature of the photograph and will address any city policy and/or law violations that could possibly arise throughout the investigation."
Trump supporters may now be regretting their participation in the siege. Photo / AP
A Texas jail lieutenant is also under investigation after she posted pictures from the Capitol grounds. No illegal activity was committed by the woman in the pictures, but officials are scrutinising whether any laws were broken or if she remained on the ground when officers were attacked.
"If she just stood by while first responders were assaulted, it would be more than just troubling, it would be downright infuriating," Sheriff Javier Salazar from Bexar County in Texas told the San Antonio Express-News. "It makes you mad ... if someone that wears a uniform just stood there, watched and took pictures."
A Texas jail lieutenant is also under investigation after she posted pictures from the Capitol grounds. No illegal activity was committed by the woman in the pictures, but officials are scrutinising whether any laws were broken or if she remained on the ground when officers were attacked.
"If she just stood by while first responders were assaulted, it would be more than just troubling, it would be downright infuriating," Sheriff Javier Salazar from Bexar County in Texas told the San Antonio Express-News. "It makes you mad ... if someone that wears a uniform just stood there, watched and took pictures."
Derrick Evans: West Virginia GOP state lawmaker who allegedly stormed US Capitol has resigned
Derrick Evans, the West Virginia state lawmaker who was allegedly among the rioters who stormed the US Capitol on Wednesday, resigned Saturday.
Derrick Evans, the West Virginia state lawmaker who was allegedly among the rioters who stormed the US Capitol on Wednesday, resigned Saturday.
© Perry Bennett/West Virginia Legislature/AP West Virginia House of Delegates member Derrick Evans, left, is given the oath of office Dec. 14, 2020, in the House chamber at the state Capitol in Charleston, W.Va. Evans recorded video of himself and fellow supporters of President Donald Trump storming the U.S. Capitol in Washington, D.C., on Wednesday, Jan. 6, 2021 prompting calls for his resignation and thousands of signatures on an online petition advocating his removal. (Perry Bennett/West Virginia Legislature via AP)
"I hereby resign as a member of the West Virginia House of Delegates, effective immediately," he wrote in a brief letter addressed to West Virginia Gov. Jim Justice.
"I take full responsibility for my actions, and deeply regret any hurt, pain or embarrassment I may have caused my family, friends, constituents and fellow West Virginians," Evans said in a statement Saturday.
Evans has been charged with one count of 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. A federal magistrate judge in West Virginia released him on his personal recognizance after he appeared in court Friday afternoon, according to court records.
Evans, a supporter of Trump, recorded a Facebook Live video in which he can be heard shouting, "We're in! We're in, baby!" while moving among a crowd of rioters as he walked through a doorway of the Capitol.
He has denied taking part in the destruction and violence and has since deleted the clip, but not before it was shared on social media and aired by CNN affiliate WCHS. In another video posted to his Facebook page Wednesday morning, Evans laughs as he predicts a riot.
Evans said later Wednesday that he had filmed the event only as an "independent member of the media to film history," though it does not appear he has any experience working as one.
His lawyer, John Bryan, previously told CNN in a statement Thursday that his client "had no choice but to enter" the Capitol due to the size of the crowd he was in, and that "it wasn't apparent to Mr. Evans that he wasn't allowed to follow the crowd into this public area of the Capitol, inside which members of the public were already located."
The chair of the West Virginia GOP on Saturday said Evans "made the right decision" to resign.
"The actions of Derrick Evan were unwise and unbecoming of an elected official," Chairwoman Melody Potter said in a statement.
Speaking during a Friday briefing, Justice said of Evans' involvement, "You know me, I don't sugarcoat things and I don't try to give you a political answer. I think it's terrible."
"I think it's a scar on West Virginia," the Republican governor said. "He can come up with any excuse in the world, but being there and rushing and entering the Capitol of the United States of America. I mean, how in the world can we possibly, possibly think that's anything but bad stuff?"
"I hereby resign as a member of the West Virginia House of Delegates, effective immediately," he wrote in a brief letter addressed to West Virginia Gov. Jim Justice.
"I take full responsibility for my actions, and deeply regret any hurt, pain or embarrassment I may have caused my family, friends, constituents and fellow West Virginians," Evans said in a statement Saturday.
Evans has been charged with one count of 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. A federal magistrate judge in West Virginia released him on his personal recognizance after he appeared in court Friday afternoon, according to court records.
Evans, a supporter of Trump, recorded a Facebook Live video in which he can be heard shouting, "We're in! We're in, baby!" while moving among a crowd of rioters as he walked through a doorway of the Capitol.
He has denied taking part in the destruction and violence and has since deleted the clip, but not before it was shared on social media and aired by CNN affiliate WCHS. In another video posted to his Facebook page Wednesday morning, Evans laughs as he predicts a riot.
Evans said later Wednesday that he had filmed the event only as an "independent member of the media to film history," though it does not appear he has any experience working as one.
His lawyer, John Bryan, previously told CNN in a statement Thursday that his client "had no choice but to enter" the Capitol due to the size of the crowd he was in, and that "it wasn't apparent to Mr. Evans that he wasn't allowed to follow the crowd into this public area of the Capitol, inside which members of the public were already located."
The chair of the West Virginia GOP on Saturday said Evans "made the right decision" to resign.
"The actions of Derrick Evan were unwise and unbecoming of an elected official," Chairwoman Melody Potter said in a statement.
Speaking during a Friday briefing, Justice said of Evans' involvement, "You know me, I don't sugarcoat things and I don't try to give you a political answer. I think it's terrible."
"I think it's a scar on West Virginia," the Republican governor said. "He can come up with any excuse in the world, but being there and rushing and entering the Capitol of the United States of America. I mean, how in the world can we possibly, possibly think that's anything but bad stuff?"
US riots: Further arrests as more brutality revealed
9 Jan, 2021/cloudfront-ap-southeast-2.images.arcpublishing.com/nzme/36F2NFTYWXOAU5YSB7AK4Y4PAM.jpg)
9 Jan, 2021
supporters of President Donald Trump are confronted by U.S. Capitol Police
officers outside the Senate Chamber inside the Capitol in Washington. Photo / AP
AP
Police arrested more Capitol rioters on Saturday, including a man who carried off the House speaker's lectern, as more graphic details of the insurrection emerged, revealing the violence and brutality of the mob that stormed a seat of American political power.
A bloodied officer was crushed in a doorway screaming in Wednesday's siege, which forced lawmakers to go into hiding for hours and halt their voting to affirm President-elect Joe Biden's victory.
Another officer tumbled over a railing into the crowd below after being body-slammed from behind. Members of the media were cursed, shoved and punched.
A vast number of photos and videos captured the riot, which left five people dead. Many of the images were taken by the rioters themselves, few of whom wore masks that would have lowered not only their chances of contracting the coronavirus, but their chances of being identified. Some took pains to stand out.
Jacob Anthony Chansley, an Arizona man seen in photos and video of the mob with a painted face and wearing a costume that included a horned, fur hat, was taken into custody Saturday and charged with counts that include violent entry and disorderly conduct on Capitol grounds.
Chansley, more commonly known as Jake Angeli, will remain in custody in Arizona pending a detention hearing that will be scheduled during an initial court appearance early in the coming week, Assistant US Attorney Esther Winne told the Associated Press by email. Chansley did not immediately respond to messages left via email and telephone.
Chansley, who had become a staple in his costume at pro-Trump protests across the country, is now among dozens of people arrested in the wake of the Capitol invasion by a large mob of Trump supporters enraged over his election loss.
The rioters took over the House and Senate chambers, smashed windows and waved Trump, American and Confederate flags.
A Florida man accused of making off with Pelosi's lectern during the chaos was arrested Friday night on a federal warrant and was being held Saturday without bail in Pinellas County, Florida.
Jail records do not show if Adam Johnson, 36, of Parrish, Florida, has an attorney.
Related articles
Johnson was charged Saturday with theft, violent entry and disorderly conduct on Capitol grounds.
AP
Police arrested more Capitol rioters on Saturday, including a man who carried off the House speaker's lectern, as more graphic details of the insurrection emerged, revealing the violence and brutality of the mob that stormed a seat of American political power.
A bloodied officer was crushed in a doorway screaming in Wednesday's siege, which forced lawmakers to go into hiding for hours and halt their voting to affirm President-elect Joe Biden's victory.
Another officer tumbled over a railing into the crowd below after being body-slammed from behind. Members of the media were cursed, shoved and punched.
A vast number of photos and videos captured the riot, which left five people dead. Many of the images were taken by the rioters themselves, few of whom wore masks that would have lowered not only their chances of contracting the coronavirus, but their chances of being identified. Some took pains to stand out.
Jacob Anthony Chansley, an Arizona man seen in photos and video of the mob with a painted face and wearing a costume that included a horned, fur hat, was taken into custody Saturday and charged with counts that include violent entry and disorderly conduct on Capitol grounds.
Chansley, more commonly known as Jake Angeli, will remain in custody in Arizona pending a detention hearing that will be scheduled during an initial court appearance early in the coming week, Assistant US Attorney Esther Winne told the Associated Press by email. Chansley did not immediately respond to messages left via email and telephone.
Chansley, who had become a staple in his costume at pro-Trump protests across the country, is now among dozens of people arrested in the wake of the Capitol invasion by a large mob of Trump supporters enraged over his election loss.
The rioters took over the House and Senate chambers, smashed windows and waved Trump, American and Confederate flags.
A Florida man accused of making off with Pelosi's lectern during the chaos was arrested Friday night on a federal warrant and was being held Saturday without bail in Pinellas County, Florida.
Jail records do not show if Adam Johnson, 36, of Parrish, Florida, has an attorney.
Related articles
Johnson was charged Saturday with theft, violent entry and disorderly conduct on Capitol grounds.
The married father of five was quickly identified on social media by local residents as the man in a photo smiling as he walked through the Capitol rotunda carrying Pelosi's lectern, the Bradenton Herald reported.
Johnson posted on social media that he was in Washington, D.C., during Wednesday's riots and included disparaging comments about the Black Lives Matter movement, according to the Bradenton Herald. Those posts were later deleted or taken down.
During Wednesday's violence, Capitol Police Officer Brian Sicknick was wounded in a confrontation with attackers and was reportedly struck by a fire extinguisher. He died Thursday night. Another officer was crushed in a doorway, but it's unclear what happened to that officer, whose plight was captured on camera and shared by the progressive organisation Status Coup. Members of media organisations, including the AP and the New York Times, were also attacked.
/cloudfront-ap-southeast-2.images.arcpublishing.com/nzme/KORAALFH42IV4DTC67LAUJRUYM.jpg)
Johnson posted on social media that he was in Washington, D.C., during Wednesday's riots and included disparaging comments about the Black Lives Matter movement, according to the Bradenton Herald. Those posts were later deleted or taken down.
During Wednesday's violence, Capitol Police Officer Brian Sicknick was wounded in a confrontation with attackers and was reportedly struck by a fire extinguisher. He died Thursday night. Another officer was crushed in a doorway, but it's unclear what happened to that officer, whose plight was captured on camera and shared by the progressive organisation Status Coup. Members of media organisations, including the AP and the New York Times, were also attacked.
U.S. Capitol Police Officer Brian Sicknick. Photo / Supplied
By Saturday, prosecutors had filed 17 cases in federal district court and 40 others in the District of Columbia Superior Court for a variety of offenses ranging from assaulting police officers to entering restricted areas of the US Capitol, stealing federal property and threatening lawmakers.
Prosecutors said additional cases remained under seal, dozens of other people were being sought by federal agents, and the US attorney in Washington vowed Friday that "all options were on the table" for charges, including possibly sedition.
Other notable arrests in the Capitol invasion include:
• Doug Jensen, an Iowa man, was jailed early Saturday on federal charges, including trespassing and disorderly conduct counts, for his alleged role in the Capitol riot. Jensen, 41, of Des Moines, was being held without bond at the Polk County Jail and county sheriff's Sgt. Ryan Evans said he didn't know if Jensen had an attorney. Video posted online during the storming of the Capitol showed a man who appears to be Jensen, who is white, pursuing a Black officer up an interior flight of stairs as a mob of people trails several steps behind. At several points, the officer says "get back," to no avail.
• Richard Barnett, an Arkansas man who was shown in a widely seen photo sitting in House Speaker Nancy Pelosi's office with his boots on a desk after the storming of the Capitol, was arrested Friday by the FBI. Barnett, 60, turned himself in to FBI agents at the Benton County Sheriff's Office in Bentonville, Arkansas. He is jailed in the Washington County Detention Center in nearby Fayetteville, Arkansas, without bond pending an initial court appearance, FBI Little Rock spokesman Connor Hagan said. No attorney is listed in online jail records for the Gravette, Arkansas, man.
• Derrick Evans, a West Virginia state lawmaker who posted videos online showing himself pushing his way inside the Capitol, was arrested Friday by the FBI at his home and charged with entering restricted federal property. Evans, who faced bipartisan calls for him to step down, submitted a letter of resignation Saturday to West Virginia Gov. Jim Justice and apologised for his actions. Evans faces charges that he entered a restricted area of the US Capitol after he livestreamed himself rushing into the building with a horde of rampaging Trump supporters. In the videos, Evans is seen fist-bumping a police officer and then milling around the rotunda as he shouted, "Our house!"
'
By Saturday, prosecutors had filed 17 cases in federal district court and 40 others in the District of Columbia Superior Court for a variety of offenses ranging from assaulting police officers to entering restricted areas of the US Capitol, stealing federal property and threatening lawmakers.
Prosecutors said additional cases remained under seal, dozens of other people were being sought by federal agents, and the US attorney in Washington vowed Friday that "all options were on the table" for charges, including possibly sedition.
Other notable arrests in the Capitol invasion include:
• Doug Jensen, an Iowa man, was jailed early Saturday on federal charges, including trespassing and disorderly conduct counts, for his alleged role in the Capitol riot. Jensen, 41, of Des Moines, was being held without bond at the Polk County Jail and county sheriff's Sgt. Ryan Evans said he didn't know if Jensen had an attorney. Video posted online during the storming of the Capitol showed a man who appears to be Jensen, who is white, pursuing a Black officer up an interior flight of stairs as a mob of people trails several steps behind. At several points, the officer says "get back," to no avail.
• Richard Barnett, an Arkansas man who was shown in a widely seen photo sitting in House Speaker Nancy Pelosi's office with his boots on a desk after the storming of the Capitol, was arrested Friday by the FBI. Barnett, 60, turned himself in to FBI agents at the Benton County Sheriff's Office in Bentonville, Arkansas. He is jailed in the Washington County Detention Center in nearby Fayetteville, Arkansas, without bond pending an initial court appearance, FBI Little Rock spokesman Connor Hagan said. No attorney is listed in online jail records for the Gravette, Arkansas, man.
• Derrick Evans, a West Virginia state lawmaker who posted videos online showing himself pushing his way inside the Capitol, was arrested Friday by the FBI at his home and charged with entering restricted federal property. Evans, who faced bipartisan calls for him to step down, submitted a letter of resignation Saturday to West Virginia Gov. Jim Justice and apologised for his actions. Evans faces charges that he entered a restricted area of the US Capitol after he livestreamed himself rushing into the building with a horde of rampaging Trump supporters. In the videos, Evans is seen fist-bumping a police officer and then milling around the rotunda as he shouted, "Our house!"
'
No comments:
Post a Comment