Search This Blog

Divided We Stand

Divided We Stand
New book about the 2020 election.

Saturday, June 5, 2021

Domestic Terrorism: Two Thousand Insurrectionists

 In Defying the Odds, we discuss Trump's dishonesty and his record of disregarding the rule of law.  Our next book, Divided We Stand, looks at the 2020 election and the January 6 insurrection

From the FBI's FY2022 budget request:

The FBI considers the attack on the U.S. Capitol Building on January 6, 2021 to be a “DT event” and therefore is managed by the Domestic Terrorism Operations Section (DTOS). As such, DTOS tracked an increase in investigations of approximately 57 percent from January 2021 to April 2021. It is estimated that approximately 2000 individuals are believed to have been involved with the siege and nearly all field offices have an active investigation stemming from this DT event. Given the  complexities of this singular event, the increase in funding and personnel is crucial to the success of the FBI to provide appropriate oversight in these investigations to ensure consistency, compliance, and appropriate use of resources.

A June 3 FBI release:

 Three Florida men and one Alabama man were arrested for crimes related to the breach of the U.S. Capitol on Jan. 6, which disrupted a joint session of the U.S. Congress in the process of ascertaining and counting the electoral votes related to the presidential election.

Joseph Hackett, 50, of Sarasota, Florida; Jason Dolan, 44, of Wellington, Florida; William Isaacs, 21, of Kissimmee, Florida; and Jonathan Walden, 46, of Birmingham, Alabama, are charged with federal offenses that include conspiracy, among other charges, related to the Jan. 6 Capitol breach. Dolan was arrested on Thursday, May 27, and Isaacs self-surrendered the same day. Hackett was arrested on Friday, May 28. Walden was arrested today, June 3. Hackett, Dolan, Isaacs and Walden are the latest four of 16 defendants to be arrested in this case.

As alleged in the indictment, the defendants agreed to plan and participate in an operation to interfere with the certification of the electoral college vote by coordinating in advance with others, using websites and social media to recruit participants, and traveling to Washington, D.C., with paramilitary gear and supplies including firearms, tactical vests with plates, helmets and radio equipment. As early as Jan. 3, Hackett, Dolan and Isaacs joined an invitation-only encrypted Signal group message titled, “OK FL DC OP Jan 6”.