A pro-Trump rioter who joined the mob attack on the U.S. Capitol on Wednesday has been fired after eagle-eyed observers noticed his work badge in footage from the unrest.
The man appeared in dozens of photos captured inside the U.S. Capitol, where a mob broke into the building after U.S. President Donald Trump egged them on with false claims of voter fraud on Jan. 6. The individual could be seen wearing a red Trump hat and waving a red Trump flag. He also had a badge around his neck with a logo on it, which helped internet sleuths figure out where he worked.
Navistar Direct Marketing, a Maryland-based printing company, announced on Thursday that it had fired the man after it was alerted to his presence at the riot.
“After review of the photographic evidence the employee in question has been terminated for cause,” Navistar said in a statement on Facebook.
“While we support all employees’ right 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.”
Navistar says it is also cooperating with the FBI, which has put out a call for help with identifying people at the riot.
The FBI says it is “seeking the public’s assistance in identifying individuals who made unlawful entry into the United States Capitol Building.”
Some social media users have been working feverishly to crowdsource the identities of people in the photos from the FBI. The man with the ID badge was among those photos.
“Let’s name and shame them!” one popular Twitter post said, in a thread devoted to identifying the rioters.
A handful of others have also been fired for connections to the riot.
Libby Andrews, a real estate agent from Chicago, was fired by @properties and removed from its website after posting selfies online from the Capitol steps. She claimed in an interview that she was in the crowd on Wednesday but did not enter the Capitol.
“I’m a 56-year-old woman, petite. I was not there causing trouble. I was there to support my president,” she told Reuters.
Rick Saccone, an adjunct professor at Saint Vincent College in Latrobe, Pa., resigned after the college reviewed a video he posted on Facebook from the scene. “As a result of that investigation, Dr. Saccone has submitted and we have accepted his letter of resignation, effective immediately,” the college said in a statement.
Saccone confirmed to Reuters that he had resigned, and claimed he never entered the Capitol. His Facebook video has since been deleted.
Goosehead Insurance confirmed on Thursday that Paul Davis, a lawyer at its offices in Westlake, Texas, had been fired after he posted from the riot. Davis had claimed in a live video from the Capitol that he’d been teargassed, Reuters reports.
The rioters could face a multitude of charges in state and federal courts, including unauthorized entry, theft of property and weapons offences.
“We’re looking at all actors here and anyone that had a role and, if the evidence fits the elements of the crime, they’re going to be charged,” said Michael Sherwin, the acting U.S. Attorney in Washington, D.C., on Thursday.
He added that prosecutors have charged 15 criminal cases at this point. One case involved a man who allegedly had a semi-automatic rifle and 11 Molotov cocktails that “were ready to go,” Sherwin said.
“Make no mistake about this. It was a very dangerous situation. We are aggressively trying to address these cases as soon as possible,” he said.
States could also handle some of the more serious criminal cases if there is a link to residents who travelled to Washington, according to U.S. Attorney Matthew Schneider in Michigan.
“It looks like the acts took place in Washington, D.C., but it’s under review right now — what’s the connection of the people in D.C. to the people in Michigan? That’s going to take time to figure out,” Schneider said. “I’m personally disgusted and horrified by this. It’s just nauseating to me. It’s sick what people did inside the Capitol.”
The FBI and internet sleuths are also looking at video of dozens of unmasked Trump supporters hanging out at hotels after the riot.
D.C. police said Thursday that 68 people were arrested in connection with the riot. Capitol Police said they arrested 14 suspects, mostly for unlawful entry.
Five people died, including a police officer, and 50 officers were injured as a result of Wednesday’s attack, which failed to stop Congress from certifying Joe Biden‘s legitimate election win.
Trump initially offered a half-hearted plea for his supporters to remain peaceful on Wednesday, hours after the riot began. He also told the rioters that they were “very special” and that he “loved” them, while clinging to the false conspiracy theory that he’d been robbed of an election win.
“These are the things and events that happen when a sacred landslide election victory is so unceremoniously & viciously stripped away from great patriots who have been badly & unfairly treated for so long,” Trump wrote in a message that was later deleted by Twitter on Wednesday. He added, “Go home with love & in peace. Remember this day forever!”
Facebook and Twitter suspended his accounts for violating their policies in the midst of the violence.
The president eventually returned to Twitter on Thursday with a scripted statement acknowledging Biden’s victory and condemning the violence from his supporters.
“Even though I totally disagree with the outcome of the election, and the facts bear me out, nevertheless there will be an orderly transition on January 20th,” Trump said in the statement.
The facts do not bear him out, all evidence shows.
— With files from Reuters and The Associated Press
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