Almost the end of July, the sixth month since the Capitol storming. This week, some updates on:
- Recent J6 arrestees include aman in gladiator cosplay
- Wolverine Watchmen-associated sheriff hires private eye to investigate voter fraud in his county, which went in favor of Trump
- Boogaloo adherent takes plea deal on underage enticement charges
J6 Updates
Over 500 people have been charged with federal crimes related to the storming of the US Capitol Building on 6 January of this year. Over 18 have pleaded guilty to their charges, including at least 4 Oath Keepers. The newest member of the Oath Keepers to plead guilty, a 20-year-old Floridian named Caleb Berry, wore gear bearing the Oath keepers logo the day of the riot . The other three Oath Keepers to plead guilty are Mark Grods, Graydon Young, and (not as affiliated as the others) Jon Schaffer. Berry, like others before him, agreed to cooperate with the prosecutors.
Robert Morss, a former US Army Ranger accused of rioting at the Capitol on the 6th, was ordered to stay behind bars while awaiting trial. The judge making the decision said that Morss was “willing to use his training or experience to organize with rioters” for the event.
Nathan Entrekin, a man from Arizona, was also arrested this past week for his involvement in the storming. Uniquely, he wore a gladiator costume during the riot and narrated the clashes in videos he took for his mother.
The first felony charge was sentenced last week, levied at Paul Hodgkins for 8 months of jail time. This is less than half of the time recommended by prosecutors (15-21 months) and about 3% of the possible maximum sentence for the man’s charges.
Wolverine Watchmen updates
Sheriff Dar Leaf, a Michigan-based cop who is quite friendly with militias, has apparently hired a private eye to look into “voter fraud” in his county. The county of the sheriff, Barry County, voted overwhelmingly in favor of Trump. Sheriff Dar Leaf shared a stage with militia members involved in the Whitmer kidnapping plot.
An FBI special agent involved in the operation that netted charges against members and affiliates of the Michigan Wolverine Watchmen was just charged for a count of assault with intent to do great bodily harm over a domestic assault against his wife this past week. Richard Trask, who started work at the FBI in 2011, was released on $10,000 bond.
Relatedly, another training video of the militia group was released this past week.
Other militia updates
Brandon Curtiss, the founder and former leader of the 3% of Idaho militia, has appealed the Idaho Supreme Court to reduce the amount of money he owes to clients he ripped off while working as a boise-area property manager. He managed properties for at least 13 clients to whom he owed just short of $100K. He was released from prison in Feburary and has a mid-August deadline to submit an argument for changing his restitution order
Robert Jesus Blancas, a Bay Area member of the demobilized Grizzly Scouts Boogaloo group, agreed to a guilty plea for child enticement for sending sexually charged chats online to teens, including a 15-year-old. He joins a growing legally-recognized list of pedophilia–related charges against the nominally anti-pedophile Boogaloo movement.
Months ago, a United States Air Force airman named Shawn McCaffrey was identified as a white nationalist. He was finally just released from service in the Armed Forces. McCaffrey, 28, was a member of Identity Europa. In 2016, he traveled with the movement’s leaders to a DC conference and co-hosted a racist podcast since.
Further reading:
- On the “Constitutional” part of a “Constitutional militia” (Cleveland)
- On anti-vax groups taking a point from Boogaloo movement (NBC)