As federal investigators round up those who participated in the Jan. 6 Capitol riot, they’re trying to determine which of the folks who stormed the building went along for the ride — and which steered the attack.
Like so many others, Dawn Bancroft and Diana Santos-Smith, of Pennsylvania, filmed themselves breaching the Capitol.
“We got inside, we did our part.We were looking for Nancy [Pelosi] to shoot her in the friggin’ brain but we didn’t find her,” Bancroft said in the footage, according to court documents.
Despite the boast, Santos-Smith said they’d had no plans to enter the Capitol when they traveled to Washington D.C., and admitted they left within minutes, authorities noted in legal papers filed Thursday.
The women are charged with entering the building, engaging in disorderly or disruptive conduct, and violent entry.
But others had been plotting the attack since November, with some even using a walkie-talkie app to communicate once inside, the U.S. Department of Justice said in a statement.
In contrast, Jessica Marie Watkins, 38, and Donovan Ray Crowl, 50, both of Champaign County, Ohio, and Thomas Caldwell, 65, of Clarke County, Virginia, were coordinating as far back as November, officials claimed.
The trio was charged with conspiracy. Federal authorities claim they’re affiliated with the far-right group Oath Keepers and another called the Ohio State Regular Militia.
Once inside the Capitol, the three documented their participation and whereabouts, including posting pictures of themselves forcing their way into the building on Facebook and Parler.
They also used the walkie-talkie app Zello to communicate with other members of Oath Keepers during the siege, the Justice Department said in a statement.
In one transmission, Watkins said they were with a group of about 30 or 40.
“We are sticking together and sticking to the plan,” she said, according to the Justice Department.
Watkins has denied doing anything illegal. Caldwell told local media he expects to be acquitted, and denied being a member of the Oath Keepers.
Also charged with conspiracy were “zip-tie guy” Eric Gavelek Munchel, 30, of Nashville, and Lisa Marie Eisenhart of Georgia, who were caught on camera moving through the Capitol wearing tactical gear and carrying the flexible handcuffs as they chased down police officers.
Proud Boys member Dominic “Spaz” Pezzola of Rochester was also charged with conspiracy, along with William Pepe, 31, of Beacon, NY, who called in sick from his Metro-North job to head to Washington that day.
Pezzola bragged about breaking Capitol windows with a shield stolen from Capitol Police. Investigators say he and Pepe also moved barricades during the riot.
A witness told the FBI Pezzola and others stated they would have killed anyone they got their hands on, including Speaker of the House Nancy Pelosi and then-Vice President Michael Pence, according to court papers.
The witness said Pezzola and other members of the group planned to return to the Capitol on Inauguration Day, had access to weapons, “and that they plan to kill every single ‘m-fer’ they can.”
The FBI continues to investigate thousands of tips related to the Capitol riot and the events of the day are the subject of multiple investigations.
