Justice Department unseals Capitol riot charges against FreedomWorks organizer

[Nevilledog]

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Karol Cummins
@karolcummins
Justice Department unseals Capitol riot charges against FreedomWorks organizer

FreedomWorks was created through a merger between the Koch Brothers' Citizens for a Sound Economy and Empower America, a right-wing think tank.

Justice Department unseals charges Capitol riot charges against FreedomWorks organizer
The Justice Department unsealed charges on Thursday against an organizer from the conservative advocacy group FreedomWorks for his alleged role in the January 6 insurrection.
cnn.com
11:47 AM · Sep 24, 2021

https://www.cnn.com/2021/09/23/politics/freedomworks-capitol-riot/index.html

(CNN) — The Justice Department unsealed charges on Thursday against an organizer from the conservative advocacy group FreedomWorks for his alleged role in the January 6 insurrection.

Brandon Prenzlin was charged last week with four federal misdemeanors for what prosecutors say was just over three minutes inside the Capitol.

According to court documents, a confidential source identified Prenzlin from video shot inside the Capitol on January 6. Investigators matched the images to his social media posts, including a March video in which he identifies himself as a grassroots coordinator with FreedomWorks.

FreedomWorks was created through a merger between the Koch Brothers' Citizens for a Sound Economy and Empower America, a right-wing think tank. Citizens for a Sound Economy Foundation later split off to become Americans for Prosperity.

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[LetMyPeopleVote]

1. Lets lock up the remaining Koch brother

[lagomorph777]

6. +1000 and make him unravel it all

[malaise]

2. Get thee to the greatest page

RFN!

[empedocles]

3. The Information Age keeps on exposing these 'types'

[Midnight Writer]

4. I was hoping the Freedomworks organizer's name was Ginny.

[Chili]

9. me too

[mopinko]

5. ss/dd

[IllinoisBirdWatcher]

7. K & R N/T

[gratuitous]

8. Uh oh, is Brandon about to find out?

His failed insurrectionist buddies tried to warn him.

[2naSalit]

10. K&R

[LetMyPeopleVote]

11. Man With Ties to Koch Brothers Arrested for Role In Jan 6th Insurrection

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The FBI has arrested a man with ties to the Koch Brothers in connection with the January 6th attack at the U.S. Capitol.

Brandon Prenzlin, who until this week was a grassroots coordinator at FreedomWorks, was arrested in Arlington, Virginia, on Sept. 17, according to an arrest warrant unsealed on Thursday. He faces four misdemeanor charges in connection with January 6th: knowingly entering or remaining in any restricted building or grounds without lawful authority; disorderly and disruptive conduct in a restricted building or grounds; disorderly conduct on Capitol grounds; and parading, demonstrating, or picketing in a Capitol building.

The FBI affidavit lays out Prenzlin’s alleged activities inside the Capitol on January 6th, and shows how they were able to build a case against Prenzlin by citing his presence on social media. Prenzlin has posed for photos with former Vice President Mike Pence as well as Rep. Jim Jordan (R-Ohio), who has spoken at “Stop the Steal” events and was photographed with another Jan. 6 defendant facing more serious charges.

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The FBI affidavit doesn’t explicitly say it, but it suggests that online sleuths known as the “Sedition Hunters” played a role in the case against Prenzlin. The sprawling community of open-source investigators, often working under the #SeditionHunters hashtag, has been working to identify the hundreds of Trump supporters who stormed the Capitol on Jan. 6. The Sedition Hunters website, where a photo of Prenzlin was labeled as No. 640 on a list of “Sedition Insiders,” noted before Prenzlin’s arrest that he had been identified.