Washington D.C. – John Sullivan, the founder of a Utah-based group called Insurgence USA, told numerous news outlets last week that he had entered the United States Capitol to “document” what was going on and to dispute “this narrative going around” that Antifa instigators had played a role in the riot.
A week later, he finds himself in custody after the FBI alleges that he allegedly instigated portions of the violence.
John Sullivan can allegedly be heard egging on protesters in video he provided to the FBI, according to a federal criminal complaint. He has also shared the video to his YouTube and Twitter accounts under the pseudonym Jayden X.
Inside the building, he told rioters that “We gotta get this s— burned,” and “it’s our house m————,” according to an affidavit signed by FBI Special Agent Matthew Foulger.
He faces federal charges of civil disorder, entering a restricted building and violent entry or disorderly conduct.
Sullivan also allegedly told Foulger that he had been in the Capitol during the riot, entering through a broken window while wearing a ballistic vest.
As protesters climbed over a wall near the Capitol entrance, he allegedly exclaimed in the video, “You guys are f—— savage. Let’s go!”
“There are so many people,” Sullivan’s voice can be heard saying as the camera shows a large group of people making its way toward the building. “Let’s go. This s— is ours! F– yeah. I can’t believe this is reality.”
“We accomplished this s—,” he said at another point “We did this together. F— yeah! We are all a part of this history.”
Fox News reports that he was charged Thursday in federal court in Washington, D.C. after being arrested by the FBI. He remains in custody in Toeele County, in his home state of Utah, on a U.S. Marshals Service hold request.
In an interview with Rolling Stone published Wednesday, Sullivan said he was putting on an act to build rapport with the protesters.
“I had to relate to these people, and build trust in the short amount of time I had there to get where I need to go,” he told the magazine. “To the front of the crowd to see the dynamic between the police and the protesters, because nobody wants to see the backs of people’s heads from a far-off distance.”
Sullivan also documented his proximity to Ashli Babbitt and his actions that preceded her shooting death by a Capitol Hill Police Officer.
According to the affidavit:
In the video, once SULLIVAN reaches the Speaker’s Lobby, where Victim 1 was eventually shot, SULLIVAN can be heard telling one of the law enforcement officers guarding the doors, as seen in the screenshot below, “We want you to go home. I’m recording and there’s so many people and they’re going to push their way up here. Bro, I’ve seen people out there get hurt. I don’t want to see you get hurt.”
Eventually, the law enforcement officers begin to exit and individuals within the crowd move toward the doors. As this is happening, SULLIVAN can be heard yelling after the officers, “I want you to go home,” and then yelling, “Go! Go! Get this shit!” SULLIVAN then films as others in the crowd try to break out the glass in the entryway door windows. Shortly thereafter, the video includes footage of Victim 1 getting shot as she tries to enter through the window opening.
Investigators used this detail and other aspects of the video to confirm Sullivan’s alleged whereabouts within the Capitol, they said.
While he has denied ties to Antifa in recent interviews, his group Insurgence USA had advertised an event called “Kick These Fascists out of DC” on Wednesday around the same time as a pro-Trump rally near the National Mall that preceded the Capitol chaos
