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A retired Navy Seal, who shared a video boasting about the Capitol breach and encouraging his followers to bring walking sticks to use as weapons against Antifa protesters, faces questioning by the FBI.
Adam Newbold, 45, of Lisbon, Ohio, traveled down to Washington, DC, with a group of people on the night of January 5.
According to a video, obtained by ABC News, Newbold, who is a retired reserve SEAL special warfare operator, told his Facebook followers that he was ‘proud’ of what happened in DC while on his way home.
‘There was destruction breaching the Capitol. To get in you had to destroy doors and windows,’ Newbold says in the clip.
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Adam Newbold, 45, of Lisbon, Ohio, traveled down to Washington, DC, with a group of people on the night of January 5. In a video shared after the riot, the retired Navy Seal boasted about the Capitol breach
‘I’m hoping the message was strong enough, unfortunately maybe it wasn’t, I’d hate to see this escalate more,’ he added in the since deleted video.
According to ABC, Newbold also said in the clip that he hopes ‘it pans out to be a positive revolution’.
During the rant, Newbold, who served 24 years in the Navy, said he wanted to make lawmakers ‘think twice about what they’re doing’ and to be left ‘shaking in their shoes’.
In another video from Newbold’s event page for the DC rally, he advised participants to consider bringing walking sticks to use as weapons to fend off Antifa protesters.
Shocking video from the riot on the Capitol showed Trump supporters using poles from their flags, as well as batons to assault police officers.
And just a day before the riot, Newbold shared a video on his Facebook page telling his viewers that they are ‘very prepared’ for a fight.
Just a day before the riot, Newbold (left and right) shared a video on his Facebook page telling his viewers that they are ‘very prepared’ for a fight. ‘We are not going down looking for a fight… we are just very prepared, very capable and very skilled patriots ready for a fight,’ he said
‘It’s time to stand up and take our country back and make sure that we are being respectful and doing things in the right way,’ he said.
‘We are not going down looking for a fight… we are just very prepared, very capable and very skilled patriots ready for a fight and we will react without hesitation when called upon to do so,’ Newbold added.
But in an interview with ABC, Newbold started to sing a very different tune and revealed that he is now cooperating with FBI agents who will be conducting a second interview with him.
Newbold expressed remorse for what happened at the Capitol, saying: ‘It was all taken too far.’
‘I would like to express to you just a cry for clemency, as you understand that my life now has been absolutely turned upside-down,’ Newbold said. ‘I am not a terrorist. I am not a traitor.’
He then told ABC that he didn’t assault any of the officers as the mob of MAGA supporters stormed the building. He also said he never entered the Capitol building.
Newbold, who owns an Ohio-based firearms training business called ATG Worldwide, said he came to a realization that the incident ‘accomplished nothing’ after learning that a rioter had been shot dead inside the building.
Newbold said he didn’t assault any of the officers as the mob of MAGA supporters stormed the building. He also said he never entered the Capitol building
Capitol Police Officer, Brian Sicknick, also died from injuries he sustained during the riot and three other people succumbed to injuries from the incident.
‘What the hell was it all for?’ Newbold told ABC. ‘Now I regret being in the crowd. When you are in the arena, you don’t see the big picture.’
On Tuesday, the military’s top leaders issued a written reminder to all service members that the deadly insurrection at the Capitol last week was an anti-democratic, criminal act, and that the right to free speech gives no-one the right to commit violence.
A memo signed by all members of the Joint Chiefs of Staff also reminded military members that Joe Biden was duly elected as the next president and will be sworn in to office on January 20.
The memo was unusual in that the military leadership, including Gen Mark Milley, chairman of the Joint Chiefs, felt compelled to remind service members that it is wrong to disrupt the constitutional process.
‘The violent riot… was as direct assault on the US Congress, the Capitol building, and our Constitutional process,’ said a memorandum signed by all eight members of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, led by the chairman, Milley.
It came as law enforcement agencies attempt to determine the full extent of criminal activity at the Capitol and to discover the extent of participation by current or past military members.
On Tuesday, the military’s top leaders issued a written reminder to all service members that the deadly insurrection at the Capitol last week was an anti-democratic, criminal act, and that the right to free speech gives no-one the right to commit violence
Five people during the riots, including US Capitol officer Brian Sicknick
Among the known retired veterans who stormed the Capitol was Ashli Babbitt, a retired Air Force veteran, who was shot dead by an officer as she tried to climb through a broken window to breach the chamber.
Retired Lt Col Larry Rendall Brock Jr, 53, was slapped with federal charges after he was pictured carrying plastic handcuffs and wearing full military gear in the Senate chamber during the riot.
The Army is also investigating Captain Emily Rainey for leading a group of at least 100 people from North Carolina to the rally.
She defended her actions saying she acted ‘within military regulations’ and no one within her group broke the law.
‘The rights of freedom of speech and assembly do not give anyone the right to resort to violence, sedition and insurrection,’ they said.
The letter said members of the armed services are bound to defend the constitution.
‘Any act to disrupt the constitutional process is not only against our traditions, values and oath; it is against the law.’
It has already been established that some military veterans participated in the riots at the Capitol, but the extent of any active-duty involvement has not been established.
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