Event Date: January 6, 2021
Note: Our coverage primarily deals with the presence of New England-based white supremacists, given the extensive coverage given to these events as a whole.
Organizations Present:
- Nationalist Social Club
- Super Happy Fun America
- Proud Boys
- Q-Anon
- Oathkeepers
- Groyper Army
- Boogaloo Bois
White Supremacists/Fascists Present:
- Mark Sahady (MA)
- Sue Ianni (MA)
- Brandon Navom (MA)
- Samson Racioppi (MA)
- Bao Chau Kelley (MA)
- Jessica Turner, board member of a Somerville affordable-housing trust fund (MA)
- Therese Duke (MA)
- Richard Lorenz (MA)
- Annie Lorenz (MA)
- David Ross (MA)
- David Ellis, the police chief in Troy, New Hampshire (NH)
- Unidentified Boston Police Department cop (MA)
- David Lester (MA)
- Emanuel Texeira (MA)
- Diana Ploss (MA)
- Michael St Pierre (MA)
- Gabe Brown
- Thomas Gallagher (NH)
- Kirstyn Niemala (NH)
- Lucas Hall (VT)
- Victoria Bergeson (CT)
- Mauricio Mendez (CT)
- Genero Nunez (CT)
- Crowd-sourced reports of people who attended capitol insurrection
Key Takeaways/Facts:
- Hardened white supremacists and mainline Trump supporters, mostly middle and owning class, descended upon the Capitol on January 6 in protest of the certification of election results confirming Joe Biden’s victory. They broke into the Capitol building, vandalized it, and 5 people ultimately died, 1 at the hands of police, 3 related to self injury and medical issues, and 1 police officer.
- Sue Ianni organized the 11 charter buses from MA to DC for this event on behalf of Super Happy Fun America; Crystal Transport rented them the buses and lied to community members about cancelling the reservations.
- Ianni’s role highlights the key role white women play in organizing white supremacist movements.
- Ianni and Sahady were arrested by FBI Boston agents on Tuesday, 1/19/21 and as of this writing both have been released on personal recognizance (without a bail being imposed) while their cases proceed. Both are banned from the MA State House, and Sahady is banned from organizing demonstrations.
Impact:
- So far, the impact of these events and the unprecedented attention on them by people unfamiliar with antifascist organizing and by the mainstream press and FBI is that SHFA members have lost their jobs and social credibility, while some face federal charges.
- It is too early to say whether this will drive them further underground or if it will truly take the wind out of their sails; their absence at Inauguration week protests in the Boston area is notable.
- As of this writing, the riot at the Capitol has invigorated the far right as a propaganda stunt.
Media Coverage:
- “Massachusetts Hate Group Had Role In Capitol Hill Riot,” Dave Copeland, Patch.com, 1/7/21
- “Photograph shows Natick Town Meeting member inside Capitol during violent riot,” Henry Schwan, MetroWest Daily News, 1/12/21
Social Media Coverage