U.S. News

Hundreds of Social-Media Posts Suggest Capitol Rioters Planned Attack—but Feds Aren’t Using Them as Evidence

‘BRING HANDCUFFS AND ZIPTIES’

Prosecutors have yet to present evidence that the insurrectionists planned an attack on the Capitol in advance despite damning social-media postings.

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Shannon Stapleton/Reuters

The Jan. 6 insurrectionists posted all over social media about their plans to storm the U.S. Capitol in advance, but the FBI has yet to use any of the messages as evidence, NBC News reports. Investigators have repeatedly said they found no valid evidence of a plot to invade the Capitol prior to the attack, but a new report shows that hundreds of pro-Trump extremists posted their plans on social media prior to the day of the attack. “We will storm the government buildings, kill cops, kill security guards, kill federal employees and agents, and demand a recount,” one 4chan post reads. A comment on a different forum reads “Bring handcuffs and zipties to DC.”

It is still unclear whether investigators knew about the posts. Earlier this year, the FBI said that social-media posts are not necessarily credible because most people do not actually do what they say online. However, many lawmakers remain skeptical of investigators, and have called the events on Jan. 6 “a massive and historic intelligence failure.” “This information, sitting in plain sight on the internet before Jan. 6, paints a clear picture of a planned and coordinated violent attack,” Sen. Sheldon Whitehouse (D-RI) said.

Read it at NBC News