Capitol riot defendant bragged he had "enough ammo to win small war"

capitol riot defendant boasts

...

Thomas Kika

By Thomas Kika

Weekend Staff Writer

See more of our trusted coverage when you search.Prefer Newsweek on Googleto see more of our trusted coverage when you search.

Newly unsealed court documents revealed that an alleged January 6, 2021, Capitol riot participant boasted about having "enough ammo to win a small war" prior to the attack.

The defendant, Lawrence Billiter, is among the hundreds of individuals charged in connection with the riot, in which supporters of former President Donald Trump stormed the U.S. Capitol building in Washington, D.C., as Congress forged ahead with certifying Joe Biden's win in the 2020 presidential election. Trump had previously said, without any evidence, that the election was stolen from him due to widespread voter fraud.

As of Monday, according to the Department of Justice (DOJ), over 1,200 defendants have been charged in connection with the insurrection, hailing from nearly all 50 states and the District of Columbia, with over 400 being charged with the felony of impeding or assaulting law enforcement. Over 300 have been sentenced to prison after being found guilty.

Donald Trump’s January 6 Choir Comes Back To Haunt Him4 min read

Capitol Riot Defendant Complains Trump’s Getting Better Treatment4 min read

Jack Smith’s Top Secret Filing in Donald Trump Case5 min read

Meanwhile, the DOJ released information about Billiter, 30, a resident of Flint, Michigan, who had been arrested earlier on Monday. He is accused of throwing a piece of metal at police and breaching the Capitol building twice during January 6. He is set to make his initial court appearance soon in the Eastern District of Michigan.

capitol riot defendant boasts

...

"Lawrence Silas Billiter, 30, of Flint, Michigan, is charged in a criminal complaint filed in the District of Columbia with felony offenses of assaulting, resisting, or impeding certain officers and civil disorder," the DOJ's statement explained. "In addition to the felonies, Billiter is charged with several misdemeanor offenses, including entering and remaining in a restricted building or grounds, disorderly and disruptive conduct in a restricted building or grounds, engaging in physical violence in a restricted building or grounds, disorderly conduct in a capitol building, act of physical violence in the Capitol grounds or buildings, and parading, picketing, and demonstrating in a Capitol building."

In a post to X, the platform previously known as Twitter, Scott MacFarlane, a CBS News reporter focused extensively on the trials of January 6 defendants, laid out further details surrounding Billiter's case, including notable claims he made about his access to firearms.

"Feds say he posted ahead of Jan 6 'about being armed with enough ammo to win a small war while he was driving from N. Dakota to his home in S. Carolina', but said he didn't bring guns to DC," MacFarlane wrote.

According to the DOJ, Billiter initially attended Trump's "Stop the Steal" rally earlier in the day on January 6 before making his way toward the Capitol building while carrying a metal pole. Later on, "in an open-source video," he was spotted by investigators approaching law enforcement officers near a bike rack, attempting to pull the rack away, and hitting the rack with the pole he was carrying. Eventually, during that exchange, Billiter is accused of throwing the pole at officers, at which point he was pepper sprayed.

Read More