Man who made 'Video Manifesto' charged for role in January 6 riot

A Massachusetts man has been arrested and charged with participating in the Jan. 6, 2021, riot at the U.S. Capitol after investigators said he recorded a video along the way predicting “chaos, mayhem and pandemonium” to defuse the situation. results of the 2020 presidential election.

The man, Thomas J. Method, 57, of Framingham, Massachusetts, has been charged with obstruction of an official proceeding, which federal prosecutors say is a misdemeanor. He also faces misdemeanor charges including entering or remaining in a restricted area without permission and disorderly conduct, according to a statement from the United States Attorney's Office for the District of Columbia.

Mr. Method was arrested in Framingham on Wednesday and made his first appearance in federal court in Boston, where he was advised of the charges. A public defender assigned to him could not be reached Thursday.

The U.S. Attorney's Office for the District of Columbia is prosecuting the case.

Investigators said Mr. Method's words, texts, photos and a video posted online led to the charges against him.

According to the indictment and arrest warrant, while traveling from Massachusetts to Washington, D.C., on January 5, he created a “video manifesto” in which he said he hoped that “the strength in numbers and this movement will get more senators on board.” , and we can overturn this.”

“I don't care what happens as long as Trump retains his presidency,” Mr. Method said in the video, the document said. “I have a feeling it's going to be chaos, chaos and pandemonium.”

During the investigation, the complaint said, Mr. Method traced to locations around the Capitol, including inside the building. “I was there,” he said later when asked by an investigator, according to the charging document.

Investigators have found video footage showing a man, identified as Mr. Method, entered the Capitol building among what they called a “riotous mob” attempting to overturn the certification process of the 2020 election. They also found a photo he had taken of himself standing outside the door Columbus landingan oil painting depicting Christopher Columbus, which was installed in the Capitol Rotunda in 1847.

The document also said that Mr. Method later admitted to attending the “Stop the Steal” rally before marching to the Capitol, where he said he thought people would be allowed inside. He said if he had known violence would occur, he would not have gone to the Capitol, the document said.

More than 1,313 people from nearly all 50 states have been charged with crimes related to the mob attack on the Capitol in support of former President Donald J. Trump. More than 469 of them have been charged with assaulting or obstructing law enforcement, a misdemeanor, the U.S. Attorney's Office said.

To date, more than 720 people have been convicted, and more than 450 of them have been sentenced to prison terms ranging from a handful of days to more than 20 years.

Prosecutors call the investigation the largest in the Justice Department's history.