Founder of the Walk Away campaign, Brandon Straka, was arrested Monday and charged for his involvement in the Jan. 6 Capitol riot, according to the Federal Bureau of Investigation’s (FBI) Omaha field office.
Straka was apprehended by Omaha FBI in Nebraska over participation in the storming of the Capitol on Jan. 6, according to an FBI Omaha announcement. He has been charged with impeding law enforcement during civil disorder, knowingly entering restricted grounds without authority, and intending to disturb a hearing before Congress with disorderly conduct, according to the criminal complaint.
— FBI Omaha (@FBIOmaha) January 25, 2021
Straka founded the Walk Away campaign, a movement encouraging Democrats to “walk away” from their party, after quitting the Democratic party himself in 2018, according to the complaint.
He allegedly uploaded a video in which he yelled “Go, go” in close proximity to an entrance to the Capitol on Jan. 6, according to the complaint. The video was taken down but has since been reuploaded.
Straka can be heard yelling “We’re going in” and “I want to try” as he inched closer to the entrance, the complaint states.
Straka turned the camera around to reveal himself wearing the same hat, sunglasses, and jacket that he wore while speaking at a “Stop the Steal” rally the day before, according to the complaint.
Straka is not seen on video entering the Capitol building, according to the complaint.
The day after the riot, Straka uploaded an hour-long video discussing the events of the previous day, according to the complaint.
“The plan was always to go to the Capitol,” Straka said in the video, but on the march over he learned that “patriots had entered the Capitol,” the complaint states.
Straka continues to say that he walked up the stairs to the Capitol with a large crowd of people, according to the complaint. When he was within feet of the building, tear gas was deployed and they were informed that Congress had been evacuated, the complaint states. Straka left the scene soon after, according to the complaint.
Screenshots from Straka’s Twitter account on the day of the riots show him encouraging patriots at the capitol to”hold the line,” according to the complaint. (RELATED: #WalkAway Campaign Founder Brandon Straka Says He ‘Wants To Take This Country Back’)
“Perhaps I missed the part where it was agreed this would be a revolution of ice cream cones & hair-braiding parties to take our government back from lying, cheating globally interested swamp parasites,” Straka allegedly tweeted, the complaint states.
Straka joins over 100 other people who have been arrested over the Capitol riot, according to Newsweek. The riot led to five deaths and over 100 assaults of police officers, Newsweek reported.