Former FBI Deputy Director Andrew McCabe said Friday evening on CNN that Friday’s attack on the Capitol was “one of the results” of the Jan. 6 riot.
McCabe told CNN’s Wolf Blitzer “it’s not uncommon to have people who are suffering from some form of mental illness or emotional distress” to go to places like the Capitol, the White House or the FBI headquarters to air their grievances or delusions. He gave an example of a woman in 2013 who was shot when she drove her car from Connecticut to the White House and tried to drive through a checkpoint.
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The Friday attack on the Capitol was “a similar situation, somebody unbalanced and bringing those concerns to the symbols of government,” McCabe added. (RELATED: Video Shows Aftermath Of Suspect Ramming Police, Capitol Barricade)
“I think what’s different here is you’re seeing the playing out of not just a mental illness, but a grievance against the government,” the former FBI director continued. “I would suggest that is one of the results of what we saw on January 6th.”
The Capitol became “a primary target” for anyone who is angry with the government after the Jan. 6 riot, McCabe said.
One police officer was reportedly killed and another hospitalized after a suspect rammed his car into a barrier outside the Capitol building Friday afternoon. The suspect also died after he lunged at officers with a knife, was shot and taken to the hospital.
The suspect, 25-year-old Noah Green, was a supporter of the Nation of Islam. NBC News first reported Green’s support for the extremist group, citing federal law enforcement officials familiar with the attack. Social media posts on Green’s now-removed Facebook page showed that he recently lost his job. Green also posted that “these past few years have been tough, and these past few months have been tougher.”
Green’s Facebook further indicated that he supported Louis Farrakhan, the leader of the Nation of Islam. Farrakhan has a history of promoting conspiracy theories and making anti-semitic and anti-white remarks.