GREENSBORO, N.C. — The new 15 page court filing is an indictment for suspects who claim to be members of the far-right anti-government group The Oath Keepers.
The three of them are from Ohio and Virginia, but the document makes several mentions of North Carolina. It says back in December, one of the suspects "attended a training camp in North Carolina."
Also the filing says suspects sent Facebook messages writing their "Oathkeeper friends from North Carolina are taking commercial buses up early in the morning on the 6th. And that they will "have the goodies in case things go bad and we need to get heavy."
Another new revelation from investigators is that the suspects picked a hotel because it was a "good location" and would allow them to "hunt at night."
And the FBI found evidence the suspects used a communication app as they entered the Capitol and one man said, "Do your exploitative thing. This is ... everything we exploitative trained for."
It's currently unclear how many people attended this training camp in North Carolina and where exactly in our state it happened. But we'll learn much more as the court cases move forward.
Other North Carolina Connections
Before now the main tie between North Carolina and the events in DC was Christopher Raphael Spencer of Pilot Mountain. There is no evidence he is connected to the Oath Keepers or any of the new details in this court document. But investigators said Spencer was captured in three videos in various places inside the U.S. Capitol. U.S. Capitol surveillance video also captured him inside Statuary Hall. The government received three livestream videos from Spencer's Facebook as part of a search warrant.
They said he used the rear-facing camera to show himself talking or turned the phone toward his face.
Investigators said he was captured among a crowd in the Crypt being held back by police officers at the time.
According to documents, in the video he said, “Bro, they stormed the Capitol, bro…pushed the cops out of the way, everything…took it over.” Investigators said Spencer then rushed forward into the building with the crowd and chanted, “Whose House? Our house!” and “Stop the steal!” repeatedly.
According to agents, a video also captured Spencer walking into the wing where Speaker of the House, Nancy Pelosi's office is located. Investigators said he said, “Where’s Nancy’s office?” while walking into the office hallway. He then left the area and walked into Statuary Hall, according to agents.
Spencer then said, “Who would’ve known the first time I ever come would be to storm,” according to agents. They said he then moved towards the entry doors to the House of Representatives while joining the chanting crowd.