Three Active-Duty Marines Charged in Jan. 6 Attack
One of the Marines said that he was waiting for “the boogaloo,” or a second civil war, according to court records.
Three active-duty Marines assigned to intelligence-related jobs were charged this week with participating in the Jan. 6, 2021, attack on the U.S. Capitol, according to court records, which showed that one of the Marines said that he was waiting for a second civil war.
The Marines, Cpl. Micah Coomer, Sgt. Joshua Abate and Sgt. Dodge Dale Hellonen, were arrested on Wednesday and face charges of disorderly conduct and unlawfully entering the Capitol building, according to court records.
Video footage and photographs taken during the attack showed that the three Marines were inside the Capitol for about 52 minutes while demonstrators fought with police officers and ransacked the building, according to a federal affidavit.
Sergeant Abate’s lawyer, David Dischley, declined to comment on Saturday. Court records did not list lawyers for Corporal Coomer and Sergeant Hellonen.
Corporal Coomer had posted several photos that appeared to be taken inside the Capitol on Instagram with the caption “Glad to be apart of history,” according to an affidavit. In a private conversation on Instagram on Nov. 7, 2020, he said that the election was unfair, the affidavit said.
Understand the Events on Jan. 6
- Timeline: On Jan. 6, 2021, 64 days after Election Day 2020, a mob of supporters of President Donald J. Trump raided the Capitol. Here is a close look at how the attack unfolded.
- A Day of Rage: Using thousands of videos and police radio communications, a Times investigation reconstructed in detail what happened — and why.
- Lost Lives: A bipartisan Senate report found that at least seven people died in connection with the attack.
- Jan. 6 Attendees: To many of those who attended the Trump rally but never breached the Capitol, that date wasn’t a dark day for the nation. It was a new start.
Investigators also found that in a January 2021 Instagram conversation, Corporal Coomer said that “everything in this country is corrupt,” and that “a fresh restart” was needed.