Politics - News Analysis

Capitol Rioter Was Turned in by His Annoyed Coworkers Because He Wouldn’t Shut Up About Trump

This Delaware County Pennsylvania man was a very vocal supporter of Donald Trump at his place of work and that led his co-workers to report him to the FBI. As a result, Lawrence Earl Stackhouse III is now facing up to six months in prison after pleading guilty Friday to Capitol riot charges, The Philadelphia Inquirer reports.

Stackhouse, 34, told a federal judge that he illegally entered the Capitol, entered House Speaker Nancy Pelosi’s office, and took photos while hundreds of other rioters stormed the building on January 6th, 2021.

“Don’t regret one thing,” he told one friend in a text message the day after the attack. “F*ck the government.”

Prosecutors haven’t identified where Stackhouse works but they have said at least two of his co-workers picked him out of Capitol surveillance footage because they recognized the Trump beanie cap and Proud Boys T-shirt he was wearing that day.

During an appearance via videoconference before District Judge Beryl A. Howell, Stackhouse pleaded guilty to one misdemeanor count of illegally parading, demonstrating, or picketing inside the building. He’s one of 20 Pennsylvanians who have admitted to taking part in the insurrection.

Nationwide 730 have been charged as part of an ongoing investigation that the Justice Department has said is the largest in its history.

Stackhouse also told the judge that despite his attire that day, he’s not a member of the far-right Proud Boys. Considered a Hate Group by the Southern Poverty Law Center, the group consists of Neo-Nazis and white supremacists. The Justice Department has alleged the leaders of this group as well as members of the Oath Keepers and the 3 percenters helped organize the attack.

“I don’t support them after [knowing] what they are about,” he told Howell.

Now that sounds rather convenient, doesn’t it?

And it’s also contradictory to text messages that have since been quoted in court filings. In the messages, Stackhouse indicated excitement at the chance to join up with Proud Boy members when he reached Washington. Stackhouse was also reprimanded at work for identifying with an unspecified “hate group” according to an FBI affidavit filed in his case.

He also texted a friend, Rachel Myers, a week before the riot, telling her that he planned to attend the rally Trump was holding near the White House. He also told the 33-year-old Myers, an employee of Delilah’s Gentlemen’s Club & Steakhouse in South Philadelphia, that he was looking forward to attending along with a man who he said was a Proud Boys prospect.

“Love me some PBs,” Myers texted back. She also said she planned to be there and fight with counterprotesters. That led Stackhouse to offer to bring her a knife.

Myers and Michael Gianos, 33, traveled to Washington with Stackhouse. Based on text messages gathered from Stackhouse’s phone, Myers and Gianos were charged in December. And this isn’t the first time Stackhouse and Gianos have participated in protests. The two also protested at a local gym over Governor Phil Murphy’s pandemic shutdown.

Capitol surveillance footage shows all three among the mob of protesters who shoved their way into the Senate Wing doors. Stackhouse, in his Proud Boys shirt, Gianos, and Myers carrying a Delilah’s backpack were seen milling about the Rotunda and inside Pelosi’s office.

“I was there…stormed Nancy’s office,” Gianos wrote in a text to a friend later that day. “I watched them take her laptop.”

So we can be glad that these three are awaiting sentencing. It’s a fitting consequence for trying to subvert democracy.

 

meet the author

Megan has lived in California, Nevada, Arizona, Texas, Louisiana, Mississippi, and Florida and she currently lives in Central America. Living in these places has informed her writing on politics, science, and history. She is currently owned by 15 cats and 3 dogs and regularly owns Trump supporters when she has the opportunity. She can be found on Twitter at https://twitter.com/GaiaLibra and Facebook at https://www.facebook.com/politicalsaurus

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