In the last month, the FBI’s Los Angeles office has been searching rapidly for those who entered the Capitol on January 6 and those who were in Washington, D.C. Several people have been arrested, searched and charged. As early as the afternoon of January 6, former Vice President Pence to congressional officials and major media outlets immediately declared a “riot” and the facts of how hundreds of people entered the Capitol at that Time are unclear without a judicial hearing. At least nine people have been arrested and are facing charges in the S.C. area, and the case is expanding as more people are involved.
Washington, D.C. on Jan. 7. (Photo courtesy of Diana)
Diana, who traveled to Washington, D.C., last month to participate in the Save America rally and march, arrived in Washington, D.C., on the evening of Jan. 6 due to a flight delay, but was also interviewed by the FBI. Diana said: “My good friends advised me to tell what happened, or rumors will spread, people will think I did something bad, people think the FBI is catching bad guys, and I don’t want to be intimidated.”
Residents Mr. and Mrs. Diana.
FBI agents interviewed after
On Feb. 2, Diana received a phone call from someone who said they were FBI agents and asked to meet to talk, and on the afternoon of Feb. 3, Diana was questioned by two FBI agents and a local police officer: “Did you go into the Capitol?”
Diana said, “I had to show my layover ticket to prove that I didn’t arrive in Washington, D.C. until about 6 p.m. on Jan. 6, and that I wasn’t in the capital when people stormed the Capitol.”
But the conversation wasn’t over yet, Diana said they wanted to see photos from my phone and asked my friends how they were doing, “We are Trump supporters and friends said it was a peaceful grand rally and they didn’t go into the Capitol but some of them smelled tear gas and it was choking. I wasn’t there, so I don’t have a picture.”
So how did the FBI find her? Diana said she really doesn’t know why and how the FBI found her, “I think they’re targeting Trump supporters, targeting these ordinary people, and they’re trying to somehow silence us and intimidate us, but I didn’t do anything yeah.” The FBI asked local police departments to cooperate, and this time many of those arrested, searched or interviewed by the FBI had never had a criminal record, nor did they expect to be suspects.
“The FBI people also asked me if I knew the person in the hood in one photo. But I couldn’t see the face of the person (wearing a large mask) who was suspected of planting the bomb on the evening of Jan. 5, and they said they were looking for the person who had planted the bomb.” The incident at the Capitol is reported to have occurred without violence such as explosions, burnings and looting.
Resident Perio believes that people are used to posting messages on social media such as Facebook and Twitter. Investigators therefore used facial recognition technology to search and find out those who posted messages in Washington DC on Jan. 6. Investigators also got the registration information of these people such as their addresses and phone numbers. After Jan. 6, Facebook closed the accounts of about 70,000 users, including President Trump, and in some cases allowed them to operate again only after a week or two. Many accounts were blocked from Jan. 9, when people had already posted photos or videos.
Diana said she also posted messages on Facebook, including pictures and videos, and also retweeted some messages, and this time the pictures or videos that people posted on social media such as Facebook became evidence that they were being charged; others were copied down and reported to the FBI.
United Airlines rejects Trump supporters
Diana said that on the night of Jan. 6, although it was under martial law, they called a cab and the driver went around and dropped them off near the hotel and checked in that night without incident. “We went to DC because we love America and want the election to be fair and just.” She said.
“The next morning, we were allowed out and I saw a lot of soldiers on the street and met some Trump supporters, and everyone was praying. Someone there had set up a temporary tent (David’s Tent) with sound equipment and we were there praying for America and praying for President Trump. The Capitol side has been cordoned off and guarded by soldiers, so it’s hard to get close, and I saw people praying sincerely in the area around the Capitol.”
On Jan. 8, Diana was preparing to leave Washington, D.C., to go Home, but was told to get off the plane by United Airlines personnel, and not only her, but other people wearing pro-Trump hats or with markings on their clothing and carrying flags were also told to get off the plane, and others were not allowed to board.
“I was warned that I couldn’t wear a pro-Trump hat, and I still wanted to wear the hat and go, and that was my attire. But on the United flight, I asked a male staff member for a seat and he saw my hat and had a very specific look on his face and a hatred in his eyes that was piercing. He said, ‘Don’t talk to her.’ He was really rude. I just wanted to ask for my seat, I needed to transfer and was holding a different ticket so I couldn’t find my seat.”
“I asked another flight attendant, and it turned out I had the wrong ticket, and she pointed me to my seat. Just after I sat down, they asked me to leave to see the supervisor, and after I saw the supervisor I went back to my seat, and then they asked me to get off the plane again with several heavily armed guards standing around me.” Sitting next to United’s “Welcome” sign in the terminal, Diana felt helpless and didn’t know what to do. “I just wanted to go home, to fly back to California,” she said.
“They said the mask I wore the first time (which pulled up from my neck to cover my mouth and nose) didn’t fit, so I found a huge white mask that covered the entire lower part of my face, and I was still thrown off the plane. It wasn’t the mask I was wearing that was the problem.” The United executive finally told Diana that she could get a full refund. Diana had to go to customer service to get a refund and spend the night at the airport, where the guards told Diana she could choose another airline.
The next morning, Diana flew back to California on American airline, saying, “United doesn’t want us guests, so why would we buy United tickets again?”
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