The FBI reportedly raided the homes of two Trump supporters who spoke at rallies the day before the Capitol protest and is now contacting random Trump supporters who didn't attend any Capitol protest-related events for questioning.
From CNN:
The FBI recently raided the homes of two men who sponsored an invective-laced rally near the US Capitol a day before the deadly insurrection, the first known search warrants involving people who organized and spoke at rallies preceding the attack."Hostetter is a former infantryman, sheriff's deputy, SWAT officer and police chief," The Washington Post reported.
CNN learned of the raids through an eyewitness account, public records, a lawyer representing one of the rally organizers and an FBI spokeswoman who confirmed details of the searches.
FBI spokeswoman Laura Eimiller confirmed that federal agents executed search warrants last week at two properties in Orange County, California, which public records indicate belong to Russell Taylor and Alan Hostetter. The two men run the American Phoenix Project, which co-sponsored a pro-Donald Trump rally near the Supreme Court on January 5, one day before the attack.
Neither man has been charged with any crimes.
Footage of the rally shows the men spewing militant vitriol: Hostetter told the crowd to prepare for "war tomorrow" against "vipers" in Congress who refused to nullify President Joe Biden's win. Taylor said, "We will not return to our peaceful way of life until this election is made right."
Court documents related to the search warrants are still under seal, but the raids are the first publicly known federal actions against people who organized rallies linked to the Capitol attack. Federal investigators have issued more than 500 subpoenas and search warrants in the probe.
[...] An FBI spokesperson told CNN the search was conducted at the property Taylor owns at 6 a.m. Wednesday. CNN obtained photos and videos of FBI agents at his house hours later.
Spokespeople for the FBI and the Justice Department declined to comment further about the raids or what investigators were searching for, noting that the case files are still sealed.
A lawyer for Taylor, Dyke Huish, told CNN that the agents were "just gathering information on people that were at or near the Capitol building on the day in question," referring to January 6. Huish said Taylor "cooperated with investigators" and the search was finished "without incident." Eimiller, the FBI spokeswoman, said "no arrests were made" during the searches.
Taylor acknowledged the raid on his Orange County home in a Telegram post on Friday. Using a pseudonym, Taylor urged his followers to "hold the line," adding, "I am working with a lawyer and per his recommendation he said to keep on the down low for a bit to stay off any radars."
Their story sounds a bit strange, especially the whole part about how Taylor "cooperated with investigators."
Neither took part in the "storming."
Their story has a lot of parallels with...