Agent Provocateur: John Earle Sullivan, Arrested, Released without Bail

 Image from Tooele County Sheriff's Office, cropped and scaled by Dean Weingarten

In the boisterous protest which happened on 6 January, 2021, this correspondent was privileged to cover the event for  AmmoLand.

Much has been written by the left claiming the 6 January event was an "insurrection" a "threat to democracy", and other scurrilous claims.

It was clear from the beginning only a few hundred people, at most entered the Capitol, out of perhaps half a million supporters of President Trump. Nearly all of those were fairly well behaved, and did minimal damage as they prosested the highly contested election of 2020.

There have been multiple claims of Agent provocateurs, people who were not supporters of President Trump, which worked to create violence to make discredit actual supporters of President Trump.

Enemies of President Trump claim there was no evidence of such action. Now we have documented evidence, submitted to a court, which shows the actions of one such agent provocateur in detail.

The evidence is in the form of an Affidavit submitted in the United States District Court for the District of Columbia.

It is a very well done Affidavit. It is well written, well documented, and well argued. It is a thoroughly professional job, in this correspondent's opinion, and the opinion of a retired special agent who authored numerous affidavits.  The author, whose name is redacted, was an FBI agent,  currently assigned to the Salt Lake City Division of the FBI.

It details the actions and evidence against John Earle Sullivan, a BLM supporter, who said President Trump had to be "ripped from office".

It is best to read the entire Affidavit for your self. Here are some snippets: From the Affidavit in support of Criminal Complaint and Arrest Warrant: 

Purpose of the Affidavit:

1. This Affidavit is submitted in support of a Criminal Complaint charging JOHN EARLE SULLIVAN (SULLIVAN) with violations of 18 U.S.C. §§ 231(a)(3) & 2, 18 U.S.C. § 1752(a), and 40 U.S.C. § 5104(e)(2). I respectfully submit that this Affidavit establishes probable cause to believe that SULLIVAN (1) committed or attempted to commit, any act to obstruct, impede, or interfere with any fireman or law enforcement officer lawfully engaged in the lawful performance of his official duties incident to and during the commission of a civil disorder which in any way or degree obstructs, delays, or adversely affects the performance of any federally protected function; (2) did knowingly enter or remain in any restricted building or grounds without lawful authority, or did knowingly, and with intent to impede or disrupt the orderly conduct of Government business or official functions, engage in disorderly or disruptive conduct, and (3) did willfully and knowingly engage in disorderly or disruptive conduct, at any place in the Grounds or in any of the Capitol Buildings with the intent to impede, disrupt, or disturb the orderly conduct of a session of Congress or either House of Congress, or the orderly conduct in that building of any deliberations of either House of Congress. Specifically, on or about January 6, 2021, SULLIVAN knowingly and willfully joined a crowd of individuals who forcibly entered the U.S. Capitol and impeded, disrupted, and disturbed the orderly conduct of business by the United States House of Representatives and the United States Senate.

On page 5, the Affidavit shows some of Sullivan's bonifides as a professional disruptor:

Sullivan is the leader of an organization called Insurgence USA. On 13 July, 2020 he was charged with Rioting and Criminal mischief in a case where a person was shot and injured.  

Here is video of the incident:

Here is a link to an article about the incident.

Later, on page 5 of the Affidavit, there is reference to a video showing Sullivan inciting a crowd in a previous protest on those opposing President Trump in the District of Columbia:

The United States obtained a video of SULLIVAN, posted on YouTube, in which, while attending a protest in Washington, D.C., SULLIVAN can be seen telling a crowd, over a microphone, “we about to burn this shit down,” “we got to rip Trump out of office . . . fucking pull him out of that shit . . . we ain’t waiting until the next election . . . we about to go get that motherfucker.” SULLIVAN then can be seen leading the crowd in a chant of, “it’s time for a revolution.”1

On page 9 of the Affidavit, evidence is provided of Sullivan inciting the more active of the crowd during the 6 January protests at the Capitol:

After the crowd broke through the last barricade, and as SULLIVAN and the others approach the Capitol Building, SULLIVAN can be heard in the video saying at various points: “There are so many people. Let’s go. This shit is ours! Fuck yeah,” “We accomplished this shit. We did this together. Fuck yeah! We are all a part of this history,” and “Let’s burn this shit down.”

On page 12, there is evidence presented of Sullivan breaking a window in the Capitol. 

On page 14 there is evidence of Sullivan urging the crowd to break doors where Ashli Babbit was shot:

SULLIVAN pans to a closed door and can be heard saying, “Why don’t we go in there.” After someone hits against the door, SULLIVAN can be heard saying, “That’s what I’m sayin’, break that shit.” Further down the hall, SULLIVAN can be heard saying, “It would be fire if someone had revolutionary music and shit.”

On page 14 to 15, evidence is presented of Sullivan urging the crowd to go forward, to greater action, just before Ashli Babbit is shot:

Eventually, the law enforcement officers begin to exit and individuals within the crowd move toward the doors. As this is happening, SULLIVAN can be heard yelling after the officers, “I want you to go home,” and then yelling, “Go! Go! Get this shit!” SULLIVAN then films as others in the crowd try to break out the glass in the entryway door windows. Shortly thereafter, the video includes footage of Victim 1 getting shot as she tries to enter through the window opening.

 Well before Ashli was shot and killed, an organized group had broken into the Capitol.

Much has been made of the organized "stack" of people who broke a window at the Capitol and entered there. The Affidavit presents evidence Sullivan was one of those people. Here is a link to to a video of that break in. 

Here is an image from the Affidavit showing Sullivan present at that break-in.  The image is taken from a video. 

image from the Affidavit, cropped and scaled by Dean Weingarten

The video is one of the most celebrated to claim the protest was a "planned insurrection". John Sullivan was with them.

The Affidavit was submitted on 13 January, 2021. John Earle Sullivan was released without bail. From the Epoch Times: 

John Sullivan, an activist who supports Black Lives Matter and opposes President Donald Trump, was released conditionally without bail on Friday after he was arrested and charged for his alleged activities at the U.S. Capitol amid the breach of the building on Jan. 6.

The Department of Justice on Jan. 14 announced that Sullivan, 27, was arrested on the same day in Utah and charged with being on restricted grounds without authority, violent entry and disorderly conduct, and interfering with law enforcement.

It has been reported that dozens, perhaps hundreds of Trump supporters have been held without bail for over three months. 

 John Earle Sullivan fits the definition of an agent provocateur pretty well.

©2021 by Dean Weingarten: Permission to share is granted when this notice and link are included.

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