Feds Walk Back Claim That There Were ‘Kill Capture Teams’ at Capitol

Federal prosecutors in Arizona claimed there was evidence that Capitol demonstrators wanted to assassinate US officials

On Friday, the top federal prosecutor in Washington DC said there is no direct evidence that pro-Trump demonstrators who stormed the Capitol on January 6th had formed “kill capture teams” to target US officials.

The comments by acting US Attorney Michael Sherwin were an effort to walk back allegations made by federal prosecutors in Arizona. In court filings on Thursday, the prosecutors claimed that the people who entered the Capitol planned “to capture and assassinate elected officials.”

Sherwin said there might be a “disconnect” between his office and other federal prosecutors over the evidence that has been obtained so far.

Jacob Chansley

The claim about the kill teams was made in filings against Jacob Chansley, an Arizona man who entered the Capitol building wearing horns on his head.

A note to Vice President Mike Pence allegedly left by Chansley was cited as evidence for the accusation that demonstrators were planning to assassinate officials. The note said: “It’s only a matter of time, justice is coming.”

The Arizona federal prosecutors filing read: “Strong evidence, including Chansley’s own words and actions at the Capitol, supports that the intent of the Capitol rioters was to capture and assassinate elected officials in the United States government.

A spokeswoman for the US Attorney’s Office in Arizona told Reuters that the office plans to amend the filing made against Chansley.

Author: Dave DeCamp

Dave DeCamp is the news editor of Antiwar.com, follow him on Twitter @decampdave.