North Carolina resident Chris Carnell was arrested in connection with the January 6 riots. Props helped authorities identify him, including a pair of Pit Viper sunglasses. Carnell also took pictures with white nationalists Nick Fuentes and Baked Alaska the day before. Something is loading.
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A North Carolina Capitol rioter has been charged by federal authorities who identified him and a friend by the brightly colored — and sometimes painfully obvious — paraphernalia they wore during the storming of the Capitol .
Christopher Carnell, who appeared in a Raleigh court on Thursday, was caught on CCTV with a bright red backpack with his surname stitched to the back. Other fashion statements that helped identify him and his friend David Worth Bowman included a pair of Pit Viper sunglasses and a blue mask.
Carnell faces five counts for his participation in the riots, including one count of obstructing, influencing or obstructing official process, which carries a sentence of up to 20 years. Bowman does not currently face any charges, although it is unclear if any more will be brought against him.
A DOJ spokesperson did not immediately respond to Insider’s request for comment.
According to an FBI-prepared criminal complaint filed Wednesday, authorities were first alerted to Carnell and Bowman after they arrested fellow rioter Aiden Henry Bilyard in November 2021. Bilyard, who admitted to pepper spraying officers during the riots, is currently awaiting sentencing. and faces up to five years in prison.
After seizing Bilyard’s phone, authorities found a group conversation with three of Bilyard’s friends, including Carnell and Bowman.
According to messages sent in the group chat, on November 14, 2020 – after the presidential election – the friends took photos during the “Million MAGA March” with white nationalist Nick Fuentes and Tim Gionet, a streamer better known as Baked Alaska’s name, and shared them in the group chat.
Prior to Jan. 6, 2021, the group texted about plans to attend the “Stop the Steal” rally, according to messages. On the day of the rally, Bowman bragged to his friends via text message that he had given Baked Alaska his Pit Viper sunglasses, reporting to authorities that he had worn the sunglasses at some point during the day. .
Two days after the riot, the group also spoke in code about entering parts of the US Capitol building. For example, they referred to the capitol building as a “Minecraft building” and asked their friends to delete their chat history “for fun”.
After reviewing video footage, officers found a man on the Senate floor in Pit Viper goggles and a blue mask talking to a man in a red MAGA hat and a red backpack with the name “CARNELL” sewn into it. white thread.
On December 1, 2022, Bowman, during a voluntary interview with FBI agents, admitted he was the one in the sunglasses and identified his friend Carnell as the one in the MAGA hat.
“Bowman further stated that he was unaware of what was going on in the Senate chamber earlier in the day, but understood that Mike Pence had to certify something in the House chamber,” the report reads. affidavit.
“Bowman explained that once he and Carnell got into the Senate, they didn’t have a clear goal or agenda. He said, ‘Like we’re here…like uh…we’re a dog. , we grabbed the car, we don’t. know what to do.'”
The affidavit said there was “probable cause” that Carnell and Bowman had violated multiple felonies.
Carnell is scheduled to appear in federal court in Washington, DC via Zoom at 1 p.m. Tuesday.
At least 1,000 people have been charged in the Capitol insurgency so far, according to an Insider database.
Recently, former President Donald Trump mythologized the rioters in the form of a song called “Justice for All”, which features the voices of several insurgents singing the national anthem.
Bowman and Carnell did not immediately respond to Insider’s request for comment.