Suspects in Capitol riot expressed support for Trump on Facebook
Two men arrested in Las Vegas in connection with the U.S. Capitol riot have voiced admiration for former President Donald Trump on their Facebook pages.
They also have expressed disdain for anyone who opposed him.
Nathaniel DeGrave, 31, of Las Vegas posted on his Facebook page on Jan. 23 a photo of Trump on the wall of his apartment.
“My idol in my living room,” DeGrave wrote above the photo.
DeGrave commented on Trump opponents in a Jan. 21 Facebook post.
“I can’t help myself…if you are against Trump then you are against literally everything I stand for and believe in,” DeGrave wrote. “We’re just so completely different people that there’s no point in us even being friends. I don’t respect you and I think less of you.”
Ronald Sandlin, 31, has shared similar sentiments about Trump on Facebook, where he described himself as a resident of Memphis, Tennessee.
DeGrave and Sandlin were arrested Thursday in Las Vegas on federal charges tied to the Jan. 6 insurrection.
Sandlin’s last Facebook post was dated Jan. 4. He shared a news story about Trump with the words “this is a true fighter for the American people.”
In a post a day earlier, Sandlin simply wrote, “Give me liberty or give me death.” He shared another post that day from conservative writer Candace Owens that stated, “We need to stop calling them liberals and begin referring to them as exactly what they are: American communists that wish to partake in the destruction of western civilization.”
On Jan. 2, Sandlin complained on Facebook about the suspension of a GoFundMe account that federal authorities say was set up to help pay for the trips of DeGrave, Sandlin and a third person, Josiah Colt of Boise, Idaho, to the Capitol. Sandlin complained that the GoFundMe page had been deleted and wrote, “Think about this. This is tyranny.”
And on Dec. 23 Sandlin wrote, “Who is going to Washington D.C. on the 6th of January? I’m going to be there to show support for our president and to do my part to stop the steal and stand behind Trump when he decides to cross the rubicon. If you are a patriot I believe it’s your duty to be there. I see it as my civic responsibility.”
The Capitol siege, which left five dead, unfolded as lawmakers inside were working to certify Joe Biden’s presidential election victory over Trump.
Contact Glenn Puit by email at gpuit@reviewjournal.com. Follow @GlennatRJ on Twitter.
