WASHINGTON — Two brothers from Pennsylvania and New Jersey who allegedly attacked and stole a New York Times photographer’s camera after the Jan. 6, 2021 raid on the U.S. Capitol were arrested by the FBI on Thursday.
Philip Walker, 52, of Upper Chichester, Pennsylvania, and David Walker, 49, of Delran, New Jersey, are charged with aggravated robbery and assault with intent to commit another felony. , as well as other standard January 6 misdemeanors to enter the Capitol. Philip Walker faces a separate charge of willful and wanton destruction of personal property for allegedly throwing the camera into the body of water.
Although not named in the court documents, the photographer in question is Erin Schaff wrote about the attack On January 6, he said, rioters at the Capitol knocked him to the ground, broke one of his cameras and stole another. (Schaff photographed the aftermath of the riot, including A separate Jan. 6 defendant named Brian Mock for a feature A story about Mok’s relationship with his son who turned Mok over to the FBI and testified at his father’s trial last year).
Philip Walker admitted in an FBI interview a week after the Jan. 6 attack that he got into a physical confrontation with a man he said he believed to be a member of antifa, according to federal authorities. Philip Walker said the man fell to the ground and grabbed his camera. “He admitted to leaving the Capitol with the camera and dropping the camera into a body of water on his way to his residence in Pennsylvania,” the FBI affidavit said. reported.
But award-winning photographer Schaff’s account echoes Philip Walker’s opinion that Schaff was a member of “antifa” at the time of the attack (although assaulting a person and stealing their camera is a crime regardless of affiliation). Schaff he wrote In an article published hours after the attack, he said the attackers became even more enraged when they learned he worked for The New York Times.
“Taking my press pass, they saw that the New York Times newspaper was written on my card, and they were very angry. They tried to take my cameras and knocked me down. I started screaming for help as loud as I could. No one came. People were just watching,” he wrote, referring to other protesters at the Capitol. “At that time I thought that they could kill me and no one would stop them. They snatched one of my cameras from my hand, broke the lens of the other one and ran away.”
Schaff wrote that he went to then-House Speaker Nancy Pelosi’s room, which had been vandalized by other rioters, before finally finding a place to hide the rest of his broken but not stolen camera.
Schaff said police who tried to clear the building without his stolen press credentials did not believe his claims that he was a journalist when they confronted him.
“They drew their guns, pointed them and yelled at me to get down on my hands and knees,” Schaff wrote. “When I was lying on the floor, two more photojournalists entered the hall and said, ‘He is a journalist!’ he started shouting.
Reached Thursday, Schaff told NBC News that a New York Times spokesperson was grateful to authorities for their “perseverance in seeking justice in this case.”
“Independent, fact-based journalism is a cornerstone of democracy, and attacks on journalists should deeply concern anyone who cares about an informed citizenry,” Times spokeswoman Danielle Rhoades Ha said.
online”mischief hunters“- Citizen detectives who helped the FBI make hundreds of arrests of rioters on Jan. 6 were frustrated by the slow pace of the investigation after helping the FBI build a case against the men, according to NBC News. informed Earlier this year, federal authorities a public call Although detectives said the names of both brothers were already in the bureau in January to get information about one of the suspects.
About 1,500 people have been charged in connection with the January 6 attack on the US Capitol, and federal prosecutors have secured more than 1,000 convictions. Hundreds of defendants received probation, but more than 600 were sentenced to prison terms ranging from a few days to behind bars. 22 years in federal prisonthe sentence was given to the leader of the Proud Boys, who was found guilty of seditious conspiracy.
In court cases, federal prosecutors presented extensive video evidence of Donald Trump’s supporters booing or using it. firearms, stun guns, flagpoles, fire extinguishers, bike racks, batonsa metal whip, office furniture, pepper spray, bear spraya tomahawk axea axea hockey stick, glovesa baseball bata massive “Trump” billboard, “Trump” flagsa fork, pieces of wood, armrests and even an explosive device During the brutal attack in which at least 140 policemen were injured.
Former President Trump faces federal criminal charges in connection with and actions leading up to the Jan. 6 attack, which a federal grand jury alleges was part of his campaign to spread “unsupported, objectively unreasonable, and constantly changingHe gave false information about the 2020 elections in order to stay in office. He did not admit his guilt.
On Jan. 6, many of the defendants still held false beliefs about the 2020 election, but some told the judges they now feel the same way. gullible “idiots” To fall for Trump’s lies. Trump again during a debate this week refused to admit the fact That he lost the 2020 presidential election and dodged questions about his actions during the Capitol siege.
Trump told the defendants on January 6pledges,” “warriors” and “incredible patriots,” claimed during a debate Tuesday that the defendants in the Capitol riots were “treated so badly.” He has repeatedly promised clemency.”a large part” January 6 suspect and he said he was “absolutely“If elected on November 5th, consider pardoning every January 6th rioter – a group that includes hundreds of criminals convicted of assaulting police officers.