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Marjorie Taylor Greene retweets letter from Capitol riot suspect who said he was 'non violent' but appeared to attack an officer and say he punched his head 5 times

Nov 1, 2021, 21:28 IST
Business Insider
Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene (R-GA) speaks at a news conference about the National Defense Authorization Bill at the US Capitol on September 22, 2021 in Washington, DC Kevin Dietsch/Getty Images
  • Marjorie Taylor Greene retweeted the letter of a man charged in the Capitol riot who said he was "non violent."
  • But footage and court documents indicated that he assaulted at least one officer on January 6.
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Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene of Georgia on Saturday retweeted a letter from a man who said he was a "non violent" participant in the Capitol riot on January 6, though footage appeared to show him assaulting an officer that day.

Brad Geyer, a criminal-defense lawyer, had tweeted the letter from Nathaniel DeGrave, who said that he "never assaulted anyone" and that his goal at the Capitol was to film a documentary with his camera crew.

Greene said in her retweet that she would visit the facility where DeGrave was being held. "There are no words," she said. "I will be back at that jail this week."

DeGrave wrote that the paramilitary gear and body armor he wore on January 6 were part of a costume for his documentary.

"The surveillance footage shows absolutely no signs of assault, and despite attempts by media companies to get it released to the public, the government has denied it," the letter said.

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But videos from insurrection cases collected by ProPublica indicated that DeGrave attacked a Capitol officer after donning a full-face mask.

Another video appeared to show him entering the Senate floor, where he told the cameraman that he'd punched "this guy" in the head five times.

DeGrave said that he was being unlawfully detained and that Greene and Rep. Matt Gaetz had been denied access to the facility.

He also denied that he is a terrorist, extremist, or white supremacist.

Court documents seen by Insider said that DeGrave had been charged with 12 counts, including assaulting, resisting, and impeding certain officers. He pleaded not guilty to all the charges.

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One document said he and two others traveled to Washington, DC, with two knives, walkie-talkies, protective vests and body armor, motorcycle jackets, shin guards, helmets, a face mask, and a gas mask. They also considered bringing guns and ammo but decided not to, the document said.

"They just breached the Capitol building. That's it, bro. It's game time. We all armored up, we got a gas mask," DeGrave was quoted as saying in a video, later adding, "It's Dr. Death in the building and it's about to go down!"

Greene's office did not immediately respond to Insider's request for comment.

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