Three cousins from Indiana have been arrested for their participation in last year’s attack on the Capitol — apparently, they treated it like a family outing! The newly arrested individuals are Jared, Quentin, and Eric Cantrell, and they’re facing an array of misdemeanor charges and have been released from custody ahead of further proceedings. It’s certainly notable that it’s now been over 14 months since the initial violence took place, and federal prosecutors are still rolling out new arrests — so yeah, if someone participated in that violence and hasn’t been caught yet, they should probably prepare for a visit from federal authorities. The total number of individuals who’ve been arrested in connection to the riot is approaching 800, including more than 245 who’ve been specifically charged with assaulting or impeding police in some form.
Between Election Day 2020 and January 6th, the RNC and the Trump campaign solicited donations by pushing false claims that the election was tainted by widespread fraud.
These emails encouraged supporters to put pressure on Congress to keep President Trump in power.
— January 6th Committee (@January6thCmte) March 10, 2022
As for the Cantrells, “A tipster told investigators that Jared Cantrell and his two cousins were in Washington, D.C., on Jan. 6, 2021, and that Jared Cantrell posted photos to social media from inside the U.S. Capitol Building during the riot, according to the criminal complaint,” as explained by The Indianapolis Star. In one notable post from Jared’s Facebook account, he said: “I do not think I broke any laws. I have not been to the (Capitol) before and was a big reason I went in the first place. I didn’t go over any barricades or push through any police.” That’s a special form of ridiculousness — he wants observers to believe that he saw a riot unfolding and thought to himself that now was just a perfect time for a tourist-y visit? Jared also said that he “was one of the first 50 in.” Down in the real world, hundreds of law enforcement personnel were seriously injured that day, and the lives of government officials and others were in danger, although the Cantrells haven’t been charged with assaulting police.
428 days ago insurrectionists ransacked the US Capitol and *hours later* 138-of-202 (68%) House republicans voted to make trump a dictator. They tried to finish the rioters’ job and end democracy. Never forget it.
— Bill Pascrell, Jr. 🇺🇸🇺🇦 (@BillPascrell) March 11, 2022
All three of the Cantrells apparently made it inside of the Capitol building on the day of the riot. Now, their charges include entering and remaining in a restricted building or grounds, disorderly and disruptive conduct in a restricted building or grounds, disorderly conduct in a Capitol Building, and parading, demonstrating or picketing in a Capitol building. Although these are lower-level offenses, that doesn’t mean they won’t get jail-time. Illegally parading, demonstrating, or picketing in the Capitol has repeatedly appeared in plea deals associated with misdemeanor cases, and on paper, it comes with a sentence of up to 6 months in jail, although defendants have gotten varying actual sentences, depending on various factors including the judge’s discretion. Meanwhile, federal prosecutors are also continuing to build their cases against those who were higher up the metaphorical food chain around January 6 — Henry “Enrique” Tarrio, a former national leader of the Proud Boys, was recently charged with criminal conspiracy in relation to the riot.
NEW: Jan 6 case against three cousins from Indiana is unsealed. Jared, Eric and Quentin Cantrell
(We've previously seen Jan 6 father-son, brother-brother cases)
Jared allegedly posted on Facebook: “I was one of the first 50 in.” pic.twitter.com/daZvNASt4h
— Scott MacFarlane (@MacFarlaneNews) March 10, 2022
Featured image edited and taken from Wikimedia Commons and available under a Creative Commons License
