A St. Louis Cardinals superfan generally known as Rally Runner was charged on Wednesday with becoming a member of a mob through the Jan. 6 assault on the Capitol, the place, sporting his signature crimson face paint, he used a riot defend to push in opposition to cops to assist different rioters advance, the Justice Department mentioned.
The man, Daniel Donnelly Jr., 43, of St. Louis, was charged with one rely of civil dysfunction, a felony, and several other misdemeanor offenses, together with disorderly conduct in a restricted constructing or grounds, disorderly conduct in a Capitol constructing, impeding passage by the Capitol grounds and theft of presidency property, the federal company mentioned in a news launch.
A staunch supporter of the Cardinals, Mr. Donnelly in recent times grew to become one thing of a mascot of the Major League Baseball crew as he ran laps exterior Busch Stadium, sporting all-red apparel and face paint and believing that his jogs would generate extra runs for the crew.
Mr. Donnelly wore an identical all-red outfit on the Capitol on Jan. 6, 2021, prosecutors mentioned, solely this time, he added a crimson “Keep America Great” hat.
Mr. Donnelly didn’t instantly reply to messages left at numbers listed below his identify. Online courtroom information didn’t record a lawyer for him.
At about 4 p.m. on Jan. 6, Mr. Donnelly managed to get a riot defend from different rioters after which pushed to the entrance of the road on the tunnel entrance of the U.S. Capitol constructing, prosecutors mentioned. There, he used the defend to “hold the line” as rioters sprayed chemical irritants and threw objects at legislation enforcement officers, based on a legal criticism.
Rioters additionally used Mr. Donnelly as a defend as they attacked officers, the criticism states.
“Donnelly continued to hold his position just inches away from the confrontation,” the Justice Department mentioned in its launch. “Rioters continued to push forward as a group, with Donnelly in the lead.”
Mr. Donnelly later used the defend to push legislation enforcement officers again, aiding the rioters making an attempt to advance, the criticism states.
The prices in opposition to Mr. Donnelly got here at a major second within the Justice Department’s investigation of Jan. 6. As of August, greater than 1,000 folks have been arrested in almost each state for crimes associated to the breach of the U.S. Capitol, prosecutors mentioned. On Tuesday, former President Donald J. Trump was indicted in connection together with his widespread efforts to overturn the 2020 election.
After the Jan. 6 assault, Mr. Donnelly posted a video on Facebook that day by which he mentioned that he had been on the Capitol. He boasted about making it to the entrance traces, with different folks standing alongside him, based on courtroom paperwork.
“It’s like they followed my lead, kind of,” Mr. Donnelly mentioned within the video. “And it turned out to be a great strategy because the whole crowd was doing that, was able to push further than we had gotten the whole time.”
That day he wore a crimson jacket, crimson excessive socks and crimson pants. And he seemed to be pleased with his actions: “I got further than anyone,” he mentioned within the video. “I literally got further than anyone. I helped us get that far.”
The F.B.I. mentioned that it appeared Mr. Donnelly had at one level legally modified his identify to Rally Runner. On his Facebook web page, he has posted about his help for Mr. Trump, shared movies of the Jan. 6 assault and mentioned the Cardinals.
On June 14, he mentioned his rally runs, which he has described as a “spiritual” act, could be occurring a “sabbatical.”
Source: www.nytimes.com