Three active duty U.S. Marines have been charged with participating in the riot at the U.S. Capitol during the January 6, 2021 insurrection and attempt to overturn the 2020 Presidential election.
Court papers showed that Micah Coomer, Joshua Abate and Dodge Dale Hellonen were arrested this week on misdemeanor charges after their fellow Marines helped investigators identify them in footage at the Capitol amid the mob.
Dozens of those charged in the Capitol riot have military backgrounds, but Coomer, Abate and Hellonen are among just a handful who are on active duty, according to their service records.
According to a federal affidavit, FBI agents first became aware of Coomer when he posted pictures of himself inside the Capitol on Instagram.
“(E)verything in this country is corrupt. We honestly need a fresh restart,” Coomer wrote, according to the affidavit. “I’m waiting for the boogaloo.”
“What’s a boogaloo,” a respondent asked.
“Civil war 2,” Coomer replied.
The trio spent nearly an hour inside the Capitol building on January 6, according to court documents.
As the three men traversed the building, they allegedly went into the Capitol rotunda, placed a red MAGA hat on one of the statues and took a photo with it.
None of the defendants have entered a plea so far. No defense lawyers for the men were listed in the court docket, so it was not immediately clear whether they have attorneys to comment on their behalf.
USMC spokesman Maj. Kevin Stephensen said the corps is aware of the allegations and “is fully cooperating with appropriate authorities in support of the investigation.”
Nearly 1,000 people have been charged so far in the Capitol riot and the tally increases weekly. Almost 500 people have pleaded guilty to riot-related charges and more than three dozen have been convicted at trial.
