The FBI first contacted him over a couple of Instagram posts. Photo / Instagram
The FBI first contacted him over a couple of Instagram posts. Photo / Instagram
One of the people arrested after the Capitol riot allegedly sent proof he had violated the law directly to the FBI.
The man in question is Kevin Lyons. He's from Chicago, and the FBI first contacted him over a couple of Instagram posts.
"I refuse to tell my children thatI sat back and did nothing. I'm heading to DC to STOP THE STEAL!" he said in one caption, underneath an image showing his route to Washington.
"WHOS (sic) HOUSE?!?!? OUR HOUSE!!" he said in the other, under a photo which appeared to have been taken inside the Capitol.
"Lyons acknowledged that he was in DC on January 6, but was evasive about whether he entered the Capitol Building," court documents say.
"Lyons stated that he '100 per cent guaranteed, without incriminating himself' that he saw nothing being damaged. He further stated that in a dream he had, he saw a lot of banging on doors, paper being thrown about, and a mob of people.
"According to Lyons, in the dream, people really didn't have much choice of where they were going because of the mob. Lyons advised that if he were inside, he was inside for approximately 45 minutes."
"Lyons was shown the photo referenced above that read 'Speaker of the House Nancy Pelosi', at which time Lyons stated: 'Wow you are pretty good that was up for only an hour.'
"Lyons then stated that he can't guarantee that he posted it. When subsequently asked whether he still had the picture discussed above on his phone's camera roll, Lyons said yes. Lyons then showed the agents his phone."
The phone had more photos of the plaque on it, plus a video.
"When asked whether he would be willing to give the FBI agents a copy of the video, Lyons said the file would be too big, and offered to upload his videos to YouTube and email the links to the agents," the affidavit continues.
"On January 9, FBI Special Agent Land received an email from an email address that included Lyons' first and last names. The email stated: 'Hello Nice FBI Lady, Here are the links to the videos. Looks like Podium Guy is in one of them, less the podium. Let me know if you need anything else. Kevin Lyons."
There were three videos. One showed rioters outside the Capitol, and included the sound of Lyons speaking. The second showed people walking through a hallway of the Capitol Building, again with Lyons' voice audible. The third showed people walking in the Capitol's Rotunda.
During his interview with the FBI, Lyons described his movements through the Capitol in detail, including time he spent in House Speaker Nancy Pelosi's office.
FBI affidavit details how a Trump supporter turned over evidence to a 'nice FBI lady' and explained walking into 'big boss' Nancy Pelosi's office https://t.co/GjMqVgquiI via @sonam_sheth
