Texas Deputy Sheriff in 3%er Patch Charged for Jan. 6 Capitol Riot
DIM BLUE LINE
A Texas deputy sheriff and county jailer is facing charges for his role in the Jan. 6 Capitol riot, according to a criminal complaint unsealed Thursday in D.C. federal court. According to the filing, the FBI used cell phone location data to identify Cory Ray Brannan, a former sheriff’s deputy in Midland County, Texas, as having been inside the Capitol on Jan. 6. Agents then subpoenaed Brannan’s phone records and discovered his number had been in touch with “numerous phone numbers of individuals” alleged to have participated in the failed pro-Trump insurrection. Investigators found photos of Brannan online, which showed him at the Capitol during the siege, wearing a Trump 2020 hat and a vest with various patches on it including one for the Three Percenters, a loosely organized anti-government extremist organization.
On Aug. 12, an FBI agent “met with Midland County Sheriff’s Office, Captain Adam Hilliard,” the complaint states. “Captain Hilliard is the Jail Captain for the Midland County Sheriff’s Office, where Brannan was recently working as a jailer. Captain Hilliard was shown the above picture of Brannan at the Capitol Riot and confirmed that the individual in the picture is Brannan.”