FRIENDLY CHAT

Molotov Cocktail-Wielding Capitol Rioter Tried to Meet Ted Cruz to Discuss Election Fraud: Prosecutors

An unnamed Cruz aide said the future Capitol rioter seemed “to be coming from the ‘friend’ angle in wanting to... help with the election fraud he saw.”

An Alabama military veteran accused of bringing 11 homemade “napalm-like” Molotov cocktail explosives to the Capitol riot repeatedly tried to set up a meeting with Sen. Ted Cruz (R-TX) to discuss election-fraud conspiracy theories weeks before the Jan. 6 insurrection, prosecutors say. Lonnie Coffman, 71, has pleaded not guilty to 16 counts of D.C. firearms violations and one federal firearms count. New court filings cited by The Washington Post shed more light on Coffman’s alleged activities in the weeks before the insurrection, and say he became fixated on meeting Cruz. On Dec. 11, Coffman allegedly drove around the U.S. Capitol, called Cruz’s Senate office, and attempted to track down the Texas Republican’s residence in the capital. According to one of the filings, an unnamed Cruz aide said, when Coffman’s call came through, he seemed “to be coming from the ‘friend’ angle in wanting to... help with the election fraud he saw.” The filings also allege Coffman tried to contact conservative commentators Sean Hannity, Mark Levin, and Rush Limbaugh.