‘FIGHTING FIT’

Military Veterans at Capitol Riots Started Plotting Violence Days After Election, Says Report

One of the veterans is said to have contacted recruits just six days after the election to ask them to join a training camp to make people “fighting fit by innaugeration.”

Military veterans began a recruitment drive to challenge Joe Biden’s election victory within days of the vote—then went on to hold training camps and organize busses to Washington, D.C. on the day of the Capitol riots, according to prosecutors representing the United States. The new allegations, outlined in an indictment and reported by the Washington Post, have been made against Ohio residents Jessica Marie Watkins, 38, and Donovan Ray Crowl, 50, and 66-year-old Virginia resident Thomas Caldwell. The indictment outlines some meticulous planning—Watkins is said to have contacted recruits six days after the election for a training camp to make people “fighting fit by innaugeration.” Crowl allegedly attended a training camp in North Carolina, and Caldwell’s messages showed him talking about sending a busload of people with weaponry to the capital on Jan. 6. All three have denied wrongdoing.