Videos show ally of Marjorie Taylor Greene among mob inside Capitol during January 6 riot
By Andrew Kaczynski and Em Steck
Footage from the January 6 riot at the US Capitol shows a close ally of Georgia Republican Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene inside the building.
CNN previously reported that Anthony Aguero, a conservative live-streamer, activist and associate of Greene, said on video following the riot that he had been among those who entered the building.
At the time of that February report, Aguero declined to answer if he had been inside when pressed by CNN. He claimed videos later posted to social media accounts from both inside the Capitol and outside were not his, but screen recorded from others.
The publicly posted videos of the riot reviewed by CNN's KFile are now the first visual confirmation that Aguero went inside the building. Aguero previously confirmed to CNN that he was at the Capitol on January 6 and said he was an "independent journalist" there reporting the events.
Aguero, however, appears to have never uploaded any footage he took inside the Capitol to Facebook or Instagram. And in videos previously reported on by CNN, he can be heard chanting "heave ho" as rioters were attempting to break in on the West Side of the Capitol. In a comment, Aguero wrote "MAGA" under the video. Later, Aguero can be heard chanting "our house" among the Capitol mob on the East Side of the building.
In a video immediately filmed following the riot, Aguero said "a message was sent." He later described those who broke in as "patriots," and commented "#PatriotsSaveAmerica2021! Not Antifa/BLM!!!" in a since-removed comment made immediately following the ransacking of the Capitol by rioters.
The FBI said last month that it had received nearly 200,000 digital tips from the public related to the Capitol riot, mainly from people who documented it. The FBI previously declined to comment on whether it was investigating Aguero in an email to CNN.
Aguero declined to comment and Greene's office did not respond to requests for comment.
Greene, the freshman congresswoman with a history of promoting dangerous and fringe conspiracies and comments, encouraged the big lie that the election was stolen from former President Donald Trump by voting to object to the election's certification. She fanned the flames ahead of the Capitol insurrection by telling her supporters on Twitter to "FIGHT. FOR. TRUMP."
On Friday, Democratic Rep. Jimmy Gomez introduced a resolution to expel Greene from Congress, suggesting that she "advocated violence against our peers, the Speaker and our government."
In a statement last week to CNN, Greene commented on the resolution, saying "House Democrats have declared war on House Republican Women," adding that "Democrats are trying overturn the will of the People who voted for both myself and Congresswoman Miller-Meeks."
Footage shows Aguero inside the Capitol, just inside and just outside the Rotunda near what are known as the Columbus Doors. The historic bronze doors on the East Front of the Capitol, facing the Supreme Court, were first installed in 1863 and sustained damage from rioters who broke into the building through them.
In one video, posted on Instagram, Aguero is briefly seen inside the Rotunda among rioters as they are held back by police. In another video, Aguero appears to be exiting the Rotunda, though it is unclear where he goes because he disappears into the crowd.
It is not clear how long Aguero was in the Capitol, or where he entered.
Some protesters broke in through the Columbus Doors during the riot. Later, other footage shows Aguero standing outside the building, near the doors.
The exact timing of those videos is unclear, though one publicly posted video lists the time Aguero was exiting the Rotunda as just after 3 p.m ET. The first rioters entered the building around 2:15pm on the West Side of the building and a video posted by Aguero shows himcheering on what appears to be the initial break in on the West Side of the Capitol facing the National Mall.
Footage shows the Columbus Doors were first forced open around what is time stamped as 2:30 p.m. A video posted by Aguero on Facebook on January 6 shows him standing outside the East Front of the Capitol chanting "our house," among the rioters.
In a since-deleted livestream from another conservative live-streamer, Aguero is seen standing near the steps on what appears to be the eastern side of the Capitol after the Capitol was breached.
In videos posted following the Capitol riot, Aguero repeatedly boasted about entering the building and attacked those who claimed it was the work of "Antifa."
"A message was sent," Aguero said in the video streamed live on January 6 while walking away from the Capitol on Pennsylvania Avenue following the riot. "These politicians are not going to continue to get away with the abuse as they've been doing. We will continue to press on these individuals."
"The National Guard has just been called in," he continued. "A woman was shot in the face earlier. There was blood all over the floor. I recorded it for y'all. I could not go live during the whole event because the signal was either jammed purposely or there was just too many, too many people out there. Guys, I was able to make it inside the chambers and I have footage that I'm going to provide for you guys as we made our way in there."
Greene and Aguero have worked closely together over the years on causes such as immigration and the U.S.-Mexico border wall and have attended pro-Trump rallies together. In many since-deleted videos saved by CNN's KFile, Greene repeatedly calls Aguero "amazing" and a "friend." On social media, Aguero has called Greene "one of my closest friends."
Prior to January's riot at the Capitol, Greene was photographed with Aguero in Washington at the "March for Trump" post-election rally, also known as the Million MAGA March, on November 14, 2020, where Greene spoke. Following Greene's speech, Aguero accompanied Greene off the stage in a video of the rally. A November tweet of the pair at the rally was liked by Greene.
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