EXCLUSIVE: The Russians and The Riot

"Something really grandiose is planned for the 6th."

• Russians in Florida boasted “something really grandiose is planned for the 6th”

• Comments, videos, Telegram posts and Facebook pages discussed co-ordinating travel to DC, using violent language and comparing the event to Russian participation in World War II

• One of the Russian YouTubers celebrated the rioters on his Telegram, writing “Yeah Comrades” in Cyrillic over pictures of seditionists storming the Chambers

• He also posted photographs with captions mocking Capitol Police inside the Chamber, and US lawmakers as they ducked behind their seats, as cowards

• Across Russian media highlighted in one Telegraph channel, there were repeated discussions of the National Guard - its whereabouts and when it was coming

• Commenters asked to co-ordinate travel and spoke of ‘ammo and grenades’

• YouTube, Telegram, and Facebook pages pumped out propaganda linked to the Russian state on COVID-19, Dominion Software machines, a “stolen election” and Black Lives Matter

• In one Russian-language video, a YouTuber driving to the Capitol said “Throw Biden… into a jail in Guantanamo Bay in Cuba”

• The same man posted 29 Russian-language videos to Facebook of his trip to the Capitol but made 2 of the videos private, one of them filmed on 5th January

• A third Russian posted a video of constructing a home-made gun and changed his avatar to “Proud Boys Portland” while celebrating terrorism in the Capitol

• All social media Russian speakers listed actively supported Proud Boys, “Stop the Steal”, and Project Veritas

• In advance of the riots on the 6th, commenters and YouTubers used explictly martial and violent language

• Videos about Mayor Bowser and the National Guard made in advance of the 6th of January echoed, very closely, the excuses given by Acting Secretary of Defense Christopher Miller for having denied the National Guard permission to engage

• With repeated race-based attacks on America, these Russian language social media anchors rejoiced at, heightened and supported racial tensions

Let me start this piece of reporting by making two things clear. First, I sent the information you are about to read to the FBI a few days ago, on the form supplied for the FBI for tips about the riots. That report included a long PDF document, links to some of the videos I quote in this piece, and a brief explanation of the repeated discussions, in advance of the 6th of January, by Russian-speaking commentators about what would happen on the 6th, and specifically about the National Guard, where it would be stationed, and what it would be doing. I also noted the link to the Proud Boys, to Portland, and to ‘Stop the Steal’.

Second, in this article I can only supply raw intelligence. Everything you are about to read is open-source stuff, gathered from the public internet. I anticipate deletions, and I have saved much of it on and offline, but the FBI can retrieve anything that it is deleted or locked. I am not accusing these individuals of commiting crimes. Whether or not crimes were committed is not for me, a private citizen, to say. Because I believe the anticipatory speech is disturbing, I referred it to law enforcement. That does not mean I correctly spotted wrongdoing. Only the police or other due authorities can make that determination.

Thirdly, while I am not usually one for ‘trigger warnings’, the events of the past two weeks have been disturbing for many of us and what I am about to report may distress some readers.

Russian-Speaking Americans Planned ‘A Very Big Mess’ For the Sixth of January and Repeatedly Discussed the National Guard

On the Russian-language social media network ‘Telegram’, on channels including “Law and Order in the United States”, featuring a rioter in a balaclava as its avatar, multiple Russophone actors posted incendiary photographs and Russian-language videos, Facebook pages and individual Telegram comments before, during and after the riots in America’s capitol on January 6th. Commentary that appeared to threaten Georgia Secretary of State Brad Raffensberger, promotion and defense of the Proud Boys and ‘Stop the Steal’, and discussions in explicitly martial and violent terms, in advance, of the demonstration on the sixth, occurred on these pages.

“Sanya in Florida”, for example, posted the notorious image of a seditionist carrying the Confederate Flag with the caption “Confederate flag in the Capitol! Hello Cuomo and De Blasio from our southerners!” He mocked Capitol Police and Secret Service holding the House Chamber against rioters with the caption “Scared faces and round eyes”. He posted pictures of lawmakers ducking in their seats with the captions “Gentlemen Deputies, you are fired!” and “US lawmakers will never be the same!” and a photograph of terrorists in the Chamber with the caption “Yeah comrades!” (literally: “Tovarischi”).

His Telegram channel includes too much content to list here, and, because Substack does not support many images in posts, I will update this article with a link to a google drive containing screenshots of many of the posts and videos I am reporting on here, along with screenshots of the translations. Sanya’s You Tube appears to spread disinformation closely linked to the Russian government full-time. For example, on January 3rd he posted a video called “Arrest and Forced Vaccination in New York” on Covid-19. On January 4th, most disturbingly, “Sanya in Florida” posted a video called “National Guard is deployed in Washington” with English subtitles that included what appeared to be veiled threats to Brad Raffensberger for “treason” “leaking” of his call with Trump. At the start of the video, Sanya says:

Let’s talk a little about the Secretary of State of Georgia…he leaked the conversation with the president, illegally, and maybe he will be in big trouble, this equates to treason, and at the end we will talk about the fact that we are planning a very big mess on January the 6th… the National Guard is going to move there too, we will analyze…

…

let’s talk a little about our favorite networks Facebook and Twitter, they banned “Stop the Steal”, it had 360,000 followers, more than my channel…why, we have freedom of speech…. this [photo] is the Secretary of State of Georgia, he leaked a phone call with the President of the US, he is threatened by the White House to send this to the Secret Service… sorry, what do you think they will do to you, if you leak a phone call with President Putin, you will not be patted on the head most likely, you will end up with your wonderful life sailor silence [silenced?] … I think it is treason, Raffensberg needs to be dealt with…

He then goes on to display multiple photographs of Mayor Bowser discussing reporting that she wanted the National Guard in the city and explaining it was unfair as the National Guard were not in Portland. Sanya defends the Proud Boys in his other videos. He ends with adding:

In Washington DC Mayor Bowser will have troops on the streets, she is calling for the national guard, there will be soldiers on the streets to ensure order, because on the 6th there is planned a massive demonstration in support of Trump on the same day when there will be a vote of joint action in support in Congress….Bowser is a Democrat, there she is in the photo… in Portland there were no National Guard, it is injustice, injustice….but I think that people will not tolerate that for a long time, there is something really spectacular planned for the sixth

Sanya’s You Tube video complaining of the “political arrest” of the head of the Proud Boys for having ammunition says at one point “Two clips for the AK-47 Kalashnikov, arrest me too!” He subsequently blacked out the image of him holding up the AK-47 ammo on YouTube, but forgot to delete the image from his Telegram channel, so here it is.

Another Russian YouTuber calling himself “Detective Steve” posted 29 videos of his trip to DC before and during the riots and then made two of the list private, one of which was filmed on the 5th Jan. (I can report that Steve is very impressed with breakfast at the Embassy Suites, aren’t we all). One of the videos is called “We go to visit Pence.” Another includes “Steve” saying in Russian:

I hope that the 6th is going to go well and we will win. Trump 2020! And throw Biden out, not only out of Congress but out of America into a jail in Guantanamo Bay in Cuba

The first in the list, shot January 4th, the same as Sanya’s “National Guard” video, is called “What do you think about the National Guard or fake again”? Steve explicitly compares the trip to Washington to World War II with a post called “Trump and only Trump. Our grandfathers went to Berlin - We go to Washington”

In comments under these videos and on the Facebook pages of the users, Russian-speakers wrote multiple comments invoking violence and racism and appearing to wish to coordinate travel and discuss whether or where the National Guard would be.

This is an ongoing story and will be updated, probably with a “Part II” so I can do justice to the violent and racist nature of many of the comments, which included “Get more ammo and grenades” and “Bring back a shield from the enemies, Russians always win!” If you appreciate the journalism please consider subscribing!