BUFFALO, N.Y. (WKBW) — Some local Trump supporters who traveled to Washington, D.C. for to rally against the Electoral vote have been denying they went inside the Capitol Building.
But photos and videos tell a different story for one area supporter of the president.
A man wearing a maroon color hoodie is spotted in a video taken inside the Capitol and is believed to be Pete Harding of Cheektowaga.
The video captured his appearance during the chaotic takeover of the building.
In Harding’s Facebook video posts outside the capitol that same day, he's wearing that same hoodie.
But Harding says he was only part of a peaceful demonstration outside the building.
However, an ABC News video shows a man in the same sweatshirt appearing to start a pile of destroyed television equipment on fire.
The very next day Harding took to Facebook for a more than hour-long conversation, in which he blamed radical outsiders for the destruction, and the news media for covering it.
“We need to be our own news media outlets. News media is going down. We are taking them down,” declared Harding.
Harding also stated that everyone now knows how “powerful” they are.
“If we can take the Capitol building, there is nothing we can't accomplish,” stated Harding. “They’ve learned how powerful we are. They’ve learned how strong we are.”
We have reached out to Harding for an interview, but he has not responded.
Meanwhile, the FBI has issued this wanted poster seeking anyone responsible for damage caused to the Capitol.
In Buffalo, U.S. Attorney for the Western District James Kennedy said his office is “actively investigating” information on local residents who may have been involved in the attack on the Capitol.
Medialle College's head of a Homeland Security program, Dr. Steven MacMartin, said judging by the many videos and photos, the rioters were not thinking about consequences.
“But it ends up enveloping and evolving a lot of people who aren't thinking at the moment. They're not thinking of their grandmother and who's going to see them,” replied MacMartin.
U.S. Attorney Kennedy issued a statement Thursday saying they will “not hesitate to charge those responsible” and “violence is never an acceptable means of protest.”
