'Stormed The Capitol. Pray For Us All,' Texas Woman Elizabeth Rose Williams Arrested In Connection To Jan. 6 Riot
WASHINGTON (CBSDFW.COM) - Social media has led to the arrest of Texas woman Elizabeth Rose Williams and her QAnon-supporting boyfriend Bradley Stuart Bennett in connection to the January 6 Capitol riot.
The couple was arrested last week and charged with violent entry and disorderly conduct, and knowingly entering a restricted building.
According to a recently unsealed criminal complaint against the pair, several tipsters turned the couple into the FBI after seeing Bennett's multiple social media posts about storming the Capitol, which have since been deleted.
"Stormed the Capitol. Pray for us all," the Kerrville resident wrote in one Facebook post mentioned in the complaint.
Also included in the FBI complaint, were several pictures and screengrabs from videos and surveillance footage showing the two inside the Capitol during the riot.
"TODAY WAS A REVOLUTIONARY MESSAGE. WE WON'T GO AWAY. WE WILL FIND VICTORY!" Bennett wrote in one social media post, according to the complaint.
In other social media posts cited by the FBI, Bennett also said there were "antifa instigators" among the rioters, but that he saw "no severe violence" and "certainly not from the right."
Footage from that day dispute Bennett's claim though. The FBI has discovered numerous photos and videos showing it was Donald Trump supporters breaking through police barriers, wreaking havoc. The agency has also said there is no evidence the left-wing antifa movement played a role in the riot.
There were also multiple deaths connected to the incident — including that of Capitol Police officer Brian Sicknick, who was allegedly hit in the head with a fire extinguisher.
The complaint also details a text message sent by Bennett to a friend, describing the January 6 riot as "majestic and so wild."
It also said two of the tipsters that turned him in said that he was a believer of the QAnon conspiracy theory, which claims Trump is secretly fighting a "deep state" cabal of satanic pedophiles and cannibals.
One tipster said they did not personally know Bennett, but became aware of him when "researching people connected to QAnon." The tipster added that they "became interested in Bennett" because his QAnon posts were "more combative than others."Another tipster, who identified themselves as a childhood friend of Bennett, said Bennett "posts frequently about QAnon conspiracy theories on his Facebook page and his Parler account."
Yet another tipster told the FBI he/she was on a friend's Facebook page when he/she saw a post from Bennett and decided to examine his Facebook page. Once there, "Tipster 3" said she was Bennett had posted a video of himself inside the U.S. Capitol, referenced "patriots [going] to war," and indicated that he had stormed the U.S.
Capitol.
A fourth tipster provided the FBI with a link to a Twitter page, which included three videos posted on January 13, 2021, under the title "IDENTIFIED: Brad Bennet." The videos appeared to have been copied from Bennett's Facebook page, according to the complaint and show him and Williams entering the U.S. Capitol, in the Capitol Crypt, and in the gallery of the Senate Chamber.
The complaint also said that United States Capitol Police security cameras captured images of Bennett and Williams inside the U.S. Capitol building on January 6.
