A California man who tipped himself off to the FBI with racist posts on right-wing social media has been charged in connection with the January 6 riot at the U.S. Capitol Building.
Brandon Cavanaugh, 30, of Huntington Beach, Calif., was arrested Thursday on charges of illegal entry, disorderly and disruptive conduct and parading at the Capitol. Cavanaugh identifies with white nationalist Nick Fuentes’ “groyper” movement.
Cavanaugh’s racist posts unrelated to the riot first brought him to the attention of authorities as they were investigating another Capitol rioter, according to the arrest report.
“On October 22, 2021, the FBI identified a private Telegram chat called “We Who Nose” on the phone of a different capitol riot suspect pursuant to a judicially authorized search warrant. In March and July 2021, a Telegram user expressed a desire to kill black people. The Telegram user was saved in the contact list as “Brandon HB Groyper”
“On March 7, 2021, ‘Brandon HB Groyper’ wrote, ‘I honestly want to kill all n***** lovers / Ruthlessly cut their chest open / Rip out their hearts / And eat it,’ the report stated. “On July 30, 2021, “Brandon HB Groyper” wrote, ‘I am done with words I want blood hahah man only in my dreams would I ever get this much satisfaction. Maybe that’s why I like it so much.’”
The FBI noted that “HB” stands for Huntington Beach. It also indicated that Cavanaugh’s Groyper reference led it to “further review” his activities.
“I know based on my training and experience that the term “Groyper” refers to being a member of the America First movement. Groypers believe they are defending against the demographic and cultural changes that are destroying the "true America," a white, Christian nation. Groypers attempt to normalize their ideology by aligning themselves with "Christianity" and "traditional" values, such as marriage and family. Groypers identify themselves as American Nationalists who are a part of the "America First" movement.”
The FBI further identified Cavanaugh as having a DLive account under the handle “thehandofgod.” Here’s what it attributed to him:
“Hey HB groyper here I just got back from the capitol!! I got inside!!” then “was epic” on the CultureWarCriminal DLive channel. Earlier, on January 6, 2021, DLive account “thehandofgod” wrote, “HB local in DC right now!!” and “Wish you could make it we need to be out in force.”
You can read the FBI statement of facts here.
