A man charged in the Capitol insurrection says he dressed up as a member of Antifa and beat up police officers at the riot

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A man charged in the Capitol insurrection says he dressed up as a member of Antifa and beat up police officers at the riot
Pro-Trump supporters storm the U.S. Capitol following a rally with President Donald Trump on January 6, 2021 in Washington, DC.Samuel Corum/Getty Images
  • William Norwood told a sibling that he dressed up as an Antifa member at the January 6 insurrection.
  • He claimed Antifa members were "bussed in" and given special protections, though intelligence inquiries say members of the group weren't involved.
  • "You are 'antifa' my guy," the sibling responded to Norwood.
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A person charged in connection with the January 6 insurrection at the Capitol bragged to a friend that he dressed up as a member of "Antifa" at the riot, beat up police officers, and then said he "saved several cops from being killed by Antifa."

The messages, sent from South Carolina resident William "Robbie" Norwood on January 7, were included in an FBI affidavit to support charges against him, as previously reported by the Washington Post.

The affidavit includes photographs of a phone showing a groupchat on Facebook Messenger where Norwood claims dressing up in black as a member of "Antifa" - a leaderless group that frequently clashes with far-right organizations - would let him "get away with anything."

Later in the conversation, according to the photographs, Norwood claimed he was able to beat up police officers because "they were ordered to allow Antifa to get away with anything."

"It worked ... I got away with things that others were shot or arrested for," he wrote in one message.

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He did not, in fact, get away with it. Norwood was arrested on February 25 on charges of obstructing a Congressional proceeding, disorderly conduct at the Capitol, and stealing government property.

A man charged in the Capitol insurrection says he dressed up as a member of Antifa and beat up police officers at the riot
The FBI singled out William Norwood in this image from Capitol surveillance footage. He was wearing a red cap and camo jacket in other images where his face was visible.Department of Justice

Norwood also claimed in the Facebook messages that he "saw ANTIFA being bussed and in and escorted by the police," fought four police officers, and took the helmet and body armor from one of them.

The Facebook messages were shared with the FBI by one of Norwood's siblings, according to the affidavit.

"You are 'antifa' my guy," the sibling responded to Norwood.

In an interview with FBI agents, Norwood played down any encounters he had with police officers.

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He said he "put on a police helmet from the pile of equipment," according to the affidavit, which says his description of the event is "consistent with US Capitol Police officers' accounts of how their equipment was stolen by rioters."

Two Facebook accounts that appeared to belong to Norwood didn't immediately respond to Insider's requests for comment. Insider couldn't identify any attorneys or other representatives for Norwood.

Norwood's messages underscore the scale of the conspiracy theory that Antifa, rather than far-right supporters of then-President Donald Trump, participated in the insurrection to prevent Congress from certifying Joe Biden's victory in the 2020 presidential election. The insurrectionists were composed of Trump supporters - many of which were members of extremist groups - spurred on by Trump's lies that he was the true winner of the election and that Congress and Vice President Mike Pence should not certify Biden's win.

Yet, during and in the aftermath of the insurrections, figures like Republican Sen. Ron Johnson of Wisconsin and even Trump himself have pushed the conspiracy theory that "Antifa" participated in the attack. The claim has irritated members of far-right groups who have desired credit for the insurrection, and numerous US intelligence agencies have debunked the myth.

"We have not, to date, seen any evidence of anarchist violent extremists or people subscribing to Antifa in connection with the 6th," FBI Director Chris Wray said in a Senate hearing Tuesday.

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