FBI agents arrested a Clinton County man Friday on charges of threatening to kill people who exposed his role in the Capitol riot last week in Washington, D.C.
Justin Stoll, 40, of Wilmington, is accused of making interstate threats and tampering with a witness by threat. He was arrested by members of the FBI's Joint Terrorism Task Force.
According to a federal criminal complaint, Stoll, who goes by the user name "Th3RealHuckleberry" on social media, posted videos of himself outside the Capitol with the mob of protesters who stormed the building last Wednesday after attending a rally with President Donald Trump.
In the videos, the complaint states, Stoll cheered on the violence as the mob forced its way inside.
"D.C.’s a war zone!," he said, according to the complaint. "You ain’t got enough cops, baby! We are at war at the Capitol ... We have taken the Capitol. This is our country."
Before going to Washington, authorities say, Stoll posted several statements about the upcoming rally and protest. In one, he referred to those opposed to Trump as "enemy combatants" who should be "shot on sight."
The charges Friday are not directly related to Stoll's activities at the Capitol but are instead connected to threats he made days later to people who expressed alarm about his role in the riot.
"If you ever jeopardize me, from being with my family, you will absolutely meet your mother f------ maker," Stoll wrote, according to the complaint. "And I will be the one to arrange the meeting."
Federal authorities say Stoll posted his videos on Clapper, an app that bills itself as "a place for unbiased free speech," and on YouTube. According to the complaint, at least one viewer of his videos responded by thanking him for posting them, because now Stoll could be prosecuted and sent to jail. "You'll have 10 years of free room and board waiting for you," the viewer wrote to Stoll.
Stoll posted a video response, authorities say, in which he called the person a "snitch b----" and said the riot was permissible because the Capitol is "owned by the people."
Stoll then told the person that he never admitted going inside the Capitol. "Daddy's not stupid," Stoll said, winking.
He then threatened to kill the person who had warned him about participating in the riot. The federal criminal complaint describes the threat as "serious and aggressive."
Stoll's Facebook page is filled with posts critical of Democrats, abortion-rights advocates, CNN, House Speaker Nancy Pelosi, liberal "snowflakes" and Black Lives Matter. His profile photo appears above the word "Trump."
He also wrote on his Facebook profile that "if you are a POS Democrat and you hate America do not send me a friend request. you are beneath me."
According to his business Facebook page, Stoll is a house painter specializing in residential interiors. Stoll's family members either could not be reached or declined comment.
Stoll's arrest is the first in southern Ohio since U.S. Attorney David DeVillers promised last week to aggressively pursue anyone from the area who participated in the riot.
The attack on the Capitol stunned the nation and prompted rebukes of Trump by both Democrats and Republicans who blamed him for inciting the violence with fiery rhetoric and false claims about election fraud. A week later, the House of Representatives impeached Trump a second time, this time for inciting insurrection.
Trump is the first U.S. president to be impeached twice. The articles of impeachment are expected now to go to the Senate, which will hold a trial within the next few weeks.
The complaint against Stoll states that a tipster contacted the FBI after seeing videos posted by Stoll and others on Clapper in the run-up to the Capitol riot. The tipster said Clapper was used to plan the assault and that users of the app described their planned actions as a "coup" and an "insurrection."
Stoll appears in at least one video before the riot, according to the complaint, in which he asked viewers if he should wear a black American flag to the Capitol. "Basically, if you are an enemy combatant, you will be shot on sight," Stoll said in the video, according to the complaint. "I know this is the end-all flag."
Cincinnati.com will update this story.
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