They opposed certification of Biden’s victory
Travel hundreds of kilometres to demonstrate and find death: such was the fate of four followers of conspiracy theories and supporters of President Trump in the heart of the riots on Capitol Hill on Wednesday in Washington.
The District of Columbia Metropolitan Police Department on Thursday disclosed the identities of those killed in the event. Aged 34 to 55, all came from outside the US capital.
They had also become accustomed to sharing messages from far-right groups on social media. Some of them were active on the far-right Parler network.
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Shot dead
Ashli ​​Babbitt, shot dead by a Capitol policeman.
Ashli ​​Babbitt, a 35-year-old woman from California, was shot and killed by a Capitol Hill police officer after trying to enter the United States Congressional Chamber.
The former Air Force veteran saw the surge of Donald Trump supporters on Washington as a “storm” that would turn the country “from darkness to light,” according to her Twitter account.
Police said the other three deaths were caused by medical emergencies.
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These include Rosanne Boyland, a 34-year-old woman from Georgia.
According to US news site Axios, a woman died after being “run over” by mobs during the Capitol invasion. Police have not confirmed that it was Ms Boyland, however.
Heart attack
Kevin Greeson, a 55-year-old man from Alabama, reportedly died of a heart attack while protesting, his son Kyler Greeson said in a Facebook post.
The father of five was not shy about writing on the Talking Network that “Biden will be dead by January 20″ (the date of his swearing-in), or that Americans should “load their guns and take them off the streets.”
Benjamin Phillips, a 50-year-old man from Pennsylvania, is believed to have died of a stroke, The Inquirer reported.
He was the founder of the Trumparoo site, a site that aims to bring together supporters of the outgoing president. Through this platform, he coordinated the transport of several people who wanted to travel as a group to Washington.