The Department of Justice has seized $90,000 worth of criminally generated profits from activist John Earle Sullivan, who filmed himself encouraging protesters to storm the Capitol on January 6. He later sold the footage to CNN, NBC and the Washington Post, among other media outlets.
Sullivan was originally arrested on January 14, meaning the media paid him the bulk of the money after criminal charges had been filed against him, and apparently after the media understood the videos were made during the commission of several crimes.
“According to the court filings, Sullivan portrayed himself as an independent journalist who was reporting on the chaos but actually encouraged other participants to ‘burn’ the building and engage in violence,” Reuters reported.
Previous Story: Media denounces Jan. 6 ‘riots’ while paying protest organizer who attended them
Sullivan previously participated in Black Lives Matter protests in Utah, his home state, but local organizers there have disavowed any connection to him.
Sullivan faces eight criminal counts stemming from the event, including weapons charges, according to Reuters.
The prosecutors describe Sullivan in court documents as someone who alternately posed as a rioter and then as a journalist, a role that has blurred in the past dozen months.
“I brought my megaphone to instigate shit,” Sullivan said, according to the government. “I was like, guys we’re going inside, we’re fucking shit up . I’m gonna make these Trump supporters f-all this shit up . But I mean you’ll see. I have it all, I have everything, everything on camera, everything I just told you, and I mean everything. Trust me when I say my footage is worth like a million of dollars, millions of dollars. I’m holding on to that shit.”
Law and Crime reported that another video shows him “expressing excitement” that he was able to record the final moments of Ashli Babbitt’s life, according to the documents filed by the government in U.S. District Court.
Sullivan has argued that he was legitimately documenting the riots and therefore was a member press, a defense used by other rioters.
The U.S. government is arguing that Sullivan would not have realized any money were it not for the illegal acts he committed during the riot.
“In sum, there is ample probable cause supporting the traceability of the defendant’s proceeds to the crime,” prosecutors said. “By targeting the defendant’s $90,875 in gross profits, this case encapsulates the core purpose of forfeiture – to ‘help to ensure that crime does not pay.'”
The government says during the riot Sullivan, “wearing a ballistics vest and gas mask, entered the U.S. Capitol through a window that had been broken out, pushing past U.S. Capitol Police once inside.”
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I would like know how many other BLM/Antifa instigators were at the capital that day and who exactly funded them. I’m sure Pelosi’s 9/11 style commission would get to the bottom it. (sarcasm)
YEa right. HELL WILL freeze over, before piglosi and co, EVER “reveal the truth’ of how many antifa/blm rioters were in the mix, and who was funding them..
Had to be a lot of them because Trump was still speaking at his rally when the storming of the capital building started. No surprise that this jerk is a member of the blm and/or antifa.
AND when you consider, the FBI WARNED the capital police “ANTIFA IS PLANNING ON BEING THERE” Ahead of time, and PELOSI and co, deliberately DID NOTHING TO beaf up security, it certainly makes you wonder, HOW MANY of those who DID storm the building, were plants
Lol he is an antifa and BLM Organizer and Supporter. Lol
He sounds like those “White Supremist’s” they keep talking about that ransacked the capitol (not true), and killed 5 people (also not true , 1 killed by Capitol police, 3 of heart attacks and 1 by suicide))
John Sullivan a blm hack who had protested / rioted previously in Utah. I am sure Joe and Kamala will let this hack go, because he was not a Trump supporter.
He’s the ‘right color’.. SO he can do any crime.
On that day someone shouted “gun” at which point Ashli was shot. Shouting “Gun” at that point was tantamount to tell anyone with a gun to shoot. I always thought it was Johnson. If he did, he is culpable in Ashli’s murder.
I can just see the fbi and home security going over all the photos, video, witnesses and once it is found that the “rioter” was either a Trump supporter or Republican – execute an arrest warrant. Any blm, antifa or democrat was only there to try to keep the peace and protect all politicians so they get a thank you and their names deleted so they can continue their “loyal” services at other places.
These days, that happeing, wouldn’t shock me one bloody bit.
Sullivan was arrested right after the storming of the Capital, he spent no time in jail and was released in just hours after being arrested. Others arrested that did not damage are still in jail. The Democratic Party knew in advance about this happening, they and others were behind it.
Sullivan was arrested in Utah, then released without charges, despite the fact that he was out on bail for violence at a previous riot. Don’t know what state that riot was in but I thought that in most bail cases the defendant is not allowed to cross state lines.
Would really like to know where he gets his money to travel around the country to participate in these riots.
Last i knew, LEAVING The state while on bail, was a criminal offense in its OWN right.
Crossing the state line while out on bail is a felony in itself (with loss of previous bail and no bail allowed again). In my state it is a 1 – 5 year sentence (probation is not allowed).
SO HOW then, did he get to CROSS multiple state lines, to JOIN IN the riots?? OR is that yet another “OH, he slipped through the cracks” incident?
There is one, I would have supported the capital police terminating