Kevin Krause at The Dallas Morning News published an exhaustive list of the 35 North Texans who have been arrested, tried, and/or convicted for participating in the attempted coup of the federal government on January 6, 2021. Reading through it, there are several consistent factors.
The most unmistakable shared trait is whiteness. Nearly all of the people arrested for their part in January 6 are white. Arguably the most famous case from the area is Stewart Rhodes, leader of the militia group, The Oath Keepers, who received an 18-year sentence. While not an explicitly white supremacist organization, The Oath Keepers have deep connections to groups who are. Many of the false stolen election stories centered on foreign interference from non-white nations such as Venezuela and China.
All but a handful of the participants in the attack are men, though there are a few women involved. While some of the accused and convicted are as young as 27, most are in their mid-40s or older.
About ten percent of the North Texas participants are veterans, including Rhodes. Members of all service branches except the Coast Guard and Space Force are represented. In Rhodes’s case, this is not surprising. The Pentagon has been warning for years that white supremacist-leaning groups have been infiltrating the armed forces for years as a recruitment method. Active and retired military also make up about a quarter of all extremist militia groups rosters.
Evangelical Christianity was well-represented among the group. Some wore overtly Christian clothing to the attack. Others quoted the Bible in their defense. There are no Muslims, Jews, Hindus, Buddhists, or other major world religions represented in the North Texas participants of the attacks.
All are conservative. There is a popular conspiracy theory that the attack was secretly orchestrated by the FBI or antifa groups to paint a negative picture of supporters of former President Donald Trump, in whose name the attack was carried out. Not a single person from North Texas who has been arrested, tried, or convicted of participation in the Jan. 6 attack has been a liberal, leftist, or Democrat.
Violence was also a contributing factor to more than half of the charges. Another conspiracy theory is that the attack was merely a demonstration that got out of hand, with few actual injuries or serious repercussions. Court records explored by The Dallas Morning News show repeated assaults of capital security and media figures with poles, batons, fists, and chemical weapons. Over 100 officers were injured that day, prosecutors claimed, and many of the participants can be seen in video committing violent crimes.
Each person who was present for January 6 is different, but taken together there is an emerging composite of who tried to overthrow the government that day. They are older white Christian men, some with military backgrounds, with deeply conservative beliefs who were comfortable committing violence. Three years of court documents show this to be true. Everything else is outliers and misdirection.
