A viral video shows people in the Capitol riots coordinating their attack on Congress. Five people, including a police officer, were killed in the violent assault intended to overthrow the election results so that President Donald Trump could remain in office.
"What's the floor plan?" a man asks at the beginning of the video, which is filmed from inside the building. The room is crowded and chaotic.
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"We need a plan. We need enough people. We need to push forward," shouts another man.
Seconds later, a woman in a pink hat and sunglasses appears in the window.
"Hey guys, I've been in the other room..." she says into a bullhorn, then proceeds to deliver detailed instructions on how to take the building.
"In the other room on the other side of this door right here where you are standing, there is a glass that somebody, if it's broken, you can drop down into a room underneath it," she says, gesturing.
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"There's also two doors in the other room. One in the rear, and one to the right as you go in."
"So people should probably coordinate together if you're going to take this building."
The conclusion of the video finds them in yet another room, where a man can be seen attempting to break a window.
The two-minute video posted by Chris Morris on Twitter has racked up more than 2 million views in mere hours. Twitter users are stunned and outraged by the level of coordination.
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"These people are terrorists, not protestors... They were on a mission," tweeted one.
"This is not a protest," opined Charles Booker, the former Kentucky Democratic Senate candidate.
Many echoed this thought, and urged social media users to identify the people, particularly the woman giving directions, who's been dubbed #bullhornlady.
Meet #Bullhornlady who gives well-informed (?) instructions about #Capitol layout. Shows up at 0:35 secs.
This video purports to show planning, with schematics of the Capitol building. At one point a woman with a bullhorn gives the "mob" -- which is cool and calculating -- instructions. They can be seen going through computers, and following orders. This was not random violence. https://t.co/Ozo9o1o8KW
Videos and images of other angles of the carnage surfaced as users attempt to figure out the perpetrators' names. Online efforts to identify those responsible have been ongoing since the riots, with some success.
One video shot from outside shows the woman with the bullhorn and others using a long tube to bust out a window.
— (((𝘞𝘦𝘴𝘵𝘗𝘢𝘳𝘬𝘎𝘶𝘺))) Biden/Harris 2020 (@WestParkGuy) January 13, 2021
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Meanwhile, an archived website that's been wiped of all content since Jan. 6 contained maps and instructions for what it described as a "wild protest." Twitter users believe this is further evidence of coordination.
“Jericho March” is extremely telling. In the book of Joshua, God told the Israelites to march around Jericho for seven days and the walls would fall so they could take the city
Claire Goforth is an award winning journalist covering politics and justice from her home base in Jacksonville, Florida. Her work has appeared in publications ranging from regional alt-weeklies to Al Jazeera.
