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Government Crime

How Will America's Investigators Identify Capitol Hill Protesters? (arstechnica.com) 353

"Both local police and the FBI are seeking information about individuals who were 'actively instigating violence' in Washington, DC, on January 6," writes Ars Technica.

Then they speculate on which tools will be used to find them: While media organizations took thousands of photos police can use, they also have more advanced technologies at their disposal to identify participants, following what several other agencies have done in recent months... In November, The Washington Post reported that investigators from 14 local and federal agencies in the DC area have used a powerful facial recognition system more than 12,000 times since 2019.

Neither would an agency need actual photos or footage to track down any mob participant who was carrying a mobile phone. Law enforcement agencies have also developed a habit in recent years of using so-called geofence warrants to compel companies such as Google to provide lists of all mobile devices that appeared within a certain geographic area during a given time frame...

With all of that said, however, the DC Metropolitan Police and the FBI will probably need to look no further than a cursory Google search to identify many of the leaders of Wednesday's insurrection, as many of them took to social media both before and after the event to brag about it in detail. In short: you don't need fancy facial recognition tools to identify people who livestream their crimes.

Friday the Washington Post also cited "the countless hours of video — much of it taken by the rioters themselves and uploaded to social media" as a useful input for facial recognition software.

But in addition, they note that "The Capitol, more than most buildings, has a vast cellular and wireless data infrastructure of its own to make communications efficient in a building made largely of stone and that extends deep underground and has pockets of shielded areas. Such infrastructure, such as individual cell towers, can turn any connected phone into its own tracking device.

"Phone records make determining the owners of these devices trivially easy..."
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How Will America's Investigators Identify Capitol Hill Protesters?

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  • Good! (Score:4, Insightful)

    by Joce640k ( 829181 ) on Saturday January 09, 2021 @11:41AM (#60915828) Homepage

    These people need the entire book thrown at them. There's no excuse for this. None.

    Nobody was there by accident and nobody would think it was OK to do that.

    I'm including Trump - for inciting this then doing nothing about it as it was happening.

    (I bet there would have been SWAT teams there within minutes if it was one his personal properties...)

    • Re:Good! (Score:5, Interesting)

      by ArchieBunker ( 132337 ) on Saturday January 09, 2021 @11:53AM (#60915884)

      Trump’s executive order from last summer recommends a 10 year jail term for protesters. The irony is so sweet. Even funnier are these “special people” Trump has spoken of will lose their second amendment rights if they take a felony charge.

      • Re:Good! (Score:4, Insightful)

        by Joce640k ( 829181 ) on Saturday January 09, 2021 @11:55AM (#60915888) Homepage

        He also said, "When the looting starts, the shooting starts".

        • Technically the shooting started.

      • "Even funnier are these “special people” Trump has spoken of will lose their second amendment rights if they take a felony charge."

        A cop died during their riot, they're going down for felony murder.

    • Re:Good! (Score:5, Informative)

      by gweihir ( 88907 ) on Saturday January 09, 2021 @12:17PM (#60915984)

      These people need the entire book thrown at them. There's no excuse for this. None.

      Indeed. They basically want to remove democracy by sabotaging its workings.
      German Chancellor Angela Merkel said regarding these events (paraphrased) "Democratic elections come with winners and losers and both are expected to play their roles with integrity and dignity to keep democracy alive". That covers the essence of things nicely.

      Nobody was there by accident and nobody would think it was OK to do that.

      I'm including Trump - for inciting this then doing nothing about it as it was happening.

      (I bet there would have been SWAT teams there within minutes if it was one his personal properties...)

      Yes. While he did a paper-thin "go home in peace" CYA statement, he also repeatedly validated the stance of these people.

    • Re:Good! (Score:5, Interesting)

      by AlanObject ( 3603453 ) on Saturday January 09, 2021 @12:37PM (#60916060)

      Nobody was there by accident and nobody would think it was OK to do that.

      Yes the participants did think it was OK. And many others.

      The "Elizabeth" lady interviewed who was so outraged she was maced as she tried to force herself in the building. Because "it's a revolution!"

      Everyone who took pictures of themselves committing felonies.

      I'm Very bothered by reports of Capitol Hill officers participating in selfies with the rioters. They didn't see anything wrong with it. Also one cop pointing out the directions to Schumer's office like it was a middle-school tour going on.

      And whoever gave repeated refusals to Gov Hogan that he could not send NG troops.

      Don't kid yourself. There are MANY people who think this is all OK.

      And all for a lie. And not one lie but many lies.

      • She wasn't even maced. If you watch the frames of her interview, she's clearly holding a half-sphere of something white, likely an onion. Maybe it's something else and I'm wrong, but when I see people that have been maced being interviewed, they can't open their eyes at all without really having their eyes flushed, and she doesn't look like she's had a bucket of water dumped on her head.

    • Re:Good! (Score:5, Informative)

      by ftobin ( 48814 ) on Saturday January 09, 2021 @01:09PM (#60916250) Homepage

      Nobody was there by accident and nobody would think it was OK to do that.

      I wouldn't be so sure. 45% of Republicans support the storming of the Capitol building: https://imgur.com/a/C0EAJm2 [imgur.com]

      Source: https://today.yougov.com/topic... [yougov.com]

  • I'll be crashing the Capitol gates with you just as soon as I finish this post on my phone about how Bill Gates wants to track us!
  • The same way ... (Score:4, Insightful)

    by PPH ( 736903 ) on Saturday January 09, 2021 @11:46AM (#60915850)

    ... they identified protesters on the other Capitol Hill [wikipedia.org].

  • by rsilvergun ( 571051 ) on Saturday January 09, 2021 @11:47AM (#60915852)
    Everyone else, while problematic, is relatively harmless. Those guys came equipped to take hostages. It is very likely they intended to execute members of Congress in order to force elections. The fact that people like that both exist in America and have the means to break into the Capital building needs to be addressed if we're going to continue to exist as a Democracy. Had the Capital building been evacuated just a little slower we'd be having a very different conversation right now...
    • I'm sure Ted Cruz and Josh Hawley are totally on board with this, just as soon as the Neo-na-zis and Q Shaman vote for them.

    • by RyanFenton ( 230700 ) on Saturday January 09, 2021 @11:57AM (#60915900)

      Relatively harmless?

      They were literally a mob, actively calling for harm to the vice president and the speaker of the house repeatedly as they marched towards exactly those people.

      What do you think would have happened if they caught them?

      Honestly - what do you think would have happened?

      "Relatively harmless" - these words of justification are absurd.

      Ryan Fenton

    • The capitol police have become soft and wussy is all. Normally, for most my life, more of those low life would have been shot after breaking in. The blame is on them.

      • there weren't nearly enough of them to handle the crowds. That was on purpose, and it's the biggest scandal nobody's talking about. The GOP and Trump set this up. It was an accident.
        • I'm sure you meant NO accident. But you're saying what I said after first seeing the video footage of a looter smashing in a window with a police riot shield. A police riot shield! And the footage of the cop posing for a selfie - I mean come on! They were practically waved through.
    • by JaredOfEuropa ( 526365 ) on Saturday January 09, 2021 @12:01PM (#60915922) Journal
      That’s the worrying part. Apparently some guys came prepared, even though at first it looked like a regular protest that got way out of hand. And a few pipe bombs were found as well. Was this thing planned in advance?
    • Zip ties? Off duty police perhaps?

      • Nope. Though one is believed to be ex-military, and the other was masked.
        Of course that is just hearsay, so put the ex military thing in the gossip folder until it's been verified.
        If he was military though, he's a total disgrace for violating the oath he made when he joined the military.
        I wonder if sedition or insurrection cancels your military/VA benefits.
      • Zip ties? Off duty police perhaps?

        Yeah, this. Those weren't just regular zip ties you get at the hardware store. Those were the type of zip ties specifically designed for restraint -- tactical zip ties. Yeah, you can get them on Amazon, but it seems like you wouldn't really be aware of them unless you had a military or LE background.

        • by Strider- ( 39683 )

          Yeah, you can get them on Amazon, but it seems like you wouldn't really be aware of them unless you had a military or LE background.

          Don't forget that Meal Team 6 likes to play soldier, and has probably played ever version of CS/MoH/whatever...

      • One of the guys with the zip-ties was identified as a retired AF Lt. Col. I forget the name but you could find it pretty easily. Many family members were avoiding him because he had become increasingly radicalized in recent years.

        • by garyisabusyguy ( 732330 ) on Saturday January 09, 2021 @12:41PM (#60916074)

          I think that you put a pin in it, radicalization

          Trump and crew and "radicalized" a large segment of the US just like Osama bin Laden and al qaeda radicalized large segments of many Arabian Gulf nations.

          We need to recognize that they have been brain washed and need to be treated just like we would treat somebody convinced to suicide bomb a concert

          If fact, I hope that US security groups are already watching for this, as much as trump has tried to blind them

          Yeah, radicalization, this is far from over

    • by gweihir ( 88907 )

      Everyone else, while problematic, is relatively harmless. Those guys came equipped to take hostages. It is very likely they intended to execute members of Congress in order to force elections. The fact that people like that both exist in America and have the means to break into the Capital building needs to be addressed if we're going to continue to exist as a Democracy. Had the Capital building been evacuated just a little slower we'd be having a very different conversation right now...

      Indeed. They will basically treat those (and anybody else armed) as terrorism suspects. And since the zip-tie guys basically threatened elected representatives _personally_ with grievous harm, there will be a lot of pressure to get them and I expect they will get them all pretty soon.

    • Re: (Score:3, Funny)

      by JBMcB ( 73720 )

      It is very likely they intended to execute members of Congress in order to force elections.

      I think their plan was even more insidious than that. You don't need zip ties to kill people, you just shoot them. Also, killing a few members of congress wouldn't change the results of the election, as all that is needed to certify the election results is a simple majority.

      The *most* likely scenario was they were going to kidnap senators and representatives and replace them with doppelgangers who would then vote to reject the election results. As Trump supporters, this would be their end goal, right?

      I mean

      • hahaha, no that doppelganger idea is silly movie fodder and wouldn't work, rest of congress wouldn't accept them. Intimidation was the goal, just having the zip ties does that. No objection even went anywhere, couldn't go anywhere.

        Just a bunch of losers and lowlife taking advantage of weak capitol police, they've really become soft and useless these days. Should have been a lot more of those shot after clear kill zone established.

    • Don't forget the two pipe bombs and the gallows

      https://images.theconversation.com/files/377789/original/file-20210108-21-lkk5io.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&rect=67%2C33%2C5540%2C3631&q=45&auto=format&w=496&fit=clip
      • The protesters also erected a cross, but I don't think they intended to crucify anyone. Or do you people think the crowd contained Roman infiltrators with hammers and big tactical nails?

    • Already done. Eric Munchel, a bartender from Nashville and, more scarily, Larry Brock Jr. Lt.Col USAF-retired, a decorated combat veteran.

      Sounds like someone's going to be losing their military pension. I'm sure there's a clause in the UCMJ somewhere regarding insurrection and sedition.

    • by hey! ( 33014 )

      I don't know about *everyone* else being harmless. There were the guys who beat cops with pipes and fire extinguishers. The ones that tried to crush the cop who was stuck in the door. Then there were the people with the pipe bombs and molotov cocktails. Even the people who stole random papers weren't completely harmless

      As for the means, you don't need means if the police aren't prepared for you to defy verbal instructions. The capitol police didn't put out actual riot control barriers -- the ones that

  • The really irony, visible even across the pond here in the UK, is that many of them sought out TV cameras and actually bragged about their behaviour, gave their names and home states to reporters. I think this just underlines their shocking ignorance of reality.

  • No need for AI, phone tracking etc. Just do the standard "If anyone knows this person...". Unless they're hermit loners they'll be recognised and someone - family/colleague/former lover/guy at a checkout - will send in their names.

    Sometimes the old ways are the best.

    • Funny though, how many people will be founs in the US, that look exactly the same.

      Don't rely on people's minds only. Even on photos.

    • Phone tracing needs to be performed to root out "cells" connect to the people who attended

      Everything that was put in place after 9-11 should be "burning the midnight oil" right about now

    • The one ziptie guy was caught on video wearing the exact same pants (a rare, expensive camo pattern) and hat in the lobby of his hotel Thursday morning, along with his mom who he was photographed with throughout the insurrection and did not wear a mask.

      Oh, as part of his tacticool LARPing he was carrying as part of his kit an aircraft signaling flare...

  • by gweihir ( 88907 ) on Saturday January 09, 2021 @12:04PM (#60915934)

    Basically, there are traditional and modern options. Traditional ones include witnesses and putting up bounties. That has already happened. Also looking at travel that fits a pattern, cash withdrawals in the area, hotel reservations, etc.

    Modern options include cell-phone tracking (many of the morons had theirs on, you see them taking pictures and checking messages), reading postings, looking at pictures and videos that indicate somebody participated taking them, people writing about having seen others there, etc.

    My prediction is that they will be identifying more than 90% of the participants that were in the building reliably and they can already charge all of them for that alone. May take a year or longer though, simply because they have to work slow and carefully to make sure evidence stays valid.

    • I think the biggest problem from a legal perspective will be proving that an individual protestor did something wrong. The guy stealing the podium is going to be hit hard, but a protestor who followed the crowd in might not have even known that the building was broken into.

    • by garyisabusyguy ( 732330 ) on Saturday January 09, 2021 @12:52PM (#60916156)

      >>Sen. Ben Sasse said that, according to senior White House officials, Trump was “confused” why others weren’t as excited.

      That is telling, why did they all let the President live in a media bubble where this would seem like the right thing to do?

      All of the enablers are just as guilty as the big orange turd himself

  • And I bet a lot of them were afraid of tracking chips in the vaccines :D
    Not only are we no where near being able to make technology like that, it would be totally redundant, especially with those morons.
    • Of course ot woild be redundant,
      but we are definitely not "nowhere near" mate.
      I fact RFID chips as small as grains of powder have not been new since 10 yeara ago. Waved my hand through them as if it was fine sand myself.
      And there are armies where this replaces classical dog tags for quite some time now.

      The only thing missing from the picture is that of course without a large antenna, even holding the reader right up to the skin with the chip underneath won't work unless you got crazy sensitive sensors and c

  • by UnixUnix ( 1149659 ) on Saturday January 09, 2021 @12:24PM (#60916016) Homepage
    The Net has been busy, some of the more egregious perpetrators have been identified (and reported to the FBI): https://mobile.twitter.com/jsr... [twitter.com] https://mobile.twitter.com/Opo... [twitter.com]
  • I assumed:
    * The NSA actvely injects moles as agents provocateura into such groups to divide and discredit them, and has done so before on the Tea Party and Occupy, according to the Snowden leaks.
    * Capitol Hill, being so exteremely important, is highly secured. By highly trained agents that are armed to the teeth. You'd obviously get shot if you tried to storm it.
    * It is also obviously under total surveillance. So everyone will be recorded. And you don't get out without being captured and identified (or shot

    • I'm not one of your partisans. Im not one of your stereotypes, nor do I believe in any conspiracy theories or anticonspiracy theories. In fact I don't side, in general, and don't believe, period.

      Ahhh. So your one of those people who want their mind so open their brains fall out.

      Occam's Razor, bitch - it works.

      • Re: (Score:3, Insightful)

        No, he's just not you ... determined to divide people into teams and sides for the purpose of winning some sort of ideological war.

        I know exactly what I believe in. I *don't* have an "open mind." I have values, principles and ideals that I do not compromise on. And by those values and principles, both the left and the right look completely batshit crazy and insanely dishonest to me. There is so much spin, narrative, hypocrisy and bullshit coming from both sides that I can't tell who is the lesser evil at th

    • by hey! ( 33014 )

      You don't need the NSA to know this was going to happen. You don't need guys with black bags to install surveillance gear or break codes, you need someone to get an account on the social medium forums these guys use and lurk.

      Clearly what was wanting wasn't technical ability, but motivation. It's not like the cops don't do these things, they just don't do them to Trump supporters.

    • It's a few things. First, nobody needed the NSA. These ding-dongs were posting it all over the net. But frankly few people probably took them seriously. When was the last time right wingers did something like this on this scale? And no, Charlottesville is not the same - that was pretty close to mutual combat between left wingnuts and right wingnuts.

      You had the Bundy family nuts, but that was a pretty small group of people. Trump has called his tards to Washington before and they mostly did normal protesting

  • Otherwise the list of rioters is merely a list of last minute pardons.

  • The good news is that these fucking idiots fought for "the right to choose" to wear a mask, and most chose not to. That makes combing surveillance footage quite useful for identifying and charging insurrectionists.

  • by Antique Geekmeister ( 740220 ) on Saturday January 09, 2021 @05:26PM (#60917554)

    The policeman who got the selfies with the protesters should be promoted. He was de-escalating a very dangerous situation _and_ he got evidence for later analysis.

  • by Dr. Spork ( 142693 ) on Sunday January 10, 2021 @01:28AM (#60919012)

    Protesters were doxxed by online vigilantes and exposed by Orwellian biometric databases, but I said nothing, because I thought the reason behind their protest was totally moronic, and honestly, I thought they were kinda garbage people. But is that really the right approach?

    Or is the real courageous position to say that yes, the reason behind this protest was moronic and the people doing it were kinda garbage, but we need to stand up in their defense anyway, because even though we recoil at the thought of looting in the Capital, we should recoil even more at the thought of becoming a country that lacks the pressure valve of rowdy, ugly dissent. The protesters who actually destroyed property should get a bill, and anyone who hurt someone should go to jail, but for "crimes" like trespassing, committed in the context of political protest, I think it's very important that we show leniency. And we have to be consistent about this. We can't apply different rules depending on whether the protesters wear MAGA hats or pussy hats, even if our feelings about their causes are really different.

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