Dear John,

Our experts at ADL’s Center on Extremism (COE) had spent the weeks leading up to January 6 tracking chatter and sifting through online posts, noting extremists’ plans to descend on Washington, and raising our concerns about the upcoming protests.

Even before violence broke out at the U.S. Capitol, we monitored the situation as the crowds gathered on Jan. 6 — as we had tracked similar events for months — with the goal of identifying extremists on the ground.

Ultimately, we identified more than 200 people who breached the U.S. Capitol that day. Here’s how it went down... From around the country, COE experts tracked the online conversations as the insurrectionists invaded the Capitol, updating each other in real time: “They’ve breached the building from the east entrance...” reads one message. “Shots fired,” reads another. We noted extremists in the crowds, identifiable symbols on their hats and shirts, carrying “America First” flags. Once the mob was inside the Capitol building, we captured the first images of the now-infamous “Camp Auschwitz” shirt. One of our senior researchers had spotted something in the corner of the screen, then stop-framed the video to get a full picture. He shared it with the team, well before any media reports.

In the chaotic aftermath of that horrific attack, we combed through social media accounts, photographs and news reports, seeking out known extremists. We kept a close eye on extremist-produced content, including posts from the Capitol. At a certain point, one expert had six livestream feeds running simultaneously.

That work has yielded significant results, which we continue to share with relevant law enforcement partners.

Of the more than 200 people we have identified by early February, roughly 25 percent of those individuals are associated with established extremist groups, including the Three Percenters, Oath Keepers and Proud Boys. The remainder can be classified as part of a newly ascendant extremist movement: pro-Trump extremists. Animated by blind devotion to the former President and utterly unmoved by facts, these individuals proved their allegiance on January 6: not to a country, but to a bully and his lies.

Everyone involved in the unprecedented, appalling assault on the Capitol was an extremist. That’s not up for debate. And neither is the Center on Extremism’s dedication to our work, which in recent months has only become more expansive, and has never been more critical.

To stay up to date on the latest COE blog posts and reports, please sign up for our monthly newsletter. We also urge you to add your voice to our new PROTECT Plan against domestic terrorism by signing our petition urging the White House and your local elected leaders to act now.

Thank you for joining us in this fight as a member of the ADL community.

Sincerely,

Oren Segal

VP of Center on Extremism

ADL