LOUISVILLE, Ky. (AP) - A Kentucky man told a TV news station that he regrets entering the U.S. Capitol last week with an angry mob but says he didn’t hurt anyone or damage any property.
Damon Beckley told WDRB-TV in Louisville that he has deleted Facebook and removed the SIM card from his phone out of fear he could be charged.
Roughly 120 people have been arrested nationwide on charges related to the U.S. Capitol riot, which was sparked by supporters of President Donald Trump as Congress was voting to certify Democrat Joe Biden as the next president. More arrests are expected as investigators comb through thousands of tips, photos, videos and social media accounts to collect evidence.
WDRB reports video on Jan. 6 shows Beckley, who is from Louisville, inside the U.S. Capitol trying to calm a mob of rioters who were approaching the House of Representatives. Another video shows an enraged Beckley outside a few minutes later.
“We’re not putting up with this tyrannical rule,” he says in the video. “If we’re going to come back here and start a revolution and take all of these traitors out, which is what should be done, then we will!”
He had a different tone Thursday in an interview with the station.
“Nothing’s going to be absolved through violence; you know, it’s not going to do anybody any good,” he said, adding that any retribution should happen at the voting booth.
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