A new report on Monday exposed Matt Gaetz staffer Joel Valdez for cheering on insurrectionists while they stormed the U.S. Capitol on January 6.
“As police struggled futilely to fend off a wave of rioters outside the U.S. Capitol building on January 6, Joel Valdez, an aide to Congressman Matt Gaetz, made his way to the rooftop of his boss’s office building across the street on Independence Ave. Surveying the mob as it surrounded the complex, he captured a five-second video with his phone and posted it to Parler—the now-defunct social network where some supporters of President Trump are reported to have openly planned an insurrection for weeks,” Gizmodo reported Monday.
In his post, Valdez used the hashtag #StopTheSteal to push the conspiracy theory that the election was stolen from Donald Trump.
“From the top of the Capitol office buildings, WE HEAR YOU LOUD AND CLEAR!” Valdez posted on Parler.
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Gizmodo reported on where the video fit in the timeline of events.
“Metadata from Valdez’s video, which Pro Publica published last week but did not connect to Gaetz’s press assistant, reveals it was taken at roughly 1:14 p.m. ET that day,” Gizmodo reported. “The rioters had by that time already breached at least three police barricades and forced officers back onto the Capitol steps where they violently engaged, according to a timeline of events reported by the New York Times.”
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