A text message sent to a capitol rioter states that the “end goal was to brutally murder Pence and Pelosi” and to rape congresswoman Alexandria Ocasio Cortez on January 6. The sender of the text added: “sadly today they’re still breathing,” According to a bombshell report by CNN. The recipient of the text was the same number that “received a phone call from a White House landline at 4:34 pm on January 6, 2021,” according to the news network.
It was a short call, but it is notable as the only known call made from the White House to the phone of a rioter during the attack. The call came from 202-456-1414, the publicly available number for the White House, CNN reported, citing the court records while noting that “like many businesses, outgoing calls from the White House do not show a specific extension.”
The call, first disclosed by Denver Riggleman in an interview with CBS’ 60 Minutes, was placed shortly after former President Donald Trump posted a video message on social media telling the rioters at the Capitol, “go home, we love you, you’re very special,” at 4:17pm. Who placed the call and why remains a mystery.
It’s unclear what, if any, connection exists between the White House and the rioter. But the cell phone belonged to a 26-year-old Trump supporter from Brooklyn, New York named Anton Lunyk, who traveled to Washington DC the night before January 6 with two friends, Francis Connor and Antonio Ferrigno, according to the report.
Court documents show that the three men attended the “Stop the Steal” rally on the Ellipse and then, along with hundreds of others, entered and illegally demonstrated inside the Capitol, a charge they pleaded guilty to in April and were sentenced for earlier this month.
Lunyk says he doesn’t remember receiving a call and claims he doesn’t know anyone who worked in the Trump White House. But his phone contained a cache of evidence prosecutors used in the case.
Court documents reveal that the three men started sending each other text messages shortly after the November 2020 election, saying it was “stolen and fraudulent.” The prosecutors allege that the three men “came to Washington DC for the chaos.”
They sent messages that included sexually violent and threatening rhetoric about former Vice President Mike Pence, House Speaker Nancy Pelosi, Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez.
“I would’ve said our job yesterday wasn’t completed. Our end goal was to brutally murder Pence and Pelosi, and sadly today they’re still breathing, therefore we must come back stronger and fiercely next time around,” Connor wrote in an Instagram message to Ferrigno, Lunyk and others on January 8, 2021.
“If they take my money I’m gonna shoot Pelosi,” Lunyk said to Connor, Ferrigno and others on January 12, 2021.
“We raped AOC,” Connor texted Lunyk, Ferrigno and others on January 8, 2021.
While there’s no public record connecting Lunyk, Connor, or Ferrigno to the Oath Keepers or the Proud Boys, they do mention both groups in their Instagram messages.
During their sentencing, DC Federal Judge Rudy Contreras chastised the men saying, “The three of you just come across as real knuckleheads… all in your twenties, all live at home, none of you are advancing your education.” He concluded, “you all could use a strong dose of maturity.”
As noted by CNN, “Any call from a White House landline to a rioter’s cell phone is bound to attract a great deal of attention, but unless Lunyk or the person who placed the call comes forward publicly, the call’s contents or possible significance may remain a mystery.”
