A source at the U.S. Capitol told The Iowa Standard that John Sullivan was indeed inside the Capitol during the protest on Wednesday.
Sullivan is a Black Lives Matter activist who claims he was there to document what was happening.
He posted a video to Periscope saying he was only there to record so people could see the situation in the best way possible.
You can see some video from Sullivan here:
Trump Supporters Breach the Wall of police and storm the front steps of the #usacapitol #DCProtests #DC pic.twitter.com/zBY8Dj1QQN
— John Sullivan (@realjaydenx) January 8, 2021
Sullivan founded Insurgence USA, which Fox13Now says is an activist group formed after the killing of George Floyd in the summer of 2000.
He told Fox News that he did not actively participate in the insurgence, but admitted to climbing through a window to gain access to the Capitol.
He was right there when Ashli Babbitt, an unarmed military veteran, was shot and killed by police.
— John Sullivan (@realjaydenx) January 8, 2021
Sullivan also said he is not a member of Antifa. And, he added, while he believes black lives matter, he isn’t affiliated with the group.
Fox reports Sullivan was arrested for organizing a protest in Provo where someone was shot in June.
Despite what Sullivan says now, the video clearly shows him encouraging others and attempting to convince Capitol police to allow the demonstrators through.
On Dec. 28, Sullivan tweeted that an armed revolution is the only way to bring about change effectively.
On Jan. 2, he tweeted it was time to burn it all down with a hashtag for BLM and Antifa.
Sullivan’s video includes plenty of his own audio enjoying the stroll through the building.
When the police actually offered some resistance inside the building, Sullivan tells the cops that they are putting themselves in harm’s way. And they don’t want anyone to get hurt.
Sullivan tells the cops to stand down.
One of the leaders in the crowd says that the people will be allowed into the room if they are calm and commit to no violence.
The cops attempt to prevent people from advancing, but give up shortly after that.
At the location where Bobbit is killed, cops are guarding the door. However, they step away.
The protesters shout that someone has a gun on the other side of the door. The gun is fired when Bobbit looks to climb on the door, through the window. When she goes down, you can see a handful of police behind Bobbit. One gives a thumbs up to the people on the other side of the door.
The exchange starts around the 34:39 minute of the video.
