By Dan Barry, Alan Feuer, and Matthew Rosenberg October 16, 2021

January 6, 2021-4:17 pm Inside the U.S. Capitol, the chaos is gradually subsiding. But outside, a group of angry mobs are raging.

President Trump again used Twitter to falsely assert that the election he lost was "fraudulent." Nevertheless, he told the mob and the intruder that it was time to go home.

4:27 pm As dusk approached, violence broke out. Trump-inspired thugs used flagpoles, crutches and even large pieces of wood to attack the police guarding the Capitol when they launched the medieval civil war.

Blood splashed on the marble steps.

Authors: Dan Barry, Alan Fair and Matthew Rosenberg

The American flag became a blunt weapon in the hands of the bearded man. He waved the flagpole like an axe, waved it once, twice, three times, and beat a policeman who was dragged down the steps of the U.S. Capitol.

Other officers were also attacked by mobs, while other officers worked hard to prevent droves from attacking the Capitol and disrupting conventional power transfers. The sprayed chemicals suffocated the air, projectiles flew overhead, and the unbridled roar formed a battle-cry-like hustle—all like a woman lying dying under the hustle and bustle of the riot on January 6.

In hand-to-hand combat, seven men from seven different states stood out. Although they are strangers to each other, they seem to be working together when fighting the police phalanx that is barred from entering the Capitol.

That moment was a flash in the chaotic panorama. The 90-second flash of insanity violence was obscured by the internal drama, thugs threatened in droves, legislators hid in fear, and a protester was shot.

Now, nine months have passed since the chaos, and former President Donald J. Trump baselessly asserted that the Republicans who were taken away by him in the 2020 election almost all hope that this day will pass: prevent the establishment of a The bipartisan investigation committee; accuses antifa, the Democratic Party or the FBI; and minimizes overwhelming video evidence.

Even so, the liquidation is still ongoing, as prosecutors and congressional investigators try to understand how a political rally evolved into an attack on the bastion of American democracy and its guardians. They are studying in depth whether the riots are organized, and what roles far-right extremist organizations, various Trump supporters, and Trump himself played.

But it may also help slow the speed of video evidence, stay on the steps of the Capitol for 90 seconds, and trace the source of the violence and its perpetrators. By doing so, it is possible to observe up close how seemingly ordinary citizens — deceived by political lies, instigated by leaders, and involved in crazy crowds — can unite to commit breathtaking atrocities.

Of the more than 600 people arrested for the riots, nearly a quarter were charged with assaulting or obstructing the police. But only a few have any connection with extremist provocateurs such as the Keepers of Oaths or the Pride Boys. The most violent incident of January 6 seemed to be the most common — part of Trump's loyalty.

They represent a group to a large extent, and they will certainly have a strong influence in the tormented politics of the coming country: whiter, slightly older than the general voting population, and less likely to live in cities or experience college education. Recent research shows that they come from places where people are often afraid of immigrants replacing their racial and cultural advantages, and insist on the false belief that the 2020 elections were stolen.

This description generally fits the seven men, who are now tied together by federal prosecutors, as co-defendants charged with numerous felony crimes in the indictment. For men, they are described by relatives and friends with the most advanced adjectives: perfect neighbors, devout believers, careful fathers, good people. They include:

1 A bearded truck driver from Arkansas who provided weapons to Old Glory. 2 A heavy machinery operator from Michigan used to be a model for the cover of romance novels. 3 A fence contractor from Georgia. 4 Geophysicist from Colorado. 5 A former Marine from Pennsylvania. 6 A deputy sheriff of Tennessee.

7 There is also a self-made businessman from Kentucky named Clayton Ray Mullins (Clayton Ray Mullins), 52 years old. He is described as a well-meaning man dedicated to maintaining his small country church. Running. He does not drink, smoke, swear, or bother on social media. He prefers old-fashioned westerns to news.

On the first Sunday of 2021, Mr. Mullins, as always, went to church before everyone else and made sure that everything was the same-even put a water glass on the podium for the morning preacher. The next day, on January 4, he started a two-day drive with his wife and a sister to a place he had never been to: Washington.

They said they thought this might be their last chance to experience the Trump rally. They said they had no intention of rioting or breaking in to allow Mr. Trump to remain in power.

Even if this is true, why would Mr. Mullins join the mob that swept the Capitol? Why is he so close to the violent confrontation of the police? Why did he pull the leg of a fallen officer who was attacked?

Recently, Mr. Mullins was sitting in an empty church so far from Washington, and began to cry because this problem looms over him, his family, his community, and this country.

The problem is that Mr. Mullins has hardly been to Washington.

The hastily planned trip depends on whether his wife Nancy can spare time from the work of a physical therapist. Once she got permission, the Mullins and one of his sister Turner Mullins Sisson rented a Honda Accord and set off.

"I told Clayton it was worth seeing," Nancy Mullins said of Washington. "In addition, you can still see Trump."

In his western Kentucky community, except for Jesus Christ as his Lord and Savior, Mr. Mullins is not known as a political activist, or even a person with strong opinions.

He grew up in Wengo, a small town with 800 people, just outside of Mayfield, Graves County, where there are several religious supplies stores and no salons. After graduating from high school, he started raising cattle and dabbled in auctions, and then opened the Mullins Machinery Company, a salvage business with rusty heavy equipment piled on the premises.

He would bid for damaged machines at auctions throughout the South on Nissan Frontier trucks that he bought and used nearly 20 years ago. Since then, it has driven more than 1.4 million miles.

Mr. Mullins lives on a lake about 30 miles north of Wengo with his wife he knew in seventh grade. But he spent a lot of time in his hometown and was attracted by the spire of his life, the Little Orbien Baptist Church, which has 12 benches and a history that dates back 175 years.

However, there is no longer a permanent priest, and the fully immersed baptismal is no longer in use. Mr. Mullins is the treasurer, handyman, and quiet benefactor. He seeks missionaries for the sparsely populated Sunday service.

“He has been a burden for that church for many years,” fulfilling his promise to his dying mother, “keep it going,” said Richard Heatherly, one of its former pastors.

Mr. Mullins does not have social media, and he is relatively new to text messaging. He only watches the reruns of "Andy Griffith Show" and "Gun Smoke", while his wife prefers shows about home decoration.

So, where did he get his news? "Word of mouth," Mr. Mullins said. "People are listening to different radio stations."

But many people in his circle are active on social media, including his sister, Ms. Sisson, who accompanied him to Washington. This year, the Bible quotes and makeup tutorials she posted on Facebook were full of criticisms of wearing masks, COVID-19 vaccination, gun control initiatives, and other familiar Republican goals.

In the picture she reposted: a representative Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez sitting with President John F. Kennedy and his wife Jacqueline Between the luxury cars that were assassinated in 1963. The title mocks Ms. Ocasio-Cortez's scary memories for her life during the riots on January 6.

On Monday, January 4, three Trump supporters from Kentucky drove more than 400 miles before stopping in southwestern Virginia. The next day, they drove another 360 miles, stopping on Constitution Avenue in time for sightseeing and catching the end of the "Stop Theft" rally, where a group of speakers warned that a country was on the edge of a cliff—a battle was taking place. Fight between good and evil, godliness and ungodliness.

After the night's fighting, the three returned to Constitution Avenue and found that their rented car and luggage had been towed away.

The next morning, on January 6, they went to Ellipse, a large park south of the White House, to participate in the "Save America Parade." The purpose of the rally is to sound the alarm that within a few hours, Congress will prove the fraudulent election announced by the president-another step in the government's transition, culminating in the inauguration day two weeks later.

The speaker did his best to please, coax, and anger the thousands of people gathered to take action. "The greatest group of patriots ever," Trump's second son Eric declared, while his eldest son Donald Jr. warned that Trump supporters would "support" any Republican lawmaker who voted for certification.

When the President took office, it was already noon, and the American flag was lined up on the stage. Wearing a black coat and black gloves, standing behind a protective cover, Trump advised his supporters to go to the Capitol and somehow prevented Congress from certifying the election. He said that they will never regain their country in a weak way, they must show their strength-when they march, "I will be with you."

Only in spirit. After sending followers, Trump and his family, who had been watching the rally on TV, disappeared in the celebratory atmosphere of a nearby tent.

In Mr. Trump’s long speech, the Mullins family was far away from the stage, and they heard more echoes than words. "I think he said we were going to march," Ms. Mullins recalled.

They joined the river of human frustration, flowing east for two miles to the Capitol-Trump's on-the-move rally, and his angry chants of stopping theft heated the cool air. As they walked, many people passed by the figures carved on the white marble of the Civil War monument known as the Peace Monument, one of them was named History and the other was named Sadness.

The river converges outside the security barrier around the Capitol, forming a fierce resistance vortex, full of Trump's red and camouflage green. The shouts of "Our House" became louder and louder, and the anger at the large numbers of police became even more profanity-until the dam broke its bank in the end.

Shortly before 1 p.m., protesters broke through the roadblock on the west side of the Capitol. Hundreds of people flocked to the manicured grounds, past memorial trees and lanterns designed by Olmsted. In the fluttering flags and "America! America!" people urged the marchers to cross the obstacles. "We need patriots!" Ms. Mullins remembered someone yelling into a loudspeaker. "We need men!"

Mr. Mullins later said that although he supported Mr. Trump’s re-election — he liked the president’s way of doing business — he also accepted the election results. "No one has power," he would say. "You should not put a person on a pedestal and think that he will bring peace to the world."

Nevertheless, he left his wife and sister and joined the intruding crowd.

The glass shattered, and a man in black climbed over the broken window and jumped off the clean floor like a cat thief. The moment around 2:13 pm marked the first sustained breach of the Houses of Parliament since Britain launched a fierce attack in 1814-only this time, the attackers were Americans.

Other insurgents followed, one of them waving a bat and the other holding a Confederate flag. One locked door was kicked open, other windows were smashed, and the mob rushed in.

In the next two hours, what happened in the sacred halls and rooms of the Capitol has been branded in the national consciousness: hostility and fear, bravery and violence-an order to try to undermine the democratic process of the Republic in the name of Donald J A shocking but ultimately failed attempt. Trump said at the end of Ellipse's inflammatory speech: "God bless you. God bless America."

But the shocking scenes in the Capitol often conceal the medieval civil wars launched outside its doors. In a cloud of suffocating chemical irritants, Americans fight with other Americans with fists and clubs, use bear spray and large pieces of shredded wood, roar in combat frenzy, and sprinkle blood on the white steps of their nation's democratic center.

What makes the Republic even more upside-down is that many rioters agree with the Republican Party, which has long been proud of defending law and order. But they are here, fighting the police, they are the defenders of law and order.

Rioters keep coming, a chaotic army of different colors: the orange knitted hat of the proud boy, the green camouflage jacket prepared to fight Antifa, the red, white and blue shirt and hat, and the flag of allegiance to Mr. And flags. trump card. Some people walked with jaw-dropping expressions; others ran away, as if rushing into the seashore.

Along the west side of the Capitol, hordes of thugs crushed on interlocking metal barricades, while the police pushed back to hold the line. "Go ahead, Patriot!" A rebel kept screaming. "move forward!"

Pepper balls flew, flags fluttered, flash bombs exploded, trying to disperse the determined mob, but failed. The police radioed the crackling sound of battlefield updates:

"A number of military officers were injured on the west side of the Capitol."

From beginning to end, Clayton Ray Mullins (Clayton Ray Mullins) often appeared in the picture. He was Zelig among the rebels, wearing black gloves, wearing a gray winter coat, and wearing a unique thick brown hair. .

Here, he sang the "Stars and Stripes" without rhythm with hundreds of people near the West Terrace. Here, before the tense confrontation between the mob separated by the roadblock and the police and the tense confrontation between different understandings of patriotism, a man wearing a Trump hat beside him sprays irritants on the police. He also used his "Stop Stealing" sign to protect the recoil and integrate into the crowd.

When the chemical cloud hit his face, Mr. Mullins winced. Nevertheless, he stayed on the scene.

By 2:45, he approached a group of roaring mobs, forcing the police to step back on the terrace, and they raised their riot shields, almost back to the wall. When the melee broke out, someone next to him shouted: "Take their helmets! Take their masks!"

At 3 o'clock, Mr. Mullins stood on the rising stone railing of the Capitol, holding an American flag, overlooking the noisy gathering below. He didn't move, didn't chant, didn't even wave his flag. He just stood, motionless like a sentry.

In the bustling crowd around Mr. Mullins, there were six strangers destined to be his co-defendants.

One of them is 42-year-old Peter Stager, a burly truck driver whose long black hair and thick beard stand out from any crowd. He stopped to attend a Trump rally on the way back from the New Jersey delivery and took some photos. His employer Charlie Penrod later testified. "The other thing is that the president asked him to show his support."

If Mr. Stager continues to drive, he will return to the small city of Conway, Arkansas. Returning to his single-story brick house on a working-class street, both black and white residents knew that he was the father of two teenage children, and they did their best to help others.

The neighbor Karmesia Odonell recalled that when her water heater failed, Mr. Stager installed the new device for free. "This is a difficult job, he just did it for us," Ms. O'Donnell said.

Mr. Starger often talks a lot, but never talks about politics, as far as anyone knows. "Not even once," said his close friend Melvin Jemerson, who is not a Trump supporter.

"I am not a politician," Mr. Jameson said. "That's it. What can we do about it? We can go to work every day and then go home to take care of our family.

"I thought Pete was like that."

Jack Wade Whitton, 31, also broke into the Capitol that cold afternoon. He was carrying a military backpack and wearing a red-mouthed "Trump Trump" on his sparse brown hair. 2020" baseball cap.

Mr. Wheaton and his fiancee Hayley McLean came to Washington from the small town of Rockster Grove about 35 miles south of Atlanta. He is well-known in the local fitness industry-a former CrossFit coach, enough to win the sponsorship of the Hurt Locker clothing company, the company's T-shirt sports slogan is, "If you are afraid of becoming strong, then you should become weak." He is also known for his passion for right-wing conspiracy theories.

"Are we surprised when we heard about what happened to him? Yes or not," said Kirk Gibson, owner of Smashletics, a gym in Locust Grove. He said that although Mr. Wheaton is not a malicious person, he is likely to think that "it is cool to come back and say'long live' to his friends-he is fighting for Trump."

Several friends sent enthusiastic letters of recommendation to the federal judge who handled Mr. Wheaton’s criminal case. But when reporters contacted these friends, some of them were obviously not so politicized.

One of the commercial pilots, Alexander Shakur, wrote that his friend was "a diligent, charismatic and humble leader." But in a recent telephone conversation, after mocking a reporter's attempt to "defeat a true patriot," he asked, "Do you want to see me in person?"-interrupting his mockery with cursing.

When the reporter pointed out that he had tried to meet him in person at the front door of his house, Mr. Shakkour called another rude name and then hung up.

A few years ago, Mr. Wheaton founded his own fencing company, and it performed well in early 2021. When plans to visit family members in Florida fell through, he and Ms. McLean flew to listen to Mr. Trump's speech because they thought this might be their last chance.

Ms. McLean recently recalled that they did not go to "stop theft" or disrupt Congress when she was standing outside their apartment with arms crossed and eyes removed.

"Everything is fine," she said. "Everything is great. The whole day is a pleasant experience. Then—I don't know."

At the Capitol, 51-year-old Jeffrey Sabol also wears a crash helmet and a backpack with a two-way radio, a receiver and a strap. He is from Kitrech, a mountain town in Colorado, where it is known that he is the football father of three children. He is a geophysicist who specializes in removing unexploded ordnance from mines and other energy facilities.

"His job is to be safe and protect others," his sister wrote to the judge who handled his case.

Although Sabor holds strong conservative beliefs, a friend of his, a friend who calls himself the Liberal Democrats, wrote to the judge saying that this geophysicist was able to "talk to politics and not become a challenge." One of the few that people hate." "But Sabor's sister-her name was deleted in court documents-described a disturbing trajectory that began with his divorce in 2011 and worsened with the death of his brother three years later.

"I believe that at this point, Jeff lost his way and allowed himself to be guided by others, leading him on a negative path," she wrote.

One of his lawyers later said that he came to Washington because "he thought it was a good reason at the time." "The President of the United States of America told citizens,'Something evil has happened, and you all have to solve it.'"

Other people have already answered the call. Ronald McAbee, 27, is a deputy sheriff in Williamson County, south of Nashville, Tennessee. He was in a car accident a few days ago. He injured his hip and shoulder and was granted sick leave.

Despite these injuries, Mr. McCabe was described by those who knew him as a kind and upright person who was ready to take action. He wears a red MAGA hat, reflective sunglasses and black gloves with metal knuckles. Text messages between him and his friends suggest that they are expecting violence. Speaking of the injuries caused by his accident, Mr. McCabe wrote, "I will hit a communist with this dead arm."

When Trump tweeted at a rally on January 6 that a lot of voting was needed, a Michigan man named Logan Barnhart responded on Twitter: "I will go."

Now he is here, walking through the crowd wearing an American flag hat, his extraordinary physique covered by a hooded sweatshirt with the Caterpillar Construction Equipment Company logo. Mr. Barnhardt, 40, is a heavy machinery operator from the suburbs of Lansing. He has received bodybuilding training and was naked on the cover of books such as "Unsealed Stepbrother: A Bad Boy's Military Romance" The upper body is a model.

Among the veterans who actually broke into the grounds of the Capitol was the 57-year-old Michael Lopatic from Pennsylvania. He is 6 feet 4 inches tall, weighs more than 200 pounds, has a messy gray beard, wears a red Marine Corps hat to announce his military affiliation, and uses a "Trump 2020" T-shirt to announce his politics Affiliation, which reads "Post-traumatic stress disorder: very tired of stupid Democrats."

Mr. Lopatic served in the civil war-torn Beirut in the early 1980s before participating in the US invasion of Grenada, where he was injured and hearing impaired in a mortar explosion. He left the Marine Corps due to a disability, and according to one of his lawyers, he has not been in a full-time job for many years. But his military service is still the core of his identity, and one thing can prove it.

In 2012, while queuing at a Chinese buffet, Mr. Lopatik helped himself eat crab legs—all this—prompted an angry man behind him to start a fight. Later, Mr. Lopatic told the doctor who treated his injuries that he was jumped off the building during an attempted robbery.

Faced with this lie during the criminal trial of the attacker, Mr. Lopatic said: "Talk about the blow to your masculinity. Should I tell people that I was beaten by crab legs at a Chinese buffet? It’s a former Marine. This shouldn’t have happened to me.”

Mr. Lopatic and his wife Chinh, born in Laos, have four children and live outside Lancaster city centre. He is an active parishioner of the historic St. Mary’s Catholic Church, presided over Sunday Mass, volunteered to participate in the wheel meal plan and joined the parish’s marriage strengthening plan "I still do this." Another participant in the project, John Claus, later wrote: “Violence is not part of the nature of this person I have observed.”

However, some friends of Mr. Lopatic said that they noticed that the acceptance of conspiracy theories after the presidential election was disturbing. "He was messed up," said a friend who asked not to be named. "He just spent too much time listening to lies. He really, really believes."

One day after the election, Mr. Lopatic posted a picture of two blood-stained pheasants he killed on Facebook. "Two headers," he wrote. "I have a rooster and a hen. I named them Joe and Camara."

Two days later, he posted pictures of two other pheasants. "I named this man Schumer," he wrote, presumably referring to Chuck Schumer, a New York Democrat who will soon become the majority leader of the Senate. "I call this old bird Nancy," he wrote of the other, apparently referring to Nancy Pelosi, Speaker of the House.

By the time of New Year's Day, Mr. Lopatic had promised to meet in Washington on January 6. He wrote, "We are united, marching and fighting."

As dusk approached, chaos reigned. At its center is a group of fanatical humans on the west side of the Capitol. Their collective rage rushes through an arched portal that is conspicuous on the Inauguration Day every four years.

"Hehe!" they yelled, like a sailor starting a mission.

Two weeks later, Mr. Biden will come out of this door to be sworn in as President. This ceremony is designed to convey stability and continuity. Preparations for the marble terrace in Massachusetts are underway, with woodwork and scaffolding everywhere.

But the mob has been expanding the scaffolding as part of their offense. Now they are using its metal rods, confiscated riot shields and anything else on hand to lift the police blockade, and they are trying to prevent them from entering the building.

The insurgents managed to enter the archway, where a sweat-stained riot shield blocked them at the beeping metal detector checkpoint. In the surreal half-light, they continue to push, push, and move, as if a body is at war with itself.

"They are all tired!" someone shouted. "We have fucking fresh meat here! Push them back!"

In the intermittent violence, the unthinkable became routine: throwing poles at the police like a spear, and vandals smashing the windows of the Capitol unhindered. At the edge of the arch, a woman lay on the ground, unconscious.

This is Rosanne Boyland, 34, from Kennesaw, Georgia. She is an enthusiastic Trump supporter. Her support for conspiracy theories makes her family worried. It's as if these eccentric beliefs—including the top Democrats belonging to a global pedophile group—have become a substitute for Ms. Boylan, who has tried to stay awake after years of drug abuse.

She came to Washington with her friend Justin Winchell. She took a photo of her in the glory of "Save America March" earlier in the day: holding a huge yellow "Don't step on it" I" flag, wearing red-white and blue sunglasses. But now she was on the marble terrace, outside, and her friend knelt beside her, asking for help.

Mr. Mullins stood nearby. He later said that he was trying to stand beside Ms. Boylan to protect her, because people's strong pressure caused him to temporarily lose his shoes.

Then Mr. Mullins either walked away or was pushed away because the tumultuous crowd started pushing again. Some people chanted slogans mocking that embezzling the life of a black man is also fate, echoing the last words of Eric Garner, an unarmed black man who died after being strangled to death by a New York City policeman in 2014 .

"I can't breathe!" They yelled at the body of a woman who had slipped from her life. "I can't breathe!"

The police officer in protective equipment of the Metropolitan Police Department is now at the door. These include specially trained members of the Civil Disturbance Department, including officers Blake Miller, Carter Moore, and Andrew Waite, all of whom have been in the military for less than four years. They just arrived in response to an emergency call: officials in need.

So far, Mr. Trump has posted a video via Twitter, once again erroneously asserting that the election was "fraudulent." He told the mob that he loved them, and then said: "I know how you feel, but go home-go home safely."

In an instant, at 4:27, a tense scene broke out. When the insurgents and the police fought side by side, a roar sounded. Someone threw a riot shield; somebody waved a hockey stick; somebody stumbled away with blood on their faces. In the middle of all this stood a man dressed as a red, white and blue bald eagle.

"America!" The intruder sang again. "America!"

Behind the crowd, a man wearing a "Trump 2020" hat raised his middle finger and rushed up like a cornerback trying to tackle. This is Jack Wade Whitton, a fencing contractor from Georgia. He and his future six co-defendants are not far away, and all will play their roles in the upcoming 90-second atrocities, as reflected in court documents, crowdsourced videos, and footage from police officers’ body cameras.

From an officer's point of view, the arches constitute a scene like a stained glass window endowed with a violent life, with the red and blue Trump royal family approaching them-in the distance is the majestic Washington Monument. Now the menacing thugs are attacking them.

An unidentified mob grabbed Officer Waite's face and knocked him to the ground. Jeffrey Sabol-a geophysicist from Colorado, wearing a green military helmet-then yanked a baton from the officer's hand so hard that Sabol fell back from the steps .

At the same time, Mr. Wheaton began to extend metal crutches to those guarding the arch, especially to Officer Miller. He climbed over the railing, kicked the fallen Officer Waite and wrestled with Officer Miller, pulling his helmet and dragging him under his face first. Several thugs helped him, including Logan Barnhart, a heavy machinery operator and bodybuilder from Michigan.

Returning to the battle, Mr. Sabor used the stolen baton on Officer Miller's neck, then slammed Officer Miller while slamming him on the back.

Mr. Sabor later claimed that he just patted the officer and said, "We caught you, man." He would also claim to be a "patriotic soldier" and respond to the call to fight.

A few steps down stood Peter Stager, a bearded truck driver and housewife from Arkansas. He was holding the American flag in his hand and hung it on a pole. When Mr. Barnhart, Mr. Sabol and others dragged Officer Miller down the steps, Mr. Stager raised the flagpole and hit the unarmed policeman three times.

He was later photographed pointing to the Capitol and saying: "Death is the only antidote in that building" and "Everyone in it is a traitor."

In the above few steps, when a Trump banner and a "stop stealing" sign were used against the police, Mr. Mullins joined the operation. He began to yank the kneeling Officer Waite's right foot, starting a tug of war with other officers trying to rescue their colleagues.

Mr. Mullins later said that he had been trying to rescue the officer by pulling the officer away from the dangerous front line-"out of the storm."

Ronald McAbee, Tennessee’s deputy, is now at the door. His intentions are as confusing as the patch he wears: one is the "sheriff" and the other is the third of the anti-government militia movement. Percentage signs. When he was hit by a truncheon, he was leaning over to Officer Waite-his lawyer later said to provide assistance-when he was hit by a truncheon, probably Officer Moore. The enraged Mr. McCabe began to push, brandish and curse.

At this moment, a gray-bearded man wearing a Marine cap and a gray beard rushed up the steps. His T-shirt read "Stupid Democrat" tired. This is Michael Lopatic, a church volunteer and former Marine from Pennsylvania.

When Officer Moore tried to push Mr. McCabe away, Mr. Lopatick grabbed his head and started punching and kicking violently. This freed Mr. McAbee to grab Officer Wayte's torso, drag him down the steps and nail him to the ground.

Officer Waite was eventually pulled into the rough sea. Federal investigators said that there, the mob tore off his helmet; stripped him of his baton, cell phone and gas mask; sprayed him with a mace; kicked him; hit him with a pole; and stepped on him.

The attack on the police is vicious and continuous. "Carter told me he was sure he was going to die," Sergeant Moore's mother Stephanie Smith later told the Seaford Star in her hometown in Delaware.

When Officer Moore’s colleague, Officer Miller, tried to climb the steps with the help of some protesters, he was beaten on the head and body. Mr. Mullins waved at them and pushed the officer’s black helmet. As if to stop him.

"They want him to return to the crowd that beat him up," Mr. Mullins said. "Why should we feed him back to what we pulled him out?"

Now deeper in the mob, Officer Miller seemed a little at a loss, but he still wanted to return to his post at the arch. At least 14 protesters surrounded him. Some of them tried to protect him from others. Lopatic approached him, his face was cut, and his T-shirt was covered with blood. With a quick move, he reached out and took off the camera that the police officer was carrying with him.

During these crazy 90 seconds, Ms. Boyland lay in the debris at the foot of the arch. Her belly was exposed, her body was pushed by the mobs, and their anger was unaware. She stretched out the red, white and blue sunglasses.

"I stretched my arms under her, I pulled her out, pulled her out, and then another person fell on her, and then the other person just walked," her friend Mr. Winchel later told Atlanta TV. "I mean, someone is crushed."

Ms. Boylan is suffering from acute amphetamine poisoning, but due to the violent attack of the mob, nearby police cannot contact her. Mr. Winchel knelt beside her, calling for help frantically, but he could not be heard amidst the clanging truncheons and profanity roars, including Mr. Starger, who walked with an American flag in his hand. Go up the steps and shout: "Traitor!"

Then there was a moment of calm. Someone screamed: "She's fucking dead!"

Immediately after the deadly riots ended, a shaky country began to assess what had just happened and why. This included quantifying the physical and mental injuries of more than 140 police officers, including Officer Waite, Officer Moore, and Officer Miller. These officials and the Metropolitan Police Department declined to comment.

The evaluation also called for the tracing of hundreds of responsible persons, including seven specific persons on the West Terrace. If found and convicted, they will face years of imprisonment.

Mr. Sabor, a geophysicist, returned to his home in Colorado. Federal prosecutors said that for fear of being charged with sedition, he destroyed anything that might be considered anti-government and exploded his electronic equipment in a microwave oven. He then went to Boston with a plan to escape to Switzerland, where he would ski and make the trip "look natural."

But as soon as he arrived at the airport, he believed that the police were talking about his backpack, so he abandoned his plan and started driving a taxi westward. Along the way, he threw the phone away.

On January 11, the police found a car driving irregularly in Rockland County, New York. Apparently the bloody driver who had been slashing himself with a razor was Mr. Sabor, and he quickly explained that he "has ended the battle".

"I was fighting tyranny in the Washington Capitol," he told the police. "I am wanted by the FBI"

Three days later, Mr. Stagg—whose identity was revealed to the FBI by an acquaintance, and he recognized the bearded man waving the flagpole—was arrested in a law firm in Conway. His hair is short now, and his beard is a neatly trimmed goatee. When the police took him to the cell, he seemed almost happy, as if he did not understand the seriousness of the seven charges against him, including assaulting a policeman.

"Be careful!" he cried. "Have a good day for you."

Mr. Lopatic, a former Marine, drove back to Pennsylvania on the night of the riot, discarding the camera he had taken from the besieged officer Miller a few hours earlier along the way. After a family member contacted the FBI, he was arrested at his home on February 3, where investigators found blood-stained T-shirts with the words "quite tired of stupid Democrats."

The contractor Mr. Wheaton was arrested in Georgia on April 1. A few weeks ago, a high school acquaintance revealed to an FBI acquaintance that FBI investigators were particularly keen to find him, partly because he was within 90 seconds. After the battle, he returned to the arch. Threaten the officer ("You will die tonight") because he sent a text message boasting that he would sacrifice an officer for the mob ("Yes, I fed him to the people. Know his identity. Don't care about tbh").

Mr. Wheaton’s grandmother, Sandra Bivins, believed that a police officer’s injuries were “chin skin and some bruises” and said, “They made the whole thing politicized.” Nonetheless, She added that her imprisoned grandson is deeply regretful. "He was saying,'I have wasted my life,'" she said. "'I have given up my life.'"

It took longer to find Michigan bodybuilder Mr. Barnhart wearing a Caterpillar sweatshirt and Mr. McCabe, the current Deputy Sheriff of Tennessee. But with the help of online crowdsourcing, the two were eventually arrested in mid-August and charged with various federal crimes.

Sometime in the evening of January 6, Mr. Mullins left the dispute. He walked out of the restricted area of ​​the Capitol and returned to where his wife and sister were waiting. His injured face told them something was wrong.

They later said that during the long walk back to their rented car, Mr. Mullins cried. They said he remained silent during the two-day drive back to Kentucky.

He resumed his original life. But his life didn't seem to notice that his image went viral on the Internet, and he was also a wanted person, nicknamed: "Slickback", which refers to his thick brown hair.

Three weeks after the riots, the FBI received a clue that eventually led to a bank in Mayfield. An employee who had known Mr. Mullins for decades said he was still in the lobby the day before.

One night in late February, Mr. Mullins drove his long-distance Nissan Frontier out of the salvage field and drove onto Highway 45, and was stopped by law enforcement officers a few minutes later. Before being placed under house arrest, he was detained in Paducah for a week.

Relatives and friends are still puzzled by how a person they know who has nothing to do with politics and has a strong faith got involved in the center of the riot in the Capitol. But they all echoed Mr. Mullins's argument that he tried to help rather than hinder the police officers he encountered. The foot that was grabbed by him. The one who was pushed too far by him.

Richard Heatherley, the former pastor of Mr. Mullins, said he was convinced that the man went to Washington to "show his support for the president, the country, and law and order." In defending his friend, the retired minister said that the "Black People's Fate" movement was "the pioneers of breaking into the building"-this claim is not based on facts.

The real prospect of being far away from Wingo looms over Mr. Mullins, and he and his six co-defendants have pleaded not guilty. But while he was waiting for fate, he wore an ankle monitor and tried to move on.

He salvages and repairs equipment at Mullins Machinery. He spent time at Little Orbien Baptist Church, taking care of it, and arranging missionaries on Sunday. He watched the replay of "Gunsmoke".

But in Mr. Mullins's mind, he always thought about the night of January 6, when he left the severely damaged U.S. Capitol, he was thinking:

"We shouldn't be here."

Kitty Bennett and Julie Tate contributed to the research. Malachy Browne and Dmitriy Khavin contributed reporting to this article.

Produced by Gabriel Gianordoli and Rumsey Taylor. The cover photo was taken by Rob Hill.

An earlier version of this article contained a photo that was mistaken for Jeffrey Sabol.