Who is Bryan Betancur? White supremacist from Maryland charged in Capitol riot was paranoid about FBI watching him
A Maryland man was arrested on Sunday, January, 17 after his GPS monitor placed him at the US Capitol during the deadly failed insurrection attempt that took place as the US Congress convened to certify the results of the 2020 presidential elections which saw former Vice President Joe Biden defeat current president, Donald Trump by over seven million votes. The Capitol Hill riots resulted in five deaths, including that of a Capitol police officer who was beaten to death by protestors.
Bryan Betancur was arrested by the FBI and according to the affidavit filed at the time of his arrest, Betancur, also known as Bryan Clooney or Maximo Clooney is a self-professed white supremacist who has made statements to law enforcement officers that he is a member of several white supremacy organizations.
The affidavit continues that Betancur voiced homicidal ideations, made comments about conducting a school shooting, and had researched mass shootings. He had also voiced support for James Fields, the white supremacist convicted of murdering Heather Heyer, who was one of the counter-protestors during the 2017 Unite the Right white supremacist rally in Charlottesville, Virginia. The affidavit also notes that Betancur had stated that he wanted to run people over with a vehicle and kill people in a church. Reportedly, Betancur later changed his mind about hurting people.
Betancur was convicted for a fourth-degree burglary in the past. Following his release for the charge, he continued to engage in racially motivated, violent extremist groups on the internet and made "increased verbalizations" of his desire to be a "lone wolf killer."
It was Betancur's probation officer who had notified the FBO that Betancur had claimed to be inside the US Capitol with the other rioters. He also claimed that he had been tear-gassed during the events and that he believed "the FBI was watching him". While he recanted his statement that he was inside the Capitol, he continued to maintain that he was tear-gassed.
According to the affidavit, Betancur is a resident of Silver Spring, Maryland, where he lived with his mother following his release from custody in November 2020 for a previous violation of his probation. He received permission to leave Maryland on January 6 under the pretense of distributing bibles with Gideon International. This was not the first time Betancur had received similar permission to go to Washington DC with the group.
The FBI analyzed data from the GPS data from the monitoring device Betancur had under the terms of his probation and found that he was in the vicinity of the Capitol building during the riots. Another witness also submitted an image and told the FBI that Betancur had participated during the riots. He had allegedly posted images from the riots on social media accounts under the names Bryan Clooney and Maximo Clooney.
The affidavit further states that a video appears to show Betancur looking at the camera and flashing the "ok" hand signal, a sign commonly used among white supremacist groups. He was also noted in other social media images wearing a Proud Boys t-shirt.