Utah man's own videos of Capitol riot used as evidence for his arrest

SALT LAKE CITY (KUTV) — A Utah man is facing criminal charges after posting videos of his trip inside the U.S. Capitol online when it was breached last week.

John Earle Sullivan documented the siege on video and was among the people who stormed the building, he told KATU.

He claimed he witnessed the death of Ashli Babbitt, who was among the first rioters to enter the Capitol and was shot and killed by a Capitol Police officer.

Sullivan is charged with entering a restricted building or grounds, "civil disorders," and violent entry or disorderly conduct.

An affidavit of probable cause for Sullivan's arrest contains screengrabs from video he posted online showing his entire journey from within the crowd of President Donald Trump's supporters to inside the Capitol building.

The affidavit states in part:

"After the crowd broke through the last barricade, and as SULLIVAN and the others approach the Capitol Building, SULLIVAN can be heard in the video saying at various points: 'There are so many people. Let’s go. This s--- is ours! F--- yeah,' 'We accomplished this s---. We did this together. F--- yeah! We are all a part of this history,' and 'Let’s burn this s--- down.'"

Sullivan is the founder of the group Insurgence USA and told KATU he does not align politically with Trump. He said he was in D.C. last week to "document" several planned protests including the rally at the Capitol. He started the group in 2020 after the police killing of George Floyd in Minneapolis.

"Our mission is the unification of our nation because a people united will never be divided," Insurgence USA's website says.

Video shared on Twitter the day after the riot showed Sullivan being detained by law enforcement officers.

The Department of Justice website shows Sullivan is scheduled to appear in court in Utah on Friday at 4 p.m.