Jan. 6 defendants on the loose; domestic terrorism charges at Atlanta's 'cop city' protest

Since we published USA TODAY's investigation into people wanted for crimes in the Jan. 6 insurrection who have been identified, but not yet arrested, two people charged in the Capitol riot have gone on the lam. Meanwhile, 23 people were arrested and charged with domestic terrorism during an Atlanta protest. And the Boogaloo Bois melted out of sight, but have big plans for resurrection.

It's the week in extremism.

Jan. 6 wanted suspects identified to FBI:After Jan. 6 riot, hundreds of identifiable people remain free. FBI arrests could take years

Capitol riot defendants on the lam

Two defendants charged with storming the U.S. Capitol on Jan. 6 are being hunted by the FBI after they tampered with or removed their ankle monitors. One of the two is the sister of a Capitol riot defendant who has been on the lam since 2021.

• Arrest warrants were issued for Olivia Pollock and Joseph Hutchinson III last week after the FBI informed a federal judge in Washington DC  they had gone missing.
• Pollock and Hutchinson were arrested in 2021 and charged as part of a five-person indictment that includes Olivia Pollock's brother, Jonathan Pollock. Jonathan was never arrested and has been sought ever since. The FBI has offered a $30,000 reward for information leading to his capture.
• The charges against the defendants include assaulting law enforcement officers, theft of government property and other crimes.

No update: As we reported last week, more than 100 other wanted Capitol rioters have been identified to the FBI, but have never even been charged.  

Neither of the two men we identified by name in our story has been arrested. 

23 charged with domestic terrorism in Atlanta

Protests against a planned police training facility in Georgia again grew violent this week, after more than 100 people breached the proposed site for the facility, setting fire to construction equipment and police vehicles and setting off fireworks. Police charged 23 people with domestic terrorism for the attack.

"Stop Cop City" attack:23 people charged with domestic terrorism after attack on Atlanta police center 'Cop City'

• It's not the first time the protests, dubbed #StopCopCity, have seen violence. In January during a law enforcement operation to clear out the area, one protester was shot and killed and a state trooper was also shot and injured.   
• The domestic terrorism charges are a major test of a new Georgia state law that was heavily criticized during its creation by civil rights groups, who worried it would be misused to quell legal protests.
• The 23 people charged included an employee of the Southern Poverty Law Center, who was later released on bail. In a statement, the SPLC said the employee " was arrested while acting — and identifying — as a legal observer on behalf of the National Lawyers Guild."

Boogaloo Bois biding their time

The Boogaloo Bois, an anti-government, pro-gun movement spawned online that hankers for a second civil war, had seemingly disappeared ever since dozens of arrests in 2020. But as Vice News' Tess Owen reports this week, the movement is rising again online and is planning a "bloody comeback."

Boogaloo Bois back on Facebook:Extremist Boogaloo Bois back on Facebook since Mar-a-Lago raid as anger toward feds mounts

• The Boogaloo Bois are a leaderless, mainly online phenomenon, driven by a heavy emphasis on specific memes, iconography and in-jokes. Central to the movement is an anti-federal government ideology, an anticipation of a second civil war and an obsession with firearms. 
• I reported back in September that the Boogaloo Bois had a rising presence on Facebook. 
• Comeback: As Owens writes: "While it’s true that the threat of prosecution caused the Boogaloo Bois to lower their profile, the fierce anti-government ideology underpinning the movement never went anywhere. And now, the Boogaloo Bois appear to be regrouping, plotting their public comeback to coincide with what many fear could be a tense, even violent, presidential election season."

Statistic of the week: 38%

That's how much incidents of white supremacist propaganda increased between 2021 and 2022, according to an annual review by the Anti-Defamation League I wrote about this week.

White supremacist propaganda was at its highest level since the ADL started tallying it in 2018, according to the report, which you can read here.      

Last week in extremism:Jan. 6 suspects, antisemitic threats, bomb plots and ... Dilbert?