Militia Man Says Yale Secret Society Made Him Storm Capitol
Militia Member Says Yale Secret Society Made Him Storm Capitol
(Bloomberg) -- An alleged member of the ultra-right Three Percenter militia movement said he was manipulated into participating in the Capitol riot by Yale secret society “Skull and Bones” and other groups he said were covertly acting for the government.
Allen Hostetter, who is among the handful of rioters facing more serious conspiracy charges over the Jan. 6 siege, made the outlandish claims in a Monday filing in federal court in Washington asking the judge to dismiss the charges against him. He is representing himself in the case.
In addition to Skull and Bones, San Clemente, California, resident Hostetter said “specific religious denominations known for secrecy such as Scientology and Mormonism” also helped covertly entice him into joining the assault at the behest of the federal government. Hostetter said he was targeted starting in March 2020 because he began organizing anti-lockdown protests during the pandemic, and that government agents “fashioned the lure to be as attractive as possible.”
The government’s tactics “resulted in defendant literally being walked up the steps of the U.S. Capitol led by said agents or operatives,” he said.
‘False Flag’
As “proof,” Hostetter claimed those groups had a long history of colluding with the government and said one of his co-defendants was a Mormon. “Skull and Bones,” to which both Presidents Bush belonged, has long figured in conspiracy theories.
Though Hostetter’s specific allegations are particularly far-fetched, the idea that the government secretly engineered the Capitol riot as a “false flag” operation has gained traction on the right. Fox News host Tucker Carlson pushed that theory in his “Patriot Purge” documentary.
Hostetter and five other men allegedly affiliated with the anti-government group were indicted in June on conspiracy claims. They’re among more than 600 supporters of former President Donald Trump who’ve been charged in the violent assault.
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