MAGA rioter, 36, says he was 'inspired by Trump's words of election fraud' - becoming the fifth person in the mob charged with storming the Capitol to use that defense
A man from Ohio who is accused of entering the U.S. Capitol and stealing a coat rack from the Senate during the January 6 siege of the building, claims he was 'inspired to do so by former President Donald Trump's lies about election fraud.' Dustin Byron Thompson, 36, from Columbus was accompanied by his layer Sam Shamansky on Monday morning at the U.S. District Courthouse in the Ohio state capital. 'How else do you explain otherwise rational, law-abiding citizens traveling to D.C. and doing what they did?' Shamansky asked as he made the point to a federal judge in the hearing which saw his client released on own recognizance. In what could signal a defense strategy for many of the people ensnared after the Capitol riots, Thompson's attorney essentially is laying the blame at Trump's feet, saying his client was merely following the instructions of the former president. As of Monday, at least 95 individuals have been charged in connection with the riot, a