The investigation, the charges and the two-day manhunt for Jan. 6 suspect Gregory Yetman
This morning's roundup starts with breaking news: Gregory Yetman, who escaped after federal and local police officers attempted to arrest him in connection with the Jan. 6 insurrection, was taken into custody in New Jersey on Friday morning, the FBI said.
Yetman was identified in a March USA TODAY investigation about people wanted in the Capitol riot. Authorities attempted to serve an arrest warrant at his home earlier this week, and a manhunt had continued through Thursday night.
Meanwhile, a video streaming site has become a haven for white supremacists, according to a new report. And anti-Semitic incidents and other hate-fueled incidents continue across the country.
It’s the week in extremism.
Jan. 6 fugitive taken into custody
Gregory Yetman turned himself in to authorities on Friday morning, ending a massive two-day manhunt in his home state of New Jersey. FBI agents and local SWAT teams had attempted to serve an arrest warrant Wednesday at Yetman’s home in Helmetta before he ran into the woods by his home.
On Thursday, the FBI issued a “Wanted” poster for Yetman, listing his alleged crimes including assault on officers, obstructing law enforcement and physical violence on the grounds of the Capitol. The FBI also set a $10,000 reward for information leading to Yetman’s arrest.
USA TODAY publicly identified Yetman in March in an investigation about people whose photographs appeared on the FBI’s “Wanted” list in the Capitol riot. Many of them could be publicly identified yet had never been arrested or charged.
Videos from the day showed Suspect #278 spraying pepper spray at police and protesters during the riot. A group of online sleuths sent the FBI a dossier identifying Yetman as Suspect #278 on the bureau’s wanted list for Jan. 6 in early 2022.
Yetman acknowledged to USA TODAY that he had been at the Capitol, but denied wrongdoing. He said he had been interviewed by the FBI shortly afterwards and said that “Everything’s been resolved, everything’s good.”
Yetman escaped from FBI agents and local police officers Wednesday morning. On Thursday, my central Jersey reported that Yetman has also been charged locally in New Jersey with fourth-degree possession of large capacity ammunition.
Video sharing website Odysee a white supremacist haven: Report
Video sharing and streaming website Odysee has become a go-to platform for white supremacists and other extremists, who have used the site to raise hundreds of thousands of dollars in donations, a report released this week by the Southern Poverty Law Center’s Intelligence Project concluded.
Odysee, which functions similarly to YouTube, was built to share funds via a cryptocurrency that recently collapsed in value, placing the future of the website in question, the report states.
SPLC researchers tracked donations to 165 extremist channels from April 24, 2021, to Aug. 31 of this year, concluding that 113 of the channels raised $336,000 combined on the platform.
The new SPLC report is the first in what will be a series of Digital Threat Reports into so-called “alt-tech” platforms favored by white supremacists and other extremists.
“What I really wanted to do was focus on the tech and the platforms that are slipping by ? they’re enabling extremism and fundraising, but people may not be aware of what they’re doing,” Megan Squire, SPLC’s deputy director for data analytics, told USA TODAY.
Anti-Semitic incidents continue across the country
As the Israel-Hamas war goes on, hate-fueled incidents continue across the United States. Last week, FBI Director Christopher Wray warned that antisemitism is reaching “historic levels.” The death of an elderly Jewish man at a California rally further roiled tensions.
On Monday, a Jewish man who was involved in an altercation at a protest over the Israel-Hamas war died after falling and hitting his head on the ground, authorities said. The local sheriff’s office has not ruled out a hate crime in the incident.
On Tuesday, Jeffrey Mindock of Tempe, Arizona, was arrested by federal agents for sending an email threatening to execute a local rabbi. Mindock allegedly sent the threat in an attempt to get the rabbi to persuade a judge in Utah, where Mindock has another legal case.
New York City, home to the nation’s largest Jewish population, reported a 214% increase in antisemitic hate crimes in October compared to the same month in 2022, The Forward reported.
Statistic of the week: 70%
That’s how many American Jews feel less safe now compared with a few months ago, before the onset of the Israel-Hamas war, according to a recent poll from the Jewish Federations of America.
This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: Week in extremism: The hunt for Jan. 6 suspect Gregory Yetman ends
