Former Green Beret and Congressional Candidate Arrested in Connection to Jan. 6 Breach

A large group of protesters stand on the east steps of the Capitol Building in Washington on Jan. 6, 2021. (Jon Cherry/Getty Images)

A former congressional candidate was arrested in Florida last week in connection to the Jan. 6 Capitol breach, authorities said.

Jeremy Brown, who said he is a retired Army green beret, was arrested on charges of “knowingly entering or remaining in any restricted building or grounds without lawful authority” and “engaging in disorderly or disruptive conduct in any restricted building or grounds” to disrupt government affairs, said federal prosecutors on Sept. 30. Brown was arrested in Tampa, Florida, officials said.

Case documents filed by prosecutors last week alleged that Brown had helped transport people who sought to attend the Jan. 6 protest and is accused of writing on the Signal app in late December that “we have a RV an Van going (sic). Plenty of Gun Ports left to fill. We can pick you up.”

“If you can, come to my house anytime Saturday. You can stop by and drop stuff off, or stay the night. This way we can load plan, route plan, and conduct PCIs (Pre Combat Inspections),” Brown also wrote on Jan. 1, along with details about when to leave for the event.

It’s not clear if Brown has a lawyer.

Later, on Jan. 6, he allegedly wrote that “everything you are watching on the Media and Houses of Congress is a LIE” adding that “I was shot in the neck with pepper balls and beating in the forearm with a night stick trying to shield unprotected Civilians from being hit in the head. This was an exercise in the unrestrained addiction to power.”

The case file also included screenshots of posts that Brown made on Parler.

According to his LinkedIn profile, Brown was a former Special Forces Operations sergeant for about a decade and also ran for a congressional seat in Florida last year.

The Department of Justice filing also asserted that Brown “wore full military gear, including a helmet, radio, a tactical vest, and prominently displayed large surgical trauma shears tucked into a pack sitting on the vest,” which was similar to a photo of him that was provided by an unnamed witness to federal officials.

Brown was allegedly within the restricted area that was set up by law enforcement near the Capitol when members of Congress and then-Vice President Mike Pence certified the 2020 election, according to a photo taken on Jan. 6, prosecutors said.

In December, Brown had allegedly recorded a December conversation with two men who claimed they worked with the FBI’s Joint Terrorism Task Force. They indicated during their discussion that they would be interested in Brown becoming an informant.

“I can’t make any promises but, like, if you provide information that prevents something big, the government pays for that,” one of the men, who weren’t identified, told Brown.