Capitol rioters didn’t actually vote in election they claimed was stolen
Rioters storm the US Capitol on 6 January
(AP)Rioters who stormed the US Capitol building with claims the presidential race was “stolen”, were discovered to have not actually voted at the election.
According to analysis by CNN, several rioters who were arrested after the 6 January assault on Congress were not on state voting records, despite crowds carrying out the attack with claims Donald Trump won.
The mob delayed the confirmation of Joe Biden’s election victory, which was taking place as Trump supporters rallied before breaking-into the Capitol building.
But, as CNN reported, as many as eight rioters who were charged afterwards did not appear to have voted for either candidate on 3 November, in an election won by Mr Biden.
One was Donovan Crowl, an ex-Marine who authorities said had affiliated with the extremist movement the Oath Keepers before the assault, and supported Mr Trump.
The 50 year old “never responded” to notices to maintain his voter registration in Ohio, his home state, and was not on voting records in Iowa, where he also once lived, reported CNN.
The analysis covered more than 80 arrests that came in the days after the assault on the Capitol, which sought to “Stop the Steal”, as claimed by ex-US president Mr Trump.
Jessica Stern, a Boston University specialist on extremists, said that some rioters believed there was no point voting because - as Mr Trump alleged - the system was “rigged”.
"You would have to believe in the ethic of voting more than you thought it was a waste of time...and see it as a moral imperative,” the professor said. “You have to believe the system works for everyone, that it's for the good of the country."
Most of those whose records were analysed by CNN were registered Republican voters, although some were registered as Democrat, and some records could not be analysed, with laws on public access to the data differing between states.
As many as 160 rioters have since been arrested by federal authorities since the Capitol riot, according to recent reports, with hundreds as suspects for their actions on the day.
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