A Bridgeville man accused of live-streaming himself inside the U.S. Capitol during the Jan. 6 riot said he would do it again and indicated he wanted to kill President Joe Biden and others, according to the FBI, and prosecutors objected when a judge on Thursday initially ordered him released from custody on bond.
U.S. Magistrate Judge Lisa Pupo Lenihan ruled that Kenneth Grayson, 51, can be released pending trial on five federal counts, all related to trespassing at the Capitol, over the objections of the U.S. attorney's office in Pittsburgh.
But the judge stayed the order for a day pending appeal by prosecutors in Washington, D.C. and Mr. Grayson will remain locked up for now.
During a detention hearing by video in Pittsburgh, Assistant U.S. Attorney Soo Song argued that Mr. Grayson is violent and dangerous, had boasted of beating "commies" during a November Trump rally in Washington, had indicated in online messages after Jan. 6 that he wanted to kill Mr. Biden and others and said in an interview with FBI agents that he would breach the Capitol again if he had it to do over.
"He harbors continued aspirations of violence" Ms. Song said. "He would do it again, in his own words."
She also noted his association with the Proud Boys and the QAnon conspiracy movement.
Mr. Grayson's lawyer, Stanley Greenfield, said the FBI's evidence against his client relates only to him walking into the Capitol with others on Jan. 6 through an open door, "milling around" and "posing," but not engaging in any violence. He also noted that Mr. Grayson has a job and a family and takes care of his ailing parents and so is unlikely to flee or be a threat to anyone.
"There is no basis for detention," he said.
Judge Lenihan released Mr. Grayson on $25,000 bond and ordered him not to travel to Washington except for court appointments. But she said she does not want to minimize Mr. Grayson's alleged crimes.
"There is no question that this is a very serious offense that goes against our democracy," she said.
After the ruling, Ms. Song said that the U.S. attorney's office in the District of Columbia, where Mr. Grayson will be prosecuted, had requested a stay pending appeal. The stay will be granted until 5 p.m. Friday, the judge said.
The FBI arrested Mr. Grayson on Tuesday on counts related to entering a restricted building and obstructing the proceedings.
Washington FBI Agent Mark Brundage testified that the FBI had received several tips on Jan. 6 that Mr. Grayson had posted a livestream video on Facebook from inside the Capitol.
Agents identified him through Facebook and witness accounts and were further able to identify him from an image he sent before the breach showing him standing in front of the Washington Monument. In that image, he is wearing a black Pittsburgh Pirates cap and a black hoodie with a yellow Q on the lapel, which agents said represents QAnon, and the "Don't Tread on Me" symbol on the other lapel. He is also holding a yellow "Don't Tread on Me" flag.
Agent Brundage said Mr. Grayson began live-streaming at 2:22 p.m. and again a short time later. Ms. Song played both videos in court; both show a crowd milling around inside the Capitol from Mr. Grayson's perspective.
Agent Brundage said that when Pittsburgh FBI agents interviewed Mr. Grayson after his arrest, he said he had driven others to Washington to the protest in a van and described himself as the "the organizer and the fighter" of the group.
He said he had climbed a wall to gain access to the Capitol entrance and was momentarily forced back by tear-gas before walking into the building through an open door. Among online messages from family and friends that Mr. Grayson received that day on Facebook was one saying, "Did I just see you climbing the wall at the capitol lol."
Agent Brundage said Mr. Grayson told agents that the man in the images is him and confessed to being inside the Capitol. He did not express remorse in the interview and instead said he "would do it again," Agent Brundage said. Mr. Grayson also said he had planned other trips to D.C. and had anticipated violence on this one but did not bring his guns, all apparently legally owned, because of Washington's strict gun laws.
Agent Brundage said a search of Mr. Grayson's home turned up the outfit he was wearing that day along with two rifles, a shotgun and a loaded handgun. Mr. Grayson said he owned a second handgun as well but agents didn't find it. Agents also found fireworks in unopened packages and marijuana on a cabinet.
The FBI is in the process of analyzing Mr. Grayson's cellphone. But Agent Brundage said that after the riots Mr. Grayson continued his "violent rhetoric" online with associates, saying he expressed a "need to kill" and that sentiment included Mr. Biden.
Agent Brundage said Mr. Grayson had traveled to Washington in November and December for Trump rallies. Prosecutors presented an image from the November event of Mr. Grayson posing with Proud Boys leader Enrique Tarrio and Alex Jones, a Texas conspiracy theorist who runs a right-wing website called InfoWars.
After that trip, Mr. Grayson sent private messages to an associate about violence he committed, according to testimony. In one message, Mr. Grayson wrote: "We were smashing bro ... went to the van I rented and geared up ... had to leave at 7pm though, it wasn't really bad yet ... I was beating commies with a flag pole I picked up and looked like it wasn't going to be that bad Proud Boys were everywhere ... cops weren’t doing a [expletive] thing watching old people get [expletive] with it was sickening.”
Agent Brundage said Mr. Grayson sent another message the same day boasting that, "I left one unconscious so I did my little part and got the [expletive] out before I got arrested."
In December, in anticipation of the Jan. 6 event, he wrote a message saying he was "on the front every time" and said "I'm there for the greatest celebration of all time after Pence leads the Senate flip!! OR IM THERE IF TRUMP TELLS US TO STORM [expletive] CAPITAL IMA DO THAT THEN!"
Agent Brundage said Mr. Grayson has a criminal record that includes assault and disorderly conduct dating to 2006. Judge Lenihan noted that all were misdemeanors.
In addition, authorities in West Virginia have an outstanding warrant for Mr. Grayson for grand larceny which the judge said involves a laptop computer that he apparently took and did not return.
First Published: January 28, 2021, 5:39 p.m.
