A self-styled “revolutionary” who documented the day of mayhem at the Capitol has emerged as a bogeyman for those on the Right who believe left-wing agitators infiltrated the protest and are to blame for the day spiraling out of control.
On Friday, John Sullivan appeared at a federal court in Utah for charges related to his participation in the Capitol riots. He faces charges of unlawfully entering a restricted building or grounds, civil disorder, and disorderly conduct charges. Sullivan has since set up a legal defense fund.
His alleged crimes are entirely documented on the camera he brought to the “Stop the Steal” rally on Jan. 6. His 40-minute video following the Trump supporters from the entrance of the Capitol all the way to the fateful moment of when Ashli Babbitt, the unarmed women who attempted to break into the Speaker’s Lobby of the building, was shot and killed by the U.S. Capitol Police.
Sullivan’s appearance at the “Stop the Steal” demonstrations and his subsequent arrest have provided fuel for some of President Trump’s most dedicated defenders, like Rudy Giuliani, who have claimed, without proof, that a large bulk of those who infiltrated the Capitol and provoked violence were antifa, as opposed to conservatives looking to stop the certification of the Electoral College votes. Rep. Mo Brooks, an Alabama Republican, noted Sullivan’s arrest as an example of a “BLM & fascist #ANTIFA supporter.”
But what Sullivan was doing in Washington, D.C., on Jan. 6 remains a bit of a mystery. His brother, James, is an activist, too, and was in the district that day as well — to show his support for Trump. James is affiliated with the far-right Proud Boys.
Following a brief stint as a semi-professional speedskater, John Sullivan turned to political organizing in Utah. But his presence and alleged conduct at various far-left political meetings drew ire from other organizers, with one far-left group in Seattle labeling him “a likely infiltrator/agent provocateur.”
“While it’s still unclear if John’s end goal is chaos and confusion or if this is simply a side effect of shameless grifting — it’s clear that he continues to be a threat to protester safety whether he’s on the ground or online,” the group tweeted on Thursday.
Since starting his self-described revolutionary group, Insurgence USA, Sullivan has repeatedly tried to make his form of activism into something lucrative. Memberships to the group can run as much as $30 a month (although his personal Patreon page has since been removed), and his website sports an online shop that stocks T-shirts and $49 cargo pants.
Sullivan insists he appeared at the Capitol Hill protests simply to document political unrest. But in his own videos, he can be heard egging others on to enter the Capitol building.
“For me, it’s important from the group and the people around me to see that side of things, to see the truth,” Sullivan told Utah’s Deseret News earlier this month. “I don’t care, like, what side you’re on, you should just see it raw.”
He was also accompanied by filmmaker Jade Sacker, who is currently working on a documentary about Sullivan and his brother. The two appeared on CNN on the night of the riot to talk about the violence inside the Capitol and the death of Babbitt. Despite being caught on film herself exclaiming to Sullivan, “We did it,” when they entered the Capitol, Sacker has not faced any criminal charges.
“John knew somehow that people were considering storming the Capitol,” Sacker told the Grayzone. “He had had intelligence days before, and I didn’t believe him. I never thought that something like that would happen. And then, when we showed up at the Capitol, there were thousands and thousands of people there. I didn’t think that we would be able to document what was going on. So when I said we did it, I was just shocked that we like got in there at all and that we were on the front lines of being able to tell the story.”
Inside the Insurgence USA Discord, an online chat service, activists from across the country joined to warn followers of Sullivan that his purported activism is nothing but an attempt at self-promotion.
“Well this discord was made by John Sullivan and that dude is suspect,” one user wrote on Friday. “We in Portland Oregon do not trust him. I’ve come here to warn who that would like to know. John Sullivan is secretly a trump supporter and his brother Jason is a Proud Boy.”
“I’m security for the Movement. We dont [sic] f— with liars. Especially when they on the other side … A lot of people here are Trump supporters.”
Since the beginning of 2020, Sullivan, who says he founded Insurgence USA in response to the death of George Floyd, has become a regular attendee of Black Lives Matter protests around the country despite telling the Grayzone, “Even to this day, I don’t have a political ideology … I don’t have a political stance.”
He was arrested in Provo, Utah, his hometown, for inciting a riot after organizing a Black Lives Matter protest in June 2020 and was seen at a separate demonstration in Washington, D.C., in August.
“We … about to burn this s— down,” Sullivan can be heard saying. “We gotta … rip Trump right out of that office right there,” he continued, adding, “we ain’t about … waiting until the next election.” Later in the video, Sullivan begins shouting, “It’s time for revolution.”
