1 00:00:01,720 --> 00:00:02,920 Speaker 1: Colzone Media. 2 00:00:07,720 --> 00:00:12,320 Speaker 2: Last week, a jury in Alpamarole County, Virginia found Augustus 3 00:00:12,320 --> 00:00:16,560 Speaker 2: Sole Invictus, guilty on the felony charge of burning an 4 00:00:16,560 --> 00:00:20,079 Speaker 2: object with the intent to intimidate for his participation in 5 00:00:20,120 --> 00:00:23,160 Speaker 2: the Nazi torch march at the University of Virginia on 6 00:00:23,239 --> 00:00:28,080 Speaker 2: August eleventh, twenty seventeen. This was not only the first 7 00:00:28,200 --> 00:00:32,120 Speaker 2: trial conviction for this charge, it was the first ever 8 00:00:32,520 --> 00:00:36,320 Speaker 2: jury verdict reached on a charge under Section eighteen point 9 00:00:36,320 --> 00:00:39,800 Speaker 2: two dashed four twenty three point zh one of the 10 00:00:39,880 --> 00:00:44,640 Speaker 2: Virginia Code. That law passed in two thousand two in 11 00:00:44,720 --> 00:00:48,159 Speaker 2: response to the legal challenge to Virginia's cross burning statute 12 00:00:48,479 --> 00:00:50,680 Speaker 2: by Pennsylvania klansman Barry Black. 13 00:00:52,120 --> 00:00:53,120 Speaker 1: I spent the last. 14 00:00:52,880 --> 00:00:55,760 Speaker 2: Two episodes talking about the history of cross burning in 15 00:00:55,840 --> 00:00:58,840 Speaker 2: Virginia and the life and legal battles of the man 16 00:00:58,880 --> 00:01:02,080 Speaker 2: who brought about this change the law. And I told 17 00:01:02,120 --> 00:01:05,440 Speaker 2: you that until last year, that law had been sitting 18 00:01:05,480 --> 00:01:10,200 Speaker 2: on the books, all but untouched for two decades. I 19 00:01:10,280 --> 00:01:14,119 Speaker 2: left you last week with a terrifying image a small 20 00:01:14,160 --> 00:01:17,520 Speaker 2: group of students surrounded by a sea of flames one 21 00:01:17,600 --> 00:01:21,800 Speaker 2: summer night seven years ago. I told you a few 22 00:01:21,800 --> 00:01:24,480 Speaker 2: weeks ago that this is a story I've been writing 23 00:01:24,560 --> 00:01:29,960 Speaker 2: and rewriting for years. I could fill six months worth 24 00:01:30,000 --> 00:01:32,319 Speaker 2: of episodes with just the stories of the men who 25 00:01:32,400 --> 00:01:36,600 Speaker 2: carried those torches. The years I've spent watching the same 26 00:01:36,760 --> 00:01:41,039 Speaker 2: few minutes of history, frame by frame from different angles, 27 00:01:41,720 --> 00:01:45,760 Speaker 2: placing individual men within that seething mass of violent intent 28 00:01:46,480 --> 00:01:48,960 Speaker 2: taught me a lot about the kinds of weird little 29 00:01:49,000 --> 00:01:52,600 Speaker 2: guys that make up a crowd like this. There are 30 00:01:52,800 --> 00:01:59,560 Speaker 2: cops and criminals, soldiers and soldiers of fortune, students and fathers, 31 00:02:00,360 --> 00:02:06,480 Speaker 2: domestic abusers, realtors and lawyers and small business owners, social 32 00:02:06,480 --> 00:02:13,600 Speaker 2: media personalities, and wanted fugitives. They're your neighbors, your weird cousin, 33 00:02:14,680 --> 00:02:16,960 Speaker 2: that guy at work you don't want to talk about 34 00:02:16,960 --> 00:02:23,519 Speaker 2: politics with. They're all just some guy. There were hundreds 35 00:02:23,520 --> 00:02:26,079 Speaker 2: of them there that night in August of twenty seventeen, 36 00:02:26,720 --> 00:02:33,040 Speaker 2: but we'll just start with one today. I'm Molly Conger. 37 00:02:33,960 --> 00:02:50,800 Speaker 1: This is weird little guys. 38 00:02:52,600 --> 00:02:55,000 Speaker 2: You might think this episode is going to be about 39 00:02:55,400 --> 00:03:02,400 Speaker 2: Augustus and Victus. It isn't. Where will one day probably 40 00:03:02,760 --> 00:03:06,200 Speaker 2: be a multi episode arc about the man who calls 41 00:03:06,280 --> 00:03:11,200 Speaker 2: himself the attorney for the damned. A man whose name 42 00:03:11,600 --> 00:03:14,760 Speaker 2: literally appears in the Miriam Webster Dictionary in the example 43 00:03:14,800 --> 00:03:19,360 Speaker 2: sentence for the term white nationalist. A man who has 44 00:03:19,400 --> 00:03:23,160 Speaker 2: been both a proud boy and a presidential candidate, both 45 00:03:23,200 --> 00:03:27,960 Speaker 2: a goat's slaughtering, blood drinking wizard and a traditionalist Catholic. 46 00:03:29,240 --> 00:03:32,200 Speaker 2: A father of seven with two ex wives and a 47 00:03:32,240 --> 00:03:36,480 Speaker 2: string of police reports filed by wives, girlfriends, and mistresses. 48 00:03:37,920 --> 00:03:42,560 Speaker 2: An attorney whose client list includes white supremacist paramilitaries, Nazi 49 00:03:42,640 --> 00:03:47,080 Speaker 2: street gangs, and anti Semitic trolls. A man who once 50 00:03:47,160 --> 00:03:50,200 Speaker 2: renounced all of his worldly possessions and wandered off into 51 00:03:50,200 --> 00:03:53,760 Speaker 2: the desert, proclaiming himself to be a god and a prophet, 52 00:03:54,640 --> 00:03:57,840 Speaker 2: before quietly returning to Orlando to work at his father's 53 00:03:57,880 --> 00:04:03,880 Speaker 2: law office. But that day isn't today. His conviction last 54 00:04:03,920 --> 00:04:06,400 Speaker 2: week won't be the end of his story. I'm sure 55 00:04:06,400 --> 00:04:11,119 Speaker 2: of that. So I'll bide my time. Because while Augustus 56 00:04:11,120 --> 00:04:13,840 Speaker 2: Invictus was the first person ever found guilty by a 57 00:04:13,960 --> 00:04:16,520 Speaker 2: jury of the crime of burning an object with the 58 00:04:16,520 --> 00:04:20,840 Speaker 2: intent to intimidate, he wasn't the first to be convicted. 59 00:04:22,000 --> 00:04:24,960 Speaker 2: Before his trial last week, there had already been five 60 00:04:25,120 --> 00:04:29,880 Speaker 2: guilty pleas by other members of that march. You see, 61 00:04:30,160 --> 00:04:33,359 Speaker 2: there is no statute of limitations on a felony in 62 00:04:33,400 --> 00:04:38,080 Speaker 2: the Commonwealth of Virginia. Whether or not that's wise or 63 00:04:38,240 --> 00:04:41,400 Speaker 2: really in the overall best interests of justice more generally 64 00:04:42,240 --> 00:04:45,440 Speaker 2: is a discussion for another day and maybe for another person. 65 00:04:46,839 --> 00:04:50,520 Speaker 2: But it is the current state of affairs, and Virginia 66 00:04:50,640 --> 00:04:54,360 Speaker 2: is a southern state, the one time capital of the Confederacy. 67 00:04:56,000 --> 00:04:59,560 Speaker 2: Few states without a bloody history of clan violence even 68 00:04:59,600 --> 00:05:01,520 Speaker 2: have a life on the books that makes it a 69 00:05:01,560 --> 00:05:04,600 Speaker 2: crime to use a burning object as a tool of intimidation. 70 00:05:06,160 --> 00:05:09,039 Speaker 2: But we did have such a history, and we do 71 00:05:09,120 --> 00:05:13,320 Speaker 2: have the resulting law. So even though that march in 72 00:05:13,400 --> 00:05:17,800 Speaker 2: twenty seventeen feels like it was almost a lifetime ago, 73 00:05:18,040 --> 00:05:21,640 Speaker 2: it's not too late under Virginia law to hold those 74 00:05:21,680 --> 00:05:27,160 Speaker 2: men accountable. To date, twelve men who marched that night 75 00:05:27,279 --> 00:05:30,080 Speaker 2: have been charged under a Virginia law that makes it 76 00:05:30,120 --> 00:05:33,200 Speaker 2: a felony to burn an object with the intent to intimidate. 77 00:05:34,600 --> 00:05:38,560 Speaker 2: Five have pleaded guilty to it, three have entered into 78 00:05:38,640 --> 00:05:43,480 Speaker 2: plea agreements to the lesser charge of disorderly conduct, one 79 00:05:43,520 --> 00:05:46,920 Speaker 2: went to trial and got a hung jury, and two 80 00:05:46,960 --> 00:05:51,880 Speaker 2: cases remained pending. The first sentence handed down in one 81 00:05:51,880 --> 00:05:57,000 Speaker 2: of these cases was for Tyler Bradley Dikes. His story 82 00:05:57,040 --> 00:06:00,599 Speaker 2: touches on quite a few of the recurring themes this show. 83 00:06:01,480 --> 00:06:04,760 Speaker 2: He was a US Marine who was discharged for his 84 00:06:04,800 --> 00:06:09,080 Speaker 2: involvement in extremist groups. He attended this Nazi rally where 85 00:06:09,120 --> 00:06:12,800 Speaker 2: he's on video throwing punches and Hitler salutes, and when 86 00:06:12,800 --> 00:06:15,240 Speaker 2: he wasn't held accountable for his actions, he went on 87 00:06:15,320 --> 00:06:19,200 Speaker 2: to engage an even more serious conduct, and now he's 88 00:06:19,240 --> 00:06:23,960 Speaker 2: in federal prison. The entire arc of his story can 89 00:06:24,000 --> 00:06:27,080 Speaker 2: be summed up in a single pair of images, I 90 00:06:27,120 --> 00:06:33,039 Speaker 2: think like a pair of Nazi bookends. First there's Tyler 91 00:06:33,120 --> 00:06:37,280 Speaker 2: Diykes on August eleventh, twenty seventeen, standing at the base 92 00:06:37,320 --> 00:06:40,440 Speaker 2: of the statue of Thomas Jefferson, holding a torch in 93 00:06:40,480 --> 00:06:43,600 Speaker 2: his left hand, with his right arm extended in a 94 00:06:43,680 --> 00:06:49,599 Speaker 2: Nazi salute. And then there's Tyler Dikes again on January sixth, 95 00:06:49,760 --> 00:06:52,800 Speaker 2: twenty twenty one, on the steps of the Capitol Building, 96 00:06:53,440 --> 00:06:56,200 Speaker 2: turning to face the mob below after fighting his way 97 00:06:56,279 --> 00:07:01,640 Speaker 2: up to the doors, giving the same salute. A few 98 00:07:01,640 --> 00:07:05,200 Speaker 2: months ago, Tyler Dykes was handed a fifty seven month 99 00:07:05,320 --> 00:07:09,159 Speaker 2: federal sentence for assaulting police officers during the January sixth 100 00:07:09,279 --> 00:07:12,760 Speaker 2: riot at the Capitol in twenty twenty one. If you're 101 00:07:13,240 --> 00:07:15,160 Speaker 2: trying to do some math in your head right now, 102 00:07:15,200 --> 00:07:18,560 Speaker 2: I'll tell you fifty seven months is just shy of 103 00:07:18,720 --> 00:07:23,280 Speaker 2: five years. But a federal prison sentence is kind of 104 00:07:23,360 --> 00:07:26,920 Speaker 2: like a baby in that you always measure it in months, 105 00:07:26,960 --> 00:07:30,120 Speaker 2: not years, and only the people who have to deal 106 00:07:30,200 --> 00:07:32,520 Speaker 2: with the time in question feel like that makes any 107 00:07:32,560 --> 00:07:37,080 Speaker 2: sense at all. In the sentencing memorandum written by his 108 00:07:37,160 --> 00:07:42,160 Speaker 2: defense attorney, he's described as an impressionable young man. He 109 00:07:42,280 --> 00:07:44,880 Speaker 2: was just twenty one years old when he traveled to Washington, 110 00:07:44,960 --> 00:07:48,840 Speaker 2: d C. With his friends from church. They said he'd 111 00:07:48,880 --> 00:07:52,840 Speaker 2: been influenced by the NonStop media coverage and President Trump's 112 00:07:52,840 --> 00:07:56,560 Speaker 2: social media posts into believing that the election had been stolen. 113 00:07:58,040 --> 00:08:04,440 Speaker 2: He made incredibly poor decisions, his attorney conceded, but he 114 00:08:04,520 --> 00:08:08,360 Speaker 2: never planned to engage in any violence. He was just 115 00:08:08,480 --> 00:08:11,600 Speaker 2: young and impetuous, and he got caught up in the crowd. 116 00:08:13,200 --> 00:08:16,840 Speaker 2: He was a United States Marine. He was a boy 117 00:08:16,920 --> 00:08:21,720 Speaker 2: scout quite literally. The defense sentencing memo cites his accomplishments 118 00:08:21,760 --> 00:08:25,560 Speaker 2: as an Eagle Scout He was just a nice young 119 00:08:25,640 --> 00:08:28,440 Speaker 2: man who goes to church every Sunday and runs a 120 00:08:28,480 --> 00:08:33,360 Speaker 2: small IT services company and takes care of his elderly parents. 121 00:08:34,080 --> 00:08:36,800 Speaker 2: How could he possibly be the kind of person who 122 00:08:36,840 --> 00:08:40,640 Speaker 2: deserves to go to federal prison for making a little mistake. 123 00:08:43,360 --> 00:08:47,240 Speaker 2: But that wasn't quite the whole picture. Not that those 124 00:08:47,280 --> 00:08:52,400 Speaker 2: things aren't mostly true. They are, but it's a spit 125 00:08:52,440 --> 00:08:57,720 Speaker 2: shined image of a much darker situation. Tyler Diykes was 126 00:08:57,960 --> 00:09:00,800 Speaker 2: indeed a member of the United States Marine Corps. On 127 00:09:00,960 --> 00:09:05,439 Speaker 2: January sixth, twenty twenty one, he was a US Marine 128 00:09:05,480 --> 00:09:07,640 Speaker 2: when he wrenched the riot shield from the hands of 129 00:09:07,679 --> 00:09:11,079 Speaker 2: a US Capitol Police officer and then used that shield 130 00:09:11,120 --> 00:09:13,400 Speaker 2: to force his way through the police line and into 131 00:09:13,440 --> 00:09:18,000 Speaker 2: the Capitol building, and he remained a United States Marine 132 00:09:18,360 --> 00:09:21,160 Speaker 2: until he was given an other than honorable discharge in 133 00:09:21,240 --> 00:09:26,800 Speaker 2: twenty twenty two. The revelations that unraveled his life came 134 00:09:27,000 --> 00:09:30,719 Speaker 2: out of order. He wasn't identified as a Unite the 135 00:09:30,760 --> 00:09:35,319 Speaker 2: Right attendee until twenty twenty two, after he'd already participated 136 00:09:35,360 --> 00:09:39,280 Speaker 2: in the January sixth riot. In twenty twenty one, he 137 00:09:39,400 --> 00:09:42,600 Speaker 2: wasn't identified as the man putting swastika stickers around town 138 00:09:42,679 --> 00:09:45,960 Speaker 2: in twenty twenty until he was discharged from the Marines 139 00:09:45,960 --> 00:09:50,040 Speaker 2: for it in twenty twenty two, and he wasn't identified 140 00:09:50,120 --> 00:09:53,280 Speaker 2: as a participant in the January sixth riot until July 141 00:09:53,440 --> 00:09:57,120 Speaker 2: of twenty twenty three, after he'd been convicted for his 142 00:09:57,200 --> 00:10:01,720 Speaker 2: conduct at Unite the Right. The consequences of his actions 143 00:10:01,760 --> 00:10:05,600 Speaker 2: always seemed to come a little too late, after he'd 144 00:10:05,600 --> 00:10:10,680 Speaker 2: already been emboldened by an apparent lack thereof. At his 145 00:10:10,760 --> 00:10:13,520 Speaker 2: federal sentencing hearing a few months ago, he told the 146 00:10:13,600 --> 00:10:16,559 Speaker 2: judge that he was high on adrenaline during the Capitol 147 00:10:16,640 --> 00:10:20,760 Speaker 2: riot and said, I falsely believed that I would be 148 00:10:20,840 --> 00:10:25,880 Speaker 2: free of consequences, But maybe we should start at the 149 00:10:25,920 --> 00:10:32,000 Speaker 2: beginning rather than the end. In August of twenty seventeen, 150 00:10:32,520 --> 00:10:37,000 Speaker 2: Tyler Dykes was nineteen years old. He'd taken a year 151 00:10:37,040 --> 00:10:39,240 Speaker 2: off after high school and was living at home with 152 00:10:39,280 --> 00:10:42,040 Speaker 2: his parents in North Carolina that summer after spending his 153 00:10:42,080 --> 00:10:46,400 Speaker 2: gap year abroad in Romania. He'd been accepted to Cornell 154 00:10:46,520 --> 00:10:49,080 Speaker 2: University and would be moving into his dorm at the 155 00:10:49,120 --> 00:10:53,040 Speaker 2: end of the month. Just a week before new student 156 00:10:53,080 --> 00:11:00,200 Speaker 2: orientation at Cornell, he took one last trip before starting college, 157 00:10:59,520 --> 00:11:06,440 Speaker 2: he to Charlottesville. On the evening of August eleventh, twenty seventeen, 158 00:11:07,120 --> 00:11:10,200 Speaker 2: Tyler Dyke stood among the hundreds of men who gathered 159 00:11:10,200 --> 00:11:16,520 Speaker 2: at Nameless Field. It's a confusing name, Nameless Field. It 160 00:11:16,559 --> 00:11:21,840 Speaker 2: isn't nameless, it has a name. The name is nameless Field. 161 00:11:23,160 --> 00:11:26,439 Speaker 2: I wonder what kind of who's on first type conversations 162 00:11:26,480 --> 00:11:29,119 Speaker 2: happened over text message that night as the crowd assembled. 163 00:11:30,559 --> 00:11:33,640 Speaker 2: But there he was in the field down by the 164 00:11:33,720 --> 00:11:38,320 Speaker 2: tennis courts behind the library, and he was handed a torch, 165 00:11:39,679 --> 00:11:42,959 Speaker 2: and he found a place in line, and he marched. 166 00:11:44,760 --> 00:11:47,600 Speaker 2: He chanted with the crowd as this river of flames 167 00:11:47,679 --> 00:11:53,400 Speaker 2: wound its way through the university grounds. Blood and soil, 168 00:11:55,440 --> 00:12:02,160 Speaker 2: blood and soil. You will not run place us, Jews 169 00:12:02,720 --> 00:12:07,920 Speaker 2: will not replace us. Fuck off, commis this is our 170 00:12:08,160 --> 00:12:11,839 Speaker 2: town now, They shouted on the empty streets as they 171 00:12:11,920 --> 00:12:23,000 Speaker 2: passed empty buildings. Blood and soil, Blood and soil, blood 172 00:12:23,160 --> 00:12:26,440 Speaker 2: and soil. They chanted until they could taste the blood 173 00:12:26,480 --> 00:12:31,520 Speaker 2: in their own mouths from shouting themselves hoarse, blood and soil, 174 00:12:31,640 --> 00:12:35,680 Speaker 2: until they saw blood red. When the small group of 175 00:12:35,760 --> 00:12:38,720 Speaker 2: students at the base of the Thomas Jefferson statue came 176 00:12:38,720 --> 00:12:44,200 Speaker 2: into view. The streets had been empty until the march 177 00:12:44,280 --> 00:12:51,640 Speaker 2: filled them. The libraries were empty, the dorms were empty, 178 00:12:52,280 --> 00:12:57,960 Speaker 2: the academic and administrative buildings were empty. But as the 179 00:12:58,000 --> 00:13:01,400 Speaker 2: march reached the top of the rotunda step, looking down 180 00:13:01,440 --> 00:13:05,640 Speaker 2: into the brick plaza below, they knew they weren't alone anymore. 181 00:13:07,080 --> 00:13:10,320 Speaker 2: They knew what they were doing. As they came down 182 00:13:10,400 --> 00:13:15,680 Speaker 2: those steps, each man, torch in hand, had a moment. 183 00:13:16,440 --> 00:13:17,400 Speaker 1: At the top of those. 184 00:13:17,280 --> 00:13:22,880 Speaker 2: Stairs, each marcher could see from that vantage point the 185 00:13:22,960 --> 00:13:29,440 Speaker 2: tiny group in the plaza below, students, many of them 186 00:13:29,480 --> 00:13:35,440 Speaker 2: still just teenagers, holding a homemade banner that read UVA 187 00:13:35,600 --> 00:13:42,559 Speaker 2: Students against White Supremacy, And in that moment on those steps, 188 00:13:43,040 --> 00:13:45,959 Speaker 2: each of them made the choice to follow the man 189 00:13:46,000 --> 00:13:48,920 Speaker 2: in front of him. As the march wound its way 190 00:13:49,120 --> 00:13:56,280 Speaker 2: around the statue around the students, circling around, arcing wide, 191 00:13:56,880 --> 00:14:01,400 Speaker 2: and then tightening up, encircling them and. 192 00:14:01,280 --> 00:14:01,960 Speaker 1: Closing them in. 193 00:14:04,440 --> 00:14:08,000 Speaker 2: As the ring of fire closed around the statue around 194 00:14:08,000 --> 00:14:14,760 Speaker 2: those students, the violence began almost immediately. Verbal altercations gave 195 00:14:14,800 --> 00:14:18,440 Speaker 2: way to fists shouted epithets were chased through the air 196 00:14:18,520 --> 00:14:22,960 Speaker 2: by streams of pepper spray, a lit torch was swung, 197 00:14:23,640 --> 00:14:26,560 Speaker 2: making contact with a counter protester trying to shield those 198 00:14:26,640 --> 00:14:32,480 Speaker 2: terrified young people. I've watched this video a hundred times, 199 00:14:33,400 --> 00:14:38,080 Speaker 2: a thousand, maybe, and I still flinch as the flame 200 00:14:38,320 --> 00:14:41,920 Speaker 2: arcs towards someone that I count among my closest friends. 201 00:14:43,960 --> 00:14:44,800 Speaker 1: I tell you that not. 202 00:14:45,160 --> 00:14:48,040 Speaker 2: To pull at your heart strings. You don't need to 203 00:14:48,080 --> 00:14:50,720 Speaker 2: know that that video still makes my chest feel tight. 204 00:14:52,240 --> 00:14:55,720 Speaker 2: I'm telling you because I want you to know. I'm 205 00:14:55,720 --> 00:15:00,040 Speaker 2: not objective about this. I don't pretend to be, I 206 00:15:00,040 --> 00:15:04,840 Speaker 2: don't want to be. I don't believe in this myth 207 00:15:04,920 --> 00:15:11,240 Speaker 2: of journalistic objectivity. Everybody has a thumb on the scale somewhere. 208 00:15:12,440 --> 00:15:16,280 Speaker 2: Most people just lie about it to you or even 209 00:15:16,320 --> 00:15:23,640 Speaker 2: to themselves. Of course, I have a bias here. I 210 00:15:23,680 --> 00:15:28,040 Speaker 2: live here. I've sat in courtrooms and in coffee shops, 211 00:15:28,040 --> 00:15:30,760 Speaker 2: and on long car rides and on living room couches 212 00:15:31,320 --> 00:15:34,680 Speaker 2: with people who are hurt that night. But even if 213 00:15:34,720 --> 00:15:37,680 Speaker 2: I had no connection to these people or to this place, 214 00:15:38,760 --> 00:15:41,720 Speaker 2: it's no secret that as a researcher of white supremacist 215 00:15:41,800 --> 00:15:47,680 Speaker 2: violence in America, my starting position is always against fascism, 216 00:15:48,040 --> 00:15:53,360 Speaker 2: against Nazism, against violence done in the name of white supremacy, 217 00:15:54,680 --> 00:15:56,560 Speaker 2: and I don't think that's anything to be ashamed of. 218 00:15:58,160 --> 00:16:01,760 Speaker 2: As sociologist and expert on political violence, doctor Peter Seemi 219 00:16:01,800 --> 00:16:05,600 Speaker 2: once said on the stand, no one is ever surprised 220 00:16:05,840 --> 00:16:08,840 Speaker 2: to find out that a cancer researcher is interested in 221 00:16:08,920 --> 00:16:15,960 Speaker 2: preventing cancer. So yes, I have a stake in. 222 00:16:15,960 --> 00:16:18,440 Speaker 1: This, but you do too. 223 00:16:20,120 --> 00:16:23,680 Speaker 2: Maybe you don't know it yet, You don't know these people. 224 00:16:25,400 --> 00:16:28,360 Speaker 2: But I choose to betray my own lack of objectivity 225 00:16:28,360 --> 00:16:32,280 Speaker 2: here to get you to think about yours, because I 226 00:16:32,280 --> 00:16:36,280 Speaker 2: don't think you should be objective about this. There is 227 00:16:36,320 --> 00:16:39,440 Speaker 2: no special prize to be won by being the most 228 00:16:39,480 --> 00:16:45,920 Speaker 2: diligently neutral observer of fascist violence. You and I, listener, 229 00:16:46,880 --> 00:16:50,480 Speaker 2: we are not jurors. We are not ruling on the law. 230 00:16:51,960 --> 00:16:54,680 Speaker 2: We are people who have to live in this world. 231 00:16:55,760 --> 00:16:59,680 Speaker 2: You should feel something you can't shove down when you 232 00:16:59,720 --> 00:17:03,240 Speaker 2: see a man who proudly calls himself a Nazi swing 233 00:17:03,320 --> 00:17:07,440 Speaker 2: a flaming torch at someone who is trapped, someone whose 234 00:17:07,480 --> 00:17:10,680 Speaker 2: only crime is not wanting hate to go unchallenged in 235 00:17:10,720 --> 00:17:15,440 Speaker 2: a public square. And that's where Tyler Diykes was that night, 236 00:17:16,520 --> 00:17:20,240 Speaker 2: right at the center of this melee. As the air 237 00:17:20,320 --> 00:17:23,399 Speaker 2: filled with screams and the burning scent of pepper spray. 238 00:17:24,560 --> 00:17:29,360 Speaker 2: Tyler Diykes was fist fighting anyone he could reach. Videos 239 00:17:29,359 --> 00:17:33,360 Speaker 2: showed Dikes was the last one still fighting. He threw 240 00:17:33,400 --> 00:17:36,440 Speaker 2: the last punch of the night, even as everyone else 241 00:17:36,480 --> 00:17:40,720 Speaker 2: seemed to be coming to their senses. When the counter 242 00:17:40,760 --> 00:17:44,119 Speaker 2: protesters were finally able to escape from the mob, the 243 00:17:44,160 --> 00:17:48,399 Speaker 2: torch marchers took the statue. Several of them climbed the 244 00:17:48,440 --> 00:17:54,159 Speaker 2: plinth and cheered for the victory they'd won. Seeg kile 245 00:17:55,240 --> 00:18:01,520 Speaker 2: Hail victory they shouted. Video shows Tyler Dikes pacing back 246 00:18:01,560 --> 00:18:05,240 Speaker 2: and forth in front of the statue, right arm extended 247 00:18:05,280 --> 00:18:23,200 Speaker 2: in a Nazi salute. After the deadly rally, the next morning, 248 00:18:24,119 --> 00:18:27,880 Speaker 2: Tyler Diykes went home. He started at Cornell a few 249 00:18:27,880 --> 00:18:32,120 Speaker 2: weeks later, but they didn't go well. He dropped out 250 00:18:32,119 --> 00:18:35,320 Speaker 2: after a few months and enlisted in the Marines instead, 251 00:18:36,200 --> 00:18:38,639 Speaker 2: and it seems like that may not have gone well either, 252 00:18:38,840 --> 00:18:41,480 Speaker 2: because after a few months of training he was discharged 253 00:18:41,520 --> 00:18:45,320 Speaker 2: to the Reserves and returned home, which was now South Carolina. 254 00:18:47,000 --> 00:18:47,720 Speaker 1: He started an. 255 00:18:47,640 --> 00:18:52,240 Speaker 2: IT company, calling himself the Technology King of the Low Country, 256 00:18:52,920 --> 00:18:55,679 Speaker 2: and made house calls to help suburban grandparents set up 257 00:18:55,680 --> 00:19:00,000 Speaker 2: their WiFi routers, and when he wasn't troubleshooting a customer 258 00:19:00,200 --> 00:19:04,200 Speaker 2: computer or going to church, he was hanging Swastika banners 259 00:19:04,240 --> 00:19:07,160 Speaker 2: from highway overpasses with his friends in the Southern Suns 260 00:19:07,280 --> 00:19:11,480 Speaker 2: Active Club, a white supremacist organization operating in Georgia and 261 00:19:11,520 --> 00:19:16,440 Speaker 2: the Carolinas, a regional cell of the larger international network 262 00:19:16,520 --> 00:19:22,399 Speaker 2: of Active Clubs. These active clubs are, to put it succinctly, 263 00:19:23,359 --> 00:19:28,040 Speaker 2: Nazi fight clubs. They were inspired by Robert Rundo's Rise 264 00:19:28,080 --> 00:19:32,240 Speaker 2: Above Movement, the Southern California based Nazi street fighting outfit 265 00:19:32,800 --> 00:19:35,160 Speaker 2: that brawled their way across the country at right wing 266 00:19:35,200 --> 00:19:41,080 Speaker 2: political rallies throughout twenty seventeen. There is no centralized leadership 267 00:19:41,200 --> 00:19:46,920 Speaker 2: or organizational structure. Active clubs operate regionally and are operationally 268 00:19:46,960 --> 00:19:50,920 Speaker 2: independent from one another. They share a love of mixed 269 00:19:50,960 --> 00:19:54,159 Speaker 2: martial arts, both as a hobby and as training for 270 00:19:54,200 --> 00:19:57,119 Speaker 2: a coming race war, and engage in the kind of 271 00:19:57,119 --> 00:20:02,320 Speaker 2: propaganda campaigns common among groups like Patriot so hanging banners 272 00:20:02,320 --> 00:20:06,359 Speaker 2: with racist slogans from bridges and plastering stickers on street 273 00:20:06,480 --> 00:20:11,640 Speaker 2: signs in mailboxes around town. There are active clubs all 274 00:20:11,680 --> 00:20:15,800 Speaker 2: over the United States, Canada and Europe, as well as 275 00:20:15,840 --> 00:20:18,480 Speaker 2: a faltering effort led by Thomas Seol to get them 276 00:20:18,480 --> 00:20:24,520 Speaker 2: going in Australia. Each club operates independently, but they network 277 00:20:24,600 --> 00:20:29,600 Speaker 2: and meet up even across national borders, and there is 278 00:20:29,680 --> 00:20:32,680 Speaker 2: quite a bit of cross pollination between the Active Clubs 279 00:20:32,720 --> 00:20:36,960 Speaker 2: and other violent white supremacist organizations. They tend to be 280 00:20:37,040 --> 00:20:40,439 Speaker 2: on good terms with groups like Patriot Front, and several 281 00:20:40,480 --> 00:20:45,600 Speaker 2: notable Active club members have ties to Adam Waffen and Terogram. 282 00:20:46,080 --> 00:20:49,880 Speaker 2: Andrew Tekstov, the New Jersey teenager and Terogram collective chat 283 00:20:49,920 --> 00:20:52,840 Speaker 2: member arrested this summer, was a member of an Active 284 00:20:52,840 --> 00:20:57,520 Speaker 2: Club cell in New Jersey. Active Clubs in Finland are 285 00:20:57,560 --> 00:21:01,200 Speaker 2: involved in paramilitary training of Karelians reparatist groups that fight 286 00:21:01,240 --> 00:21:05,879 Speaker 2: alongside the Russian Volunteer Corps, the same Nazi paramilitary group 287 00:21:05,920 --> 00:21:08,600 Speaker 2: in Ukraine that Andrew Takestov was on his way to 288 00:21:08,680 --> 00:21:13,359 Speaker 2: join when he was arrested. All that to say this 289 00:21:13,560 --> 00:21:17,160 Speaker 2: isn't just guys lifting weights together and talking about their 290 00:21:17,240 --> 00:21:21,520 Speaker 2: love of the white race. Active club members on multiple 291 00:21:21,600 --> 00:21:25,159 Speaker 2: continents have been arrested for acts of violence and for 292 00:21:25,240 --> 00:21:29,360 Speaker 2: planning acts of terrorism, and the reason I can tell 293 00:21:29,440 --> 00:21:33,200 Speaker 2: you with an unusually high degree of certainty that Tyler 294 00:21:33,280 --> 00:21:35,960 Speaker 2: Diykes was a member of the Southern Suns Active Club 295 00:21:37,000 --> 00:21:41,680 Speaker 2: is because of one particular, no good, very bad day 296 00:21:42,240 --> 00:21:48,520 Speaker 2: that he had on March seventeenth, twenty twenty three. You see, 297 00:21:48,680 --> 00:21:51,960 Speaker 2: Tyler Dykes was indicted by a grand jury in Virginia 298 00:21:52,040 --> 00:21:55,919 Speaker 2: in February of twenty twenty three, but he didn't know 299 00:21:55,960 --> 00:22:02,719 Speaker 2: that nobody did. Grand juries are secret things, and his 300 00:22:02,760 --> 00:22:06,919 Speaker 2: indictment stayed sealed until he was taken into custody. And 301 00:22:07,000 --> 00:22:09,120 Speaker 2: with an out of state warrant, you don't just send 302 00:22:09,200 --> 00:22:13,320 Speaker 2: a local cop down to get him. You could, I suppose, 303 00:22:14,040 --> 00:22:18,320 Speaker 2: but they didn't. The local prosecutor where the charge is 304 00:22:18,359 --> 00:22:21,160 Speaker 2: filed can ask cops in the city where they think 305 00:22:21,200 --> 00:22:24,879 Speaker 2: he lives to go look for him, but they aren't 306 00:22:24,880 --> 00:22:27,760 Speaker 2: always super interested in doing. Some out of town courts 307 00:22:27,800 --> 00:22:32,280 Speaker 2: work for them, so oftentimes an out of state warrant 308 00:22:32,320 --> 00:22:35,879 Speaker 2: just sort of sits open waiting for you to step 309 00:22:35,920 --> 00:22:39,320 Speaker 2: on it, like a rake on the ground. If you've 310 00:22:39,359 --> 00:22:42,040 Speaker 2: ever been pulled over, you've seen a cop take your 311 00:22:42,080 --> 00:22:45,960 Speaker 2: license and walk back to his car. He's putting your 312 00:22:46,040 --> 00:22:49,240 Speaker 2: name into a computer, and if you have an open warrant, 313 00:22:50,040 --> 00:22:50,919 Speaker 2: he's going to find it. 314 00:22:52,040 --> 00:22:52,800 Speaker 1: If you cross a. 315 00:22:52,760 --> 00:22:56,159 Speaker 2: Border or go through TSA, or get a speeding ticket, 316 00:22:56,480 --> 00:22:59,760 Speaker 2: or have really almost any kind of interaction with a 317 00:22:59,800 --> 00:23:03,679 Speaker 2: cop up, they're going to run your name. And in 318 00:23:03,720 --> 00:23:06,840 Speaker 2: Tyler Dyke's case, he was sitting in an emergency room 319 00:23:06,920 --> 00:23:10,040 Speaker 2: in South Carolina making a police report a bought a 320 00:23:10,040 --> 00:23:17,640 Speaker 2: dog bite. Saint Patrick's Day is a big deal in Savannah, Georgia. 321 00:23:18,960 --> 00:23:22,160 Speaker 2: I'm not entirely sure why, and that wasn't a rabbit 322 00:23:22,160 --> 00:23:25,040 Speaker 2: hole i'd let myself pursue this week, but it is. 323 00:23:26,240 --> 00:23:29,200 Speaker 2: I'm sure there's some particular moment in history where the 324 00:23:29,240 --> 00:23:33,359 Speaker 2: city had an unusually high concentration of Irishmen, and the 325 00:23:33,400 --> 00:23:37,119 Speaker 2: only lasting legacy is the nation's second most debaucherous green 326 00:23:37,160 --> 00:23:41,520 Speaker 2: beer soaked parade. I was in Savannah for Saint Patrick's 327 00:23:41,600 --> 00:23:44,159 Speaker 2: Day in two thousand and eight, but there was a 328 00:23:44,160 --> 00:23:48,680 Speaker 2: tornado that weekend and the blackout closed most of the bar, 329 00:23:48,920 --> 00:23:53,119 Speaker 2: so I don't think I got the full experience. And 330 00:23:53,200 --> 00:23:57,000 Speaker 2: in twenty twenty three, the Southern Sun's Active Club had 331 00:23:57,000 --> 00:24:01,120 Speaker 2: the brilliant idea that Saint Patrick's Day and Savannah would 332 00:24:01,160 --> 00:24:04,440 Speaker 2: be the perfect time and the perfect place to hang 333 00:24:04,440 --> 00:24:07,800 Speaker 2: a Nazi banner from a highway overpass, because all the 334 00:24:07,840 --> 00:24:12,879 Speaker 2: extra traffic in town meant more people would see their message. 335 00:24:12,960 --> 00:24:16,680 Speaker 2: Thanks to an Atlanta based anti fascist research collective, we 336 00:24:16,840 --> 00:24:21,520 Speaker 2: have an inside look at the private conversations Dykes and 337 00:24:21,520 --> 00:24:24,200 Speaker 2: his friends had that day as they were going about 338 00:24:24,240 --> 00:24:28,560 Speaker 2: trying to get that banner up. The day didn't start 339 00:24:28,600 --> 00:24:31,800 Speaker 2: off well. The group had some trouble locating a good 340 00:24:31,800 --> 00:24:35,360 Speaker 2: spot for their banner. They weren't the only ones who 341 00:24:35,400 --> 00:24:38,920 Speaker 2: anticipated heavy traffic from tourists heading into town for the holiday. 342 00:24:40,000 --> 00:24:42,880 Speaker 2: There were cops nearby several of the locations they'd hope 343 00:24:42,920 --> 00:24:47,399 Speaker 2: to hit. When they finally found a suitable spot, Tyler 344 00:24:47,480 --> 00:24:49,879 Speaker 2: Diykes walked back to his car to get the tools 345 00:24:49,920 --> 00:24:53,280 Speaker 2: they would need to hang the banner, but before he 346 00:24:53,320 --> 00:24:57,200 Speaker 2: got back to his car, he encountered someone walking their dogs. 347 00:24:58,960 --> 00:25:02,720 Speaker 2: Diykes claims that he was mauled by three pit bulls, 348 00:25:03,480 --> 00:25:05,440 Speaker 2: but that seems like a bit of an over statement. 349 00:25:07,200 --> 00:25:09,919 Speaker 2: In the infiltrated group chat, he posted a photo of 350 00:25:09,960 --> 00:25:15,040 Speaker 2: a small, but unpleasant looking wound on his left pinky finger. 351 00:25:16,600 --> 00:25:18,600 Speaker 2: I feel like you'd come away with more than a 352 00:25:18,720 --> 00:25:21,520 Speaker 2: two inch cut on your little finger if you were 353 00:25:21,520 --> 00:25:26,520 Speaker 2: truly attacked by even one dog, let alone three pit bulls. 354 00:25:26,600 --> 00:25:31,000 Speaker 2: But we only have Tyler's word on this one. A 355 00:25:31,040 --> 00:25:34,040 Speaker 2: little before six pm, he texted the Southern Son's Group 356 00:25:34,119 --> 00:25:36,560 Speaker 2: Chat that he was headed to the hospital to have 357 00:25:36,640 --> 00:25:40,040 Speaker 2: his hand looked at. While he was waiting to be 358 00:25:40,119 --> 00:25:42,760 Speaker 2: seen at the hospital, he texted the group chat again 359 00:25:42,840 --> 00:25:45,280 Speaker 2: to let them know that the plan had gone awry 360 00:25:45,400 --> 00:25:48,000 Speaker 2: and unfortunately they hadn't been able to hang any of 361 00:25:48,040 --> 00:25:52,640 Speaker 2: the banners that day, writing quite literally, everything that could 362 00:25:52,720 --> 00:25:56,159 Speaker 2: possibly have gone wrong all happened at exactly the same time. 363 00:25:57,680 --> 00:26:02,000 Speaker 2: Half an hour later, though, nothing else went very wrong 364 00:26:02,320 --> 00:26:06,560 Speaker 2: for Tyler Dikes, and he texted the group again, I'm 365 00:26:06,600 --> 00:26:13,359 Speaker 2: being arrested by Virginia nuke my account. Dog bites, like 366 00:26:13,400 --> 00:26:17,560 Speaker 2: gunshot wounds are something that hospital staff are required to 367 00:26:17,640 --> 00:26:21,600 Speaker 2: report to the authorities. While Tyler Diykes was waiting for 368 00:26:21,640 --> 00:26:24,480 Speaker 2: a doctor to look at his hand, an officer arrived 369 00:26:24,480 --> 00:26:27,920 Speaker 2: to take a police report. And when you talk to 370 00:26:28,000 --> 00:26:31,760 Speaker 2: a cop in some official capacity, he's going to run 371 00:26:31,800 --> 00:26:37,159 Speaker 2: your name. I can't even imagine his surprise when the 372 00:26:37,200 --> 00:26:40,119 Speaker 2: officer informed him that he was a wanted fugitive in 373 00:26:40,160 --> 00:26:44,760 Speaker 2: a state he hadn't visited in years. His hand was fine, 374 00:26:45,000 --> 00:26:48,520 Speaker 2: it seems, and he was taken directly into custody from 375 00:26:48,560 --> 00:26:52,639 Speaker 2: the emergency room that night. It took nearly a month 376 00:26:52,800 --> 00:26:56,040 Speaker 2: to arrange for his extradition back to Virginia, during which 377 00:26:56,080 --> 00:27:13,159 Speaker 2: time he remained in custody. When Tyler Diykes was finally 378 00:27:13,160 --> 00:27:16,600 Speaker 2: transported up to Virginia, his attorney asked for a bond hearing. 379 00:27:17,840 --> 00:27:21,800 Speaker 2: Makes sense he'd been in custody for a month, and 380 00:27:21,840 --> 00:27:24,240 Speaker 2: it was at that April twenty twenty three bond hearing 381 00:27:24,760 --> 00:27:30,119 Speaker 2: that I first saw Tyler Dikes. At that hearing, Tyler 382 00:27:30,160 --> 00:27:33,040 Speaker 2: Diykes's father, Scott, took the stand to tell the judge 383 00:27:33,040 --> 00:27:35,920 Speaker 2: that if his son was allowed to return home with him, 384 00:27:36,560 --> 00:27:38,840 Speaker 2: he would ensure that his son stayed out of trouble 385 00:27:38,880 --> 00:27:42,800 Speaker 2: and would return for all of his court hearings. And 386 00:27:42,840 --> 00:27:46,639 Speaker 2: then the prosecutor handed Scott Diykes a few pieces of paper. 387 00:27:48,800 --> 00:27:54,240 Speaker 2: Is that your son? He asked. Scott Dykes was still 388 00:27:54,240 --> 00:27:58,880 Speaker 2: staring down at the paper in his hands when he said, softly, reluctantly, 389 00:28:00,320 --> 00:28:03,639 Speaker 2: it looks like it could be. The pages in his 390 00:28:03,720 --> 00:28:07,600 Speaker 2: hands were printed out stills from security camera footage showing 391 00:28:07,640 --> 00:28:11,119 Speaker 2: a tall, dark haired young man putting up flyers with 392 00:28:11,200 --> 00:28:14,560 Speaker 2: swastikas on them in Sumter, South Carolina. In November of 393 00:28:14,600 --> 00:28:19,480 Speaker 2: twenty twenty, the prosecutor asked Scott Dikes if he knew 394 00:28:19,480 --> 00:28:23,600 Speaker 2: why his son had been discharged from the Marines. He 395 00:28:23,640 --> 00:28:28,240 Speaker 2: didn't know. Tyler had apparently not even told his parents 396 00:28:28,280 --> 00:28:32,760 Speaker 2: that he'd been given an other than honorable discharge. He 397 00:28:32,800 --> 00:28:35,040 Speaker 2: didn't tell his parents that he'd been interviewed by an 398 00:28:35,160 --> 00:28:39,160 Speaker 2: FBI agent from the Joint Terrorism Task Force in twenty nineteen, 399 00:28:40,360 --> 00:28:42,080 Speaker 2: or that he was a suspect in the case of 400 00:28:42,120 --> 00:28:47,360 Speaker 2: the Sumter County swastika stickers in twenty twenty. The prosecutor 401 00:28:47,400 --> 00:28:51,479 Speaker 2: didn't ask Scott Dikes where his son was on January sixth, 402 00:28:51,480 --> 00:28:55,080 Speaker 2: twenty twenty one. Maybe he didn't know he should have. 403 00:28:56,480 --> 00:29:00,479 Speaker 2: We know now that the FBI had been investigating Dyke's 404 00:29:00,520 --> 00:29:03,520 Speaker 2: involvement in the insurrection since December of twenty twenty one, 405 00:29:04,440 --> 00:29:06,320 Speaker 2: but they may not have shared that information with a 406 00:29:06,400 --> 00:29:11,480 Speaker 2: county prosecutor. It was Diykes's own messages in the chat 407 00:29:11,520 --> 00:29:13,400 Speaker 2: on the day of his arrest that left him in 408 00:29:13,480 --> 00:29:18,080 Speaker 2: jail without bond after that hearing. Mere hours before his 409 00:29:18,200 --> 00:29:21,480 Speaker 2: arrest on Saint Patrick's Day, he was demonstrating what they 410 00:29:21,520 --> 00:29:28,000 Speaker 2: call consciousness of guilt. That is, behavior that shows you 411 00:29:28,120 --> 00:29:32,240 Speaker 2: knew what you were doing was wrong. His messages show 412 00:29:32,280 --> 00:29:34,600 Speaker 2: that he had attempted to evade police in order to 413 00:29:34,640 --> 00:29:37,920 Speaker 2: find an overpass, which he planned to use tools to 414 00:29:38,040 --> 00:29:42,120 Speaker 2: damage for the purpose of unfurling a racist banner. Then, 415 00:29:42,320 --> 00:29:45,640 Speaker 2: upon learning of his arrest, he demonstrated a willingness to 416 00:29:45,760 --> 00:29:49,720 Speaker 2: destroy evidence, asking other members of the white supremacist group 417 00:29:49,800 --> 00:29:54,840 Speaker 2: to erase his participation, to nuke his account and delete 418 00:29:54,880 --> 00:29:57,160 Speaker 2: the chat so police couldn't read it on his phone 419 00:29:57,200 --> 00:30:01,680 Speaker 2: once it was checked into evidence. In his ruling denying bond, 420 00:30:01,760 --> 00:30:05,480 Speaker 2: the judge told Dikes that day, this court can't believe 421 00:30:05,920 --> 00:30:11,080 Speaker 2: you'll be on good behavior if released from custody. It 422 00:30:11,120 --> 00:30:13,640 Speaker 2: was barely a month later that Tyler Dykes decided to 423 00:30:13,680 --> 00:30:16,360 Speaker 2: plead guilty to the charge of burning an object with 424 00:30:16,440 --> 00:30:20,320 Speaker 2: the intent to intimidate. The judge handed down a sentence 425 00:30:20,320 --> 00:30:26,240 Speaker 2: of five years, the maximum under the statute, but suspended 426 00:30:26,560 --> 00:30:30,240 Speaker 2: all but six months of it. I don't know if 427 00:30:30,240 --> 00:30:33,280 Speaker 2: this is a common practice everywhere, but I see it 428 00:30:33,760 --> 00:30:37,360 Speaker 2: almost all the time here in Virginia, the judge gives 429 00:30:37,360 --> 00:30:40,360 Speaker 2: you a much longer sentence than he actually expects you 430 00:30:40,440 --> 00:30:43,720 Speaker 2: to serve, and you just serve that little bit of 431 00:30:43,760 --> 00:30:47,720 Speaker 2: your sentence, but that suspended portion hangs over you like 432 00:30:47,720 --> 00:30:49,920 Speaker 2: a sort of damocles that will fall if you get 433 00:30:49,960 --> 00:30:52,960 Speaker 2: into any trouble during some set period of good behavior. 434 00:30:54,560 --> 00:30:57,200 Speaker 2: With the time he'd already served before his extradition and 435 00:30:57,360 --> 00:31:00,560 Speaker 2: credit for good behavior, he was scheduled to be released 436 00:31:00,600 --> 00:31:04,200 Speaker 2: in July of twenty twenty three, just four months after 437 00:31:04,240 --> 00:31:09,400 Speaker 2: that terrible day in March. And here's where I wasted 438 00:31:09,600 --> 00:31:14,720 Speaker 2: a whole day of my life. I was curious to 439 00:31:14,760 --> 00:31:17,880 Speaker 2: see Tyler Dikes walk out of the album roll Charlettsville 440 00:31:17,920 --> 00:31:22,800 Speaker 2: Regional Jail. I can't explain now why I felt like 441 00:31:22,880 --> 00:31:25,600 Speaker 2: that might be an interesting or important thing to see, 442 00:31:25,880 --> 00:31:30,480 Speaker 2: and in retrospect, it really wouldn't have been. But I 443 00:31:30,520 --> 00:31:34,280 Speaker 2: knew his scheduled release date, and I lived nearby, and 444 00:31:34,360 --> 00:31:37,760 Speaker 2: I wasn't busy that day, so I thought i'd try. 445 00:31:39,040 --> 00:31:41,840 Speaker 2: I got up early and drove to the jail. I 446 00:31:41,920 --> 00:31:45,040 Speaker 2: packed snacks and drinks, and I was prepared to wait 447 00:31:45,080 --> 00:31:48,120 Speaker 2: around for a couple of hours. I talked to a 448 00:31:48,120 --> 00:31:51,800 Speaker 2: few people who'd been booked into ACRJ, and typically you 449 00:31:51,840 --> 00:31:58,680 Speaker 2: get released sometime before lunch. But the hours passed and 450 00:31:58,720 --> 00:32:03,400 Speaker 2: they kept passing. I finished all the snacks I brought, 451 00:32:04,680 --> 00:32:08,200 Speaker 2: got bored. It was hot as hell, and I didn't 452 00:32:08,200 --> 00:32:10,200 Speaker 2: want to run my car all day just for the 453 00:32:10,200 --> 00:32:17,959 Speaker 2: AC so I just sat there, sweating, waiting. I watched 454 00:32:17,960 --> 00:32:22,320 Speaker 2: that damn door like a hawk as the hours passed, 455 00:32:23,880 --> 00:32:27,840 Speaker 2: and then I got an email. I have all sorts 456 00:32:27,840 --> 00:32:31,600 Speaker 2: of automated email alerts set up related to court cases 457 00:32:31,640 --> 00:32:35,520 Speaker 2: and custody status of weird little guys all over the country, 458 00:32:36,280 --> 00:32:38,920 Speaker 2: guys I just like to keep track of, or might 459 00:32:38,960 --> 00:32:42,600 Speaker 2: write about one day, or I don't know, just nosy. 460 00:32:43,760 --> 00:32:45,680 Speaker 2: So not a day goes by that I don't get 461 00:32:46,120 --> 00:32:50,480 Speaker 2: some notification that somebody's filed emotion, or they're appealing something, 462 00:32:50,560 --> 00:32:54,400 Speaker 2: or they've been transferred to another facility. It's always something, 463 00:32:55,600 --> 00:32:59,880 Speaker 2: and there it was a custody status changed notification. 464 00:33:01,640 --> 00:33:02,440 Speaker 1: I'd been sitting in. 465 00:33:02,360 --> 00:33:06,480 Speaker 2: The jail parking lot for seven hours waiting for a 466 00:33:06,520 --> 00:33:11,480 Speaker 2: man who never did walk out the front door. This 467 00:33:11,560 --> 00:33:14,200 Speaker 2: email is to inform you that Tyler Diykes with a 468 00:33:14,280 --> 00:33:17,520 Speaker 2: Fender number one zero six five one six three three 469 00:33:18,240 --> 00:33:22,480 Speaker 2: was released from custody on July seventeen, twenty twenty three. 470 00:33:22,600 --> 00:33:29,680 Speaker 2: The release reason is other law enforcement agency, other law 471 00:33:29,760 --> 00:33:38,120 Speaker 2: enforcement agency. Usually the email says bonded out or sentence served, 472 00:33:39,200 --> 00:33:44,840 Speaker 2: but this one said other law enforcement agency. That means 473 00:33:45,720 --> 00:33:49,200 Speaker 2: he wasn't released at all. That means some kind of 474 00:33:49,320 --> 00:33:55,040 Speaker 2: cop from somewhere else picked him up. He never walked 475 00:33:55,080 --> 00:33:57,800 Speaker 2: out the front door because he'd been driven out the 476 00:33:57,880 --> 00:34:02,400 Speaker 2: side entrance in a non script looking SUV with a U. S. 477 00:34:02,480 --> 00:34:06,080 Speaker 2: Marshal at the wheel. I had to wait until the 478 00:34:06,120 --> 00:34:08,719 Speaker 2: following morning for the federal charging documents to show up 479 00:34:08,719 --> 00:34:12,160 Speaker 2: in the system, So it wasn't until July of twenty 480 00:34:12,200 --> 00:34:15,560 Speaker 2: twenty three that I finally knew what the FBI had 481 00:34:15,600 --> 00:34:19,280 Speaker 2: known for a year and a half. Tyler Dikes fought 482 00:34:19,320 --> 00:34:23,080 Speaker 2: his way into the Capitol on January sixth, twenty twenty one. 483 00:34:25,640 --> 00:34:28,840 Speaker 2: He was charged in a ten count indictment with robbery, 484 00:34:29,200 --> 00:34:33,200 Speaker 2: civil disorder, two counts of assaulting, resisting or impeding an 485 00:34:33,200 --> 00:34:36,160 Speaker 2: officer with a dangerous weapon, entering or remaining in a 486 00:34:36,239 --> 00:34:40,200 Speaker 2: restricted building, disorderly and disruptive conduct in a restricted building, 487 00:34:40,920 --> 00:34:44,560 Speaker 2: engaging in physical violence in a restricted building, disorderly conduct 488 00:34:44,560 --> 00:34:47,400 Speaker 2: and a capitol building, engaging in physical violence in a 489 00:34:47,440 --> 00:34:52,880 Speaker 2: capitol building, and picketing in a capitol building. He was 490 00:34:52,920 --> 00:34:56,000 Speaker 2: released on bond shortly after being transferred into federal custody, 491 00:34:56,560 --> 00:34:59,280 Speaker 2: and in addition to the standard rules of pre trial release, 492 00:35:00,080 --> 00:35:03,600 Speaker 2: the judge specifically mandated that he have no contact with 493 00:35:03,719 --> 00:35:07,280 Speaker 2: members of the Southern Sun's Active Club or any related 494 00:35:07,320 --> 00:35:10,360 Speaker 2: group while out on bond, and he was ordered to 495 00:35:10,360 --> 00:35:13,320 Speaker 2: live at his parents' home and keep to a strict curfew. 496 00:35:15,480 --> 00:35:17,959 Speaker 2: In April of twenty twenty four, he accepted a plea 497 00:35:18,000 --> 00:35:21,360 Speaker 2: agreement that dropped eight of the ten charges of the indictment, 498 00:35:22,040 --> 00:35:25,200 Speaker 2: pleading guilty only to the two counts of assaulting, resisting, 499 00:35:25,280 --> 00:35:29,800 Speaker 2: or impeding certain officers, and with the dangerous weapon element 500 00:35:29,920 --> 00:35:36,640 Speaker 2: dropped with no trial, Some questions about this case will 501 00:35:37,239 --> 00:35:41,960 Speaker 2: probably never get answered. In December of twenty twenty one, 502 00:35:42,040 --> 00:35:45,839 Speaker 2: the FBI received an anonymous tip from someone who said 503 00:35:45,920 --> 00:35:49,000 Speaker 2: Dikes told them he had entered the Capitol on January sixth. 504 00:35:50,320 --> 00:35:52,120 Speaker 2: The full text of the tip is printed in a 505 00:35:52,160 --> 00:35:57,640 Speaker 2: filing by the government. The suspect is Tyler Dikes lives 506 00:35:57,640 --> 00:36:01,360 Speaker 2: in Bluffton, South Carolina. I was with Dikes and we 507 00:36:01,440 --> 00:36:05,400 Speaker 2: started talking about the January sixth attack. We had differing 508 00:36:05,440 --> 00:36:09,239 Speaker 2: opinions about it, but was respectful. He then told me 509 00:36:09,280 --> 00:36:11,440 Speaker 2: about how he went into the capitol with a mask 510 00:36:11,560 --> 00:36:15,360 Speaker 2: on with the other rioters and started beating up police officers. 511 00:36:16,680 --> 00:36:18,919 Speaker 2: He states he was still in the military at the time. 512 00:36:19,920 --> 00:36:22,439 Speaker 2: He said he has video evidence of him being there, 513 00:36:22,480 --> 00:36:24,160 Speaker 2: but he did not show me since we were in 514 00:36:24,200 --> 00:36:28,480 Speaker 2: a public setting. He was there for fund and wanting 515 00:36:28,520 --> 00:36:31,319 Speaker 2: to make a statement. He was there with other group 516 00:36:31,400 --> 00:36:34,960 Speaker 2: of people, but would not state who. I believe he 517 00:36:35,040 --> 00:36:37,360 Speaker 2: was telling the truth about it, and I believe he 518 00:36:37,440 --> 00:36:42,560 Speaker 2: needs to be investigated. The Asian assigned to investigate the 519 00:36:42,600 --> 00:36:47,520 Speaker 2: tip confirmed the sources identification of Dikes through typical investigative 520 00:36:47,560 --> 00:36:51,680 Speaker 2: means things like issuing a subpoena to his cell phone provider, 521 00:36:52,360 --> 00:36:55,760 Speaker 2: comparing footage from the capital to the suspects, DMV photo, 522 00:36:56,560 --> 00:37:01,160 Speaker 2: and so on. But he had an extra source this time, 523 00:37:01,760 --> 00:37:05,799 Speaker 2: something an FBI agent doesn't usually have at his disposal 524 00:37:05,800 --> 00:37:10,320 Speaker 2: when he investigates an anonymous tip like this. He already 525 00:37:10,400 --> 00:37:16,000 Speaker 2: knew what Tyler Diykes looked like. He had met Tyler 526 00:37:16,080 --> 00:37:21,279 Speaker 2: Dikes before The agent assigned to follow up on this 527 00:37:21,440 --> 00:37:25,200 Speaker 2: tip was the one who had interviewed Dikes in January 528 00:37:25,239 --> 00:37:31,439 Speaker 2: of twenty nineteen regarding his potential ties to domestic extremist groups. 529 00:37:32,360 --> 00:37:35,920 Speaker 2: No additional information was offered in this affidavit about the 530 00:37:36,200 --> 00:37:40,680 Speaker 2: circumstances that prompted their first meeting, whether any follow up 531 00:37:40,719 --> 00:37:44,400 Speaker 2: investigation was done, or if that investigation was at the 532 00:37:44,440 --> 00:37:49,720 Speaker 2: request of or reported to the Marine Corps, or even 533 00:37:49,760 --> 00:37:53,320 Speaker 2: which extremist group the FBI believed he was involved in 534 00:37:53,320 --> 00:37:57,400 Speaker 2: in twenty nineteen, because it couldn't have been the Southern 535 00:37:57,440 --> 00:38:02,480 Speaker 2: Sun's Active Club. The active club network didn't really exist 536 00:38:02,920 --> 00:38:05,880 Speaker 2: that early on, back in January of twenty nineteen, and 537 00:38:05,920 --> 00:38:11,080 Speaker 2: the Southern Suns chapter certainly didn't. The agent doesn't give 538 00:38:11,120 --> 00:38:15,520 Speaker 2: me even a crumb to work with here, so I 539 00:38:15,560 --> 00:38:20,520 Speaker 2: don't know. And whatever it was about, that wasn't what 540 00:38:20,640 --> 00:38:25,280 Speaker 2: led to Dikes's discharge from the Marines. The military records 541 00:38:25,280 --> 00:38:28,839 Speaker 2: filed in this case are sealed, but references made to 542 00:38:28,920 --> 00:38:32,840 Speaker 2: them specifically cite those November twenty twenties swastika flyers in 543 00:38:32,880 --> 00:38:36,280 Speaker 2: Sumter County, South Carolina as the reason for his discharge, 544 00:38:38,120 --> 00:38:41,040 Speaker 2: and that's as much concrete information as we're likely ever 545 00:38:41,080 --> 00:38:43,560 Speaker 2: going to get about the reason for his removal from 546 00:38:43,600 --> 00:38:47,479 Speaker 2: the military. In a text found on his phone after 547 00:38:47,480 --> 00:38:50,920 Speaker 2: his arrest, Dikes had sent a photo of his discharged 548 00:38:51,000 --> 00:38:56,440 Speaker 2: letter to someone. He claimed he was being discharged quote 549 00:38:56,960 --> 00:39:01,680 Speaker 2: for being incredibly political with my fellow Beaux Marines after 550 00:39:01,719 --> 00:39:08,240 Speaker 2: the twenty twenty election, incredibly political. When he was interviewed 551 00:39:08,239 --> 00:39:11,120 Speaker 2: by the probation office for the pre sentenced investigation report 552 00:39:11,120 --> 00:39:15,560 Speaker 2: in his federal criminal case, he lied. He told the 553 00:39:15,560 --> 00:39:19,799 Speaker 2: probation office that he was asked to leave the military 554 00:39:19,920 --> 00:39:24,359 Speaker 2: after not reporting for drill, and that wasn't the only 555 00:39:24,440 --> 00:39:29,799 Speaker 2: time he lied. The government sentencing memorandum also indicates that 556 00:39:30,440 --> 00:39:34,319 Speaker 2: despite his willingness to plead guilty to the charges to 557 00:39:34,560 --> 00:39:38,440 Speaker 2: be honest about his conduct on that day, he was 558 00:39:38,520 --> 00:39:43,160 Speaker 2: not truthful in his final interview with federal agents. The 559 00:39:43,239 --> 00:39:46,040 Speaker 2: terms of his plea agreement required his cooperation with the 560 00:39:46,080 --> 00:39:50,440 Speaker 2: ongoing investigation into the events of January sixth. Part of 561 00:39:50,480 --> 00:39:53,920 Speaker 2: that agreement was a final debrief interview with federal agents, 562 00:39:54,120 --> 00:39:56,959 Speaker 2: which was conducted on June twenty eighth, twenty twenty four. 563 00:39:58,440 --> 00:40:02,120 Speaker 2: In that interview, Bigs again told agents that he left 564 00:40:02,120 --> 00:40:06,320 Speaker 2: his home in South Carolina mid morning on January fifth, 565 00:40:07,000 --> 00:40:11,360 Speaker 2: and arrived in DC that evening, sometime after dark, but 566 00:40:11,719 --> 00:40:14,680 Speaker 2: early enough to have dinner with his friends before checking 567 00:40:14,680 --> 00:40:19,360 Speaker 2: into his hotel for the night. And that's not true 568 00:40:19,920 --> 00:40:25,000 Speaker 2: because his cell phone tells a very different story. Records 569 00:40:25,000 --> 00:40:29,239 Speaker 2: obtained from Verizon show that his phone was in Marathon, Florida, 570 00:40:29,960 --> 00:40:35,320 Speaker 2: at three twenty pm on January fifth. A little before 571 00:40:35,360 --> 00:40:38,040 Speaker 2: eight pm, he took a photo with his cell phone 572 00:40:38,400 --> 00:40:41,640 Speaker 2: of a slip printed by an American Airlines kiosk at 573 00:40:41,640 --> 00:40:44,759 Speaker 2: the Miami Airport, indicating that he would need to see 574 00:40:44,760 --> 00:40:49,000 Speaker 2: a ticket agent for assistance. His phone pinged again an 575 00:40:49,000 --> 00:40:52,360 Speaker 2: hour outside his home in South Carolina at twelve thirty 576 00:40:52,440 --> 00:40:59,400 Speaker 2: a m. On January six. No clear conclusion is drawn 577 00:40:59,520 --> 00:41:04,000 Speaker 2: in the memo. The prosecutor doesn't write out exactly what 578 00:41:04,080 --> 00:41:08,600 Speaker 2: he thinks this means, but it appears that Dikes drove 579 00:41:09,160 --> 00:41:14,160 Speaker 2: thirteen hundred miles from the Florida Keys to Washington, d C. 580 00:41:14,840 --> 00:41:19,000 Speaker 2: Overnight after unsuccessfully trying to board a flight in Miami. 581 00:41:20,680 --> 00:41:25,120 Speaker 2: It would be very hard to forget driving for twenty 582 00:41:25,400 --> 00:41:29,280 Speaker 2: hours and then immediately fighting your way inside the United 583 00:41:29,280 --> 00:41:34,520 Speaker 2: States Capitol. Even three years after the fact. That's not 584 00:41:34,640 --> 00:41:40,120 Speaker 2: something you'd forget, is it. It seems far more likely 585 00:41:40,400 --> 00:41:43,600 Speaker 2: that he chose to conceal his activities in the lead 586 00:41:43,680 --> 00:41:50,040 Speaker 2: up to January sixth, But why it seems unlikely now 587 00:41:50,080 --> 00:41:55,280 Speaker 2: that the DOJ would choose to pursue additional charges, although remember, 588 00:41:55,600 --> 00:41:58,480 Speaker 2: it is a federal crime to lie to an FBI agent, 589 00:42:00,160 --> 00:42:03,120 Speaker 2: and it obviously wasn't something they cared enough about to 590 00:42:03,160 --> 00:42:06,400 Speaker 2: ask the judge to reject the plea agreement, which they 591 00:42:06,400 --> 00:42:10,640 Speaker 2: could have Whenever he was hiding about his trip to 592 00:42:10,680 --> 00:42:14,319 Speaker 2: Florida the day before the insurrection, he must have felt 593 00:42:14,400 --> 00:42:17,600 Speaker 2: like it was worth the possibility of a lot of 594 00:42:17,640 --> 00:42:23,000 Speaker 2: extra prison time to keep it to himself. The government 595 00:42:23,080 --> 00:42:25,520 Speaker 2: sentencing memo also details some of what was found on 596 00:42:25,560 --> 00:42:29,799 Speaker 2: Dike's phone. In the Southern Suns group chat, he used 597 00:42:29,840 --> 00:42:35,120 Speaker 2: the name Nocturnal Wolf. The prosecutor who prepared the memo 598 00:42:35,200 --> 00:42:38,880 Speaker 2: included several examples of materials found on the phone related 599 00:42:38,880 --> 00:42:43,920 Speaker 2: to the pseudonym things about Wolves. One of those little 600 00:42:44,320 --> 00:42:47,960 Speaker 2: odds and ends about wolves was the front cover of 601 00:42:48,000 --> 00:42:52,080 Speaker 2: a Terogram collective publication called do It for the Gram, 602 00:42:52,960 --> 00:42:59,680 Speaker 2: which bears the phrase faceless Lone Wolf. The prosecutor makes 603 00:43:00,239 --> 00:43:03,560 Speaker 2: no mention of the contents of the document or the 604 00:43:03,560 --> 00:43:06,960 Speaker 2: fact that it is a three hundred page manual on 605 00:43:07,040 --> 00:43:11,400 Speaker 2: how to commit varying acts of terrorism. It seems he 606 00:43:11,520 --> 00:43:15,759 Speaker 2: was perhaps unaware that he'd stumbled across a piece of 607 00:43:15,840 --> 00:43:22,080 Speaker 2: neo Nazi terrorist propaganda. There's no transcript of his sentencing 608 00:43:22,200 --> 00:43:25,960 Speaker 2: filed in the case, but NBC's Ryan J. Riley reported 609 00:43:26,000 --> 00:43:30,800 Speaker 2: that quote Dikes did not distance himself from extremist ideologies, 610 00:43:31,200 --> 00:43:33,480 Speaker 2: nor did he say he no longer believes the former 611 00:43:33,520 --> 00:43:37,720 Speaker 2: president's lies about the election. His biggest expression of regret 612 00:43:38,160 --> 00:43:40,920 Speaker 2: seemed to be for his elderly parents, who adopted him 613 00:43:40,920 --> 00:43:42,960 Speaker 2: as a child and who are still providing him with 614 00:43:43,000 --> 00:43:47,360 Speaker 2: a monthly allowance. Diykes was given a few months to 615 00:43:47,400 --> 00:43:49,760 Speaker 2: get his affairs in order after being sentenced to fifty 616 00:43:49,800 --> 00:43:53,239 Speaker 2: seven months back in July. The day before he was 617 00:43:53,239 --> 00:43:56,040 Speaker 2: scheduled to turn himself in to begin serving his sentence, 618 00:43:56,760 --> 00:43:59,280 Speaker 2: he filed a last minute motion asking for. 619 00:43:59,640 --> 00:44:00,439 Speaker 1: Just one month. 620 00:44:01,920 --> 00:44:04,839 Speaker 2: The reasons he gave were a series of doctor's appointments 621 00:44:04,840 --> 00:44:06,799 Speaker 2: that he needed to drive his eighty six year old 622 00:44:06,800 --> 00:44:11,360 Speaker 2: father to The judge was unimpressed by Diys's desire to 623 00:44:11,440 --> 00:44:14,879 Speaker 2: drive his dad to the gastroentrologist and denied the motion. 624 00:44:16,840 --> 00:44:21,040 Speaker 2: He reported to prison last week on October ninth, twenty 625 00:44:21,080 --> 00:44:25,319 Speaker 2: twenty four. If you don't have any disciplinary issues, you 626 00:44:25,360 --> 00:44:29,360 Speaker 2: typically serve eighty five percent of federal time, so he 627 00:44:29,400 --> 00:44:32,040 Speaker 2: could be released as early as October of twenty twenty eight, 628 00:44:33,680 --> 00:44:40,960 Speaker 2: just in time for the next presidential election. Weird Little 629 00:44:40,960 --> 00:44:43,600 Speaker 2: Guys the production of cool Zone Media. For more from 630 00:44:43,640 --> 00:44:47,560 Speaker 2: cool Zone Media, visit our website coolzonemedia dot com, or 631 00:44:47,640 --> 00:44:50,440 Speaker 2: check us out on the iHeartRadio app or wherever you 632 00:44:50,520 --> 00:44:56,600 Speaker 2: get your podcasts.