A 29-year-old Delaware man, Anthony Alexander Antonio, pleaded guilty to a felony charge connected to his actions during the January 6, 2021, Capitol riot. Antonio entered the Capitol building, engaged in physical altercations with officers over an extended period, and resisted leaving until he was sprayed with a chemical irritant. The guilty plea was for a felony count of aiding and abetting, along with obstruction of an official proceeding. U.S. District Court Judge Amy Berman Jackson scheduled a sentencing hearing for August 23.
The Department of Justice (DOJ) laid out its evidence against Antonio in a press release regarding the trial. The DOJ indicated that he wore a black tactical bulletproof vest emblazoned with the words “Three Percenters.” Antonio also had the words “carpe diem” tattooed on his right wrist. Both of these factors associated him with a far-right anti-government militia group.
Around 1:20 p.m. on January 6th, Antonio confronted police officers across a metal fencing barrier and shouted, “You want war? We got war. 1776 all over again.”
Antonio used a bullhorn to address the rioters, advising them to hold the line and not move until their demands were met. Antonio characterized the protest as peaceful before pushing through the police line.
In the Lower West tunnel, Antonio threw a water bottle at law enforcement officer Michael Fanone, whom rioters had overcome. He stole the officer’s shield and passed it to another rioter while telling the officer, “I’ll be honest; this isn’t against you. This is against our country.”
As the scuffle unfolded, Antonio took an officer’s gas mask and boldly leaned into an officer’s body camera to announce that the mob would not back down.
Antonio then granted a press interview and admitted his role in the scene. He confessed that three law enforcement officers, who were initially “cooperative,” escalated the situation by using pepper spray. An officer allegedly lifted his stolen gas mask to spray him directly and began beating the mob with batons.”
To escape the officers, the crowd broke a window to get into a room, where they subsequently barricaded the door and prepared for further confrontation. However, feeling incapacitated by the effects of pepper spray, Antonion eventually left the scene.
Conservative Americans have no tolerance for the few protestors who turned violent during the incident, and the fact that the DOJ has enough evidence to send Antonio to prison is not in question.
What is raising eyebrows is his attorney’s odd defense of the incident. Antonio’s lawyer, Joseph Hurley, said that his client believed he was following former President Donald Trump’s orders by taking part in the riot and claims he thought he was being “patriotic” during the incident.
And according to Hurley, the blame is laid entirely at the feet of Fox News.
Following Antonio’s arrest in April 2021, his attorney mentioned in a hearing that Antonio became influenced by “Foxitus” or “Foxmania.” The attorney attributed Antonio’s political interest to exposure to certain narratives on Fox News, suggesting that he started believing in the information presented by the right-leaning news organization.
Hurley, described as an attorney “known for his bravado and courtroom theatrics,” said that Antonio fell victim to watching too much Fox News. After Antonio was laid off due to the pandemic, he allegedly spent six months in his home alongside four other individuals and watched the news channel constantly.
Hurley said that Antonio became “hooked” with what he called “Foxmania” or “Foxitus,” became interested in politics, and began believing what was being “fed to him.”
Hurley also claims that, despite the overwhelming evidence showing Antonio engaged in violence and inciting the mob to storm the Capitol building, his client was advocating for peace and trying to dissuade the mob from entering the building. Hurley urged the judge to postpone sentencing for his client, who, he argued, wasn’t as bad as others arrested that day. In total, over 1200 people were arrested in connection with the incident.
It’s not a new defense. Attorneys for Jake Angeli, the QAnon Shaman, argued that his client was “a victim of Donald Trump’s lies.” But the defense is interesting, and the illness now called “Foxitus” certainly applies to CNN, MSNBC, and the New York Times. It’s a confession that people can, and are, brainwashed by the media. It’s the only excuse liberals can have for their ignorance and blatant refusal to accept the corruption on display by the Biden administration.
Conservatives have always known that liberals are mentally incapacitated, but now they realize it’s an actual psychological illness known as CNNitis.
