Close ally of Marjorie Taylor Greene among those in Capitol mob

A close ally of Georgia Republican Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene took part in the January 6 mob at the Capitol and said he was among those who eventually made their way into the building.

Greene, a freshman congresswoman with a history of promoting dangerous and violent conspiracies and comments, encouraged the big lie that the election was stolen from former President Donald Trump by voting to object to the election certification and fanned the flames of the insurrection by telling her supporters to “fight for Trump.”

In tweets after the Capitol insurrection, Greene falsely suggested that those who had broken into the Capitol were not Republicans and instead falsely implied so-called “Antifa” dressed as Trump supporters were to blame.

In fact, Anthony Aguero, a conservative livestreamer, activist and associate of Greene, said on video following the January 6 assault on the Capitol that he had been among those who entered and attacked those who falsely claimed it was done by “Antifa.”

“We were all there. It was not Antifa and it was not BLM. It was Trump supporters that did that yesterday. I’m the first to admit it, being one myself,” said Aguero in a video posted on January 7.

“I walked amongst all those people,” he added, later defending entering the Capitol.

Greene and Aguero have worked closely together over the years on causes such as immigration and the border wall and have attended pro-Trump rallies together. In many since-deleted videos saved by CNN’s KFile, Greene repeatedly calls Aguero “amazing” and a “friend.” On social media, Aguero has called Greene “one of my closest friends.”

“A message was sent,” Aguero said in the video streamed live on January 6 while walking away from the Capitol on Pennsylvania Avenue following the riot. “These politicians are not going to continue to get away with the abuse as they’ve been doing. We will continue to press on these individuals.”

“The National Guard has just been called in,” he continued. “A woman was shot in the face earlier. There was blood all over the floor. I recorded it for y’all. I could not go live during the whole event because the signal was either jammed purposely or there was just too many, too many people out there. Guys, I was able to make it inside the chambers and I have footage that I’m going to provide for you guys as we made our way in there.”

Congress held its first hearing on the Capitol riots on Tuesday, in which law enforcement officials testified the attacks were likely coordinated.

In a video posted by Aguero on January 6 on Instagram, he can be heard cheering on, from a distance, those trying to enter the Capitol, chanting “heave ho” as a mob of rioters push against Capitol Police. In a comment, Aguero wrote “MAGA” under the video.

In another video, posted from the steps of the Capitol, he can be heard chanting “our house.” He later described those who broke in as “patriots,” and commented “#PatriotsSaveAmerica2021! Not Antifa/BLM!!!” immediately following the ransacking of the Capitol by rioters.

Aguero posted one video on January 10 of someone entering the Capitol, though it is unclear if Aguero himself took the footage.

When reached for comment, Aguero told CNN that the “videos uploaded compiled [sic] are not mine. They’re screen recorded from other posts that I saw.” Aguero did not respond to further questions asking to specify which videos were screen recorded. He appears on camera in two videos and can be heard speaking in others.

Before publication, it appears Aguero deleted the video from January 6 in which he appears on camera and says he “was able to make it inside the chambers.” He did not respond to CNN’s questions on this.

Aguero confirmed to CNN he was at the Capitol on January 6 and said he was an “independent journalist” there reporting the events. He also reiterated his support for Greene.

“I fully support Marjorie Taylor Greene. We need more great people like her. God bless her and her family,” said Aguero.

Greene did not respond to requests for comment.

The FBI said last month that it had received nearly 200,000 digital tips from the public related to the Capitol riot, mainly from people who documented it. The FBI declined to comment on whether it was investigating Aguero.

“We have no comment, keeping with our standard practice of neither confirming nor denying the existence of an investigation,” said the FBI’s national press office in an email.

In the video he posted on January 7, Aguero claimed he had been among those who entered the Capitol and attacked those who falsely claimed it was done by “Antifa.”

“People that were saying, ‘We need to stand up for our rights,’ ” he added. “We need to stand up for our country. So patriots stand up for their country and they come out here to physically try to take back their house. The House of the people.”

“Now you have people on the right acting like they’re holier than thou, holier than holy,” he continued. ” ‘Oh, I’m appalled. I don’t condone this.’ What the hell do you expect conservatives to do? Do you want us to continue to sit there? Complacent, continue to take the higher route and keep getting f**ked in the a**. I’m sorry for using that language, but I’m sick and tired of the hypocrisy.”

Later in the video, Aguero praised Greene for her actions contesting the election.

“I stand with people like Marjorie Taylor Greene proudly,” he added. “That woman has more courage than most of the men that were in that building. No, not most. That woman has more courage than every single man that was in that Capitol yesterday.”

Strong ties to Greene

Aguero and Greene have worked closely together over the years, particularly before her run for Congress.

The pair spoke at a small pro-border wall rally in Washington in February 2019, visited lawmakers’ offices together, made a trip along the border together and sat together in the special backstage section of a Trump rally in February 2019.

Aguero frequently spoke of working with and supporting Greene throughout 2019.

The El Paso-based videographer, who sometimes goes by the moniker “Conservative Anthony” online, frequently documents the activities of right-wing activists and militias, including the Guardian Patriots, the border militia group formerly known as the United Constitutional Patriots, and the Proud Boys.

Aguero also has a history of criminal violence, according to online court records. In 2010, he pleaded guilty to a misdemeanor family violence assault causing serious bodily injury. In 2015, he was convicted of felony vehicular assault while intoxicated and sentenced to two years in Texas state prison.

When Greene was temporarily banned from her personal Facebook page in May 2019, she used Aguero’s page to livestream. He has spent much of January and February expressing support for Greene on social media.

She was recently photographed with Aguero in Washington at the “March for Trump” rally, also known as the Million MAGA March, on November 14, 2020, where Greene spoke. Following Greene’s speech, Aguero can be seen accompanying her off the stage in a video of the rally. A November tweet of the pair at the rally was liked by Greene.

Aguero was also with Greene in February 2019 when she delivered a petition to impeach House Speaker Nancy Pelosi for treason and suggested the speaker could be executed or imprisoned.

Aguero frequently posted on social media ahead of the January 6 rally that preceded the Capitol riot. In archived posts from the conservative social media website Parler, Aguero shared posts from conspiracy theorist Alex Jones and Proud Boys leader Enrique Tarrio.