The FBI has arrested a Michigan bodybuilder and right-wing conspiracy theorist for his role in the Jan. 6 insurrection at the U.S. Capitol, the bureau told Metro Times on Tuesday.
Logan Barhnart is in custody and faces multiple federal charges after he was seen on video grabbing a D.C. Metropolitan police officer and dragging him down the steps of the Capitol, where the officer was beaten by another insurrectionist with an American flag pole.
The FBI had been trying to identify Barnhart for months and referred to him as 128-AFO. He was wanted for assaulting federal officers.
Sedition Hunters, online sleuths who team up to help identify insurrectionists, helped track down Barnhart using a facial recognition website. They found Barnhart on Instagram, bodybuilding websites, and even on the covers of several romance novels.
Logan Barnhart of Michigan #catsweat has graced the cover of AT LEAST three romance novels. pic.twitter.com/j2htXPWq8e
— Michigan Tea (@MichiganTea) August 17, 2021
Huffington Post first reported on Barnhart’s arrest and said it had “positively identified Barnhart before his arrest based on the work of citizen sleuths months ago, but held off on publishing his name based on his violent history (which included rioting charges when he was a teenager) and because the FBI was working on the case.”
After the riot, Barnhart didn’t go into hiding. He often posted videos and photos on Instagram, mocking the FBI and Black Lives Matter and suggesting the insurrection was part of a deep state conspiracy theory. He also proudly walked around retail stores without a mask. His Instagram page is now private.
Barnhart is the 12th Michigan resident to be arrested for participating in the riots.
Other Michiganders charged in the riot are:
• Karl Dresch, 41, of Calumet, was the first Michigan resident to be charged in the insurrection and was sentenced on Aug. 4 to time served after spending six months in prison.
• Michael Joseph Foy, a 30-year-old former Marine from Wixom, was charged less than a week later. Video footage shows him attacking police with a hockey stick.
• James “Jimmy” Mels, 56, of Shelby Township, was arrested on Feb. 11 and charged with entering the Capitol.
• Two Macomb County men – Daniel Herendeen, 43, of Chesterfield Township, and Robert Schornak, 39, of Roseville – were charged on March 18 with storming the Capitol.
• Anthony Robert Williams, 45, of Southgate, was arrested on March 23. He bragged on social media that the insurrection was “the proudest day of my life.”
• Jeramiah Caplinger, 25, of Taylor, was arrested on April 6 and charged with participating in the riot.
• Anthony Michael Puma, 48, who declared on Facebook that “war was coming” and “we might have to start killing some commie bastards” was charged May 27 with storming the Capitol.
• Steven Thurlow, an Army veteran from Macomb County, posted images of himself on social media wearing a Boogaloo patch, camouflage, body armor, and gas mask with a knife and AR-15 rifle. He was arrested last month.
• Trevor Brown, of Novi, bragged on social media about “storming” the Capitol. He was arrested in July.
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