Far-Right Streamer ‘Baked Alaska’ Arrested Over Capitol Riot

Maxwell Tani
Baked Alaska via DLive
Baked Alaska via DLive

A right-wing video blogger who once filmed a music video dedicated to law enforcement was arrested on Saturday by the FBI after he livestreamed himself lounging in the Capitol amid the Jan. 6 insurrection.

In a criminal complaint released on Saturday, the Department of Justice said that it had arrested Anthime Joseph Gionet, the far-right activist better known as “Baked Alaska,” on charges of violent entry and disorderly conduct on Capitol grounds.

Gionet, who tested positive for COVID-19 just days before the riot and is currently facing unrelated charges for allegedly pepper spraying a bouncer last year, traveled to D.C. this month for the “Stop The Steal” events. As rioters stormed Congress, Gionet, a former BuzzFeed employee turned far-right pro-Trump activist, livestreamed himself at the event on DLive, a popular video platform which eventually removed the stream.

Texas Real Estate Agent Who Took Private Jet to Capitol Riot Is Arrested

As rioters stormed Congress, Gionet, a former BuzzFeed employee turned far-right, pro-Trump activist, livestreamed himself on DLive, a popular video platform which eventually removed the stream.

But, like many rioters last week, his celebratory posts from the Capitol may come back to haunt him. Much of the evidence against Gionet presented in Saturday’s arrest affidavit is directly attributed to his own 27-minute livestream.

“The defendant can be heard remarking ‘1776 baby,’ ‘I won’t leave guys, don’t worry,’” the affidavit says. “At the 2:52 minute mark in the YouTube video the defendant, who is livestreaming the event from his device, turns the phone around to show his face and is clearly identifiable.”

At one point, Gionet filmed himself entering an office, picking up a telephone and acting out a “purported phone call with the United States Senate personnel.”

Later in the video, he entered another office, sat on a couch and placed his feet on a table. “The defendant encourages others not to break anything,” the affidavit adds.

VICE reported earlier this week that the FBI was using Gionet’s livestream of the riot to find and track down other participants. The agency put out several notices last week seeking information about individuals in the pro-Trump mob which included images pulled directly from the Baked Alaska video.

On Friday, Daniel Goodwyn, a “self-proclaimed” Proud Boy, was arrested by federal authorities who said in court filings that he was called out by name on Gionet’s livestream.

Federal authorities say they’ve charged at least 100 people in the wake of the riots, including a Texas real estate agent who took a private jet to the D.C., a former Latin Kings gangster, a peyote-loving “QAnon Shaman,” and a woman who was outed by a high school pal after allegedly pinching House Speaker Nancy Pelosi’s nameplate.

<div class="inline-image__caption"><p>Juan Bibiano’s Facebook posts cited by prosecutors in arrest documents.</p></div> <div class="inline-image__credit">FBI Affidavit</div>

Juan Bibiano’s Facebook posts cited by prosecutors in arrest documents.

FBI Affidavit

The FBI also announced charges on Saturday against another man who allegedly stormed the Capitol.

Law enforcement said Jack Jesse Griffith, also known as Juan Bibiano, participated in the event, citing his own posts on Facebook and Instagram, where he allegedly wrote “I even helped stormed [sic] the capitol today, but it only made things worse.”

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