QAnon believer from Sioux City becomes seventh Iowan charged in Capitol riot, FBI says
A Sioux City man is the seventh Iowan to face charges for taking part in the deadly Jan. 6, 2021, riot at the U.S. Capitol.
Kenneth Rader was charged Tuesday, Jan. 11, in D.C. District Court with four offenses: entering a restricted building, parading or demonstrating in a Capitol building, and two disorderly conduct charges. He was arrested and made an initial court appearance on Thursday, Jan. 20, in Sioux City, and has another hearing before a D.C. judge on Thursday, Jan. 27.
In an affidavit accompanying the charges, FBI investigators say a relative of Rader submitted a tip two days after the riot that Rader had been sharing videos of himself inside the building and had made threatening statements against then-Vice President Mike Pence.
Iowa Poll: Half of Iowans say Jan. 6 riot at U.S. Capitol was ‘an insurrection and a threat to democracy’
In September, Rader was interviewed by the FBI and claimed he had walked to the Capitol grounds after hearing a “boom” and had looked through a door but had not gone inside. However, the FBI says cell tower data obtained by the agency appeared to show Rader inside the building during the riot, and investigators identified Rader on surveillance video inside the building, entering through a broken door.
He was inside for about three minutes.
Like fellow Iowan Doug Jensen of Des Moines, Rader appears to be a follower of the QAnon conspiracy theory, according to the FBI. In February and March of 2021, Rader updated the cover photo of his Facebook page to show a large letter Q or refer to “the Great Awakening,” both common themes of QAnon.
For subscribers:Who is Doug Jensen? Tracing a QAnon believer’s path to the Jan. 6 Capitol riot
Adherents of QAnon believe that a large cabal of elites, celebrities and Democrats practice child sex trafficking, and that then-President Donald Trump was fighting a secret war to defeat this cabal and would be reinaugurated despite Joe Biden’s victory in the 2020 presidential election.
Rader’s family member told the FBI that he once saw Rader receive a notification on his phone labeled “Q,” and that Rader told the tipster he was “waiting for instructions.”
Federal prosecutors have charged six other Iowans for taking part in the riot. Jensen, who was captured on video pursuing a police officer up a staircase inside the building, remains in custody awaiting trial. Also charged are Deborah Sandoval of Des Moines; her son Salvador Sandoval of Ankeny; Kyle Young of Redfield; and Leo Kelly of Cedar Rapids. Daryl Johnson of St. Ansgar, who was charged alongside his son from Austin, Minnesota, pleaded guilty Jan. 4 and is awaiting sentencing.
More:Here’s where the cases stand against 6 Iowans charged over participating in the U.S. Capitol riot
William Morris covers courts for the Des Moines Register. He can be contacted at wrmorris2@registermedia.com, 715-573-8166 or on Twitter at @DMRMorris.
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