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- GPS data from hundreds of Parler users who attacked the US Capitol last week show the mob’s whereabouts in the 228-year-old building, Gizmodo reported.
- The data, acquired by a hacker, showed rioters near Speaker of the House Nancy Pelosi’s office, congressional chambers and in the hallways.
- Parler went dark on Monday after Amazon dropped it from its web-hosting services, though the far-right social media app has since found another host.
- Visit Business Insider’s homepage for more stories.
Hacked GPS data from far-right social media app Parler showed hundreds of supporters of President Donald Trump pouring deep into the US Capitol halls during last week’s siege, with the mob coming near congressional offices and chambers, according to Gizmodo, which analyzed the data in a report.
It’s been a week since thousands of Trump supporters marched in Washington DC during a rally where the president repeated baseless claims of election fraud and told his supporters to “fight like hell, and if you don’t fight like hell you’re not going to have a country anymore.” The supporters then continued their march down the National Mall, to the US Capitol, where they stormed the building, forcing senators to take shelter and postpone the certification of Joe Biden’s election as president. Hundreds of rioters posted videos on Parler of their journeys down the national mall through the Capitol building. The controversial social media platform’s user data was hacked and handed over to federal investigators before it went dark Monday.
Gizmodo analyzed the GPS coordinates from 618 videos posted by Parler users on Jan. 6, though the exact locations of the users was difficult to place, as coordinates were accurate up to about 12 yards, and they do not reveal which floors of the Capitol they are on.
Video GPS coordinates verified Parler-users near congressional offices and stairwells, in hallways leading to the House and Senate chambers, in the Rotunda, and near leadership offices or the press gallery, depending on the floor, according to Gizmodo’s analysis.
One video's coordinates showed rioters near House Speaker Nancy Pelosi's office, shouting obscenities about her, and another such video located a rioter in the Rotunda, who was chanting "Whose House? Our House," Gizmodo reported.
On Tuesday, federal investigators said they have charged more than 70 people in connection with the US Capitol insurrection, and they expect that number to grow to the hundreds. Those arrested include a man carrying makeshift explosives, another wearing a horned helmet and red, white, and blue facepaint, another seen seen carrying Pelosi's lectern through the halls, and even a tech CEO from Chicago. The full list of those charged can be found here.