Monday Protest Rally For Tampa Man At U.S. Capitol Siege Peaceful

CLEARWATER, FL — About 30 people attended a rally Monday in the Pinellas County Jail parking lot in Clearwater to protest the incarceration of a former Green Beret accused of taking part in the Jan. 6 riot at the U.S. Capitol.

On Dec. 3, the Pinellas County Jail Threat Management Unit notifed the U.S. Marshals Service after learning of the planned rally on Monday organized by the American Gulags and www.JeremyBrownDefense.com to protest Brown's incarceration as a "political prisoner."

The Marshals Service has a contract with the Pinellas County Sheriff's Office to hold federal prisoners at the jail in Clearwater.

While the rally did take place, the Marshals Service said it was peaceful.

Brown was placed in the custody of the U.S. Marshals Service on Oct. 1 after a District of Columbia judge signed a warrant for his arrest on the grounds that he entered restricted buildings at the U.S. Capitol on Jan. 6.

Brown, 47, is accused of entering a restricted building to impede the official count of Electoral College votes for president and engaging in disorderly conduct on restricted ground.

Federal prosecutors said a series of surveillance videos showed Brown entering the Capitol in full tactical gear. Additionally, they said, Brown emailed others about his plans to travel to Washington, D.C., on Jan. 6 and urged them to join him and bring weapons.

U.S. District Judge Sean P. Flynn said he denied Brown bail based on a handwritten sign Brown posted in his front yard after federal agents came to his home earlier this year.

On the sign, he warned the Department of Homeland Security and the FBI that if they returned to his home, they should "bring a bigger tactical package."

Flynn said he could not ignore the severity of that threat.

During a search of Brown's home on Sept. 30, the FBI discovered a cache of weapons including a short-barrel rifle, a sawed-off shotgun and two live M67 grenades, several unregistered high-powered weapons and more than 8,000 rounds of ammunition, authorities said.

Prosecutors said Brown has identified himself as a member of Oath Keepers, an American far-right anti-government militia organization composed of current and former military and police who claim to be defending the Constitution of the United States.

The FBI said it began investigating Brown on Jan. 25 after it received information from a person described as an acquaintance of Brown's for many years. The informant gave the FBI several photos taken of Brown on Jan. 5 wearing tactical gear.

The FBI compared the photos submitted by the informant to photos and video taken at the siege on the Capitol on Jan. 6 and "located a publicly available photo of him wearing the same distinctive attire standing just before the east side steps of the Capitol during the riots of Jan. 6. He was more than 100 feet within the restricted grounds that law enforcement had originally set up to protect Congress and Vice President Pence during the certification of the Electoral College vote."

The FBI said Brown wore full military gear including a helmet, radio and a tactical vest, and had a pair of trauma shears prominently displayed in a pack sitting on the vest.

"Metropolitan police officers, in attempting to re-secure the Capitol grounds, advanced in a line and yelled, 'Back,' in unison," said the FBI is a court affidavit. "Instead of voluntarily complying with police orders, Brown only retreated when pushed with police baton sticks. During this encounter, Brown repeatedly claimed that the officers were, in his opinion, violating the laws and the Constitution of the United States."

During the FBI's investigation, another Tampa Bay defendant who pleaded guilty to conspiracy to obstruct an official proceeding during the Capitol riots said he traveled to Brown's home by ride-share on Jan. 4 to prepare for the Jan. 6 trip to Washington, D.C.

He, Brown and others used Signal1 chat, an encrypted chat application, to coordinate their travel plans and rendezvous, the FBI said.

Brown, however, claimed he was approached by the FBI in December and asked to infiltrate the Oath Keepers. He also told the investigators that he went into the Capitol to provide security for "VIPs" at the Stop the Steal rally.

Brown ran for Florida's 14th Congressional U.S. House District as a Republican but withdrew before the Republican primary on Aug. 18, 2020. That seat is currently held by Tampa Democrat Kathy Castor.

According to his candidate profile, Brown served in the U.S. Army from 1992 to 2012, reaching the rank of Special Forces master sergeant.

He was deployed twice each to Iraq and Afghanistan. His last assignment before leaving the military was at MacDill Air Force Base, and he settled in Tampa and started a limousine service.

In his candidate questionnaire, Brown said, "I am not a professional politician. I am a retired veteran and American that could no longer sit on my couch yelling at my TV. I've spent my entire life leading, and I cannot stand by and watch the country I love be attacked from within."

Patch could find no website under the domain www.JeremyBrownDefense.com. However, there is a Jeremy Brown Defense Fund that has raised $41,957 for Brown's defense. Brown posted an introduction letter on the site, explaining he need for funds.

"To the American people from a prisoner of war in the Globalist War Against America and the National Sovereignty of Independent Nations around the world: My name is Jeremy Brown. I am a 20-year U.S. Army Special Forces master sergeant that served this nation honorably. In October of 1992, I swore to an Almighty God that I would protect and defend the Constitution of the United States against ALL enemies, foreign and domestic; this Constitution that codifies the rights that God granted us at birth. I have upheld the oath as a Ranger, Green Beret, firefighter, citizen, business owner, coach, U.S. Congressional candidate and now as a Prisoner of War. I have been obligated to uphold this oath for 29 years and I have no intention of faltering now."

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