Prosecutors Say Tampa Man Went From Green Beret To Candidate For Congress To Capitol Siege

TAMPA, FL — Nine months after the Jan. 6 siege on the U.S. Capitol, the FBI is continuing to identify and arrest those it said were involved, most recently a former Green Beret living in Tampa.

The FBI arrested Jeremy Brown, 47, on Sept. 30 at his Palm River home. Last week, a Washington, D.C., judge denied him bond, and Brown remains in jail.

A candidate for Congress in 2020, Brown is charged with 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 show 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 prepare with weapons.

During a search of his home, the FBI said it found several unregistered high-powered weapons, including two grenades, more than 8,000 rounds of ammunition, a short-barrel rifle and a sawed-off shotgun. He's also facing federal firearms charges.

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 for many years. The informant gave the FBI several photos of Brown in tactical gear on Jan. 5 but was unsure if Brown entered the Capitol during the riot.

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, a tactical vest and prominently displayed large surgical trauma shears tucked into a pack sitting on the vest — "nearly the exact attire that he wore on the prior day."

"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, it said, another Tampa Bay defendant who pleaded guilty to conspiracy to obstruct an official proceeding following 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.

On Dec. 23, the FBI said, Brown messaged the members of the group: “We have a RV an Van going. Plenty of Gun Ports left to fill. We can pick you up.”

On Jan. 1, the FBI said, Brown — referring to his recreational vehicle as Ground Force One — wrote: "If you can, come to my house anytime Saturday. You can stop by and drop stuff off, or stay the night. This way we can load plan, route plan, and conduct PCIs (pre-combat inspections). I would LIKE to depart by 0645 on Sunday morning, Jan 3rd. Push through to the NC linkup on the 3rd, RON (rest over night) there, then push to DC on the 4th. This will give us the 4th/5th to set up, conduct route recons, CTR (close target reconnaissance) and any link ups needed with DC elements."

According to the FBI, Brown's message continued: "If you need to be picked up, then we will work that into route plan and will provide exact pickup time by Saturday evening. Please have EVERYTHING ready once we arrive. It will be an ERO (engine running onload). IF YOU ARE RIDING WITH ME, dm me with your plan to come here or be picked up. I will send address via the dm. I am willing to make adjustments all the way up until we pass your ass headed north, but it is now time to sh-t or get on someone else's pot. READY? GO!!!"

Following the Capitol siege Jan. 6, the FBI discovered a message sent from Brown's Twitter account, @brownforcongress2020:

"Everything you are watching on the Media and Houses of Congress is a LIE! I was shot in the neck with pepper balls and beating in the forearm with a night stick trying to shield unprotected Civilians from being hit in the head. This was an exercise in the unrestrained addiction to power."

U.S. District Judge Sean P. Flynn said his decision to deny Brown bail was based on a handwritten sign Brown posted in front of his house after federal agents came to his home earlier this year.

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

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

After his arrest, Brown created a Facebook page that has since been removed titled "Brown For Liberty 2021."

On it, he wrote, "The FBI and DHS tried to turn me against America. Who the HELL did they think I was...Hunter Biden?"

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

According to Ballotpedia, 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.

At the time of his candidacy, he was a member of the Hugh Gilbert Strickland American Legion Post 138 at 5535 W. Prescott St., Tampa. He attended John A Holmes High School in Edenton, North Carolina, and Liberty University in Lynchburg, Virginia.

In his candidate questionnaire submitted to Ballotpedia, Brown said he was running for Congress "because I think it lacks responsible leadership that understands its Constitutional mandates and limitations. We have allowed our governmental leadership roles to be taken over by self-serving, pandering politicians."

He added: "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."

Brown is the 69th Floridian to be arrested in connection with the Capitol riot. Florida leads the nation in the number of people charged in the Jan. 6 breach.

To date, 635 people have been arrested in nearly all 50 states in connection with crimes related to the breach of the U.S. Capitol, including at least 185 people charged with assaulting or impeding law enforcement. The FBI estimates that more than 2,500 people took part in the siege.

Five people died during the mayhem that ensued, including a Capitol police officer.

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