Feds arrest January 6 riot suspect — and St. Louis Cardinals super fan — who Tucker Carlson had baselessly suggested was a government plant
US Department of Justice via AP
- Daniel Donnelly Jr. was arrested Wednesday over his involvement in the January 6 insurrection.
- Donnelly is known as "Rally Runner" among fans of the St. Louis Cardinals baseball team.
- In 2021, Tucker Carlson used his Fox News show to baselessly suggest Donnelly was a federal agent.
A man who was previously best known for his love of St. Louis Cardinals baseball — and who some supporters of former President Donald Trump had baselessly claimed was an undercover federal agent — was charged with federal crimes over his alleged role in the January 6, 2021, insurrection, the St. Louis Dispatch first reported on Wednesday.
Daniel Donnelly Jr., known to Cardinals fans for painting his face red and running around the team's stadium during games, has admitted to taking part in the riot at the US Capitol, boasting to his Facebook followers at the time that he "literally got further than anyone," according to a 12-page affidavit signed by an FBI agent and filed this week at federal court in Washington, DC.
He is accused of impeding law enforcement, stealing federal property, and disrupting Congress.
An arrest warrant for Donnelly, who legally changed his name to his moniker, "Rally Runner," was issued on Monday, according to court documents; he was detained 48 hours later.
In particular, authorities accuse Donnelly of grabbing a police riot shield and using it to help fellow Trump supporters push past law enforcement and enter the US Capitol via a tunnel meant for lawmakers. Video shows him "at the front of the line using the shield to aid in the advancement of the rioter's by pushing law enforcement officers back," per court documents.
Donnelly also posted a 26-minute video the day of the riot admitting to his actions, authorities say.
"I get a riot shield, and I'm not trying to cause any violence, but I'm trying to be the furthest person to get through all the way, or at least get the furthest," Donnelly said, according to law enforcement. He claimed he "literally got further than anyone," but also that his actions — using the shield to create space as rioters pushed against police lines — inspired others to do the same.
"It's like they followed my lead, kind of, and it turned out to be a great strategy because the whole crowd was doing that, was able to push further than we had gotten the whole time, the entire time," he said in the video.
Donnelly's visible role in the insurrection — he donned the same red face paint he puts on for Cardinals games — led some to speculate, without evidence, that he was a federal agent.
In a December 2021 segment on Fox News, right-wing media personality Tucker Carlson showed a video featuring Donnelly and demanded to know why he had not yet been arrested, HuffPost previously reported. "Who is this person? Why hasn't he been charged? That's a very simple ask," Carlson said.
Carlson's guest, an attorney for several January 6 riot suspects, spelled out the implication: "He is clearly a law enforcement officer," Joseph McBride said (confronted with Donnelly's identity, McBride told HuffPost: "If I'm wrong, so be it, bro. I don't care.").
The FBI said a federal agent interviewed Donnelly just days after the January 6 insurrection. The court documents give no indication as to why authorities waited until August 2023 to arrest him.
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