Samuel Lazar, a Trump supporter who features on the FBI's most wanted list for his involvement in the January 6 Capitol riots, was spotted attending a fund raiser organized by Pennsylvania GOP Sen. Doug Mastriano. The event was headlined by Trump's former lawyer Rudy Giuliani, who had called for 'trial by combat' in his speech earlier.
Lazar was part of thousands of violent Trump supporters who stormed the Capitol soon after Vice President Mike Pence told the lawmakers that he will not block the congressional certification of Joe Biden's victory. Quashing hopes of Trump and his supporters, Pence, at the beginning of the joint session, had said that he did not believe he has the "unilateral authority to decide which electoral votes should be counted."
Lazar is Suspect No 275 on FBI's List
Lazar, who was dubbed as 'Face Paint Blowhard' in the photographs from the riot which surfaced online, is mentioned as suspect No. 275 on the FBI's website.
According to HuffPost, Lazar not only attended the political event but also clicked pictures with a number of people including the Pennsylvania politician. The event was organized on May 15.
The outlet reported that Mastriano and Lazar were both present at the US Capitol when the attack was initiated by thousands of Trump supporters.
Mastriano, whose campaign had paid for the buses to bring the rioters to the Capitol on January 6, had claimed that he left the location after realizing that the protest was no longer peaceful.
In the pictures received by the outlet from a tipster, Lazar is seen standing with a number of Republicans who were part of the May 15 event. He was photographed with Teddy Daniels, Kathy Barnette; and state Rep. Stephanie Borowicz.
Lazar Posted About Capitol Attack on Facebook
Soon after Lazar's images were circulated on social media following the attack, he was identified by the several people online.
Lancaster Online reported that Lazar had posted about his activities on his Facebook page too. He was spotted wearing a military-style outfit with a patch, which read "Blessed be the LORD, my rock, who trains my hands for war, and my fingers for battle."
The outlet reported that in a post made on his social media page following the attack, Lazar wrote, that there was "a time for peace and there's a time for war. Our constitution allows us to abolish our [government] and install a new one in [its] place."
In the multiple images and videos from the Capitol riot, Lazar can be seen breaking away the barricades, shouting in an officer's face, trying to grab a bike rack away from an officer, using a megaphone to guide the mob to push forward, holding a can of what looks like pepper spray, and then spraying the can at a police line.
Asking the fellow rioter to mace the law enforcement officers at the Capitol, Lazar could be heard shouting, "F*ck the tyrants. We need to hang these motherf**kers."
