John Earle Sullivan facts for kids
Quick facts for kids
John Earle Sullivan
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Sullivan at the Washington Monument, 2021
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John Earle Sullivan (born July 18, 1994), also known as Activist John, is an American activist and self-identified photojournalist. He was involved in the January 6, 2021 United States Capitol attack. In November 2023, he was found guilty by a jury of serious charges related to his actions that day.
Before the January 6 attack, Sullivan helped organize and took part in protests connected to the Black Lives Matter (BLM) movement. However, some other BLM organizers did not agree with his actions. They even asked him to leave rallies and told other activists to stay away from him.
On January 6, Sullivan went into the Capitol building. He was wearing a MAGA hat and clothes. He broke a window and used a bullhorn to cheer on other people there. Sullivan recorded many videos of the attack, including his interactions with police and the shooting of Ashli Babbitt.
After the Capitol attack, some people, like Rudy Giuliani, said Sullivan was linked to Antifa. By May 2021, Sullivan was facing several federal charges for his part in the January 6 events.
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Early Life and Family Background
John Sullivan was adopted into a Mormon family that held traditional views. His father, John Sullivan Sr., was a high-ranking officer in the US Army. John has three younger brothers. He grew up in Stafford, Virginia, and around 2013, his family moved to Utah.
After finishing high school, Sullivan wanted to become a police officer. He also became involved in speed skating. In 2016, a blog post on Uber's website featured him. It said he was looking for ways to earn money that fit his busy training schedule. Sullivan took part in the 2018 Olympic trials for speed skating. He did not qualify for the Olympics, but he has sometimes said he "competed in the 2018 Olympic Games."
Activism Before the Capitol Attack
In June 2020, Sullivan started attending Black Lives Matter (BLM) protests. Lex Scott, who founded Black Lives Matter-Utah, said that no activists knew him before this time.
Starting "Civilized Awakening" and "Insurgence USA"
John Sullivan's brother, James Sullivan, is a conservative activist. He said that John was conservative "until recently." James Sullivan started a group called "Civilized Awakening," which is part of the Patriot movement.
In June 2020, John Sullivan created his own group called "Insurgence USA." This group took part in protests against police actions. Some people accused Sullivan of using the racial justice movement for his own benefit. The Salt Lake Tribune newspaper noticed that Sullivan was selling items and promoting himself on many websites. His Insurgence USA website sold protest-related gear, like black clothes, gloves, and gas masks.
Protest in Provo, Utah
On June 29, 2020, Sullivan led his first protest event in Provo, Utah. BLM leader Lex Scott remembered that "His very first protest he held was the one someone got shot." This event was a counter-protest against a pro-police group. The pro-police group was driving vehicles around the Provo police station. Sullivan and others organized a counter-protest that blocked vehicles and stopped traffic on a busy street. During this event, a man linked to Sullivan was charged with shooting and hurting a driver. Police said the driver was not part of either protest group.
Sullivan was arrested and faced charges related to this event. Police said he damaged vehicles and worked with Insurgence USA to gather protesters. Sullivan said he thought the driver was trying to hit protesters, but police disagreed based on video evidence.
Links to the Proud Boys
Sullivan organized events in Provo, Utah, that caused disagreements with BLM activists. People became more suspicious of Sullivan after a July 1, 2020, event. At this event, he invited members of the Proud Boys to speak. The Proud Boys are a far-right group that sometimes uses violence. Sullivan's close relationship with the Proud Boys led BLM activists to refuse to work with him. Later, Sullivan's group also received firearms training.
Concerns About Armed Protests
On July 22, 2020, Sullivan held a solo protest at the Utah State Capitol. He carried an AR-15 rifle. This protest lasted a few hours. During this time, twenty armed men from another group, Utah Citizens' Alarm, confronted him. When he started carrying assault rifles to protests, it caused strong reactions from both conservative and liberal groups.
In August 2020, Sullivan was filmed giving a speech outside the US Capitol. Lex Scott said that Sullivan seemed to "seek attention." She also said that Sullivan was not a member of BLM-Utah. She suspected he was seeking fame and noted he never attended BLM meetings or worked with them to achieve their goals.
Working with Jade Sacker
According to James Sullivan, by October 2020, he and his brother John were part of a documentary film. Jade Sacker was filming this documentary. Sacker reportedly used two teams to record the brothers' activities. Sacker later went with John Sullivan into the Capitol on January 6.
Being Denounced by Activists
An activist from Portland warned people not to trust Sullivan. This happened after Sullivan led local activists down a wrong path in September 2020, which resulted in them being surrounded by police. Many suspected Sullivan was a double agent working for law enforcement. In online chat groups, Sullivan reportedly used fake accounts to make it seem like others were defending him. Labor activist Talia Jane said that Sullivan is "disliked throughout the activist community."
On December 12, 2020, both pro- and anti-Trump activists went to Washington D.C. Fights broke out, and some people were hurt. That day, John Sullivan was asked to leave an event at Black Lives Matter Plaza in Washington. Activists who knew about the accusations against him identified him. On the same day, James Sullivan was also asked to leave a pro-Trump event in Washington.
Involvement in the 2021 Capitol Attack
John Sullivan took part in the storming of the United States Capitol. He wore a protective vest and a gas mask. He entered the building through a broken window. Sullivan recorded many videos, including footage of the shooting of Ashli Babbitt. He also used a megaphone to shout encouragement to others.
Inside the Speaker's Lobby
Outside the Speaker's Lobby, Sullivan filmed himself talking to the crowd. He later denied having a knife, saying he "used that to navigate myself to the front of the crowd."
When he reached the front of the crowd, he spoke to a police officer guarding a blocked door. He told the officer, "We want you to go home. I’m recording and there’s so many people and they’re going to push their way up here. Bro, I’ve seen people out there get hurt. I don’t want to see you get hurt."
Media Interviews
Right after Ashli Babbitt was shot, Sullivan gave an interview to a person streaming live for Infowars. Later that night, Sullivan and Jade Sacker appeared on CNN's Anderson Cooper 360°. They showed Sullivan's video footage of the Babbitt shooting.
FBI Interview and Arrest
On January 7, Sullivan was reportedly held by police in Washington D.C. On that same day, agents from the FBI interviewed Sullivan about the shooting. Sullivan said he was not connected to BLM or Antifa, or the pro-Trump group, even though he supports Black Lives Matter. When asked about using Antifa hashtags online, he said he was not part of the group. However, he stated that he and his group are anti-fascist. He admitted to shouting support during the attack. But he claimed he only did these things to "blend in" with the crowd. His brother, James Sullivan, said he gave the FBI information about John Sullivan about a week after the attack.
On January 13, 2021, an arrest warrant was issued for Sullivan. It included three charges related to the Washington D.C. events. The police report said Sullivan entered the Capitol by climbing through a broken window. He later approached another window, and a knocking sound was heard before it broke. Sullivan said, "I broke it. My bad, my apologies. Well they already broke a window, so you know, I didn't know I hit it that hard. No one got that on camera."
Sullivan was arrested in Tooele County, Utah, and appeared before a judge on January 15, 2021. The FBI took two computers, two cell phones, and camera equipment from him. He was later released with strict rules he had to follow before his trial.
Antifa Conspiracy Theory
John Sullivan's involvement in the Capitol events was used by pro-Trump lawyer Rudy Giuliani and The Gateway Pundit. They used it as part of a theory that Antifa was involved in the riots. Giuliani shared a screenshot of a message from James Sullivan. The message said, "I'm currently working with the FBI to expose and place total blame on John and the 226 members of antifa that instigated the Capitol 'riot'."
However, federal authorities did not identify Sullivan as an Antifa member. The FBI announced on January 8 that there was no proof of Antifa involvement in the attack. BLM Utah had also distanced itself from Sullivan for months due to concerns he might be linked to the Proud Boys.
Claims of Being a Journalist
Sullivan has called himself a citizen journalist. He claimed he was at the Capitol attack only to take photos and videos. An FBI report disagreed with his claim of being a photojournalist, stating he did not have official press credentials. Prosecutors also said that in December 2020, Sullivan publicly said he was not a journalist.
Sullivan's own recording is described as a first-person documentary film. He released it on YouTube as Shooting and Storming of the US Capitol in Washington DC. J. Hoberman, a film critic, reviewed Sullivan's film. He called it "cinema as forensic evidence" and compared it to the famous Zapruder film of the Kennedy assassination. Parts of the footage were used in the second impeachment trial of Donald Trump. News organizations like CNN, NBC News, Australian Broadcasting Corporation, and The Washington Post paid Sullivan for his video.
When Sullivan entered the Capitol, he was with Jade Sacker. She is a Los Angeles-based independent documentary filmmaker. She was filming John Sullivan as part of a documentary about him and his brother, James.
Images for kids
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Sullivan at the Washington Monument, 2021
