Jonathan Walden
Jonathan Walden (born c. 1974) is a jewelry maker, former firefighter, and resident of Birmingham who was indicted by a grand jury in the District of Columbia on three criminal charges relating to his coordination with members of the Oath Keepers, a far-right militia group, to disrupt the United States Congress at the U.S. Capitol on January 6, 2021.
Beginning in 2013, Walden has published a weblog in which he describes prophetic visions and his involvement as a historical re-enactor of Native American customs.
According to the indictment, Walden participated in and abetted a planned assault on the U.S. Capitol in order to prevent the certification of electoral votes from the 2020 presidential election. Walden was shown to have contacted Joshua James of Arab, also charged as a conspirator, to volunteer for a "QRF" (quick reaction force) team. He offered that he had been trained as an emergency medical technician, and to have possession of a dog ("Warrior") trained in "security patrol", as well as a trauma kit, and an array of firearms, which he described as, "ALL the necessary 2A gear that the situation may require."
Walden traveled to D.C. and shared a room with James at the Mayflower Hotel. On the morning of January 6, he communicated with James and met other members of the militia at the Willard Hotel. He had his dog with him, and was dressed in fatigues, tactical vest, boots, gloves and goggles, and was carrying a backpack. Photographs of Walden taken during the day show that he and his dog wore "Oath Keepers" patches, and that Walden carried a walkie-talkie on his vest.
During the afternoon he received messages from Oath Keepers founder Stewart Rhodes regarding the actions of Vice President Pence and President Trump. When they learned that others had broken into the Capitol complex, the group at the Willard took golf carts to the corner of 3rd Street and Pennsylvania Avenue, and proceeded toward the Capitol on foot. Walden, James and Roberto Minuta began taunting law enforcement officers attempting to maintain a perimeter on the east side of the building. They made their way into the building itself through the east side rotunda doorway at 3:15. Walden still had his dog with him. They exited the building through the same door at 3:35. Shortly after 4:00, Walden and other members of the Oath Keepers gathered with Rhodes outside, near the northeast corner of the building.
Prior to his arrest on June 3, Walden's name had been redacted from publicly-released versions of the indictment, which was issued on May 26.
References
- "Four Arrested in Sixteen-Defendant Oath Keeper Conspiracy Case for Activities Leading to U.S. Capitol Breach" (June 3, 2021) U.S. Attorney’s Office, District of Columbia press release