Daily Beast: “Before Brandon Straka was storming the Capitol on Jan. 6, he was a hair-dressing, #WalkAway-tweeting MAGA influencer – taking in tens of thousands of dollars in government pandemic money. According to The Daily Beast’s review of records from the Project on Government Oversight’s Covid Tracker, Straka is one of at least nine individuals facing charges stemming from the Capitol riots who received special coronavirus funds through small business loan programs over the last year. And Straka is far from the only notable insurrectionists among the group. Collectively, these business owners took in more than $227,000 from three small business relief initiatives – the Paycheck Protection Program, Economic Injury Disaster Loans, or Disaster Assistance Loans – and they are facing charges ranging from entering a restricted building to assaulting police officers with a deadly weapon. In Straka’s case, he personally received $20,800 in PPP funds and got an additional $12,354 in PPP money for the WalkAway Foundation.”

“Straka, the founder of the #WalkAway movement that encourages Democrats to vote Republican, has more than half a million Twitter followers and claims to have been a devoted Democrat before Donald Trump’s election. But a 2019 review by Gay City News found that Straka – who is gay – never once donated to a Democrat and only once voted in a Democratic primary since 2004. Straka is charged with impeding a law-enforcement officer during civil disorder, knowingly entering restricted grounds, and disorderly conduct with intent to disturb a hearing before Congress. Another high-profile loan recipient, Dominic Pezzola, is facing some of the stiffest charges of any insurrectionist. Pezzola, a member of the far-right Proud Boys, broke a window into the Capitol and was one of the very first rioters to breach the building. He also stole a police officer’s riot shield and is facing 11 charges, including confronting Capitol Police officer Eugene Goodman.”