John Sullivan made his first appearance in federal court on Friday on charges he took part in a pro-Trump riot timed to disrupt the certification of Joe Biden as the nation’s next president. “He thrives on chaos,” federal prosecutor Bryan N. Reeves told a judge, arguing that the 26-year-old provocateur should remain behind bars while his case works its way through court.
“Activist John” identifies not as a Trump supporter but a militant Black activist and citizen journalist. But he attracted the attention of the FBI when a video of the riot he posted online included recordings of him cajoling police officers to abandon their posts and exhorting trespassers roaming the hallways to “burn this shit down.”