Whatever happened to “independent journalist” John Sullivan, who filmed the killing of Ashli Babbitt?
In connection with yesterdays’ thread about a man claiming to be an “independent journalist” who has been convicted for the Capitol breach on J6, commenter “gallchobhair” has this question:
Does anyone happen to remember what ultimately happened to “journalist” John Sullivan, who gleefully filmed the Ashli Babbitt murder? If I recall correctly, he got off pretty much scot free.
I hadn’t thought of him in a long while, but he certainly got a lot of attention at the time. Most of the articles about him were written in the initial weeks after the event. But I found an update from this past August:
John Earl Sullivan, arrested in Salt Lake City, no date listed. Indicted on 2/3/21 and pleaded not guilty to six counts. Remains free on personal recognizance.
You can see that he was quickly arrested and indicted and then released. That was two and a half years ago. I found more in an article from May of 2021 which stated that money Sullivan had gotten from the sale of the Babbitt video was confiscated by the feds. And in his Wiki profile, it says this about the conditions of his quick release:
He was released as the authorities did not have sufficient proof to keep him in custody, and under the conditions that he keeps a job where he has to work full-time; remains at home except to go to work, church or court; only posts to social media to request jobs; does not leave Utah and surrenders his passport to the authorities; does not work anymore with Insurgence USA though still being allowed to handle its financial transactions and tax returns; has a mental health evaluation; does not possess firearms.
You may recall that Sullivan was somewhat of a mysterious figure who was suspected of being in league with the left. What do the authorities mean about not having sufficient proof? From what I’ve read, they had plenty of video of Sullivan’s activities, which were not among the most innocuous. It seems to me that some people were kept in custody for a long time with a lot less proof of any particular wrongdoing, but it’s hard to get any details on this. I’d love to see a breakdown of which people they kept incarcerated and why, versus those they quickly released.
The charges against Sullivan: “Obstruction of an Official Proceeding; Civil Disorder; Entering and Remaining in a Restricted Building or Grounds; Disorderly and Disruptive Conduct in a Restricted Building or Grounds; Disorderly Conduct in a Capitol Building; Parading, Demonstrating, o rPicketing in a Capitol Building; Aiding and Abetting.”
Will Sullivan ever be tried? Perhaps, but I predict that if he is tried he will get some sort of sweetheart deal like Epps: a misdemeanor charge, perhaps even with a suspended sentence, and a promise not to prosecute him for other actions committed on January 6th.
NOTE: Stephen Horn, the J6 “independent journalist” who was convicted a couple of days ago, also had not been incarcerated after his initial arraignment. And his trial also took a long time to occur. However, his involvement in any riot activities was far less than Sullivan’s – in fact, as far as I can tell, it was non-existent.
Certainly some time ago would have placed him in the Fedsurrection personal, no reason since other than not getting hammer on his head to change that opinion. was.
Isn’t he the “photojournalist” that got $70,000 from CNN for his film footage of “Da Insurrection”? I.e., he filmed more than the Babbitt murder.
(You see, he “just happened to be in the right place at the right time”…so why not make some money off of that “skill set”…)
But apparently he had to return the money…
Oh well, easy come, easy go. (Yep, life can be so unfair…)
Basically, the indication was that he’s antifa, which essentially means he’s one of “Biden”‘s shock troops…and it’s likely the reason why he was released).
File under: We help our own….
Very strange that he pled not guilty, so I guess they found him not guilty – yet he’s being treated like he’s on parole.
Some part of J6 was Dem deep state dirty tricks – to change the subject from a rigged (clearly) or, arguably stolen election. Not sure if Sullivan was part of the dirty tricks; didn’t think so at the time or soon after. Always thought so about Ray Epps.
Many conservatives I’m reading claim to accept that the Laptop censorship and other gov’t actions “rigged” the election, but are unwilling to call it stolen. To me, if the election was rigged against a guy who is close to winning, then it’s stolen.
2020 election was stolen from Trump. Really really too bad we had Bozo-Biden instead – plus Trump’s not gone yet, and would be close to leaving had he been re-elected like the 75 mln voters wanted.
I watched Sullivan’s video where Ashli Babbitt was murdered. I felt that was the single most important video of that day. Three Capitol police officers In close proximity behind her didn’t consider her a threat, yet she was shot by someone in front of her. Most of the Capitol officers I saw on the video were pretty mellow as were the protesters. All I can think is that most of America didn’t see Sullivan’s videos. If they did no one would be calling J6 an insurrection.
Stephen Horn’s “involvement in any riot activities was far less than Sullivan’s – in fact, as far as I can tell, it was non-existent.”
The specific circumstances are irrelevant.
Lack of support for the narrative renders an automatic guilty verdict.
Yes, JFM. The failure of the man to be useful to The Narrative, for me, explains his disparate Juridical treatment.
As T Grey writes, “Not sure if Sullivan was part of the dirty tricks; didn’t think so at the time or soon after.”
But; n Neo’s Wiki entry excerpt, notice the long and specific requirements set for remaining free on his own recognisance.
It’s a long chain to intimidate him into silence. Or else suffer the consequences for dissent.
Our totalitarian Masters know what they’re doing.
Adjusting tin foil hat: or perhaps Sullivan had more video showing things certain parties would not have wanted to be made public? Or as an antifa personage, he could have named names up the chain???
@TJ “a long chain to intimidate him into silence” is a very strange set of restrictions, but if he has not talked or said anything else (yet) then it must be working. Scary, sad; fool or knave?
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I made a safe bet at the time, I said:
I bet the person who filmed this murder will do more jail time than the coward that shot an unarmed woman down.
Michael Byrd, the police officer who murdered Ashli Babbit, he’s doing just fine nowadays. He was promoted to captain a few weeks ago.
Sullivan is some sort of leftist, isn’t he — somebody who hovered around BLM circles without actually joining them. He formed his own leftist group, Insurgence America, and then began hanging around the Proud Boys. He was urging and cheering on the protestors as they entered the Capitol.
He’s a shadowy figure. It’s hard to make definite conclusions about him stick. Call him an Antifa activist or a BLM member and “fact checkers” will dispute it, but he did participate in BLM protests, and there’s certainly been much about him that is suspicious. Sullivan can pose as a journalist, but one way or another, he has been some sort of provocateur operating with his own agenda. There’s also a long saga of conflicts with his brother, who really is a right-wing activist and organizer.
And who will fact check the “fact checkers.” Wikipedia calls the Proud Boys “neo-fascist.” Is that really true? Have they really done more to deserve the pejorative term than Antifa or BLM?
“I watched Sullivan’s video where Ashli Babbitt was murdered. I felt that was the single most important video of that day. Three Capitol police officers In close proximity behind her didn’t consider her a threat, yet she was shot by someone in front of her.”
The most interesting part of that video to me is that Michael Byrd shot into a CROWD. A crowd that contained multiple uniformed officers. It’s really only chance that Babbitt got hit. Given the distance was not point blank, a little slight twitch as Byrd fired could have changed the angle enough to hit any one of the crowd around Babbitt, including the officers.
I sure as hell wouldn’t want to be in the same room with Byrd if he is armed.
I’ve watched several videos of the shooting over the years. In one of them a Capitol police officer wearing full riot gear pointed his rifle at the opening were Ms. Babbitt was shot. I believe the ‘officer’ who shot her peaked into the room. I have also watched a video where a guy dressed in black was trying to break a window. Another man ran out of the crowd and tackled the first man yelling “That’s antifa! That’s antifa!”.
The whole hunting down of ALL the people who were inside and outside the Capitol seems calculated to make it clear that if you are on the right this is what will happen to you.
why did the police leave their posts in front of the door, why did niedermayer byrd, should the most none threatening person being babbitt,
Wikipedia calls the Proud Boys “neo-fascist.” Is that really true? Have they really done more to deserve the pejorative term than Antifa or BLM?
Of course not. Wikipedia is allied with Antifa and BLM, who actually are fascists.
I look at Google News every day to see what the narratives are. I skip over the Fact Check section. Google News Fact Check is an oxymoron.
funny how there’s a proud boy who got away with a single count, like ray epps, isaac giddings,
In that video there were two cops standing in front of the doors talking with demonstrators (including Ashley Babbitt), the two cops then moved away from the doors, meanwhile a group of SWAT officers had come up the stairs & were standing right behind her on the top of the stairway as Byrd fired at Babbitt climbing through the door window. He easily could have missed & hit anyone behind those doors.
Sullivan is some sort of leftist, isn’t he — somebody who hovered around BLM circles without actually joining them. He formed his own leftist group, Insurgence America, and then began hanging around the Proud Boys. He was urging and cheering on the protestors as they entered the Capitol.
He’s a shadowy figure. It’s hard to make definite conclusions about him stick. Call him an Antifa activist or a BLM member and “fact checkers” will dispute it, but he did participate in BLM protests, and there’s certainly been much about him that is suspicious. One way or another, he has been some sort of provocateur operating with his own agenda. There’s also a long saga of conflicts with his brother, who really is a right-wing activist and organizer.
And who will fact check the “fact checkers.” Wikipedia calls the Proud Boys “neo-fascist.” Is that really true? Have they really done more to deserve the pejorative term than Antifa or BLM?