The gunman who tried to break into the FBI building in Cincinnati has been identified as Ricky Schiffer, the Ohio Department of Safety said Friday.
Why it matters: Schiffer, who was shot and killed after a standoff with police, was said to have been at the U.S. Capitol during the Jan. 6 riot, the Associated Press reports. He has not been charged with any crimes related to Jan. 6.
- The 42-year-old man from Columbus, Ohio, is suspected of having ties to extremist groups, including the Proud Boys, the Wall Street Journal reported.
- The FBI did not immediately return Axios’ request for comment.
Details: Shiffer appears to have posted messages on Truth Social, the media platform for former President Trump’s conservatives, about attempts to gain access to the FBI building, according to screenshots from the @RickyWShifferJr account.
- “Well, I thought I had a way through bulletproof glass, but I didn’t. If you don’t hear from me, it’s true that I tried to attack the FBI and that will mean that either I was taken off the internet, the FBI got me, or they sent the regular cops in for a while,” the account posted shortly after the hack attempt. Thursday.
- The user also urged people to prepare for a “battle” in the days after the FBI searched Trump’s Mar-a-Lago residence for classified material.
- “We must not tolerate this,” one post said. Another urged people to kill the FBI “on the spot and be ready to take down other active enemies of the people and those who try to prevent you from doing so.”
Quick catch up: Ohio State Police officers pursued the suspect after he took off in a vehicle, the state Department of Safety (DPS) said in a statement Thursday.
- “While behind the vehicle, a suspected shot was fired from the suspect’s vehicle.”
- The suspect then exited the vehicle and “fire was exchanged” with law enforcement, DPS said.
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