A federal judge in Utah conditionally released left-wing “known agitator” John Earle Sullivan without bail on Friday, claiming prosecution “failed to meet the legal threshold to keep him in custody as he awaits further court proceedings,” Fox News reported.
Sullivan was charged Thursday for his role in the breach on the U.S. Capitol on January 6. The 26-year-old was charged with entering a restricted building or grounds, “civil disorders,” and violent entry or disorderly conduct, reported KUTV 2 News.
The agitator told Fox News last week he was at the Capitol to “document” the rally.
“Sullivan is required to stay off of social media, surrender his passport and be on house arrest. He also will have to stop working for the Insurgence USA activist group he founded, although he won’t have to cede control,” Fox News reported, noting that Sullivan, who carried a rifle at protests over the summer, is now barred from possessing firearms.
According to left-wing fact-checking site Politifact, Insurgence USA is “an activist group against police brutality.”
Violating these conditions of release could call for another arrest and could invoke separate court proceedings.
With these requirements, John Sullivan will be released from jail. @fox13
— Erin Cox (@erincoxnews) January 16, 2021
According to Fox News, Sullivan has another charge pending in Utah related to a protest he organized over the summer where a motorist was shot during an altercation.
“Sullivan will virtually appear next at a D.C. hearing on Jan 22,” Fox 13’s Erin Cox reported Friday.
Sullivan will virtually appear next at a D.C. hearing on Jan 22.
— Erin Cox (@erincoxnews) January 16, 2021
The Daily Caller News Foundation’s Chuck Ross noted Thursday that Sullivan appeared on CNN’s “Anderson Cooper 360” following the breach, claiming he witnessed the fatal shooting of protester Ashli Babbitt by a Capitol Police officer. He also appeared alongside MSNBC’s Chris Hayes, Ross noted.
“Left wing activist John Sullivan charged in Capitol riots. He was filming as Ashli [Babbitt] was shot in the Capitol. Was interviewed by Chris Hayes and Anderson Cooper,” Ross posted to Twitter.
Sullivan apparently cheered on the breach and subsequent destruction, according to an affidavit of probable cause. KUTV 2 News quoted the affidavit, in part, as follows:
After the crowd broke through the last barricade, and as SULLIVAN and the others approach the Capitol Building, SULLIVAN can be heard in the video saying at various points: ‘There are so many people. Let’s go. This s— is ours! F— yeah,’ ‘We accomplished this s—. We did this together. F— yeah! We are all a part of this history,’ and ‘Let’s burn this s— down.’”
Sullivan also allegedly stated, “We gotta get this s*** burned.”
KUTV 2 News reporter Heidi Hatch highlighted Sullivan’s left-wing and expressly anti-Trump activism, on Thursday. “John Sullivan in DC in December- post from Instagram. He’s behind in the Tooele County Jail in Utah. His first court appearance 1/15 Friday,” she tweeted, captioning an Instagram video allegedly posted by Sullivan.
The video is captioned, “We got to rip that MF (motherf***er) out of office,” an apparent reference to Trump. The caption adds the hashtags, “#F***Trump,” “#BLM,” “Antifa,” and “TrumpMeltdown.”
The man in the video says, “We gotta f***ing rip Trump out of that office, right over there. F***ing pull him out that s***. We ain’t about wait ’till the next election. We about to go get that motherf***er.”
According to Fox News, Black Lives Matter Utah said Sullivan “is not a member, has never attended a meeting, and that he has no association with the group.”
Related: Left-Wing ‘Known Agitator’ Charged For Alleged Role In Capitol Breach