US

Psychological Operations Officer Under Army Investigation For Role In DC Rally

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A psychological operations officer is under an Army investigation after she led a group to Wednesday’s rally, which ultimately turned into a deadly riot in the U.S. Capitol.

Captain Emily Rainey, 30, led a group of at least 100 people from North Carolina to Washington, D.C. to support President Donald Trump and “stand against election fraud,” the AP reported. Rainey said she was acting within military regulations and that no one in the group, called the Moore County Citizens for Freedom, did anything illegal.

“I was a private citizen and doing everything right and within my rights,” Rainey said, the AP reported.

New: The Army is investigating a psychological operations officer who led a group of people to the rally in Washington that led up to the deadly riot in the U.S. Capitol by supporters of President Donald Trump. W/ @JZBleiberg and @StorytellerSBM https://t.co/htmVEWqDAi

— James LaPorta (@JimLaPorta) January 11, 2021

Rainey said the group left the Capitol grounds and returned to their busses before the emergency curfew was implemented and that they didn’t know of anyone who had gone into the Capitol Building, the AP reported.

She said that her group is full of “peace-loving, law-abiding people who were doing nothing but demonstrating our First Amendment rights,” the AP reported.

Rainey is part of a Psychological Operations Group that uses information to impact the decision-making, actions and emotions of American enemies, at Fort Bragg in North Carolina, Special Forces Command Spokesperson Maj. Daniel Lessard said, the AP reported.

“I told my bosses before I went that I was going, and I told them when I got back,” Rainey said, the AP reported.

Military members are allowed to participate in political events when out of uniform, though active-duty members are not allowed to sponsor partisan organizations, the AP reported. Rainey said she did not share her military involvement with the group and that her supervisors had not questioned her about her trip to Washington.

She was previously charged with injury to personal property after videoing herself removing caution tape from a playground that was closed due to COVID-19 in May, WRAL reported. The Southern Pines Police Department said Rainey was given two warnings for tearing tape from the park prior to this incident.

The Moore County Citizens for Freedom are a non-partisan group of people who support conservative values through “education and activism,” according to their Facebook page.

Editors note: This has been updated the clarify the nature of the Army’s investigation.