More than two years after the January 6 insurrection at the Capitol, the FBI is still rounding up seditionists. Yesterday they arrested a furry Floriduh felon who had become known as "Sedition Panda" for obvious reasons:
On Monday, FBI agents in Florida arrested Jesse James Rumson, who they claim stormed the U.S. Capitol while wearing a giant panda head, earning the monicker “Sedition Panda” in the process.
Rumson’s whereabouts on Jan. 6, 2021, weren’t particularly hard to track, thanks in no small part to the costume he wore off and on that day.
Federal officials also identified him thanks to his nose ring and a set of wooden rosary beads he carried, along with a silver flagpole and a “Don’t Tread on Me” flag.
In an affidavit filed last week, an FBI special agent testified that Rumson was among the first 20 rioters to enter the Capitol through a door on the building’s upper west terrace. [snip]
Once inside, Rumson apparently lost the panda head ― and gained a pair of handcuffs on his wrists. He then exited the Capitol building, and other rioters helped him to remove the handcuffs, according to photos.
The affidavit states that shortly thereafter, Rumson urged on other members of the mob and yelled at them to “GET A RAM!” as they breached a separate entry into the building.
Photos later show him among a crowd of rioters clashing with a police line as officers tried to clear the property. He appears to grapple with an officer, grabbing him by the head.
A tipster first alerted the FBI to Sedition Panda’s true identity in June 2021.
Rumson faces eight charges, including assaulting, resisting or impeding a police officer, obstructing law enforcement, and two separate counts related to acts of physical violence.
We don't have an answer as to why he was arrested yesterday when his identity was known to the FBI in June 2021. But, macht nichts, he's in custody now. Hopefully, his jailers will be giving him a daily supply of bamboo to munch on.
As an aside, we would be suspicious of anyone named after "Jesse James...", the atrocity-committing Confederate guerilla who went on to kill and rob until his death in 1882. It makes us wonder if he descends from people who have as bent an understanding of the law and to true American values as he does. Plus, Floriduh.
There are plenty more crumb-bums needing to have their day in court. See if you can spot anyone the FBI is looking for.
(Image: "Sedition Panda" Jesse James Rumson/ Department of Justice)
