WASHINGTON — A Donald Trump fan who participated in the Jan. 6 attack and then was the subject of a conspiracy theory on Tucker Carlson's former Fox News show was arrested by the FBI on Wednesday.
Rally Runner, formerly known as Daniel Donnelly Jr., was arrested in St. Louis, Missouri, according to court records. Runner faces five federal charges, including obstructing, impeding, and interfering with law enforcement officers during a civil disorder.
Daniel Donnelly Jr., aka Rally Runner, at the U.S. Capitol on Jan. 6, 2021.
Rally Runner at the U.S. Capitol on Jan. 6, 2021.FBI
Back in 2021, Joseph McBride, a lawyer who was then representing several Jan. 6 defendants, said on Carlson's show that Runner was "clearly a law enforcement officer" and an "agent provocateur" who had only dressed up as a Trump fan as part of a scheme to make Trump fans look bad. In fact, Runner was a real Trump fan, as well as a St. Louis Cardinals fanatic who ran around the stadium during home games, thus his name change. He was also a big admirer of Tucker Carlson and said in an interview last year that he was disappointed that Carlson would spread false information.
"Disappointed is an understatement," Runner said. "For years I believed Tucker was a responsible reporter focused on stopping 'Fake News' just to be hit with this story."
McBride, when first informed of Runner's real identity in late 2021, said he did not “need to be right" in everything he claimed, and that he was “theorizing things” and trying to win the public relations battle.
“If I’m wrong, so be it, bro. I don’t care,” McBride said. “I don’t give a s— about being wrong.”
McBride, who has since been dismissed by at least three Jan. 6 defendants he previously represented, did not respond to NBC News' request for comment on Wednesday. Carlson also did not respond to a request for comment.
Runner said earlier this year that he hadn't heard from the FBI about his presence outside the Capitol on Jan. 6 since his initial interview in early 2021; he did not go inside the building. "I just went to stand up for Trump," Runner told NBC News. "To run for him and America."
Rally Runner at the U.S. Capitol on Jan. 6, 2021.FBI
Runner himself had confirmed his participation in the Capitol riot in multiple videos on social media and in an interview. The FBI affidavit cites several of the videos that a reporter previously viewed.
