It’s true what they say: What you post on the Internet stays on the Internet. Months after police announced they were searching for an unknown man photographed dragging a police officer down a set of stairs during the U.S. Capitol insurrection on Jan. 6, the man was identified through posts on social media. Identified as Logan Barnhart, the Michigan man was arrested by the FBI Tuesday, HuffPost reported.
Dubbed #CatSweat online and referenced by the FBI as Capitol suspect 128-AFO, Barnhart was wanted for assault after dragging a D.C. Metropolitan Police officer down a set of stairs. The Sedition Hunters gave him the nickname “CatSweat” because he was wearing a sweatshirt branded with the name of Caterpillar shortened as “CAT.” Barnhart was arrested after members of the Sedition Hunters community used Instagram photos to identify him.
HuffPost noted that Barnhart was deemed the “white whale” of the Sedition Hunters’ community for months, one of the first rioters captured on camera that the community worked to identify.
According to its site, Sedition Hunters is a global community of open-source intelligence investigators working together to assist the U.S. FBI and Washington D.C. Capitol Police in finding individuals who committed crimes during the Jan. 6 Capitol riots. The community examines videos and images to identify individuals and passes that information to law enforcement officers.
Barnhart’s identity was revealed when members of the online community found a clear image of his face from a photo of the crowd that gathered at the "Save America" rally, which occurred moments before the attack. By plugging his face into a reverse image search, online community members were then able to uncover him on several bodybuilder sites in Michigan and identify his name. This ultimately led them to find his Instagram account, which featured images of him wearing the same outfit he wore on Jan. 6.
According to HuffPost, a social media post from July 2019 depicted him wearing the same American flag he wore to the Capitol. Another post from August 2020 showed him in the Caterpillar sweatshirt.
In addition to identifying photos, Barnhart’s Twitter confirmed he planned to be at the Capitol before the insurrection. In response to a tweet by Donald Trump promoting Jan. 6 as a “Historic day,” Barnhart replied, “I’ll be there.”
But assaulting an officer wasn’t the end of Barnhart’s violence. After participating in the insurrection at the Capitol, Barnhart continued to post right-wing material on Instagram—including dismissing the severity and threat of the novel coronavirus. He even posted a video of himself at Walmart gloating about being the only person not wearing a mask.
Weeks after the Capitol, Barnhart even mocked investigators, calling the FBI “amazing” for their “fine investigative work.” HIs comment was posted alongside a meme for an FBI affidavit.
“Like I’ve said multiple times. Everything you’re being told about this is a lie and it will be revealed,” Barnhart said on Feb. 5. “Sorry but what really happened at the [Capitol] is being hidden from you.”
In the last few months, several individuals have been arrested in connection with the Capitol riots. Additionally, outside of Barnhart, others have also been arrested in connection with the attack on the officer—including Jack Wade Whitton, who was next to Barnhart in the footage with his hand on the back of the officer’s neck.
“This is from a bad cop,” Whitton said in a text message obtained by the FBI, showing an image of a bloody hand after the attack. “Yea I fed him to the people. Idk his status. And don’t care tbh.”
Dubbed #CatSweat online and referenced by the FBI as Capitol suspect 128-AFO, Barnhart was wanted for assault after dragging a D.C. Metropolitan Police officer down a set of stairs. The Sedition Hunters gave him the nickname “CatSweat” because he was wearing a sweatshirt branded with the name of Caterpillar shortened as “CAT.” Barnhart was arrested after members of the Sedition Hunters community used Instagram photos to identify him.
HuffPost noted that Barnhart was deemed the “white whale” of the Sedition Hunters’ community for months, one of the first rioters captured on camera that the community worked to identify.
According to its site, Sedition Hunters is a global community of open-source intelligence investigators working together to assist the U.S. FBI and Washington D.C. Capitol Police in finding individuals who committed crimes during the Jan. 6 Capitol riots. The community examines videos and images to identify individuals and passes that information to law enforcement officers.
Barnhart’s identity was revealed when members of the online community found a clear image of his face from a photo of the crowd that gathered at the "Save America" rally, which occurred moments before the attack. By plugging his face into a reverse image search, online community members were then able to uncover him on several bodybuilder sites in Michigan and identify his name. This ultimately led them to find his Instagram account, which featured images of him wearing the same outfit he wore on Jan. 6.
According to HuffPost, a social media post from July 2019 depicted him wearing the same American flag he wore to the Capitol. Another post from August 2020 showed him in the Caterpillar sweatshirt.
In addition to identifying photos, Barnhart’s Twitter confirmed he planned to be at the Capitol before the insurrection. In response to a tweet by Donald Trump promoting Jan. 6 as a “Historic day,” Barnhart replied, “I’ll be there.”
But assaulting an officer wasn’t the end of Barnhart’s violence. After participating in the insurrection at the Capitol, Barnhart continued to post right-wing material on Instagram—including dismissing the severity and threat of the novel coronavirus. He even posted a video of himself at Walmart gloating about being the only person not wearing a mask.
Weeks after the Capitol, Barnhart even mocked investigators, calling the FBI “amazing” for their “fine investigative work.” HIs comment was posted alongside a meme for an FBI affidavit.
“Like I’ve said multiple times. Everything you’re being told about this is a lie and it will be revealed,” Barnhart said on Feb. 5. “Sorry but what really happened at the [Capitol] is being hidden from you.”
In the last few months, several individuals have been arrested in connection with the Capitol riots. Additionally, outside of Barnhart, others have also been arrested in connection with the attack on the officer—including Jack Wade Whitton, who was next to Barnhart in the footage with his hand on the back of the officer’s neck.
“This is from a bad cop,” Whitton said in a text message obtained by the FBI, showing an image of a bloody hand after the attack. “Yea I fed him to the people. Idk his status. And don’t care tbh.”