Capitol riot defendant: I was following Trump’s instructions

By JACQUES BILLEAUD
Associated Press

An Ohio man who acknowledges he joined the mob at the U.S. Capitol last year and ignored a variety of warning signs says he was only following orders from the president, Donald Trump. The man, 38-year-old Dustin Byron Thompson, testified Wednesday during his trial in federal court in Washington. Thompson says he took to the internet after being laid off from his exterminator job in March 2020. In his pandemic doldrums, he says, he fell under Trump’s sway as he bought into conspiracy theories. Thompson’s defense team is the first to argue that Trump and others were responsible for the mob’s actions.