The 1st Special Forces Command is investigating a psychological operations captain for her involvement in the Jan. 6 pro- President Donald Trump rally in Washington, D.C., a spokesman tells Military Times.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
The command is investigating Capt. Emily Rainey\u2019s involvement in the Wednesday rally. The 30-year-old psychological operations officer told the Associated Press she led 100 members of Moore County Citizens for Freedom who traveled to Washington to \u201cstand against election fraud\u201d and support Trump. The rally began peacefully near the White House but later grew deadly as pro-Trump rioters stormed the Capitol.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Rainey insisted she acted within Army regulations and that no one in her group entered the Capitol or broke the law.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cI was a private citizen and doing everything right and within my rights,\u201d Rainey told the AP.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cI can confirm our command is investigating her involvement,\u201d Maj. Dan Lessard, a 1st Special Forces Command spokesman, told Military Times. The command, based at Fort Bragg, North Carolina, oversees PSYOP troops.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Rainey is assigned to the 4th Psychological Operations Group at Fort Bragg, according to Lessard. The PSYOP troops use information and misinformation to shape the emotions, decision-making and actions of American adversaries. Its Latin motto \u201cVerbum Vincent\u201d means \u201cwords conquer\u201d in English.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Rainey has had run ins with local authorities as well. In May, according to WRAL-TV, she was charged with damage to property and banned from Southern Pines playgrounds<\/a> for a year after posting a video of her letting her kids play on equipment that had been closed off because of COVID-19 safety precautions.<\/a> It was unclear late Sunday night what the status of the charges are. Moore County records are not available online.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Efforts to reach Rainey through the Moore County Citizens for Freedom Facebook group were not immediately successful.<\/p>\n\n\n\n In June, Rainey published an article on the SOFREP site explaining the rules for troops taking part in political activies.<\/a><\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cThe United States Military does not discourage political awareness and activism for service members as long as you adhere to certain guidelines,\u201d she wrote. \u201cYour restrictions are vaguely summed up in DoD Directive 1344.10<\/a>. Between this directive and several court cases over the years this issue is about as clear-as-mud. But since no one is going to read the reference or the judicial findings, keep reading here for a less yawn-inducing break down that even a Marine might understand.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n On her Facebook page, Rainey urges likeminded citizens to to find alternatives to Facebook as a means of communications, to run for office and to continue to stand up for \u201cAmerican values, not communist values.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n Earlier Sunday, a retired Air Force officer was arrested for his involvement in the deadly Capitol riot that followed the rally.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Retired Air Force Lt. Col. Larry Rendall Brock Jr. of Texas was charged in federal court on Sunday after he was identified in photos showing him standing in the well of the Senate, wearing a military-style helmet and body armor while holding a pair of zip-tie handcuffs.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Two Air Force veterans \u2014 one a Capitol Police officer, the other a rioter \u2014 were killed as result of injuries sustained in the riots while three others died.<\/p>\n\n\n\t