The Daughter Of A Trump Rioter Arrested At The Capitol Says She Is "Ashamed And Disgusted"

Robyn Sweet marched at a Black Lives Matter protest in June. Seven months later, her pro-Trump father was arrested for storming the Capitol.

A man stands in the Capitol in front of a statue with his hands behind his back as a police officer stands next to him

The daughter of a Virginia man who was arrested as part of the mob of Trump supporters who stormed the Capitol on Wednesday said she was "ashamed and disgusted" with her father's actions.

Douglas Sweet was one of several rioters arrested by the Capitol Police for unlawful entry amid the deadly attempted coup, which was incited by the president's dangerous lies about the election.

Douglas, a Trump supporter who frequently posted about his allegiance to the president on his social media accounts, was seen in a Getty photo being arrested inside the Capitol building.

He had also attended the violent white supremacist rally in Charlottesville, Virginia, in 2017, his daughter, Robyn Sweet, told BuzzFeed News on Thursday.

Robyn said that her father had disowned her because she fought against racism and bigotry while he had been "radicalized by conspiracy underground websites and groups."

“I am completely ashamed and disgusted of him,” Robyn said of her father's actions at the Capitol.

She said that she had a feeling he would attend the "Stop the Steal" rally in Washington, DC, on Wednesday because he always attended these type of events, including the "Unite the Right" rally in Charlottesville.

When asked if she was concerned that her father may have engaged in violent behavior, Robyn said, "If he felt that Trump supported him and gave him the green light, he might do something dumb." She said she did not believe he was carrying a weapon during Wednesday's riot.

Robyn said that her father was convinced that the "election was stolen" and that COVID-19 was a hoax.

She said that he believed "Democrats drain blood from kidnapped kids for adrenochrome" — a conspiracy theory that supporters of QAnon mass delusion believe.

The Daily Beast reported that QAnon members believe that Democrats and Hollywood elites take a psychedelic drug called adrenochrome, derived by torturing children and harvesting their "oxidized hormonal fear."

Douglas was a member of the Hiwaymen, a fringe neo-Confederate group that has attended anti-abortion protests and demonstrations against removing Confederate statues, according to his social media posts.

He was arrested wearing a Hiwayman T-shirt at the Capitol. Several Trump supporters were also seen carrying Confederate flags and flaunting racist symbols inside the Capitol.

Douglas addressed his arrest in a private Facebook post, which Robyn provided to BuzzFeed News.

"Our goal was to speak to the house and Senate about 'stop the steal' and infiltration by the Chinese Communist Party of our government," he wrote in the post. "The People employ both house and Senate and they both need reminding more frequently than I'd like."

Douglas said he was released on his own recognizance and received a citation that was payable by mail, adding that he had "no complaints" about how Capitol Police treated him.

He said he was proud of what he accomplished and that it was a "real peaceful protest" where he was trying to "influence change using peaceful dialogue."

"I feel strongly about defending our Constitutional rights and will not sit on the sidelines and watch as both parties trample our Rights and commit treason with foreign enemies and Governments," he wrote.

Douglas was also involved in other extremist groups including the anti-government militia group called Three Percenters and a pro-Confederate group called Dixie Defenders, according to his daughter and his social media posts.

Robyn said she and her father are "completely opposed" when it comes to their political beliefs.

Last June, Robyn protested against the police killing of George Floyd in the town of Gloucester, Virginia. She was there as an organizer of a local group called Stand Up Against Racism and was interviewed on News 3, a local station, wearing a Black Lives Matter T-shirt and a mask that read "I can't breathe."

"Even in small towns, we need to stand up and show our support,” she told News 3 at the time.

A woman appears on a news program wearing a "Black Lives Matter" T-shirt and "I can't breathe" face mask

She also posts actively in a Facebook group called "Bigotry Exposed."

Robyn said that although she rarely talks to her father, she tried contacting him yesterday to make sure he was OK. She said she could not reach him but found out he had been arrested after others had shared a news report with her.

She said Douglas was a self-employed man who does "handyman stuff" but spends most of his time with his extremist groups.

"[He] didn't even participate in family Christmas but instead was with his groups," she said.

She said that the few times he talks to her, "he is constantly going on about conspiracy theories."

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