One of the most recognizable figures from Jan. 6 came out of obscurity on Sept. 27 for a broadcast interview to tell the world that he is not—and was not—a federal agent who cut down plastic fencing and pulled up steel fence posts at the U.S. Capitol.
“And I’m just a guy. I was there January 6. Wasn’t there for any particular grand motivation. I mostly just went to see the show.”
Appearing in the studio of the “Patriot Punk,” journalist Chase Matheson of Tullahoma, Tennessee, #FenceCutterBulwark (FCB), said he did not remove fencing to make it easy for protesters to reach the Capitol but rather to eliminate safety hazards.
Dressed in what appeared to be a similar muted, berry-colored beanie, dark sunglasses, and a grey Bulwark-brand fire-retardant jacket that FCB wore on Jan. 6, 2021, the man said he came forward to set some things straight.
“They’re not going to find out that I’m a federal agent or that I’m a provocateur of any sort,” he said.
The identity of the fence cutter has been one of the most enduring mysteries of Jan. 6. Even after the Sept. 27 broadcast, some on X (formerly Twitter) said the man interviewed did not look the same as the Jan. 6 fence cutter.
Removed Plastic Barriers
Videos showed FCB rolling up the green plastic snow fencing that Capitol Police installed to keep people away from the Capitol. He also pulled out steel T-posts used to secure the plastic mesh and stacked them near an evergreen tree.Many Jan. 6 sleuths are convinced that FCB acted as an agent provocateur and might have been working for the federal government.
The mystery first came to light on Jan. 7, 2021, when the Twitter account @Twinity5 posted a series of videos showing FCB calmly dismantling and rolling up the temporary fencing.
Removal of the fencing and the attached “Area Closed” signs meant thousands of protesters who came to the Capitol after President Donald Trump’s speech had no idea the grounds were restricted or they were committing a crime by strolling on the sidewalks or across the lawn.
The man said he feared the fencing could cause people to trip, which would be dangerous if those in the Second Amendment-friendly crowd were carrying firearms. He said he was also concerned the steel posts could become “weapons of opportunity.”
“And, you know, the [President Donald] Trump crowd is a very pro 2A crowd,” he said. “And in my mind, all I see is tripping hazards. If gunshots go off, there’s probably going to be a stampede. People are gonna get trampled or hurt.”
He was spotted earlier on Jan. 6 sitting on a stone wall with other suspicious actors—a fact that has fueled speculation about his role and intentions.
“It’s true, I was there before Trump got done speaking because I was with my buddy,” the man said. “And he’s like, ‘Do you want to go hear the speeches?’
“I was like, ‘No. Action is going to be down at the Capitol.’ And if you didn’t know that that’s where everything was going to end up, well, you’re dumb.”
Scaffold Commander
Sporting his signature look—a tall, spiked mohawk—Mr. Matheson asked FCB if he knew the #NWScaffoldCommander, another suspicious actor who has not been publicly identified or arrested. The Scaffold Commander used a bullhorn for hours, urging people to enter the Capitol. He stood high up in the media tower on the west plaza bleating out phrases such as, “Move forward, patriots!”“Did you know him at the time, or you found that out afterwards?” Mr. Matheson asked.
“Two weeks ago, man,” FCB replied. “I never, I'd never even heard that. You know…I remember him being up on that tower with his bullhorn and yelling. I didn’t even realize it was the same guy.”
Despite Photoshopped memes on social media showing him wielding massive bolt cutters, FCB said, “I didn’t have any tools with me that day.”
“…The least I can do is just help make this place a little safer,” he said. “So all I had on me was a pocket knife. And I took my pocket knife, and I started cutting off zip ties from the T-posts. Some of that fencing was already knocked down. And all I had to do was just roll it up.
“No big wire cutters,” he said. “No, I didn’t actually destroy any fencing. I just got it out of the way.”
He said he did not recall an encounter with undercover Metropolitan Police Department Officer Ryan Roe.
According to a court filing from Jan. 6, defendant William Pope of Topeka, Kansas, Officer Roe was filming the crowd and captured video of #FenceCutterBulwark removing plastic fencing on the west lawn. The officer was heard on the video saying, “Appreciate it, brother.”
“If he said, ‘Thanks, brother,’ then our, I’m assuming our exchange would have been, you know, me just basically saying, ‘Hey, I’m just trying to get this out of the way. It’s a hazard. It’s dangerous, or whatever. I don’t want people getting hurt,’” FCB said.
The man placed much of the blame for the controversy surrounding him on right-leaning media outlets such as Revolver.news and BlazeMedia. He said the outlets decided they were “just going to run with wild, rampant speculation about things.”
Despite all of the media coverage, speculation, and theorizing, FCB said divulging his identity is not going to help Jan. 6 defendants.
“I was looking at all the stuff that is out there on Twitter, and, you know, if there’s actual January 6 defendants that somehow think that revealing my identity is going to help their case, unfortunately, they’re mistaken,” he said.
