Lt. General Charles A. Flynn, the brother of former national security adviser Michael Flynn, was present during a meeting about the January 6 insurrection at the U.S. Capitol Building. 

According to a report in The Washington Post, the Army denied for days that Charles Flynn was present. However, he confirmed to the newspaper Wednesday that he was indeed in the room during a call in which Capitol Police and D.C. officials “pleaded” with the Pentagon to urgently dispatch the National Guard to help quell mounting tension. 

The report notes Flynn left the room before the meeting ended, asserting that then-Army Secretary Ryan McCarthy would manage the situation. 

“I entered the room after the call began and departed prior to the call ending as I believed a decision was imminent from the Secretary, and I needed to be in my office to assist in executing the decision,” Flynn told The Post. 

At the time, Flynn was the Army’s deputy chief of staff for operations, plans and training. The Post notes that while the D.C. National Guard answers to the president, the defense secretar, and the Army secretary delegate top Army officials to make “critical decisions” about the force. 

The Army denied Flynn’s participation for days, despite inquiries from the press and amidst more lawmakers demanding transparency about the slow military response to the siege, which overran the Capitol Building and left five people dead, including a police officer. 

In 2017, former General Michael Flynn pleaded guilty to lying to the FBI about his contact with Russian officials during the Trump campaign. In November, the now-former president pardoned him. 

He is a central figure in the QAnon conspiracy theory, whose believers as recently as late last year suggested Trump could declare martial law and have the U.S. military oversee a new 2020 election, which the former president claimed was stolen. 

There is no confirmation that Charles Flynn shares his brother’s extreme views, yet his presence is undoubtedly troubling as the investigation into the siege and potential “inside-job” help continues. 

On Jan. 5, the night before the Capitol coup attempt, Michael Flynn spoke to a crowd of Trump supporters, telling them, “This country is awake tomorrow … The members, the members of Congress, the members of the House of Representatives, the members of the United States Senate, those of you who are feeling weak tonight … we, the people, are going to be here, and we want you to know that we will not stand for a lie.”

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