Robert Konold, a local Tucson man, was surprised to find out that his two children, Felicia and Cory, were being charged with rioting alongside The Proud Boys outside the U.S. Capitol on January 6.
Konold knew they were headed to the January 6 rally, however he had no idea when the the protest became a violent insurrection, his children were involved.
However, on Thursday, Felicia and Cory were arrested by the FBI thanks to photo evidence showing them at the forefront of the rioters who overwhelmed police and found their way into the Capitol Building.
Robert Konold found out about his children's arrest when he turned on the news that evening.
He told the Arizona Daily Star:
"We saw a picture of my daughter and my son on the news, News 4, from a distance, but zoomed in with a circle on their faces. I was like, 'What?'"
"It's a shock. I'm just a deer in headlights at this point."
Felicia and Cory are charged with conspiracy, civil disorder, obstruction of an official proceeding, knowingly entering or remaining in any restricted building or grounds without lawful authority and disorderly conduct on Capitol grounds.
And yet despite the involvement of his children, Konold refused to believe Trump supporters would cause such violence and instead blamed Antifa, saying:
"It couldn't have been Trump guys. I'm thinking it could've been more Antifa or you know Democrats wanting to make Trump look bad or something. No normal Republican would go nuts."
Of course Antifa, which stands for anti-fascist, is not an organized group but an ideology. However this hasn't stopped right-wing media from portraying them as if they are a radical left-wing organization.
Additionally, the FBI found a social media video of Felicia Konold celebrating her induction into a Kansas City chapter of The Proud Boys in which she shows off a 'challenge coin' bearing the group's markings. They site this as evidence of her knowing collaboration with the group.
Many were floored by this father's faulty logic.
Others decried the deflection of blame.
And some were at such a loss for words there were only gifs and memes to express their feelings about this.
Whether or not the former President faces consequences for inciting people like Cory and Felicia Konold to try to overthrow American democracy remains to be seen.
