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The Conversation with Dasha Burns

The Capitol rioter next door

The Conversation with Dasha Burns

POLITICO

News, Politics, Government

4.01.6K Ratings

🗓️ 11 June 2021

⏱️ 30 minutes

🧾️ Download transcript

Summary

Imagine learning that someone you've known for 18 years is alleged to have been responsible for some of the worst violence on Jan. 6. How do you square that? Playbook co-author Rachael Bade and journalist Melanie Warner dive into the story of Jeffrey Sabol, one man whose alleged activity on Jan. 6 left many in his life confused and grappling for answers — about how a highly educated, middle-aged man with so much to lose could participate in what FBI Director Christopher Wray called “domestic terrorism." What does his story tell us about the Capitol insurrectionists, and how everyday Americans became the new face of extremism? Rachael Bade is a Playbook co-author for POLITICO.Melanie Warner is a freelance journalist based in Boulder, Co.Adrienne Hurst is a producer for POLITICO audio.Annie Rees is a producer for POLITICO audio.Jenny Ament is the senior producer for POLITICO audio.Irene Noguchi is the executive producer of POLITICO audio. Special thanks to Margy Slattery. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Transcript

Click on a timestamp to play from that location

0:00.0

Imagine that you're sitting at home on your computer and you get an email.

0:09.5

And the email says, have you seen this?

0:13.1

And he clicks on it and inside is an article from a local news station in Denver and it's

0:20.4

an article that isn't a video embedded into it and he clicks the video.

0:25.0

And the guy clicking the link, that's John Bergman.

0:28.5

And he sees a scene from the Capitol riots.

0:35.4

And he sees one figure in particular appearing to drag a police officer down the steps.

0:41.7

And this email is telling John that the figure in the video is his longtime friend.

0:46.0

His friend of 18 years.

0:49.2

Jeff Sable.

0:52.2

The allegations in this newest case are actually pretty serious.

0:55.4

One of the most disturbing scenes to come out of the Capitol riot.

0:58.8

Jeff Sable is accused of pulling down a Capitol police officer.

1:05.6

John can't believe what he's saying.

1:08.1

He doesn't understand how someone he's known and thought of in pretty much an entirely

1:14.9

positive way as a great friend, a decent person, an intelligent guy.

1:21.1

He doesn't understand how this could happen.

1:23.9

It's just a huge sense of what the heck disbelief.

1:30.4

I'm Rachel Bade.

1:31.7

This is Playbook Deep Dive.

1:34.1

Now imagine that anyone at the January 6th insurrection could have been your friend,

1:39.2

your neighbor, the guy next door.

...

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