Man who rapped about Jan. 6 riot charged in connection with attack

A man who performed rap songs online, including one about the Jan. 6 riot, was charged in connection to the attack on the Capitol. 

Billy Knutson was charged with multiple counts after several confidential sources provided information to authorities that showed the man at the Capitol on Jan. 6. One source, who said they were a relative of Knutson, said that he had posted online that he had been at the Capitol during the insurrection, according to court documents.

That source also told authorities that Knutson sold music online and had a YouTube channel using the “​​Playboythebeast” username. A second source provided video to authorities which showed a man, who was later verified as Knutson, going into the Capitol by climbing through a window. 

“This channel posted several videos of KNUTSON performing songs, several of which were about the events at the U.S. Capitol on January 6, 2021. The artist performing the songs on this YouTube channel is consistent in size, tattoos, and appearance with the person who was depicted climbing into the Capitol building in the submitted video, based on my observations,” a special agent for the FBI wrote, according to the court filing.

In one video posted by the “Playboy The Beast” username on YouTube, called “Patriots Message To The World,” Knutson can be heard singing  “We’ve been fighting for y’all and this how you treat us/Calling us traitors and claim we not peaceful/Say we hypocrites and we ain’t practice what we preachin’.” 

According to the court filing, Knutson was inside the Capitol, and in Capitol Police footage he “can be seen using a cellular phone apparently to record video, live stream video, and/or take photographs.” 

Knutson faces charges of entering and remaining in a restricted building or grounds; disorderly conduct in a restricted building and in a Capitol building; and parading, demonstrating and picketing in a Capitol building.

A request for comment from the federal public defender representing Knutson at his hearing was referred to his supervisor, according to The Associated Press.