A California woman is charged with taking a cache of weapons, including a sword, a steel whip and a knife into the U.S. Capitol during the Jan. 6, 2021, attack by a mob of Donald Trump supporters, according to court records unsealed Wednesday.
Kennedy Lindsey had a short sword, a steel tactical whip, a collapsible baton, pepper spray, a butterfly knife and a flashlight taser in her possession when a U.S. Secret Service officer searched her backpack, according to an FBI affidavit.
Lindsey was arrested in Los Angeles last month on charges including disorderly conduct and possession of a dangerous weapon in a Capitol building.
Lindsey was charged with a woman who flew with her from California to Washington, D.C. Lindsey bought plane tickets for both of them after then-U.S.-president Donald Trump announced that there would be a “wild” protest there on Jan. 6. Lindsey posted on social media that she was going because “boss man called for us to be there."
After attending Trump's “Stop the Steal” rally near the White House, the two women rode to the Capitol on the back of a golf cart.
This comment along with the description of her whip as "tactical" took me down a small Google rabbit hole, and I can't figure out what makes a particular weapon (or in some cases a flashlight) "tactical".
The definition of tactic is a plan or action for achieving a goal; a maneuver. So would a leather whip have no goal while a metal one does?
Tacticool is a vibe. Basically it's black and it's got some features that you could maybe, probably not, convince someone a SWAT team might like. Like a knurled end cap on a flashlight.
Kennedy Lindsey had a short sword, a steel tactical whip, a collapsible baton, pepper spray, a butterfly knife and a flashlight taser in her possession when a U.S. Secret Service officer searched her backpack, according to an FBI affidavit.
But it was a peaceful crowd who just happened to gather to hear the president speak, and then wanted to do some sightseeing of the capitol.