An Airbnb host has spoken out about unknowingly allowing Capitol rioters to stay at his property after they told him they were in town for a "history sight-seeing trip".
On January 6, pro-Trump supporters breached the Capitol building in Washington D.C., following the 'Save America March' that had been heavily promoted by outgoing president Donald Trump. The riots left five people dead, including one Capitol police officer.
Now, a Washington D.C. property owner - known only as Paul - has spoken to New York Magazine's Intelligencer about mistakenly opening his doors to a group of protestors.
Paul was informed by guest "Melissa" that she and seven other people were visiting D.C. for a "history sight-seeing trip". Paul had no reason to think Melissa was lying, as his rowhouse is located roughly one hour from the monuments.
But after watching the news in the lead-up to January 6's riots, Paul said he used exterior security cameras around his property to keep a close eye on Melissa and her group.
Then, on the morning of January 6, Paul watched from the rowhouse’s basement apartment as his guests left the property and headed toward the capitol - MAGA flag in-hand.
"That’s when I was like, 'Oh f**k, I’ve got a problem,'" he told Intelligencer.
After watching the chaos unfold at the Capitol, Paul stayed focused on his security cameras in order to watch his guests return to the property that evening.
In footage reviewed by Intelligencer, Paul watched as one of his guests paced on the porch and said into their cellphone: "We stormed the Capitol, we got inside of it."
The man then reportedly said: "Trump said we’re gonna march over to the Capitol Building [...] And we’re going to tell them what’s been happening.
"To be honest, they deserved it."
After stumbling on the confession, Paul attempted to notify Airbnb officials that his guests had been caught on camera admitting to taking party in the Capitol breach - however, he was unable to get in touch with a representative from the company.
Therefore, as an immediate step, Paul opted to leave a scathing review on Melissa's account. He wrote:
"When Melissa booked my Airbnb, she claimed it was for a 'history sight seeing trip' but instead she and her guests made history by participating in the most horrific attack on our democracy at the Capitol building on January 6, 2021."
The review continued: "She and her guests returned after the riot and bragged in front of my house, captured on my Ring doorbell, 'I was there ... I didn’t want to get involved as much as I did but to be honest they deserved it.'
"A Capitol Police officer was murdered and four of the rioters lost their lives. I wouldn’t recommend renting to Melissa."
When Airbnb contacted Paul to inform him that Melissa was attempting to have her review recinded, he said:
"So I went off on this person saying, 'How the f'k are you gonna let her rescind her review when I have evidence of this person participating in an attack on the Capitol?'"
As well as going public with his story, Paul has also shared the security footage with the FBI.
Somewhat ironically, Paul also told Intelligencer that, if it wasn't for Melissa and her friends storming the Capitol, they would have been five-star guests.
Per the publication, Airbnb has also released the following statement on the issue: "As we've learned through media or law enforcement sources the names of individuals confirmed to have been responsible for the violent criminal activity at the United States Capitol on January 6, we've investigated whether the named individuals have an account on Airbnb.
"Through this work, we have identified numerous individuals who are either associated with known hate groups or otherwise involved in the criminal activity at the Capitol Building, and they have been banned from Airbnb's platform."
