‘Elizabeth From Knoxville’: What We Know About the Onion-Wielding Capitol Rioter

The FBI has been working to identify many of the rioters from Wednesday’s attack on the U.S. Capitol building, and while there is no word on if they have taken the woman known as “Elizabeth From Knoxville” into custody, we know a little more about the onion-wielding insurrectionist. As the riots raged on, video of the woman went viral, showing her tearfully claiming that she was maced by police as she attempted to storm the Capitol building with the rest of the Trump-supporting mob,” saying, “I got maced, yeah, I made it like a foot inside and they pushed me and they maced me.”

There has been some speculation over her statement here, as she appeared to be holding an onion that she was wiping on her eyes. Many believe that she was not maced by police, but actually just wiped the onion on her eyes to make it seem like she had been. This, along with photos of another domestic terrorist walking the Senate chambers with zip-ties in their hands, have given the implication that the attack on the Capitol building was pre-meditated, and not just a spontaneous event. If this is determined to be the case, it could result in more serious charges for many of the rioters.

When asked her name, the woman in the video replied, “My name is Elizabeth and I’m from Knoxville, Tennessee.” Identifying the woman seems to have been a challenge, however, as CBS News affiliate WVLT noted they believe they did, but received some pushback. The woman’s parents are believed to live in Crossville, Tennessee, so WVLT News reporters drove to the home listed. When they knocked on the door, the people inside claimed they didn’t know the woman. However, neighbors very quickly identified the woman as an Elizabeth whose parents did in fact live at the address that was reflected in the public record.

The neighbors also stated that the Elizabeth they knew of lives in Maryville, Tennessee, so WVLT reporter Gwendolyn Ducre drove out to the address where “Elizabeth from Knoxville” was believed to live. Once there, Ducre did speak with a woman who looked like the “Elizabeth from Knoxville” in the video. This woman claimed that she was not the same person, referring to herself as a “doppelgänger.”

WVLT went on to note that they found an Elizabeth Koch who attended Bowie High School in Maryland, and would have graduated with the class of 2007. However, classmates of Koch told the outlet that she dropped out before graduating. One classmate stated that Koch worked as a craps dealer at the Maryland Live Casino up until around 2018. The classmate stated that this was the last time they had seen the woman until the viral video from the Capitol. WVLT reports that a spokesperson with a local FBI unit told them that the agency is aware of the clip, and that they are taking appropriate action.