Police nab 99 courthouse riot suspects including 'green jumper man'

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Police nab 99 courthouse riot suspects including 'green jumper man'

The ″green jumper man″ breaks a security device with a fire extinguisher in the Seoul Western District Court in Mapo District, western Seoul, on Jan. 19. [SCREEN CAPTURE]

The ″green jumper man″ breaks a security device with a fire extinguisher in the Seoul Western District Court in Mapo District, western Seoul, on Jan. 19. [SCREEN CAPTURE]

 
Police said Monday it apprehended the so-called "green jumper man" who was spotted smashing windows and other property during the Seoul Western District Court riot on Jan. 19. 
 
Police say they have arrested 99 individuals involved in illegal group activities related to the district court, where rioters stormed the building upon hearing that an arrest warrant for President Yoon Suk Yeol was approved.  
 

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The Seoul Mapo Police Precinct said Monday it had apprehended a man in his 20s on Sunday, charging the suspect with trespassing and destroying public property. Police are planning to request an arrest warrant as well.  
 
The suspect, dubbed the “green jumper man” based on his outfit captured on footage of the night of the riot, sprayed police with fire extinguishers and smashed windows and security devices with blunt instruments. 
 
Before illegally entering the court that night, he shouted into a megaphone demanding an answer as to why “he was being stopped” when “the country has fallen.”
 
Authorities have also found circumstantial evidence suggesting that the man colluded with other protesters involved in the Jan. 19 riot.  
 
Around 2:20 a.m., the green jumper man was seen conversing with another long-haired individual wearing a red cap with the motto "Make Korea Great Again" — a variation of the Make America Great Again slogan.  
 
A person wearing a Make Korea Great Again (MKGA) hat, left, hands the green jumper man an unidentified object on Jan. 19. [JOONGANG ILBO]

A person wearing a Make Korea Great Again (MKGA) hat, left, hands the green jumper man an unidentified object on Jan. 19. [JOONGANG ILBO]

 
During their conversation, the green jumper man appeared to receive an unidentified object from the long-haired person. Shortly after, both individuals forced their way into the court, pushing back police officers.
 
Around 3:20 p.m., the person in the MKGA hat headed to the windows after being blocked by shutters and police, closely followed by the green jumper man. They destroyed the window with a black stick and a fire extinguisher.
 
When some rioters entered the building, the green jumper man hosed the police with the extinguisher, upon which he crossed the police line and managed to make it to the seventh floor, where the warrant judge’s office was located.
 
The long-haired rioter was also found to have met and spoken with another rioter at around 11 p.m. the previous night in front of the Western District Court. The other rioter is suspected of exchanging hand signals with a minor who attempted arson during the riot.  
 
During their conversation, the rioter was seen waving their hand as if guiding someone before engaging in discussions with the gathered individuals.  
 
Police are investigating allegations of incitement and the possible involvement of an organized force in the riot, analyzing seized materials and online posts suggesting prior planning.  
 
The person wearing a Make Korea Great Again (MKGA) hat is captured on screen during the Jan. 19. Seoul Western District Court [SCREEN CAPTURE]

The person wearing a Make Korea Great Again (MKGA) hat is captured on screen during the Jan. 19. Seoul Western District Court [SCREEN CAPTURE]

 
However, suspects have so far denied any links to orchestrated incitement.  
 
One suspect detained for trespassing, a 40-year-old special evangelist at Sarang Jeil Church identified as Lee, denied any connection to Pastor Jeon Kwang-hoon, a religious figurehead in the Pro-Yoon conservative movement.  
 
Jeon, who is also an adviser for the far-right Liberty Unification Party, denied his involvement in the riot on Sunday, saying that his supporters in front of the court were dismissed at 8 p.m. on Jan. 18. President Yoon Suk Yeol’s arrest warrant was issued 3 a.m. the next day, sending the rioters into a frenzy. 
 
Rumors that the green jumper man was a journalist for JTBC, an affiliate of Korea JoongAng Daily, were found to be false during the police investigation. JTBC filed a defamation lawsuit on Jan. 23 against those spreading fake news under the Information and Communications Network Act.  
 
Police apprehended 86 rioters on Jan. 19, including a person who climbed over the fence and numerous others who violently destroyed public property.  
 
Police are tracking down 13 additional people, some of whom scouted the riot site beforehand and left posts on the online forum DC Inside. They are also tracking down YouTubers and other figures who may have incited the riot.  

BY KIM MIN-YOUNG, LEE CHAN-KYU [[email protected]]
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