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When primarily White Evangelical Christian voters elected former Republican President Donald Trump in 2016, defenders claimed his support was all disenfranchised poor or working class White people. His well-documented history of racism, misogyny, homophobia, Islamaphobia and various other bigotries as well as allegations of criminal conduct were dismissed as being irrelevant as opposed to central to why many of his biggest fans supported him.
The same excuse is being given for those who stormed the U.S. Capitol on January 6.
Those who defend the violent rioters describe them not as the White nationalists, White supremacists or QAnon conspiracy theorists they are, but rather as disaffected, downtrodden souls angry about their impoverished lots in life.
Scores of data have proven this excuse to be untrue. Socioeconomic status is not the most common factor among his MAGA supporters.
White nationalism, bigotry and belief in conspiracy theories, regardless of socioeconomic status, has proven to be the biggest common denominator among ardent Trump supporters. Now there's a new example to counter the disenfranchised poor people misconception.
24-year-old Christian Kulas stormed the U.S. Capitol January 6 in a thousand-dollar Burberry coat. He will await trial for his participation in the deadly attack at his parents' multi-million-dollar mansion.
Kulas was arrested Tuesday for his participation in the deadly January 6 coup attempt after he was identified from Instagram videos Kulas posted showing him following crowds to the Capitol, climbing a wall, entering the Capitol building and walking around inside.
Ultimately, according to the FBI's report, it was Kulas' mother who positively identified him after seeing her son in screenshots posted by the FBI in an attempt to identify suspects from the insurrection.
He has been charged with unlawful entry and disorderly conduct and faces a prison sentence if convicted.
Kulas was released after posting $4,500 bond on the condition he surrender his passport, stay away from Washington, D.C., and live at his parents' sprawling mansion, perched atop a bluff overlooking Lake Michigan in the Chicago suburb of Kenilworth on the city's ritzy North Shore.
Local CBS affiliate WBBM spoke to Mary Bowman, a neighbor of the Kulas family, who expressed disbelief at someone like Kulas being duped by the conspiracy theories that motivated many of the insurrectionists.
"It shocks me that someone that seemingly affluent—and let's go out on a limb and say educated—would believe all this craziness."
Kulas is a graduate of Lake Forest High School in the elite suburb of Lake Forest, which is ranked among the top 10 public high schools in the state of Illinois.
On Twitter, people greeted Kulas' situation with a collective eyeroll.
Many scoffing at right-wingers' overused "economic anxiety" excuse.
$1300 Burberry coat. What was that theory again about the insurrectionists reacting to economic insecurity? #January6thCommission— Katy \u201cvaccinated!!\u201d \ud83d\udc1d (@Katy \u201cvaccinated!!\u201d \ud83d\udc1d) 1623188632
So much economic anxiety.— Peter (@Peter) 1623261744
Gosh whatever will he do with himself being forced to live in a $4.5 million mansion.— Tracee (@Tracee) 1623283782
pic.twitter.com/HYNqFxcb6N— Sarni66\ud83d\ude37\ud83c\udff5\ufe0f\ud83c\udf3b\ud83c\udf3c (@Sarni66\ud83d\ude37\ud83c\udff5\ufe0f\ud83c\udf3b\ud83c\udf3c) 1623261941
\u201cA 24-year-old man accused of storming the Capitol in designer clothes has been ordered to stay at his parents' $4.5 million mansion as part of his pretrial release\u201d\n\nBut \u201ceconomic anxiety,\u201d amirite?https://www.businessinsider.com/man-suspected-storming-capitol-burberry-charged-ordered-stay-mansion-2021-6\u00a0\u2026— Leah McElrath \ud83c\udff3\ufe0f\u200d\ud83c\udf08 (@Leah McElrath \ud83c\udff3\ufe0f\u200d\ud83c\udf08) 1623261550
The secession that led to the Civil War was also by the rich: southern plantation owners who kidnapped and sold Black people to work land stolen from native people. Today the rich have swapped slaves for workers trapped in an economic system that favors shareholders over labor.— Gregory Anderson (@Gregory Anderson) 1623269027
He's laughing bc he knows his wealthy parents will hire high-priced lawyers who will argue every paper clip and get him off scot-free.— \ud83c\udf32Jay E Crawford\ud83c\udf32 (@\ud83c\udf32Jay E Crawford\ud83c\udf32) 1623183331
Guess he won't be flashing em pearly whites in lock down.— Nada (@Nada) 1623204464
I had to stop reading after "...wearing the Burberry jacket" I was laughing too hard.— Dr. John Wagner (@Dr. John Wagner) 1623234233
Christian Kulas, of Kenilworth was "economically anxious," rite?https://www.chicagotribune.com/news/criminal-justice/ct-capitol-breach-christian-kulas-federal-charges-kenilworth-20210608-2grcvyxdqvc2xiugx7yszasgye-story.html\u00a0\u2026— Mister Jay Em (@Mister Jay Em) 1623200621
Others cited White privilege as a greater factor in Kulas' situation.
The rich behaving badly because they fear being a Main St. American. Their white privilege showing, their racism showing, their greed showing. #Kulas #LakeForestHighSchool #Terrorist #CapitolCoup #ChicagoPDhttps://twitter.com/Hobie_SHRED/status/1347748241262055424\u00a0\u2026— Patricia L Harris (@Patricia L Harris) 1610198276
What strikes me as tragic is how Christian Kulas could have used his vast resources and white privilege to affect positive change. Instead of feeding into divisiveness, destruction, and lies. @Cleavon_MDhttps://twitter.com/cannabislawms/status/1349721590783750145\u00a0\u2026— Pamela Popeil (@Pamela Popeil) 1623261444
MAGA Domestic Terrorist Christian Kulas flashes his White Privilege Card and Judge immediately releases him to his Mommy.\n\nGood thing Kulas was not black or he would be up under the Jail instead of skipping out of it.https://www.rawstory.com/rich-capitol-attacker-begs-judge/\u00a0\u2026— Joey Putin (Vlads Democratic Brother) (@Joey Putin (Vlads Democratic Brother)) 1623210434
Kulas is one of more than 500 people who have been arrested so far for their involvement in the Capitol coup attempt.