Undercover videos by Project Veritas led Washington police to arrest one man and foiled an alleged scheme to spread acid at an event for President Donald Trump supporters at the National Press Club the night before his inauguration, according to news reports.
In addition, a second undercover recording forced DisruptJ20, an umbrella organization for several groups that sought to disrupt the inauguration, to drop efforts to try to close down the Metro public transportation system and block entrances into Washington, two law enforcement officials told The Washington Post.
"I’ve spent years trying to fight the mainstream media that doesn't view me as a journalist," James O’Keefe, Project Veritas' founder, told the Post. "This is the first time that a video we shot has led to an arrest.
"It legitimizes what we're doing," he added. "It’s a new era for us."
The Dec. 18 video by a Project Veritas operative led police to arrest Scott Charney, 34, of Washington, Jan. 19, the day before the inauguration and hours before the Trump event, the DeploraBall, according to the Post.
Charney's LinkedIn profile says he is a sales associate and a foreign-policy analyst who has worked for several policy groups, according to the report.
He was charged with conspiracy to commit assault, a misdemeanor, in connection with the alleged planned acid attack.
Charney was freed from jail and was scheduled to appear in court Feb. 3. Police also are seeking two others who were in the Dec. 18 video, which was made at a pizza restaurant in D.C.
Lacy MacAuley, a DisruptJ20 spokeswoman, and Legba Carrefour, one of the group's leaders, did not respond to requests for interviews, according to the Post.
A police arrest affidavit said DisruptJ20 contended its leaders were aware it had been infiltrated and members deliberately had fed the undercover operative wrong information.
Last year, undercover videos by Project Veritas led to the resignation of former Democratic operatives talking about planting protesters to incite violence at Trump campaign rallies.
In 2009, the community group ACORN was infiltrated by Project Veritas — and the organization was defunded and forced into bankruptcy after videos were released supposedly detailing how members agreed to help an operative smuggle young prostitutes into the country.
The Dec. 18 Trump video involving regarding the acid attack was recorded at the Comet Ping Pong pizza shop in Northwest Washington, the Post reported.
Two weeks earlier, a gunman entered the parlor to investigate fake news claims of an underground child-pornography ring involving Democratic officials.
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