Teen who blasted family for attending Capitol riot in viral post explains why
Helena Duke identified her mother at the Capitol rally
Last week, Helena Duke was hailed as a hero on social media after she publicly identified her mother and other family members as participants in the violent mob attack at the U.S. Capitol. Now the 18-year-old Massachusetts woman is explaining why she decided to troll her own bloodline for the greater good.
In a report published by Rolling Stone Tuesday, Duke explained that she only heard about the U.S. Capitol riots from a co-worker, but had no clue that her own mother Therese Duke was among the sea of thousands attending the “Stop the Steal” rally.
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Apparently the matriarch told the teen a vague story about how she was going out of town to take her aunt to have a procedure done but Helena “didn’t have much other information.”
But when news broke of the siege taking place following the rally, Helena’s intuition told her to look up her mom’s using Life360, an app for family members to share their location. When she realized Therese had turned her location off that’s when she began to suspect that her Trump-supporting mother may have been involved.
“I was like, maybe she’s at the capitol, that would be crazy,” she recalled. “Then the next morning my cousin sent me the video.”
According to the publication, “The video in question was a viral clip of Therese, taken on January 5th. That day, pro-Trump protesters from across the country had descended on the city, and that evening they took to the streets. Outside the Freedom Plaza in D.C. that night, Therese and several other people are seen pursuing a black woman, who appears to be an officer from a civil disturbance unit. Therese grabs at the woman’s phone, then the woman punches her in the face. Helena’s aunt and uncle, Richard and Anne Lorenz, were also present in the video, and Anne is then seen punching the black woman in the face. (Helena’s cousin also confirmed the identities of those in the video.) Another clip taken after the incident shows Therese talking about the assault with a bloodied face.”
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“hi mom remember the time you told me I shouldn’t go to BLM protests bc they could get violent…this you?” Helena teased in the January 7th tweet that quickly amassed almost half a million likes.
After replying to that tweet with another one proving she is indeed the daughter of the woman in the video she then followed up with another set of screenshots captioned, “Hi this is the liberal lesbian of the family who has been kicked out multiple times for her views and for going to BLM protests to care what happens to me”
Helena then goes on to call out her mother, uncle and aunt as the Trump supporters in the clip.
“As a mom to 2 beautiful, amazing kids (both bi, one trans) you’ll always find love, acceptance, and endless encouragement from me!” wrote one follower, echoing the sentiments of many who applauded the young woman for her actions. “Keep doing what you’re doing. We’re here! We love you! You’re AMAZING! You don’t need their negativity.”
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