The Trump Insurrection: How Donald J. Trump and the right incited insurrection and sedition and attempted a coup d'etat - Page 5
Videos of the riot and violent attack against the 117th United States Congress and the sacking of the United States Capitol.
Trump will be the only president to be impeached twice.
Ken Dilanian and Ben CollinsWASHINGTON — FBI officials have repeatedly said they gathered no credible intelligence in the weeks leading up to the Jan. 6 insurrection suggesting that pro-Trump extremists intended to storm the U.S. Capitol. And even after months of intensive investigation, Justice Department prosecutors have presented no evidence so far that any of the 420 individuals charged to date for their actions Jan. 6 planned in advance to attack the building in which Congress was certifying Joe Biden's victory in the presidential election. But a new report by a nonprofit research group, and a separate review by NBC News, uncovered hundreds of social media posts discussing plans to move on the Capitol, including a map of the building and talk of how to create a stampede that would overwhelm Capitol Police.
By Veronica Stracqualursi, CNN(CNN) US Capitol Police Sgt. Aquilino Gonell, who was wounded while defending the US Capitol during the January 6 insurrection, said Thursday night that he feels "insulted" after Republicans blocked the formation of an independent commission last week. "I feel insulted. I feel like they don't have the courage. They demand something from us that they're not willing to do, which is sacrifice their livelihood," he said in an interview with CNN's Don Lemon Thursday night of the lawmakers who did not support the bill establishing the commission. Capitol Police officers are increasingly sharing their frustration publicly as efforts for a commission to investigate the attack and bolster funding for Capitol Hill security have stalled, further exposing the fractured relationship between lawmakers and the officers who protect them. Gonell told CNN's Lemon that officers "feel insulted, because the very minimum that everybody should agree is how to prevent this from happening again." more...
Tim O'DonnellFormer New Jersey Gov. Thomas Kean (R), the former chair of the 9/11 Commission, weighed in on Republican senators' decision to block the creation of a similar exploration of the Jan. 6 Capitol riot. "It saddens me because there was no real, public reason for turning it down," he told The Guardian. "I guess some people were scared of what they'd find out. That's not a good reason for turning it down." Kean and his vice chair, former Rep. Lee Hamilton (D-Fla.) aren't viewing the news in a vacuum, however. Hamilton told USA Today that any investigation can get off-track, but "if you follow the arguments of the opponents, we would never investigate anything," while Kean added that "if we can't do it for this one, can we do it for [the handling COVID-19 pandemic]? That's very sad." In short, he told PBS NewsHour, Congress is setting the precedent that it is "incapable of telling the American people the truth about something very important that happened." Read more at The Guardian, USA Today, and PBS NewsHour. more...
By Natalie ColarossiA growing number of Democrats are calling for President Joe Biden to form a commission to investigate the attack at the U.S. Capitol on January 6, after Republican lawmakers blocked a bill that would have allowed Congress to do so. On Friday, 35 GOP Senators blocked a bill that was passed in the Democratic-led House that sought to form a bipartisan commission to investigate the events of Capitol riot. The House-approved bill was modeled after a 9/11 style commission, and sought to establish a 10-person committee, evenly split between Democrats and Republicans, tasked with investigating the facts and circumstances of the assault. Five people died as a result of the Capitol riot, when a mob of pro–Donald Trump supporters sought to disrupt the congressional certification of Joe Biden's electoral victory. more...
By Manu Raju, Chief Congressional Correspondent(CNN) House Democrats are actively considering mounting a probe of their own into the January 6 US Capitol attack, signaling they don't plan to let the issue go away in the aftermath of Senate Republicans derailing the creation of an outside commission to probe the deadly insurrection. Speaker Nancy Pelosi has made clear repeatedly that moving to create a select committee has always remained a fallback option -- something that would require the support of a majority of the Democratic-led House to create. And a number of Democrats said on Friday that they believe Pelosi will indeed create the new committee -- and that the caucus would strongly support such an effort. "That's her next move," one senior House Democrat said Friday. more...
“We’ve got to get to the bottom of this shit,” the normally amiable Sen. Jon Tester (D-Mont.) said. “Jesus."By BURGESS EVERETT and NICHOLAS WUSenate Republicans are ready to filibuster a proposed independent commission to investigate the Capitol riot, as GOP opposition swelled in the final days before the vote expected later Thursday. Several undecided Republicans came down against advancing the commission ahead of the vote, despite efforts by Sen. Susan Collins of Maine to broker a compromise. Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell has taken an increasingly hard public and private line against establishing the new panel to probe the Jan. 6 Capitol attack by pro-Trump insurrectionists, dubbing the commission idea “extraneous” on Thursday. Senate Minority Whip John Thune of South Dakota said in an interview that his party is not willing to provide the 10 votes needed to start debate on the bill: “At the moment, no.” more...
By Katelyn Polantz, CNN(CNN) A federal judge on Wednesday wrote that Donald Trump's "Big Lie" that the 2020 election was stolen from him could still inspire some of the former President's supporters to take up arms, as they did in January during the deadly US Capitol insurrection. The judge's blunt assessment of the current, charged political climate came in a legal decision about a defendant who was drawn to Washington, DC, in January. And it adds to a growing chorus of warnings from the officials most closely weighing the aftermath of the Capitol riot about what the threat level still might be. "The steady drumbeat that inspired defendant to take up arms has not faded away; six months later, the canard that the election was stolen is being repeated daily on major news outlets and from the corridors of power in state and federal government, not to mention in the near-daily fulminations of the former President," Judge Amy Berman Jackson of the DC District Court wrote in an opinion to keep defendant Cleveland Meredith Jr. in jail because he could endanger the public if released. more...
By CNNAlex Ferro, a top aide to Rep. Carlos Gimenez (R-FL), says he spoke with both the Capitol Police and the FBI on the morning of January 6 after overhearing a man in tactical gear talk about storming the FBI building just hours before the deadly insurrection. CNN's Jim Acosta speaks with the Florida congressman about what his staffer observed while the pair were standing inside the lobby of the Hyatt Regency near Capitol Hill. video...
Republicans cared about Benghazi but do not give a shit about the coup attempt, the insurrection and the sacking of the U.S. Capitol.Minority leader Mitch McConnell opposes a bill for a 9/11-style panel that could unearth embarrassing facts about the role of Trump and his supportersHugo LowellTop Senate Republicans are making a concerted effort to quash the creation of a 9/11-style commission to investigate the Capitol attack, deeply endangering the bill’s passage amid fears about what a high-profile inquiry into the events of 6 January might uncover. The Republican Senate minority leader, Mitch McConnell, has said he opposes the commission bill in its current form and several Republicans who have previously expressed support said they could no longer back it. McConnell’s opposition brings into sharp relief the treacherous path ahead for the legislation, which Senate Democrats could introduce as soon as this week, according to a source briefed on the matter. more...
Republicans cared about Benghazi but do not give a shit about the coup attempt, the insurrection and the sacking of the U.S. Capitol.The vast majority of House Republicans voted against a bipartisan, 9/11-style panel – no surprise from a party still in thrall to TrumpDavid Smith“Tuesday, September 11, 2001, dawned temperate and nearly cloudless in the eastern United States.” So begins the report of the 9/11 commission, which investigated the terrorist attacks 20 years ago with bipartisan support. Will there be a similarly limpid introduction to a similarly weighty (567 pages) study of the deadly insurrection at the US Capitol in Washington on 6 January? Not if Republicans can help it. The formation of a January 6 commission passed the House of Representatives on Wednesday evening thanks to the Democratic majority and 35 Republicans. But 175 Republicans voted against it. It will be a similar story in the Senate, where the minority leader, Mitch McConnell, announced his opposition earlier on Wednesday. more...
Republicans cared about Benghazi but do not give a shit about the coup attempt, the insurrection and the sacking of the U.S. Capitol.Analysis by Maeve Reston and Stephen Collinson, CNN(CNN) The growing Republican blockade against the creation of a bipartisan commission to investigate the US Capitol insurrection on January 6 has crystallized the party's fixation with the 2022 midterm elections. Even on a grave matter of national security, the GOP has concluded that the political price for standing with former President Donald Trump is preferable to the electoral cost of breaking with the disgraced former President. More than four months after Trump stoked the January 6 rebellion with his lies about the 2020 election, the vast majority of GOP lawmakers demonstrated this week that they see no upside for revisiting the dangerous events that unfolded at the Capitol even if it means that Americans will never get a full explanation of how close Trump's supporters came to overthrowing democracy -- findings that could prevent a similar incident from happening again. more...
Conrad WilsonOn Aug. 26, Kevin Phomma was arrested during a racial justice demonstration outside the Immigration and Customs Enforcement building in Portland, Ore. Prosecutors say Phomma sprayed police officers with bear repellant, so the U.S. Department of Justice charged him with civil disorder, a felony. Fast forward to Jan. 6, where Reed Christensen, a Republican Party leader from Oregon's Washington County walked up the steps of the U.S. Capitol in Washington, D.C. According to the FBI, Christensen struck police with his fist. Later, federal prosecutors filed charges, including civil disorder. In the last year, the Justice Department has turned extensively to civil disorder, a once rarely used law, to crack down on crimes they say were committed during protests and other unrest. more...
Trevor Noah’s show called out Republican efforts to rewrite history about the insurrection.By Lee Moran“The Daily Show with Trevor Noah” on Wednesday went back in time to rip Republicans over their desperate attempts to rewrite history about the Jan. 6 insurrection. The Comedy Central show turned GOP lawmakers’ downplaying of the violence into a ’50s style educational video. It contrasts comments from lawmakers with footage of the violent mob of then-President Donald Trump’s supporters storming the U.S. Capitol. video...
Liz Cheney rips Kevin McCarthy for withholding 'important information' about Capitol riot
By David Edwards
Rep. Liz Cheney (R-WY) on Sunday suggested that House Minority Leader Kevin McCarthy (R-CA) is withholding "important information" about the Jan. 6 attack on the U.S. Capitol. During an interview on Fox News, Cheney told host Chris Wallace that she was ousted from Republican leadership because she refused to be "complicit" in spreading former President Donald Trump's so-called "Big Lie" about the 2020 election being stolen. Wallace noted that Cheney has argued that Trump is "dangerous" for the Republican Party and for the country. "I ask this about both McCarthy and Elise Stefanik (R-NY)," Wallace said. "Are they being complicit in what you consider the Trump lies?" more...
Lincoln Project launches new ad calling GOP disloyal to America
By Clara Hill
The Lincoln Project has published a new attack ad targeting the Republican party after its ouster of Rep Liz Cheney from her leadership role in the House of Representatives. The conservative anti-Trump group shared the 38-second new video titled “Allegiance” on YouTube on 17 May, and it showcases the unwavering dedication to former president Donald Trump among nearly every elected Republican. “I pledge allegiance to the flag of the United States of America” is repeated by a round of voices while images from classic symbols of American national identity are shown in the background, such as the flag and the Statue of Liberty. It is then contrasted to footage from the insurrection at the Capitol Building on 6 January. more...
Marjorie Taylor Greene doesn't think white people can be terrorists
Defending white people from being called a terrorist is apparently more important than defending America from terrorism.
By Dean Obeidallah, MSNBC Opinion ColumnistIn the weeks after the 9/11 terrorist attack, former President George W. Bush famously declared in a joint address to Congress: "Either you are with us or you are with the terrorists." Apparently to today’s Republicans, that axiom only applies if the terrorists are brown or Black — because when it comes to the overwhelmingly white mob that attacked the U.S. Capitol on Jan. 6, the GOP is doing everything it can to whitewash and downplay the attack. But what we saw that day was by definition an “insurrection,” as well as an act of “domestic terrorism.” Period. That’s not hyperbole or my opinion. FBI Director Christopher Wray labeled it the latter in testimony before the Senate Judiciary Committee in March. more...
Republicans say Jan. 6 attack was not an ‘armed’ Attack even though rioters had mace, knives and a stun gun, as well as makeshift weapons like flagpoles, fire extinguishers and at least one had a gun.Andrew Solender Forbes StaffThe Department of Justice on Monday filed a superseding indictment against Maryland resident Christopher Alberts alleging he carried a semi-automatic handgun on Capitol grounds on Jan. 6, undercutting Republican claims the attack was orderly and largely unarmed. Alberts was arrested attempting to flee from law enforcement on Jan. 6, carrying with him an unlicensed Taurus G2C pistol and a high-capacity magazine, according to the court documents. Federal prosecutors also allege in the indictment Alberts resisted arrest and “knowingly engaged in an act of physical violence” on Capitol grounds. Alberts, who has pleaded not guilty, appears to be the only person charged so far with carrying a firearm during the attack, but other weapons wielded by rioters include mace, knives and a stun gun, as well as makeshift weapons like flagpoles and fire extinguishers. more...
Pilar MelendezA leader of the New Jersey chapter of the Oath Keepers has been charged for allegedly planning with other members of the paramilitary group to storm the U.S. Capitol. James Breheny, the Bergen County, New Jersey, “coordinator” for the far-right group, has been charged with several crimes, including violent entry and impeding an official proceeding, for his role in the Jan. 6 siege. According to a criminal complaint unsealed on Thursday, Breheny had been planning for the siege with other members as early as December, when he invited Oath Keeper founder Stewart Rhodes to a meeting of “multiple patriot groups” three days before the Capitol riots to “prepare.” “This will be the day we get our comms on point with multiple other patriot groups, share rally points etc,” Breheny said, according to the complaint. “This one is important and I believe this is our last chance to organize before the show. This meeting will be for leaders only.” more...
James Breheny of New Jersey is alleged to have been in contact with Oath Keepers founder Stewart Rhodes and to have invited him to a meeting of “multiple patriot groups” just before Jan. 6.Ken Bensinger, Jessica GarrisonFederal prosecutors have charged a 14th member of the Oath Keepers with involvement in the Capitol insurrection, in this case a New Jersey man who they say was in contact with the group’s founder Stewart Rhodes and invited him to a “leadership meeting of multiple patriot groups” in southeastern Pennsylvania just days prior to Jan. 6. According to a criminal complaint filed in federal court in the District of Columbia, James Breheny also forwarded Rhodes a message explaining that the meeting was “our last chance to organize before the show. This meeting will be for leaders only.” more...
Ultimately, 35 Republicans joined Democrats in approving the commission.By MELANIE ZANONA, NICHOLAS WU and OLIVIA BEAVERSHouse GOP divisions were on full display Wednesday as dozens of Republicans broke with their party leadership and former President Donald Trump to support a proposed commission investigating the Jan. 6 siege on the Capitol. The measure, which would task a bipartisan 10-person commission with delivering a report on the causes and facts of the insurrection by the end of the year, passed the House by a 252-175 vote with every Democrat and 35 Republicans in support. more...
From Donald Trump on down, Republicans are increasingly opposed to investigating the Jan. 6 riot. Democrats must find the truth with or without them.Kurt BardellaIt makes no sense to expect congressional Republicans to be willing partners in any effort to investigate the Jan. 6 Capitol attack that the FBI has labeled domestic terrorism. Their former president's partisans stormed the building, and they themselves are trying to erase history. Exhibit A: Rep. Andrew Clyde of Georgia, who during a House Oversight and Reform Committee hearing last week characterized the violence of Jan. 6 as a “normal tourist visit.” Never mind that there's a photograph of Clyde barricading a door to the House floor. more...
Capitol Police distances itself from an unofficial statement from officers expressing 'profound disappointment' in GOP leaders' refusal to support January 6 commission
Sonam Sheth and Lauren Frias
The US Capitol Police distanced itself Wednesday from an unofficial and anonymous statement reportedly from some officers, saying the agency "does NOT take positions on legislation." "A statement is circling on social media, which expresses an opinion about the proposed legislation to create a commission to investigate January 6," the USCP said in a statement to Insider. "This is NOT an official USCP statement. The Department has no way of confirming it was even authored by USCP personnel." The USCP also posted its statement in a tweet. more...
Republicans investigated Benghazi but are refusing to investigate the attempted coup, the insurrection and the sacking of the U.S. Capitol.McConnell opposed to current Jan. 6 commission
Alayna TreeneSenate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-Ky.) told his fellow Republicans during a closed-door caucus lunch Tuesday he can't support a Jan. 6 commission in its current form, two sources familiar with his remarks tell Axios. Why it matters: Senate Republicans are bracing for a House vote Wednesday. Minority Leader Kevin McCarthy (R-Calif.) opposes the commission but several Republicans are expected to buck leadership — making it more difficult for Senate Republicans to dismiss it. What we're hearing: McConnell made comments to his colleagues along the lines of, "There’s 41 of us who could change this, and I think we should,” according to one of the sources. A second source confirmed the nature of the comments. more...
Republicans investigated Benghazi but are refusing to investigate the attempted coup, the insurrection and the sacking of the U.S. Capitol.
The real reasons for why Kevin McCarthy is afraid of a January 6 commission
Analysis by Chris Cillizza, CNN Editor-at-large(CNN) Days after a bipartisan agreement was reached in the House to form a commission to examine the roots and events of the January 6 riot at the US Capitol, House Minority Leader Kevin McCarthy announced Tuesday that he opposes the bill. "Given the political misdirections that have marred this process, given the now duplicative and potentially counterproductive nature of this effort, and given the Speaker's shortsighted scope that does not examine interrelated forms of political violence in America, I cannot support this legislation," said McCarthy. Which doesn't make any sense because, well, the legislation that would have created the commission was developed by Reps. Bennie Thompson (D-Mississippi) and John Katko (R-New York). And Katko had made clear that he was negotiating on behalf of and with the imprimatur of the Republican leadership. more...
Trump wanted his supporters First Amendment rights protected but has Trump trampled the rights of those who he does not agree with and those who do not support him.By Jenni FinkFormer President Donald Trump was criticized for failing to squelch the Capitol riot, but ahead of the January 6 rally, he requested that the Secretary of Defense pull out all the stops to protect people's First Amendment rights. Christopher Miller, former acting secretary of defense, defended his response to the Capitol riot before the House Committee on Oversight and Reform. He pushed back on beliefs that there were delays in the deployment of federal resources and told legislators he filled the request he received for National Guard members. more...
By Kristine Phillips, USA TODAYWASHINGTON – Proud Boys leader Ethan Nordean lashed out at President Donald Trump, accusing him of misleading his supporters and then deserting them despite their unwavering loyalty. "We are now and always have been on our own. So glad he was able to pardon a bunch of degenerates as his last move and s--- on us on the way out," Nordean said in an expletive-laden message about the former president. "F--- you trump you left us on [t]he battle field bloody and alone." more...
By Larry Buchanan, Karen Yourish, Ainara Tiefenthäler, Jon Huang and Blacki MigliozziThe 38-minute video below shows how Donald J. Trump’s persistent repetition of lies and calls to action over two months created an alternate reality that he won re-election. Mr. Trump’s words, which were echoed and amplified by the rioters who stormed the Capitol on Jan. 6, are a central focus of his second impeachment trial. In hundreds of public statements from Nov. 4, 2020, to Jan. 6, 2021, Mr. Trump repeatedly used phrases like “we won the election” and “won it by a landslide,” and he said that the election was “rigged” and “stolen” by the Democrats. Such assertions have been proven false by the courts and elections officials across the country. Mr. Trump’s language later signaled to his supporters that they needed to “fight” because “you’ll never take back our country with weakness.” Some of Mr. Trump’s statements were outright lies (that he won). Some were his own sentiments (“this is a disgrace to our country”). Some were oblique calls to action (“if you don’t fight to save your country with everything you have, you’re not going to have a country left”). more...
Eliza RelmanRep. Liz Cheney said some of her Republican colleagues in Congress are opposed to a bipartisan commission to investigate the January 6 Capitol riot because they helped provoke the attack or are otherwise culpable. Cheney, who was ousted from leadership by her own party on Wednesday, has repeatedly called for a bipartisan commission comprising retired officials with subpoena power to investigate the attack on the Capitol. But GOP leadership and many other lawmakers are opposed to a commission solely focused on the deadly assault. Instead, they want to expand the focus to include violence that resulted from Black Lives Matter protests last summer. "There is real concern among a number of members of my own party about a January 6 commission," Cheney said. "That kind of intense, narrow focus threatens people in my party who may have been playing a role they should not have been playing." more...
Anthony Antonio, who faces five charges over role in January riot, ‘started believing what was being fed to him’, lawyer saysLuke O'NeilThe lawyer for a Delaware man charged over the Capitol attack in January is floating a unique defense: Fox News made him do it. Anthony Antonio, who is facing five charges including violent entry, disorderly conduct and impeding law enforcement during civil disorder, fell prey to the persistent lies about the so-called “stolen election” being spread daily by Donald Trump and the rightwing network that served him, his attorney Joseph Hurley said during a video hearing on Thursday. Antonio spent the six months before the riots mainlining Fox News while unemployed, Hurley said, likening the side effects of such a steady diet of misinformation to a mental health syndrome. “Fox television played constantly,” he said. “He became hooked with what I call ‘Foxitis’ or ‘Foxmania’, and became interested in the political aspect and started believing what was being fed to him.” more...
Lauren FriasDespite warnings before the January 6 riot about a risk of violence, Capitol Police officers were ordered not to use their most aggressive crowd-control tactics — like stun grenades — on the mob, a scathing new watchdog report revealed Tuesday. "Heavier, less-lethal weapons were not used that day because of orders from leadership," the Capitol Police inspector general, Michael Bolton, wrote in a 104-page report reviewed by The New York Times. CNN first reported about the watchdog report on Thursday, revealing more failures on the part of law enforcement in the January 6 siege. more...
Lawsuit seeks damages for ‘physical and emotional injuries caused by Trump’s wrongful conduct inciting a riot’ on 6 JanuaryGuardian staff and agencyTwo US Capitol Police officers have filed a lawsuit against Donald Trump, accusing him of inciting the deadly 6 January insurrection and saying he was responsible for physical and emotional injuries they suffered as a result. James Blassingame, a 17-year veteran of the force, and Sidney Hemby, an 11-year veteran, filed the lawsuit on Tuesday in US district court for the District of Columbia seeking damages of at least $75,000 each. “This is a complaint for damages by US Capitol Police officers for physical and emotional injuries caused by the defendant Donald Trump’s wrongful conduct inciting a riot on January 6, 2021, by his followers trying to overturn the results of the 2020 presidential election,” the lawsuit said. more...
By JACQUES BILLEAUD, MICHAEL TARMPHOENIX (AP) — The helmet-wearing Idaho man photographed dangling by one hand from the Senate’s balcony during the Jan. 6 riot at the U.S. Capitol turned himself in six days later. While buckled in the vehicle delivering him to the Boise jail, Josiah Colt made a video apologizing and expressing shame for storming the building. Jacob Chansley, the self-described QAnon Shaman who posed for photos on the Senate dais while sporting face paint and a furry hat with horns, also lacks the enthusiasm he once showed for the riot. A month later, he wrote an apology from jail, asking for understanding as he was coming to grips with his actions. more...
By Katelyn Polantz, CNN(CNN) Joseph Biggs, a Proud Boys leader who is charged with conspiracy related to the January 6 insurrection, claims the FBI had checked in on him several times in recent years, according to a new defense filing arguing that Biggs' contact with law enforcement shows he's not a threat to the public and should stay out of jail pending trial. In the filing, Biggs reveals that he regularly spoke to local and federal law enforcement about protests he knew of or was planning beginning in 2018. "By late 2018, Biggs also started to get 'cautionary' phone calls from FBI agents located in Jacksonville and Daytona Beach inquiring about what Biggs meant by something politically or culturally provocative he had said on the air or on social media concerning a national issue, political parties, the Proud Boys, Antifa or other groups," his defense lawyer wrote. more..
By Veronica Stracqualursi, CNNWashington (CNN) Former President Donald Trump on Thursday attempted to whitewash the history of the January 6 Capitol riot by pushing the false suggestion that his supporters were "hugging and kissing" police officers and posed "zero threat" despite widespread violence, injuries to law enforcement officers and five deaths. It's an outrageous attempt by Trump to rewrite the history of the insurrection, which he stoked by repeatedly and falsely claiming the 2020 election was stolen from him. There is no evidence of widespread fraud, but Trump and many of his conservative allies in the media and on Capitol Hill have continued to push the "big lie" regardless. Calling into Fox News on Thursday night, Trump was asked if he was concerned about the US Capitol's beefed up security, including razor-wire fencing, which he derided as "disgraceful" and a "political maneuver." more...
Racially biased policing was already a concern. Now, charges against officers in the Capitol riot inflame fears of extremists infiltrating law enforcement.Bart Jansen, USA TODAYWASHINGTON – Charges against police officers, public safety workers and military veterans in the insurrection at the Capitol on Jan. 6 reignited concerns among lawmakers and law enforcement officials about violent extremists infiltrating government agencies. Out of 324 arrests in the Capitol riot, 43 are current or former first responders or military veterans, according to USA TODAY analysis. At least four police officers and three former officers face federal charges. Two have been fired, one resigned and one was suspended without pay. Each of the officers charged has either pleaded not guilty or has not yet been arraigned. The alleged participation of public safety officials who swore to uphold the Constitution has led lawmakers to sound the alarm. more...
“I believe the facts do support those charges," Michael Sherwin, the former acting U.S. Attorney for the District of Columbia, said in an interview on “60 Minutes.”By Rebecca ShabadWASHINGTON — The federal prosecutor who had been overseeing the Justice Department’s investigation into the Jan. 6 attack on the Capitol says evidence likely supports sedition charges against some of the rioters. “I personally believe the evidence is trending towards that and probably meets those elements,” Michael Sherwin, the former acting U.S. Attorney for the District of Columbia, said in an interview with CBS News’ Scott Pelley that aired Sunday on “60 Minutes.” Asked if he expects sedition charges to be brought against some of the suspects, Sherwin said, “I believe the facts do support those charges, and I think that as we go forward, more facts will support that, Scott. This is going to be a long-term investigation.” more...
FBI WashingtonThe FBI’s Washington Field Office has released new information and videos of suspects in the most egregious assaults on federal officers during the riots at the U.S. Capitol on January 6, 2021, and is seeking the public’s help to identify them. It has been two months since violent extremists breached the U.S. Capitol and committed a litany of federal criminal acts. With the assistance of hundreds of thousands of tips from the American people, the FBI has arrested more than 300 individuals who took part in the Capitol riots. Of those, more than 65 were arrested for assaulting law enforcement officers. However, some of the most violent offenders have yet to be identified, including the 10 seen assaulting officers in the video footage we are releasing today. more...
A Private Jet of Rich Trumpers Wanted to “Stop the Steal”—But They Don’t Want You to Read This
These powerful Memphis figures reveal the rift in a segregated society.
By Abigail TracyAt 12:11 p.m. on January 5, an eight-seat Bombardier Challenger 300 jet took off from Memphis International Airport. A little over an hour and a half and one time zone later, it touched down at Dulles, just outside of Washington, D.C. The following day a seditious horde of Donald Trump supporters, unapologetically encouraged by him, mounted an insurrection to stop the certification of Joe Biden’s Electoral College victory. “After this we’re going to walk down, and I’ll be there with you,” the 45th president told attendees of the “Stop the Steal” rally gathered at the Ellipse, a park a little over one mile from the Hill. At 2:11 p.m. the first of the mob had breached the Capitol on the west side of the building, near the Senate chamber. At 5:34 p.m. the sergeant at arms informed lawmakers that the Capitol was secure. At 6:39 p.m. the Challenger was wheels-up, an hour behind schedule, according to flight data. It touched down in Memphis at 7:25 p.m., back in central time. more...
FBI Uncovers Contact Between Trump White House and Proud Boys Before Capitol Attack
The bureau is also looking into members of Congress who communicated with rioters
By Peter Wade
Federal law enforcement officials have uncovered contact between the Trump White House and a member of the far-right extremist organization, the Proud Boys, just days before the January 6 attack on the Capitol. According to a New York Times source, the FBI obtained “location, cellular and call record data revealed a call tying a Proud Boys member to the Trump White House.” Earlier this week, CNN reported that law enforcement officials are looking at communications data to determine “whether lawmakers wittingly or unwittingly helped the insurrectionists.” And so far they’ve found “indications of contact” between “alleged rioters discussing their associations with members of Congress.” On Thursday, a former Trump State Department aide, Federico Klein was arrested for taking part in the attack of the Capitol. more...
Jeffrey McKellop, now a military contractor, is accused of spearing an officer in the face with a flagpole on Jan. 6.By KYLE CHENEYA man identified by witnesses as a longtime Army Special Forces soldier and current military contractor has been charged with assaulting four police officers at the Capitol on Jan. 6, including by spearing one in the face with a flagpole. Jeffrey McKellop — clad in tactical gear and, in some Capitol photos, a gas mask — was identified by two witnesses, according to an FBI affidavit describing his case, including one who claimed to have served with McKellop from 2001 to 2016. Both witnesses indicated that McKellop has since become a contractor and at times works overseas. One of the witnesses also identified the helmet and ballistic vest McKellop was wearing as the same gear he wore overseas. more...
The FBI’s Washington Field Office has released new information and videos of suspects in the most egregious assaults on federal officers during the riots at the U.S. Capitol on January 6, 2021, and is seeking the public’s help to identify them.It has been two months since violent extremists breached the U.S. Capitol and committed a litany of federal criminal acts. With the assistance of hundreds of thousands of tips from the American people, the FBI has arrested more than 300 individuals who took part in the Capitol riots. Of those, more than 65 were arrested for assaulting law enforcement officers. However, some of the most violent offenders have yet to be identified, including the 10 seen assaulting officers in the video footage we are releasing today. more...
By Katelyn Polantz, Christina Carrega and Devan Cole, CNN(CNN) The FBI released on Thursday several new video clips of violence toward police during the Capitol riot, as investigators continue their hunt for suspects. The videos -- showing graphic moments of rioters beating police with metal poles, stolen shields and chemical sprays -- highlight some of the more shocking moments from the riot, such as when the crowd worked to overcome a police line to push through a lower archway into the Capitol building. Even with so many arrests and footage documenting the siege already, the FBI's release and request to the public for help identifying the people in the video shows how they continue to pursue cases of severe violence from the pro-Trump crowd.Video capturing the hours-long siege inside and outside the Capitol has been immense in its volume and available publicly for months, since many participants and observers had already posted footage online. But investigators have worked to zero in on specific rioters and moments, scrubbing through the tens of thousands of hours they've collected of police body cameras, news broadcasts, surveillance images and video taken from social media and even from the cell phones of rioters who have been arrested. more...
‘I was peaceful. I was civil.’ A federal judge says Jacob Chansley “blatantly lied” during a jailhouse interview with CBS News.Pilar MelendezThe notorious “QAnon Shaman” made several stunning claims during his jailhouse interview with CBS News earlier this month—including that his actions during the Capitol riots were not an attack on the United States because authorities left the door open for the MAGA mob to enter. “I didn’t break any windows,” Jacob Chansley said during the interview with 60 Minutes+ that aired March 4. “I didn’t break any doors. I didn’t cross any police barricades. I was peaceful. I was civil. I was calm.” But a federal judge, who last week ordered Chansley to remain behind bars pending trial, insists the accused rioter “blatantly lied” during the interview about his easy entrance into the Capitol. And he has the receipts to prove it. On Tuesday, the court released two videos to debunk Chansley’s claim, showing the chaos outside the Capitol on Jan. 6 as thousands of MAGA supporters smashed through the building’s windows. In the first video, first obtained by Law & Crime, Chansley is seen standing on scaffolding and holding an American flag above a sea of rioters being held back by law enforcement. more...
NBC News’ Ken Dilanian gives details on the two men arrested and charged for the assault of Capitol Hill Police Officer Brian Sicknick, how they were identified and the investigation following. vidoe...
Tom BoggioniIn a deep dive by the New York Times into the now-changing relationship between law enforcement officials and the extreme right-wing Proud Boys, one of the leaders of the group admitted that he exchanged information with federal authorities before their rallies that often turned violent. According to the report, law enforcement officials for years have ignored the growing violence at Proud Boy rallies -- choosing instead to arrest their antagonists -- but things have changed since the Jan 6th riot when supporters of Donald Trump overran the Capitol and sent lawmakers fleeing for their lives. As the Times' David Kirkpatrick and Alan Feuer wrote of the Proud Boys, "The group's propensity for violence and extremism was no secret. But the F.B.I. and other agencies had often seen the Proud Boys as they chose to portray themselves, according to more than a half-dozen current and former federal officials: as mere street brawlers who lacked the organization or ambition of typical bureau targets like neo-Nazis, international terrorists and Mexican drug cartels." more...
U.S. attorneys cited the rapidly growing roster of defendants and the enormous cache of evidence they must sift through.By KYLE CHENEY and JOSH GERSTEINFederal prosecutors have begun seeking 60-day delays across a series of Capitol riot cases, calling the probe “likely the most complex investigation ever prosecuted by the Department of Justice.” In a nine-page filing lodged in multiple cases Friday morning, U.S. attorneys handling cases stemming from the Jan. 6 insurrection cited the rapidly growing roster of defendants and the enormous cache of evidence they must sift through to get a complete picture of the crimes committed that day. “The investigation and prosecution of the Capitol Attack will likely be one of the largest in American history,” prosecutors said, “both in terms of the number of defendants prosecuted and the nature and volume of the evidence.”That evidence, they said, includes findings of more than 900 search warrants executed in nearly every state. It also includes more than 15,000 hours of surveillance and body-worn camera footage supplied by some of the 14 federal and local law enforcement agencies that participated in the Capitol response — from the FBI to the Secret Service to the Arlington, Va., police department. Authorities are also combing through 1,600 electronic devices, conducting hundreds of searches of text messages from multiple providers, and reviewing 210,000 tips and 80,000 witness interviews. more...
By Jamiel Lynch and Danielle Hackett, CNN(CNN) A Florida firefighter was arrested for unlawful entry of a restricted building and disorderly conduct on Capitol grounds, according to court documents, after a photo surfaced of him wearing a Trump 2020 hat and pointing at a placard for Speaker of the House Nancy Pelosi inside the US Capitol. Andrew Williams, a firefighter-paramedic with the Sanford Fire Department, appeared in federal court Tuesday and was released on a $25,000 signature bond, according to the court documents. The Sanford Fire Department launched an investigation into Williams' involvement after the photo circulated online. Fire Chief Craig Radzak confirmed it was Williams in the photo and said that Williams had been with the department as a firefighter-paramedic since October 2016. Williams has been placed on administrative leave without pay, according to an updated release from the fire department. As one of the bail conditions, Williams must appear at all court proceedings. In addition, he is not allowed to possess firearms, ammunition or dangerous weapons, and must surrender his passport by Friday. Records from federal court in Florida show that Williams' case is being transferred to the District of Columbia. more...
By MARTHA MENDOZA and JULIET LINDERMANTwo firefighters loaned to Washington for the day said they were the only medics on the Capitol steps Jan. 6, trying to triage injured officers as they watched the angry mob swell and attack police working to protect Congress. Law enforcement agents were “being pulled into the crowd and trampled, assaulted with scaffolding materials, and/or bear maced by protesters,” wrote Arlington County firefighter Taylor Blunt in an after-action memo. Some couldn’t walk, and had to be dragged to safety. Even the attackers sought medical help, and Blunt and his colleague Nathan Waterfall treated those who were passing out or had been hit. But some “feigned illness to remain behind police lines,” Blunt wrote. more...
The two men were together just hours before prosecutors said Roberto Minuta stormed the Capitol armed with a gun and bear spray.By Mary PapenfussA member of the extremist Oath Keepers seen hanging out with longtime Donald Trump confidant Roger Stone the day of the U.S. Capitol siege was arrested Monday on charges linked to the riot. Roberto Minuta, 36, of New Jersey is accused of obstructing the formal counting of presidential election votes, trespassing and attempting to cover up his crimes, according to the criminal complaint against him. Minuta, who owns a tattoo parlor in New York, traveled to Washington “equipped with military-style attire and gear, including apparel emblazoned with a crest related to the Oath Keepers,” and then stormed the Capitol, states an affidavit in support of the complaint. He was allegedly armed with a gun and bear spray. more...
Federico Klein, a former State Department aide, was picked up Thursday on charges stemming from the Jan. 6 takeover of Congress.By JOSH GERSTEINThe FBI on Thursday arrested Federico Klein, a former State Department aide, on charges related to the storming of the Capitol on Jan. 6, marking the first known instance of an appointee of President Donald Trump facing criminal prosecution in connection with the attempt to block Congress from certifying President Joe Biden’s victory. Klein, 42, was taken into custody in Virginia, said Samantha Shero, a spokesperson for the FBI’s Washington Field Office. An FBI lookout bulletin issued two weeks after the Capitol assault included a photo of Klein, prompting two tipsters to contact the FBI and finger him as the man in that picture, according to an affidavit filed in federal court in Washington. The affidavit says video from police body-worn cameras on Jan. 6 shows Klein jamming a riot shield into doors at the Capitol as police were trying to secure them to keep the mob out. Klein was also heard on video trying to encourage others to clash with the police, the complaint says. more...
Alana WiseIt took more than three hours for former President Donald Trump's Defense Department to approve a request for D.C.'s National Guard to intervene in the deadly Jan. 6 Capitol insurrection, the commanding general of the outfit told senators on Wednesday. The testimony comes as Congress holds a series of hearings about security preparations for and response to the violence at the Capitol earlier this year. "At 1:49 p.m. I received a frantic call from then-Chief of U.S. Capitol Police, Steven Sund, where he informed me that the security perimeter at the Capitol had been breached by hostile rioters," Maj. Gen. William Walker told the Senate Homeland and Rules committees in a joint hearing. "Chief Sund, his voice cracking with emotion, indicated that there was a dire emergency on Capitol Hill and requested the immediate assistance of as many Guardsmen as I could muster." more...
*** No matter how hard Republicans, Fox news and right wing media try to place the blame on Anifa the facts and the videos prove it was not Antifa but Trump supporters, white supremacist and Qanon that sacked the capitol of the Untied States of America. ***The FBI has not seen "any evidence of anarchist violent extremists or people subscribing to antifa in connection with the 6th," he said at a Senate hearing.By Rebecca ShabadWASHINGTON — FBI Director Christopher Wray on Tuesday repeatedly shot down claims by Republican allies of former President Donald Trump and others that antifa activists participated in the Jan. 6 assault on the Capitol. “We have not to date seen any evidence of anarchist violent extremists or people subscribing to antifa in connection with the 6th," Wray said in testimony to the Senate Judiciary Committee at a hearing to address concerns about the intelligence leading up to the riot and the domestic terrorism threat more broadly. "That doesn't mean we're not looking, and we'll continue to look, but at the moment we have not seen that.”Wray explained that those who participated in the breach of the Capitol fell into two main groups of violent extremists — those associated with militia groups, such as Oath Keepers, and those who advocate white supremacy. Wray's comments came after Sen. Chuck Grassley of Iowa, the top Republican on the committee, spent much of his opening remarks focused not on the right-wing extremists who attacked the Capitol in January, but on left-wing extremists, such as the anti-fascist, or antifa, movement. Grassley referred to how far-left protesters vandalized a federal courthouse in Portland, Oregon, in the summer and the state Democratic Party headquarters during President Joe Biden's inauguration. more...
Members are alleged to have dressed “incognito” on Jan. 6, then fanned out to prevent law enforcement from identifying them en masse.By KYLE CHENEY and JOSH GERSTEINThe Proud Boys gathered at the Washington Monument at 10 a.m. on Jan. 6 dressed “incognito” to avoid detection, and then fanned out across the Capitol to prevent law enforcement from identifying them en masse, prosecutors alleged Monday in a legal filing that provides the most detail yet about the group’s actions on the day of the insurrection. In one of the most detailed filings describing the violent nationalist group’s activities, prosecutors say the Proud Boys — bereft of their leader Enrique Tarrio, who had been arrested two days earlier — turned to new leaders, including Ethan Nordean, a Seattle-based Proud Boys leader, who helped orchestrate the group’s role in the assault. more...
On social media, on cable networks and even in the halls of Congress, supporters of Donald J. Trump tried to rewrite history in real time, pushing the fiction that left-wing agitators were to blame for the violence on Jan. 6.By Michael M. Grynbaum, Davey Alba and Reid J. EpsteinAt 1:51 p.m. on Jan. 6, a right-wing radio host named Michael D. Brown wrote on Twitter that rioters had breached the United States Capitol — and immediately speculated about who was really to blame. “Antifa or BLM or other insurgents could be doing it disguised as Trump supporters,” Mr. Brown wrote, using shorthand for Black Lives Matter. “Come on, man, have you never heard of psyops?” Only 13,000 people follow Mr. Brown on Twitter, but his tweet caught the attention of another conservative pundit: Todd Herman, who was guest-hosting Rush Limbaugh’s national radio program. Minutes later, he repeated Mr. Brown’s baseless claim to Mr. Limbaugh’s throngs of listeners: “It’s probably not Trump supporters who would do that. Antifa, BLM, that’s what they do. Right?” What happened over the next 12 hours illustrated the speed and the scale of a right-wing disinformation machine primed to seize on a lie that served its political interests and quickly spread it as truth to a receptive audience. The weekslong fiction about a stolen election that President Donald J. Trump pushed to his millions of supporters had set the stage for a new and equally false iteration: that left-wing agitators were responsible for the attack on the Capitol. more...
By Bill McCarthyTucker Carlson’s false claim downplaying role of white supremacists at Capitol riot. Several people charged in connection with the U.S. Capitol riot have ties to right-wing extremist groups. Some of those groups are explicitly white supremacist. Others, like the Proud Boys, have members who have expressed white supremacist views. Video and photos from the event show that white supremacist symbols were prominently displayed on shirts and flags. Asked during a Senate hearing on Feb. 23 whether white supremacists and extremist groups were involved in the riot, top Capitol security officials said, “yes.” Fox News host Tucker Carlson downplayed the involvement of racially motivated extremist groups in the Jan. 6 attack on the U.S. Capitol, falsely suggesting that the mob of pro-Trump rioters who violently stormed the building did not include white supremacists. "There's no evidence that white supremacists were responsible for what happened on Jan. 6. That's a lie," Carlson said Feb. 22 on his TV show. "And contrary to what you've been hearing, there's also no evidence this was a, quote, 'armed insurrection.'" During the segment, Carlson, whose primetime show is among the most-watched cable news programs, interviewed the author of a blog post that argued the riot did not amount to an armed insurrection. PolitiFact previously rated that claim Pants on Fire. more...
*** No matter what Republicans and right wing media say it was not Antifa is was Trump supporters, white supremacist and Qanon who arrack the United States Capitol. ***By Marshall Cohen, CNN(CNN) Nearly a dozen Trump supporters charged in connection with the US Capitol insurrection have said that Antifa and other left-wing groups weren't involved in the attack, debunking a false-flag conspiracy theory that is gaining popularity in the pro-Trump orbit. The baseless claim that left-wing infiltrators were responsible for the violent attack has been promoted by former President Donald Trump's impeachment lawyers, several GOP lawmakers and at least one speaker at the Conservative Political Action Conference Friday morning. Many of the alleged rioters facing charges also embraced this conspiracy. But according to a CNN review of court documents, nearly a dozen defendants have explicitly pushed back, saying that they and other Trump supporters deserve the credit for storming the Capitol -- not Antifa. "There's a lot of memes and posts flying around saying that the people who were fighting last night were all Antifa provocateurs etc.," defendant Jose Padilla allegedly posted to Facebook one day after the January 6 attack. "I just want to say that as a first hand observer of every point of last night, that it was not Antifa. They were Patriots who were trying to Restore the Republic." more...
By Andrew Kaczynski and Em Steck, CNN(CNN) A close ally of Georgia Republican Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene took part in the January 6 mob at the Capitol and said he was among those who eventually made their way into the building. Greene, a freshman congresswoman with a history of promoting dangerous and violent conspiracies and comments, encouraged the big lie that the election was stolen from former President Donald Trump by voting to object to the election certification and fanned the flames of the insurrection by telling her supporters to "fight for Trump." In tweets after the Capitol insurrection, Greene falsely suggested that those who had broken into the Capitol were not Republicans and instead falsely implied so-called "Antifa" dressed as Trump supporters were to blame.In fact, Anthony Aguero, a conservative livestreamer, activist and associate of Greene, said on video following the January 6 assault on the Capitol that he had been among those who entered and attacked those who falsely claimed it was done by "Antifa." "We were all there. It was not Antifa and it was not BLM. It was Trump supporters that did that yesterday. I'm the first to admit it, being one myself," said Aguero in a video posted on January 7. "I walked amongst all those people," he added, later defending entering the Capitol. more...
By Cassidy McDonaldRichard Michetti texted his ex during the Capitol riot to say she was "a moron" if she didn't believe the election was stolen. She turned him in. Michetti is now facing charges for his alleged conduct January 6 after prosecutors said someone with whom Michetti had a "prior romantic relationship" shared with law enforcement texts and videos that he'd sent her during the attack. "If you can't see the election was stolen you're a moron," Michetti texted her that day. Michetti was charged with entering or remaining in restricted building or grounds, violent entry and disorderly conduct on Capitol grounds, obstruction of justice as well as a charge making him punishable as a principal. Prosecutors listed a series of texts that Michetti sent his ex as he made his way to the U.S. Capitol. Around 7:15 p.m. the night before the riot, he wrote, "I just got to dc I'll call when I get off." more...
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