The Trump Insurrection: How Donald J. Trump and the right incited insurrection and sedition and attempted a coup d'etat - Page 7
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.
*** They need to convict Trump, if they give Trump, a pass the next Trump will be far worse because he knows there is no punishment for a president that commits crimes. ***
By American-Statesman Editorial BoardImagine our nation’s future if President Donald Trump’s actions go unchallenged. Consider the precedents he will set. The losing candidate for president can spread wild conspiracy theories about a stolen election, even after recounts, court rulings and voting security experts have upheld the results. That candidate can tell supporters that the winner is illegitimate and must be stopped. That candidate can summon thousands to the nation’s capital and tell them, “If you don’t fight like hell, you’re not going to have a country anymore.” That candidate can order the crowd to march to the U.S. Capitol to stop the certification of election results — launching a deadly riot. We cannot undo the horrors of Jan. 6, the bloodshed and the beatings and the plumes of tear gas filling the halls of Congress. But we can hold the instigators accountable. We can insist on consequences that send a clear message: Attacks on our democracy — on the power of voters to choose their leaders — will not be tolerated. more...
The two Republican senators' actions call for a probe and "a determination whether disciplinary action is warranted," the complaint said.By Dareh Gregorian, Julie Tsirkin and Frank Thorp VA group of Senate Democrats filed an ethics complaint against Republican Sens. Josh Hawley and Ted Cruz on Thursday calling for an investigation to determine whether the pair coordinated with the organizers of the Jan. 6 pro-Trump rally that preceded the deadly riot at the U.S. Capitol. The Senate Ethics Committee "should also offer recommendations for strong disciplinary action, including up to expulsion or censure, if warranted by the facts uncovered," the seven Democrats, led by Sen. Sheldon Whitehouse, D-R.I., said in a letter to the committee's chair and vice-chair. Hawley, R-Mo., and Cruz, R-Texas, had announced in the days before the riot that they would object to vote counts in states former President Donald Trump falsely claimed to have won during the Jan. 6 electoral vote count, which "amplified claims of election fraud that had resulted in threats of violence against state and local officials around the country," the letter said. more...
Thomas ColsonRepublican Sen. Ted Cruz is facing a growing backlash from congressional colleagues who say he was partly responsible for the riot at the US Capitol last Wednesday, with reports suggesting he could face a formal censure. There have been multiple calls for Cruz to resign since he spoke on the Senate floor last week to argue for an audit of November's presidential election — part of a wider effort to overturn Joe Biden's election victory in favor of President Donald Trump. Shortly after Cruz's speech, hundreds of Trump supporters breached police lines and stormed the Capitol building. Cruz's communications director, Lauren Blair Bianchi, resigned in response to Cruz's efforts to overturn the election result, Punchbowl News reported on Tuesday. A source close to Bianchi told the publication that the senator was "moving in a direction that she was not comfortable with." Several Democratic lawmakers, including Sens. Patty Murray, Chris Coons, Sherrod Brown, and Sheldon Whitehouse, have called for Cruz and Missouri Sen. Josh Hawley to resign, citing the senators' vocal opposition to the certification of the election result before the violence at the Capitol last week. more...
Opinion by Greg SargentIn the days after President Trump instigated a violent mob assault on the Capitol, his most craven enablers have frantically searched for a political sweet spot: They’ve tried to condemn the violence without retracting or apologizing for their active role in sustaining the big lie that incited it. This will become a lot harder to pull off, thanks to appalling new video of the rioters brought to us by the New Yorker and by ProPublica. The footage illustrates with great force just how tightly bound up that big lie — that the election was illegitimate — was in the rioters’ motivations. The enablers of this lie badly want to flush this truth down the memory hole. The enablers here are Republican Sens. Ted Cruz of Texas and Josh Hawley of Missouri. They prominently led Trump’s charge to object to Joe Biden’s electors in Congress, which constituted an effort to invalidate millions of votes and overturn the results. Cruz is directly mentioned in the video filmed by the New Yorker’s Luke Mogelson. It depicts two men rummaging through a lawmaker’s papers in the Capitol. “There’s gotta be something we can f---ing use against these scumbags,” one says. “I think Cruz would want us to do this,” the second man says soon after. “I think we’re good.” It’s hard to know what “this” is a reference to. But plainly, they believed Cruz — by virtue of claiming fellow lawmakers shouldn’t count Biden’s electors — wanted them to go to extralegal lengths to damage them, including violently invading the Capitol and stealing their secrets. more...
Michael Joseph Foy was arrested Thursday thanks to an unwitting assist from his father, who chronicled his son's activities on Facebook.By David K. LiA Michigan man, allegedly seen attacking police with a hockey stick during riots at the U.S. Capitol, was arrested on Thursday after FBI agents got an unwitting assist from the suspect's Facebook-posting father, officials said. Michael Joseph Foy, 29, was picked up in the Detroit suburb of Wixom about 6:30 a.m., according to the FBI and the U.S. Attorney's Office. He made a brief appearance in court about seven hours later, and was ordered to remain in jail until his next hearing on Monday afternoon, authorities said. more...
Associated PressFederal officials are investigating people who took part in the riot at the U.S. Capitol to determine whether they should be barred from traveling on airlines. The assessments are one of several steps federal agencies are taking to increase security before President-elect Joe Biden’s inauguration on Wednesday. The Transportation Security Administration said Friday it will put more air marshals on some flights, and travelers will see a noticeable increase in police officers, bomb-detecting dogs and random screening at all three major airports in the Washington, D.C., area. TSA Administrator David Pekoske said his agency is “processing hundreds of names with law enforcement agencies for a thorough risk assessment.” He said TSA was working “to ensure those who may pose a threat to our aviation sector undergo enhanced screening or are prevented from boarding an aircraft.” more...
Misinformation and online radicalization led to the insurrection at the U.S. Capitol, says Joan Donovan—and understanding exactly how that happened is the first step to seeing where we’re headed.By ZACK STANTONZack Stanton is digital editor of Politico Magazine. As law enforcement continues its nationwide manhunt for violent pro-Trump extremists involved in last week’s deadly insurrection at the U.S. Capitol, one of America’s top experts in disinformation is here to remind you that if you want to understand how we got here, you need to look beyond Donald Trump and Washington. “The internet is a crime scene,” says Joan Donovan, research director at Harvard’s Shorenstein Center on Media, Politics and Public Policy. “We’re collectively witnessing the aftermath of probably one of the biggest lies ever told in terms of the amount of people it reached and the effects that it had.” more...
After a slew of arrests of his former militia comrades, Sam Andrews is singing a different tune.Kelly WeillIn the weeks ahead of the Jan. 6 attack on the Capitol, Sam Andrews had a message for the right. “Contact your friends with rifles,” he said in a mid-December appearance on a right-wing podcast. “And tell them to join you. That's who you contact. And then you get a map and you drive to D.C.” But since rioters stormed the Capitol, leaving five people dead in the melee, Andrews has changed his tune. “I have rescinded the idea that patriots should go to D.C. in protest,” he told The Daily Beast on Wednesday. “Americans going armed to D.C. to protest would be a lot like standing in a field with your best friend over a cowpatty and stabbing each other for who gets to keep the cowpatty.” “It’s a lot of bloodshed for a little shit,” he added. more...
Peter WeberLt. Gen. Charles Flynn, the Army's deputy chief of staff for operations and training — and brother to disgraced former National Security Adviser Michael Flynn — did participate in a critical Jan. 6 meeting to discuss deploying the National Guard to the besieged Capitol, The Washington Post reports. The Army had denied several times that Flynn was involved in the conference call at the Pentagon with Washington, D.C., officials and Capitol Police, the Post notes, but both Flynn and the Pentagon confirmed his presence on Wednesday. During the tense meeting, D.C. officials and the Capitol Police chief had pleaded for the National Guard to help protect and clear the Capitol of violent rioters pushing to keep former President Donald Trump in office, but the Pentagon officials had stalled, worrying about the "optics" of having the National Guard at the Capitol. Charles Flynn told the Post he had "entered the room after the call began and departed prior to the call ending as I believed a decision was imminent" from Army Secretary Ryan McCarthy "and I needed to be in my office to assist in executing the decision." The National Guard arrived at the Capitol three hours after the call. more...
‘GONNA BE EPIC’Joseph Biggs, a 37-year-old organizer for the white nationalist group, was caught on camera inside the Capitol building.Pilar MelendezA Proud Boys leader caught on camera storming the U.S. Capitol with a pro-Trump mob has been arrested and charged for participating in the deadly insurrection. Joseph Biggs, a top organizer with the white nationalist organization, has been slapped with three charges, including obstruction of an official proceeding, for his role in the Jan. 6 riots. Prosecutors say the 37-year-old Florida resident is a “self-described organizer” of the Proud Boys, which describes itself as a “pro-Western fraternal organization for men who refuse to apologize for creating the modern world; aka Western Chauvinists.” Biggs can be seen in several videos and photos taken inside the Capitol building, including one where someone shouts out his name. In the video, Biggs pulls down his face mask and declares, “This is awesome,” according to a criminal complaint. During his hearing in Orlando, U.S. Magistrate Judge Embry Kidd ordered Biggs released under home confinement with monitoring, stating there are concerns he will attempt to obstruct justice. more...
By Harper NeidigFederal prosecutors have charged a man with assaulting a police officer during the Capitol riot, accusing him of trying to crush an officer who was pinned by a mob as it tried to break into the building. Patrick Edward McCaughey III was arrested and charged on Tuesday with assault, disorder, entering a restricted area and violent entry or disorderly conduct, federal prosecutors announced Wednesday. Charging documents filed in federal court allege that McCaughey was one of the rioters attacking Officer Daniel Hodges in a viral video first reported by CNN that shows Hodges screaming in pain as he's crushed by a surging mob. “The vicious attack on Officer Hodges was abhorrent and quintessentially un-American,” Michael Sherwin, the acting U.S. attorney for D.C., said in a statement. “It is my pledge that anyone involved in violent attacks on law enforcement at the U.S. Capitol on January 6 will be prosecuted to the fullest extent of the law. McCaughey’s alleged actions were an assault on Officer Hodges, the Capitol, and the rule of law itself.” more...
McKenzie Lynn TozanThe investigation surrounding the Capitol insurrection is ongoing, especially with President Donald Trump's upcoming Senate impeachment trial. Cuoy Griffin, the leader of "Cowboys for Trump" in New Mexico is the latest arrest as one of the people who stormed the Capitol. Griffin appeared in court on Thursday, where his recent behaviors were presented. more...
By Harper NeidigFederal prosecutors have charged a man with assaulting a police officer during the Capitol riot, accusing him of trying to crush an officer who was pinned by a mob as it tried to break into the building. Patrick Edward McCaughey III was arrested and charged on Tuesday with assault, disorder, entering a restricted area and violent entry or disorderly conduct, federal prosecutors announced Wednesday. Charging documents filed in federal court allege that McCaughey was one of the rioters attacking Officer Daniel Hodges in a viral video first reported by CNN that shows Hodges screaming in pain as he's crushed by a surging mob. “The vicious attack on Officer Hodges was abhorrent and quintessentially un-American,” Michael Sherwin, the acting U.S. attorney for D.C., said in a statement. “It is my pledge that anyone involved in violent attacks on law enforcement at the U.S. Capitol on January 6 will be prosecuted to the fullest extent of the law. McCaughey’s alleged actions were an assault on Officer Hodges, the Capitol, and the rule of law itself.” more...
Associated PressORLANDO, Fla. (AP) — Two Florida men, including a self-described organizer for the Proud Boys, a far-right extremist group, were arrested Wednesday for taking part in the siege of the U.S. Capitol earlier this month, authorities said. Joseph Biggs, 37, was arrested in central Florida and faces charges of obstructing an official proceeding before Congress, entering a restricted on the groups of the U.S. Capitol and disorderly conduct. According to an arrest affidavit, Biggs was part of a crowd on Jan. 6 that overwhelmed Capitol Police officers who were manning a metal barrier on the steps of the Capitol. The mob entered the building as lawmakers were certifying President Joe Biden’s election win. more...
Bill BostockThe 22-year-old woman accused of stealing House Speaker Nancy Pelosi's laptop and planning to sell it to Russian spies has been slapped with new charges that could see her spend 20 years in jail. The Justice Department initially charged Riley June Williams on Sunday with entering a restricted building and disorderly conduct in relation to the January 6 Capitol riot. But in a Tuesday court appearance, US Attorney Christian Haughsby also charged Williams with theft of government property and obstruction, The Philadelphia Inquirer reported. If Williams is found guilty of those charges, she could be sentenced to 20 years in jail, The Inquirer added. more...
Two of them made threatening comments toward lawmakers, and one expressed support for President Trump. The others were removed for a wide variety of reasons.By Eric Schmitt and Helene CooperWASHINGTON — Twelve National Guard members have been removed from duties related to the inauguration of President-elect Joseph R. Biden Jr., two of them for expressing anti-government sentiments, Defense Department officials said on Tuesday. Two of the members were removed over texts and social media posts that made threatening comments toward political officials, Pentagon officials said. They declined to specify the exact nature of the threats. “I will share that they were inappropriate,” Gen. Daniel R. Hokanson, the chief of the National Guard Bureau, told reporters during a telephone briefing. Two officials described the texts as broad in nature — not directed specifically at Mr. Biden or Vice President-elect Kamala Harris, but rather at lawmakers as a whole. One of the service members removed, the officials said, made a point of expressing support for President Trump in addition to making menacing comments. more...
By David Shortell, CNNThey moved in an "organized and practiced fashion" as they pushed through crowds toward entrances to the US Capitol. On the inside, several maintained formation, putting their hands on each other's shoulders to keep in lockstep. Some communicated over radios, while others gave directions with hand signals and voice calls. Members of militant groups that stormed the seat of legislative power earlier this month during the certification of the presidential vote have quickly become a top focus of federal law enforcement investigating the January 6 insurrection. At least six alleged rioters with ties to self-styled militias have been named in criminal complaints released in recent days, representing a small but alarming segment of the dozens of defendants charged to date. Some of the groups present, like The Oath Keepers, try to draw their ranks from former service-members and law enforcement officers, relying on their tactical training to patrol and intimidate at protests across the country. Many have been radicalized by racial rhetoric and false claims coming from the Trump White House, security experts say. Through court documents and interviews with multiple officials familiar with the investigation, their organized role in the siege of the Capitol is coming into view and being built into cases that could potentially carry charges of sedition, indicating a concerted effort to incite a revolt against the government. more...
Spencer Hsu, Tom Jackman, Devlin Barrett 9 hrs agoSelf-styled militia members from Virginia, Ohio and other states made plans to storm the U.S. Capitol days in advance of the Jan. 6 attack, communicating in real time as they breached the building on opposite sides and leading dozens in a hunt for lawmakers to make “citizen’s arrests,” according to new court documents filed Tuesday. U.S. authorities charged an apparent Oath Keeper leader, Thomas Edward Caldwell, 66, of Clarke County, Va., in the attack, alleging that the U.S. Navy veteran helped organize a ring of what became 30 or 40 people who “stormed the castle” to disrupt the electoral vote confirmation of President-elect Joe Biden’s victory. “We have about 30-40 of us. We are sticking together and sticking to the plan,” co-defendant Jessica Watkins, 38, a U.S. Army veteran, said while the breach was underway, according to court documents unsealed Tuesday. “You are executing citizen’s arrest. Arrest this assembly, we have probable cause for acts of treason, election fraud,” a man replied, according to communications recovered from her phone, the FBI alleged. “We are in the main dome right now. We are rocking it. They are throwing grenades, they are fricking shooting people with paint balls. But we are in here,” a woman believed to be Watkins said, according to court documents. A man then responds, “Get it, Jess,” adding, “This is ... everything we f------trained for!” more...
NEW YORK (WABC) -- An active duty American soldier is in federal custody Tuesday after he plotted with someone he thought was a member of ISIS to attack a landmark in New York City and fellow troops overseas, according to a law enforcement official.ABC7NYCole James Bridges, a private first class in the U.S. Army who is stationed at Fort Stewart, is charged with attempting to provide material support to ISIS and attempting to murder U.S. service members. The Ohio native spoke to an undercover FBI agent when he thought he was planning an ISIS-inspired attack against the 9/11 Memorial and Museum. He also was charged with planning to attack fellow U.S. soldiers. "As alleged, Cole Bridges betrayed the oath he swore to defend the United States by attempting to provide ISIS with tactical military advice to ambush and kill his fellow service members," Manhattan U.S. Attorney Audrey Strauss said. "Our troops risk their lives for our country, but they should never face such peril at the hands of one of their own. Today, thanks to the efforts of the agents and detectives of the JTTF, and our partners in the Department of Defense, Bridges is in custody and facing federal terrorism charges for his alleged crimes." more...
By Erin TiernanA lead organizer of Boston’s “Straight Pride Parade” is being detained and a Natick Town Meeting member has been ordered to stay away from the Massachusetts State House as both face charges in connection with the deadly Jan. 6 insurrection at the U.S. Capitol. Mark Sahady, 46, of Malden, and Suzanne Ianni, 59, of Natick — both avowed President Trump supporters — were arrested by FBI agents at their respective homes early Tuesday and both appeared later in U.S. District Court in Boston where a prosecutor suggested the pair could still pose a threat. “The defendant was part of an organized horde, whose actions collectively resulted in the murder of one police officer, four other deaths and at least 60 other people injured,” said Assistant U.S. Attorney William Bloomer of Sahady during a virtual court appearance. Bloomer did not oppose Ianni’s release, but asked a judge to order her to stay away from the Massachusetts State House. more...
QAnon followers have become more divorced from reality since the Capitol riots as some are targeted by extremists who try to radicalize them further.By Ben CollinsLiesa Norris got a panicked phone call Monday from her brother. He told her to buy a ham radio. The radio, he explained, would be one of the few ways they could communicate once President Donald Trump launched his plans to take permanent power. "We were dancing around the subject, and then he just brought up that on the 20th, you know, the truth is going to come out," Norris said. "He was just going on and on about how we needed to have ham radios because we're not going to be able to talk on regular phones and everything is going to be dark." Trump has no such plans. But in the fractured QAnon community, which has turned to a variety of smaller messaging apps and YouTube to keep spreading conspiracy theories, evidence-free reports of a nationwide blackout and impending martial law Wednesday have become a last stand for true believers that Trump will be president after Inauguration Day. NBC News reviewed the social media accounts of Norris' brother, part of a sea of QAnon accounts that have become increasingly divorced from reality since the Capitol riot. Most of the accounts have expressed a belief that Trump will declare martial law and execute Democrats on Inauguration Day as part of the cult's long-awaited doomsday. more...
By Spencer S. Hsu, Tom Jackman and Devlin BarrettU.S. authorities have leveled the first conspiracy charge against an apparent leader of an extremist group in the Jan. 6 storming of the U.S. Capitol, arresting an alleged Oath Keeper who is accused of plotting to disrupt the electoral vote confirmation of President-elect Joe Biden’s victory and proposing further assaults on state capitols. Thomas Edward Caldwell, 66, of Clarke County, Va., was taken into custody before 7 a.m. on four federal counts, including conspiracy to commit an offense against the United States in the attack on the Capitol. The conspiracy charge is reserved for offenses interfering with or obstructing the lawful operation of government. A charging affidavit says he helped organize a group of eight to 10 individuals, including self-styled Ohio militia members apprehended Sunday, who wore helmets and military-style gear and were seen moving purposefully toward the top of the Capitol steps and leading the move against police lines. more...
No plot against President-elect Joe Biden has been found.By ASSOCIATED PRESSTwo U.S. Army National Guard members are being removed from the security mission to secure Joe Biden’s presidential inauguration. A U.S. Army official and a senior U.S. intelligence official say the two National Guard members have been found to have ties to fringe right group militias. No plot against Biden was found. more...
*** If was not a false flag nor was it the left, BLM or Antifa it was the right who attacked our country and sacked our capitol. ***Jaclyn DiazFederal investigators say they have arrested several alleged members of extremist and white supremacist groups who participated in the Jan. 6 riot at the U.S. Capitol building. At least eight people allegedly affiliated with organizations such as The Three Percenters, The Oath Keepers, Proud Boys, Texas Freedom Force, and other self-described Nazis and white supremacists were among those who joined the thousands that stormed the U.S. Capitol building, according to federal investigators. Details of their arrests highlight how different, yet organized, extremist groups, with members throughout the country, coalesced to support Trump and his (disproven) claims that the November election was stolen. Law enforcement officials were able to track suspects down by using information gleaned from tipsters, social media posts shared by the accused, and news media coverage. One of them is Timothy Hale-Cusanelli, a member of the U.S. Army Reserve, who as a defense contractor at Naval Weapons Station Earle in New Jersey, has a security clearance and access to a variety of munitions, according to court documents. more...
By Veronica Stracqualursi, CNN(CNN) The FBI on Monday alerted other law enforcement agencies that QAnon adherents discussed acting as National Guard soldiers in Washington to try and infiltrate President-elect Joe Biden's inauguration, according to The Washington Post. The FBI, in an intelligence report obtained by the Post, said it monitored individuals downloading maps of sensitive areas around Washington and talking about how those locations could be utilized to penetrate security, the Post reported. The intelligence report warned that QAnon members and "lone wolves" indicated they plan to travel to Washington for Biden's swearing-in ceremony on Wednesday, the Post said. "But the intelligence briefing did not identify any specific plots to attack the inaugural events" that would be similar to the January 6 insurrection on the US Capitol, which some QAnon members participated in, the Post said. The FBI noted that it detected "suspicious traffic" on the communication systems used by some participants in the January 6 Capitol attack -- but "nothing that points to any specific action," according to the Post. more...
CBC News: The NationalAlthough some platforms have tried to silence extremists after the Capitol Hill riots, they are using the darker corners of the internet to plan for their next move — and experts are worried about what could be around the corner. video...
CNNFormer FBI Deputy Director Andrew McCabe weighs in on new video from The New Yorker showing rioters inside the Capitol during the January 6 insurrection. video...
Former DHS official Daryl Johnson says political violence could get worse unless the government takes the right steps to mitigate the threat.By Sahil KapurWASHINGTON — In April 2009, a senior Homeland Security intelligence analyst named Daryl Johnson wrote an internal report warning that right-wing extremism was on the rise in the United States and that it could lead to violence. The report leaked, and the backlash was swift. Republican lawmakers were furious. Veterans advocates criticized a section raising concerns about service members returning with post-traumatic stress. Homeland Security Secretary Janet Napolitano apologized for parts of it, and the unit ultimately was dissolved. Nearly 11 years later, a mob of right-wing extremists, spurred by President Donald Trump, stormed the U.S. Capitol in a deadly riot that highlighted the magnitude of the threat. "This Capitol insurrection that we just had last week — some people were like OK, this is the climax of the story. No, it's not. This is ushering in a new phase of violence and hostility," Johnson said in an interview. "This isn't the final chapter of a movement that's dying out." more...
By David Shortell and Paul P. Murphy, CNN(CNN) An Army reservist who federal investigators say has security-level security clearance and a long record of posting his extremist views online was among the latest wave of rioters charged by federal prosecutors in connection with the January 6 Capitol insurrection. Others charged this weekend include a woman who has been seen in photos brandishing the name plate that had been affixed outside House Speaker Nancy Pelosi's office, authorities said, and the mother of a man who was arrested after he was captured in a striking photo on the Senate floor with zip-ties, now herself accused of chasing police officers with zip-ties in her hands. The details that emerged about the three defendants and others in the newly unsealed court documents provide a clearer scope of the violence inside the Capitol and the potential military-style coordination that took place during the breach of the building. Lawyers for each of them were not listed in an online federal court filing system. Federal investigators said the Army reservist — Timothy Hale-Cusanelli, of Colts Neck, New Jersey — was described by an informant as "an avowed White supremacist and Nazi sympathizer." According to court documents, in a phone call with the informant on Thursday that was recorded by law enforcement, Hale-Cusanelli can be heard saying that he encouraged members of the mob to "advance" through the Capitol and gave directions "via both voice and hand signals." It's not clear if he's been arrested. more...
Sen. Ted Cruz (R-Texas) challenged President-elect Joe Biden's win moments before riots broke out at the U.S. Capitol. video...
*** The attack on the Capitol of the United States of America shows it is not the left, BLM or Antifa that Americans need to worry about it is the right. ***A former FBI intelligence officer said Thursday that combating right-wing extremism and white nationalism poses a serious challenge for security officials going into 2020. “If you want intelligence to be good on the current wave of domestic terrorism — what people call right-wing extremism, Neo-Nazi extremism — I don’t think people realize how tough that target is,” Philip Mudd, who is now a counterterrorism analyst, told Hill.TV in response to a question about how security officials should prepare for the future. “It’s dispersed, that’s people in every state, but it’s also a civil liberties issue,” he added. Mudd said the first step towards combating white nationalist-fueled violence is re-evaluating the nation's political rhetoric. “Either side of the political spectrum, you cannot validate their anger,” he said in reference to members who identify as part of the Neo-Nazi movement. “You can’t even get close to saying it’s appropriate to look at a foreigner in this country or an immigrant or an asylum seeker and say that person is less than you,” he added. “It’s not a political statement, it’s what I saw with Al-Qaeda.” Mudd also said lawmakers need to take congressional action against homegrown hate groups like the Ku Klux Klan. “That means laws that say, ‘hey, groups that committed acts of violence — how about the KKK, you want to go after them? They’ve committed acts of violence for political reasons — that’s terrorism,” he said. “The politicians have to provide cover.” The mass shooting in El Paso, Texas has renewed calls to address the rise of domestic terror attacks. Federal authorities believe the suspected shooter, who killed 22 people, was motivated by hatred of Hispanics and immigrants. Republican Sen. Martha McSally (R-Ariz.) is now putting forward a bill that would effectively close a loophole to make domestic terrorism a separate federal crime. more...
*** The attack on the Capitol of the United States of America shows it is not the left, BLM or Antifa that Americans need to worry about it is the right. ***They apparently don't remember how well it went for them last time.Casey MichelThe backlash to the Trump administration caging immigrant children has led to store owners asking White House officials to not eat in their restaurants and to protesters publicly confronting those supporting Trump’s policies. Now, voices on the far-right are increasingly unified in their only solution to the matter: civil war. While several far-right figures have been speculating about a looming U.S. break-up for some time, recent rhetoric is a marked escalation from even a few months ago, when certain historical illiterates were only calling for an “amicable divorce.” Now, according to increasingly shrill analysts — and even certain members of Congress — a fratricidal war is the only potential fix for the United States’ domestic tensions. Glenn Reynolds, known colloquially as “Instapundit,” led the charge with a piece in USA Today earlier this week. Pointing to White House spokesperson Sarah Huckabee Sanders being denied service in Virginia and protesters identifying Homeland Security Secretary Kirstjen Nielsen at a Mexican restaurant, Reynolds claimed that the administration officials’ inability to eat at certain restaurants was a sign that civil war was well underway.
The Pennsylvania woman was seen in footage near Pelosi's office Jan. 6.By KYLE CHENEYThe FBI is investigating evidence that a woman who entered the Capitol on Jan. 6 stole a laptop or hard drive from Speaker Nancy Pelosi's office and intended to sell it to Russians. The bizarre claim, which the FBI emphasized remains under investigation, was included in an affidavit describing the criminal case against Riley June Williams, a Pennsylvania woman who was seen in footage of the Jan. 6 insurrection in area of the Capitol near Pelosi's office. And it's not clear if the FBI has been able to apprehend her. "It appears that WILLIAMS has fled," according to the affidavit, which was signed Sunday and posted publicly after 9 p.m.. "According to local law enforcement officers in Harrisburg, WILLIAMS’ mother stated that WILLIAMS packed a bag and left her home and told her mother she would be gone for a couple of weeks. WILLIAMS did not provide her mother any information about her intended destination." more...
CBS NewsSanta Fe, New Mexico — A New Mexico county official and founder of the group Cowboys for Trump, who vowed to return to Washington after last week's riot at the U.S. Capitol to "plant our flag" on House Speaker Nancy Pelosi's desk, was arrested Sunday by the FBI. Otero County Commissioner Couy Griffin was arrested on charges of illegally entering the U.S. Capitol. According to court documents, Griffin told investigators he was "caught up" in the crowd, which pushed its way through the barricades and entered the restricted area of the U.S. Capitol, but said he didn't enter the building and instead remained on the U.S. Capitol steps. more...
By Richard Lardner and Michelle R. Smith | The Associated PressWASHINGTON — Veterans of President Donald Trump’s failed reelection campaign had key roles in orchestrating the Washington rally that spawned a deadly assault on the U.S. Capitol, according to an Associated Press review of records, undercutting the grassroots image pushed by groups involved in the event. A pro-Trump nonprofit organization called Women for America First hosted the “Save America Rally” on Jan. 6 at the Ellipse, a federally owned patch of land near the White House. But an attachment to the permit, granted by the National Park Service, lists more than half a dozen people in staff positions who just weeks earlier had been paid thousands of dollars by Trump’s 2020 reelection campaign. Other staff scheduled to be “on site” during the protest have close ties to the White House. Since the siege, several of them have scrambled to distance themselves from the rally. The riot at the Capitol, incited by Trump’s comments before and during his speech at the Ellipse, has led to a reckoning unprecedented in American history. more...
The defense from Trump supporters arrested in the Capitol assault is emerging in court papers and interviews — and could play a role in impeachment proceedings.By Alan Feuer and Nicole HongIn the two weeks since a raging mob stormed the Capitol, President Trump has shown no sign that he believes he shares responsibility for the worst incursion on the halls of Congress in more than two centuries. Shielding him further, his loyalists have started shifting blame for the attack to an array of distracting bogeymen: far-left anti-fascists, Black Lives Matter activists, even vague conspiracies of a setup involving Vice President Mike Pence. But one group of people has already come forward and directly implicated Mr. Trump in the riot at the Capitol: some of his own supporters who were arrested while taking part in it. In court papers and interviews, at least four pro-Trump rioters have said they joined the march that spiraled into violence in part because the president encouraged them to do so. more...
By LOLITA C. BALDORWASHINGTON (AP) — U.S. defense officials say they are worried about an insider attack or other threat from service members involved in securing President-elect Joe Biden’s inauguration, prompting the FBI to vet all of the 25,000 National Guard troops coming into Washington for the event. The massive undertaking reflects the extraordinary security concerns that have gripped Washington following the deadly Jan. 6 insurrection at the U.S. Capitol by pro-Trump rioters. And it underscores fears that some of the very people assigned to protect the city over the next several days could present a threat to the incoming president and other VIPs in attendance. more...
By Aaron FeisShocking footage released on Sunday offers a new glimpse inside the deadly US Capitol riot, — following the invaders as they search for House Speaker Nancy Pelosi and other lawmakers, sit in Vice President Mike Pence’s seat and rifle through lawmakers’ documents. The nearly 13 edited minutes of footage were shot by war correspondent Luke Mogelson and published Sunday by The New Yorker, for which Mogelson is a contributing writer. The video opens with scenes of hordes of pro-Trump rioters overpowering US Capitol Police and streaming into the seat of American democracy through doors and shattered windows. “You’re outnumbered!” one rioter can be heard telling a small contingent of cops trying to hold the line inside a Capitol hallway. “There’s a f–king million of us out there, and we are listening to Trump, your boss!” more...
By Natalie ColarossiA Washington D.C. police officer who was swarmed and beaten by pro-Trump rioters at the U.S. Capitol last week reflected on his harrowing experience. "If it wasn't my job I would have done that for free. It was absolutely my pleasure to crush a white nationalist insurrection," Daniel Hodges told NBC News on Thursday. "I'm glad I was in a position to be able to help. We'll do it as many times as it takes." Hodges was captured in a video being crushed in a doorway by a violent mob. He said they then stole his equipment and beat him. They ripped my mask off. Stole my equipment. Beat me up. Sprayed me with everything," he said.more...
Yahoo! NewsSANTA FE, N.M. (AP) — A New Mexico county official and founder of the group Cowboys for Trump who had vowed to return to Washington after last week’s riot at the U.S. Capitol to place a flag on House Speaker Nancy Pelosi’s desk has been arrested Sunday by the FBI. Otero County Commissioner Couy Griffin was arrested on charges of illegally entering the U.S. Capitol. According to court documents, Griffin told investigators that he was “caught up” in the crowd, which pushed its way through the barricades and entered the restricted area of the U.S. Capitol, but he said he did not enter the building and instead remained on the U.S. Capitol steps. A video posted to Griffin's personal Facebook page shows Griffin in the restricted areas, according to the affidavit. more...
She displayed "a round metallic object later identified as a Military Police Challenge Coin" and said she was part of law enforcement, police said.By Ben KesslenA woman pretending to be "part of the presidential Cabinet" was arrested at an inauguration checkpoint in Washington, D.C., on Saturday morning. The woman, Linda Magovern, 63, was charged with impersonation of a law enforcement officer, failure to obey and fleeing a law enforcement officer after she presented herself at the checkpoint while in a car, NBC Washington reports. Magovern displayed "a round metallic object later identified as a Military Police Challenge Coin" and said she was part of law enforcement, according to a police report. After she initially complied when asked to park her car, Magovern drove off when she was then asked to provide her license, according to a police report obtained by NBC News. Officers eventually stopped her and took her to a hospital to be evaluated, police said. more...
By Chandelis Duster, CNN(CNN) Allies and associates of President Donald Trump have collected tens of thousands of dollars in fees from those seeking pardons from the President, The New York Times reported Sunday. The Times, citing documents and interviews with more than three dozen lobbyists and lawyers, reported that the lobbying for clemency intensified as it became apparent Trump had no standing to challenge his election loss to President-elect Joe Biden. Those who monetized the lobbying efforts include a former federal prosecutor, a former personal lawyer to the President and a former top Trump campaign adviser, among others, the Times reported. As CNN previously reported, Trump has been expected to issue a flurry of pardons in the final days of his presidency and close business associates of the President and many high-profile criminals have ramped up efforts to secure a pardon before he leaves office. As of late December, Trump was considering pardons for more than two dozen people in his orbit whom he believes were targeted -- or could be targeted in the future -- for political ends. That's in addition to hundreds of requests from others who have approached the White House directly, and tens of thousands more whose petitions are pending at the Justice Department. According to the Times, former US attorney Brett Tolman has collected tens of thousands of dollars in recent weeks to seek clemency for several people. Tolman did not respond to the New York Times' request for comment. CNN has also reached out to Tolman for comment. more...
By Dan CancianA former schools therapist has been charged with multiple criminal counts over the storming of the U.S. Capitol after she quit her job, citing several conspiracy theories as the reason behind her decision. Christine Marie Priola was photographed at Vice President Mike Pence's desk during the riots that erupted in Washington, D.C. on January 6 and left at least five people dead, including a police officer. Holding a placard that read "THE CHILDREN CRY OUT FOR JUSTICE", the 49-year-old was photographed standing next to a fellow protesters who sat on the Vice President's seat in the Senate Chamber after the mob stormed the heart of U.S. democracy. more...
By Christina Maxouris, CNN(CNN) Just days ahead of President-elect Joe Biden's inauguration, the entire country is on edge. The FBI has warned of indications that "armed protests" are being planned at all 50 state capitols and the US Capitol in Washington in the days leading up to January 20. A joint bulletin from the Department of Homeland Security, the FBI and eight other agencies says domestic extremists pose the most likely threat to the presidential inauguration -- particularly those who believe the incoming administration is illegitimate. Online, calls for violence have intensified. And experts warn the perceived success of the deadly insurrection earlier this month may be motivation for another attack. "As somebody who worked on al Qaeda-related terrorism throughout the 2000s at the Justice Department and worked extensively on counterterrorism investigations and cases, there were several times where we were anticipating a follow-on attack to a world event," Carrie Cordero, a CNN legal and national security analyst, said Saturday. "I have that same feeling now." "It feels like there is a substantial threat that exists," Cordero added. In response, state leaders across the US are ramping up security around their capitol grounds -- pulling in National Guard members for help, erecting barriers, boarding up windows, asking residents to avoid the area and some even closing down capitol grounds altogether. more...
As part of the investigation, the FBI is examining payments of $500,000 in bitcoin to key figures and groups in the alt-right before the Jan. 6 riot.By Ken DilanianWASHINGTON — The FBI is investigating whether foreign governments, organizations or individuals provided financial support to extremists who helped plan and execute the Jan. 6 attack on the Capitol, one current and one former FBI official told NBC News. As part of the investigation, the bureau is examining payments of $500,000 in bitcoin, apparently by a French national, to key figures and groups in the alt-right before the riot, the sources said. Those payments were documented and posted on the web this week by a company that analyzes cryptocurrency transfers. Payments of bitcoin, a cryptocurrency, can be traced because they are documented on a public ledger. Separately, a joint threat assessment issued this week by the FBI, the Department of Homeland Security and various other federal and D.C.-area police agencies noted that since the Jan. 6 riot, "Russian, Iranian, and Chinese influence actors have seized the opportunity to amplify narratives in furtherance of their policy interest amid the presidential transition." more...
Guardian NewsJenna Ryan, a Texas real estate broker who took a private jet to Washington to join the attack on the US Capitol, pleaded with Donald Trump to pardon her after she was arrested by federal authorities. Ryan said she thought she was following what her president ‘asked us to do’ and that she had been 'displaying my patriotism' in travelling to Washington DC, where she filmed herself entering the Capitol building. 'I'm facing a prison sentence,' she told CBS 11 News at her home in Dallas. 'I do not deserve that' more...
By Benjamin FearnowWest Virginia Senator Joe Manchin, considered by many to be the most conservative Democrat in the Senate, said his colleagues should consider expelling Republican Senators Ted Cruz and Josh Hawley for their alleged roles in inciting the January 6 "insurrection" at the Capitol. In a Friday interview on PBS' Firing Line with Margaret Hoover, Manchin said that while he has a good personal relationship with Cruz and Hawley, their alleged violation of the 14th Amendment's rule against inciting an insurrection and holding public office should be investigated. Both Hawley and Cruz have been widely condemned for challenging the Electoral College results during certification, especially after Trump supporters stormed the Capitol in hopes of derailing President-elect Joe Biden's impending move into the White House. Manchin said he personally confronted Hawley to "change his mind" and think about the wider repercussions of his and Cruz's attempt to block the January 6 vote, but there was essentially zero meaningful response. more...
By AJC Staff and wire reportsA Georgia lawyer who spoke to The Atlanta Journal-Constitution about his participation in the riot at the U.S. Capitol and a Georgia woman who is the mother of the man known as the “zip-tie guy” are two of the latest people to be arrested as federal authorities continue to round up those accused of participating in the Jan. 6 events in Washington. A Georgia lawyer who spoke to The Atlanta Journal-Constitution about his participation in the riot at the U.S. Capitol and a Georgia woman who is the mother of the man known as the “zip-tie guy” are two of the latest people to be arrested as federal authorities continue to round up those accused of participating in the Jan. 6 events in Washington. McCall Calhoun, a practicing attorney in Americus for 30 years, had described the mob as patriotic and heroic in an exclusive interview with the AJC. more...
Witnesses say Trump was oblivious to the gravity of the situation as five died, Congress was violated and his vice-president faced the very real possibility of being lynchedby Julian Borger in WashingtonIf there was one single moment when the veil of American resilience crumbled and the Trumpist assault on democracy turned into an invasion, it arrived just before 1pm on Wednesday. That was when a group of pro-Trump militants burst through a flimsy outer barrier on the north-west side of the Capitol building and advanced on a secondary barricade guarded by four frightened police officers, dressed only in basic uniforms and soft caps. One of the officers can be seen resting his hands on the barrier in as casual a manner he can manage, in an attempt to defuse the confrontation. He clearly had no idea what was coming. On the other side, a young man in a white hoodie and a red Make America Great Again cap, pulls at the metal barricade but it holds. Then an older man, also red-capped but in full military uniform, takes the youth by the shoulder and whispers something in his ear as the swelling crowd around them chants “USA”. Ten seconds later, the crowd pushes together, the metal fortification collapses, and the Capitol police officers are overwhelmed. The crowd surges past rushing towards the great white domed building atop Capitol Hill. more...
Almost 30 police officers attended the Capitol rally. It should come as no surprise.By Anna NorthAs investigations of last week’s riot at the US Capitol continue, one thing has become abundantly clear: The people involved were not just “fringe” elements, disconnected from the mainstream of society. Prominent among the rioters was a group with a lot of institutional and social power — police officers and other law enforcement officials. Indeed, nearly 30 sworn officers have been identified so far as attendees to the rally leading to Wednesday’s riot, according to NPR. That includes Virginia police officer Thomas “T.J.” Robertson, who was arrested this week in connection with the insurrection. “CNN and the Left are just mad because we actually attacked the government who is the problem and not some random small business,” Robertson reportedly wrote on Facebook after storming the Capitol. Those arrested also include his colleague Jacob Fracker, a Virginia police officer as well as a corporal in the state’s National Guard. “Lol to anyone who’s possibly concerned about the picture of me going around,” Fracker apparently wrote on Facebook. “Not like I did anything illegal.” more...
Arrested supporters say they were ‘listening’ to the presidentOliver MilmanJenna Ryan, a Texas real estate broker who took a private jet to Washington to join the attack on the US Capitol, has pleaded with Donald Trump to pardon her after she was arrested by federal authorities. After surrendering to the FBI on Friday, Ryan said: “We all deserve a pardon.” “I’m facing a prison sentence,” she told CBS11 at her home. “I think I do not deserve that.” Turning to look into the camera, she said: “I would ask the president of the United States to give me a pardon.” On Wednesday, Trump was impeached for inciting the attack on 6 January that left five people dead, including a police officer, and sent lawmakers fleeing for their lives. Ryan said she had been “displaying my patriotism”, adding: “I listen to my president who told me to go to the Capitol.” Ryan left a trove of information online. Court papers show she posted a picture of herself taking a private jet to Washington DC the day before the riot, subsequently posing on the steps of the Capitol and beside a window smashed as the pro-Trump mob broke in. more...
The suspect, Wesley Allen Beeler, 31, was stopped in a Ford pick-up truck with gun-related decals.By Dennis Romero and Suzanne CiechalskiA Virginia man was arrested at a Washington checkpoint near the Capitol with an "unauthorized" inauguration pass, a gun and more than 500 rounds of ammunition, according to Capitol police. The suspect, identified as Wesley Allen Beeler, 31, was stopped at the checkpoint near Lower Senate Park about 6:30 p.m. Friday, an arrest report said. An unregistered gun and hundreds of rounds of ammunition were found inside the truck that was adorned with gun decals days ahead of President-elect Joe Biden's inauguration, according to Capitol Police. Beeler, of Front Royal, Virginia, allegedly presented an "unauthorized Inauguration credential" to a Capitol Police officer. They did not describe what sort of document he showed that raised suspicion. The arrest comes after the violent Jan. 6 riot at the Capitol where supporters of President Donald Trump and his unfounded claims of election fraud stormed the building in a violent siege that left five people dead and many more injured. more...
By Rachel Weiner, Spencer S. Hsu and Matt ZapotoskyAs rioters overran the U.S. Capitol on Jan. 6, an officer guarding the building shook hands with two people in the mob and admitted defeat, according to the account the men provided FBI agents. Robert L. Bauer and Edward Hemenway told an FBI agent that after they rushed into the building with the crowd, one Capitol Police officer shook their hands, gave one a partial hug and told them both that “it’s your house now.” “Sorry,” Hemenway recalled telling the officer. “It’s your house now, man,” he said the officer replied. Bauer told the FBI he “believed that the policeman was acting out of fear,” according to an affidavit filed Thursday in federal court in the District. No specific officer is identified in charging papers by federal law enforcement officials, who are relying on the defendants’ own recounting of their experience inside the Capitol. more...
He "used a clear police shield to pin MPD Officer Daniel Hodges in a door jam."By Rosa SanchezThe D.C. Metropolitan Police Department and FBI Washington Field Office are seeking the public's assistance in identifying the suspect that attacked a Capitol police officer as he wad being crushed by a door during the Jan. 6 siege. "During the insurrection at the United States Capitol, the suspect assaulted and used a clear police shield to pin MPD Officer Daniel Hodges in a door jam," the release, shared Friday, says. Two photos of the suspect were included in the release, which the police department also shared on Twitter. more...
Lindsay Schnell, Cara Richardson, Joel Shannon, Jordan Culver - USA TODAYMan in Pelosi desk photo barred from using Internet; house arrest denied A federal judge in Washington on Friday night halted a plan to release and put on house arrest the Arkansas man photographed sitting at a desk in House Speaker Nancy Pelosi’s office during last week’s riot at the U.S. Capitol. Richard Barnett will instead be brought to Washington, D.C., immediately for proceedings in his case, Chief U.S. District Judge Beryl Howell ordered Friday night, staying a decision by another judge to confine Barnett to his home in Gravette, Arkansas, until his trial. Howell’s ruling came hours after U.S. Magistrate Judge Erin Wiedemann in Arkansas set a $5,000 bond for Barnett and ordered that a GPS monitor track his location. Wiedemann also prohibited Barnett from using the internet or having contact with anyone else who participated in the Jan. 6 violence. more...
If any members of Congress are proven to have colluded with the rioters, their position likely won't save them from criminal liability.By JOSH GERSTEINLawmakers who interacted with the pro-Trump protesters who rioted at the Capitol last week could face criminal charges and will almost certainly come under close scrutiny in the burgeoning federal investigation into the assault, former prosecutors said. “This is incredibly serious,” said Ron Machen, a former U.S. attorney for Washington, D.C. “Although you would need compelling evidence before charging a member of Congress with anything related to the breach of the Capitol that day, this has to be investigated.” more...
Will Republican state lawmakers do any better with the protests planned for their states in the days before the inauguration?By Sen. Jim Ananich, Michigan Senate Democratic majority leader, and Sen. Vincent Hughes, representing Pennsylvania’s 7th Senate DistrictIf last week’s violent assault on the U.S. Capitol in Washington by supporters of President Donald Trump was scary, the reported follow-up riots planned for state capitols as early as this weekend are downright terrifying. Since Trump appears unwilling to stop them, the responsibility falls to the Republican state legislators who have reliably embraced and enabled Trump for the last four years. The protesters who stormed the U.S. Capitol hunting for Vice President Mike Pence and Speaker of the House Nancy Pelosi will not be dissuaded from further violence by additional calls from Democratic leaders. They believe, incorrectly, that Democrats stole an election. Some even wish us harm. There is no message of unity from President-elect Joe Biden and no olive branch from Democratic leaders in Congress that can stop this storm. At this point, we need Republicans to act to prevent any further loss of life. more...
*** That does not seem correct the videos people wanting to hang Mike Pence and people who have been arrest have claimed that planned to kill people. ***PHOENIX (AP) — Federal prosecutors said there was “strong evidence” the pro-Trump mob that stormed the U.S. Capitol last week aimed to “capture and assassinate elected officials,” but the head of the investigation cautioned Friday that the probe is still in its early stages and there was no “direct evidence” of such intentions. The accusation came in a motion prosecutors filed late Thursday in Phoenix in the case against Jacob Chansley, the Arizona man who took part in the insurrection while sporting face paint, no shirt and a furry hat with horns. “Strong evidence, including Chansley’s own words and actions at the Capitol, supports that the intent of the Capitol rioters was to capture and assassinate elected officials in the United States Government,” prosecutors wrote in their memo urging the judge to keep Chansley behind bars. But Michael Sherwin, acting U.S. attorney for the District of Columbia, backed away from those claims later Friday, saying they have “no direct evidence at this point of kill, capture teams.” more...
by Teo Armus, Washington PostAs federal law enforcement officers sift through evidence tied to the attack on the U.S. Capitol, they have tried to determine what compelled rioters to force their way into the building. Namely, did any of them plan to kill or capture lawmakers or their staffers? Officials said they may have found clues to that question from one of the mob’s most distinctive figures: Jacob Anthony Chansley, the shirtless, tattooed man often referred to as “QAnon Shaman,” who stood out in a headdress made of coyote skin and buffalo horns. In a court filing late Thursday, federal prosecutors in Phoenix wrote that “strong evidence, including Chansley’s own words and actions at the Capitol, supports that the intent of the Capitol rioters was to capture and assassinate elected officials in the United States government.” On Friday, however, Assistant U.S. Attorney Todd Allison walked back the claim of an assassination plot, saying that while it “may very well be appropriate at a trial,” raising it at this stage could “mislead the court.” more...
VICE NewsTrump is accused of inciting an insurrection after spending months trying to undermine election results. VICE News talks to a former federal prosecutor about the case against him. video...
CBS Evening NewsFederal prosecutors say some of the rioters who stormed the U.S. Capitol intended to capture and assassinate government officials, including Vice President Mike Pence. Jeff Pegues has the latest. video...
By Caroline Kelly(CNN) An internal Capitol Police intelligence report produced three days before rioters breached the US Capitol cautioned that violent supporters of President Donald Trump could zero in on "Congress itself," the Washington Post reported Friday, citing obtained portions of the 12-page memo. "Supporters of the current president see January 6, 2021, as the last opportunity to overturn the results of the presidential election," the memo reads, according to the Post. "This sense of desperation and disappointment may lead to more of an incentive to become violent. Unlike previous post-election protests, the targets of the pro-Trump supporters are not necessarily the counter-protesters as they were previously, but rather Congress itself is the target on the 6th." CNN has not independently confirmed the veracity of the report. CNN has reached out to the Capitol Police, whose spokeswoman declined to comment to the Post on the contents of the report or its influence on planning for January 6. The January 3 report warns of thousands of belligerent rioters, incited by the President and joined by members of White supremacists and extremist groups, descending on the nation's capital with members of Congress the target of their anger, the paper reported. more...
John HaltiwangerDC Metropolitan Police Officer Michael Fanone in an interview with CNN had a simple message for Capitol rioters who shielded him from other insurrectionists with apparent intentions of killing or seriously injuring him: "Thank you, but f--- you for being there." Fanone said that as he was surrounded by rioters during the Capitol siege, they began to strip his equipment off of him. "Some guys started getting a hold of my gun and they were screaming out, 'Kill him with his own gun,'" Fanone recalled. more...
Grace PanettaA Black Capitol Police officer who was suspended after being photographed wearing a red "Make America Great Again" while on-duty defending the Capitol on January 6 says he did so in order to blend in with the crowd to save his fellow officers from danger, the Wall Street Journal reported on Friday.The Journal reported that the officer, identified as Lt. Tarik Khalid Johnson, who is a registered Democrat and has voted in Democratic primaries in Maryland, has told his coworkers in recent days that he put on the cap to "win the trust" of protesters to get through the crowd and try to rescue officers who were trapped inside the Capitol.The Journal said that his efforts to get officers out of the building allowed other police inside of the Capitol to close that entrance to prevent more people from going inside. more...
Jemima McEvoy Forbes StaffAn FBI office in Virginia issued an explicit warning that extremists were planning to travel to Washington, D.C., to commit violence and “war” the day before the deadly attack on the U.S. Capitol, according to an internal report obtained by The Washington Post, directly contradicting the bureau’s previous claim that it had no intelligence to predict last Wednesday’s siege. more...
Insurrectionists made no effort to hide their intentions, but law enforcement protecting Congress was caught flat-footed.by Logan Jaffe, Lydia DePillis, Isaac Arnsdorf and J. David McSwaneThe invasion of the U.S. Capitol on Wednesday was stoked in plain sight. For weeks, the far-right supporters of President Donald Trump railed on social media that the election had been stolen. They openly discussed the idea of violent protest on the day Congress met to certify the result.“We came up with the idea to occupy just outside the CAPITOL on Jan 6th,” leaders of the Stop the Steal movement wrote on Dec. 23. They called their Wednesday demonstration the Wild Protest, a name taken from a tweet by Trump that encouraged his supporters to take their grievances to the streets of Washington. “Will be wild,” the president tweeted.Ali Alexander, the founder of the movement, encouraged people to bring tents and sleeping bags and avoid wearing masks for the event. “If D.C. escalates… so do we,” Alexander wrote on Parler last week — one of scores of social media posts welcoming violence that were reviewed by ProPublica in the weeks leading up to Wednesday’s attack on the capitol. Thousands of people heeded that call. more...
by Deirdre Walsh , Claudia GrisalesAs thousands of National Guard troops buttress security in Washington ahead of Wednesday's inauguration, House Speaker Nancy Pelosi has asked retired Lt. Gen. Russel Honoré to lead an investigation into security at the Capitol complex following the Jan. 6 riot. "We must subject this whole complex to scrutiny," Pelosi said. Pelosi, D-Calif., pointed to Honoré's experience responding to Hurricane Katrina and his knowledge of the Washington, D.C., region. Various House committees are also gearing up investigations related to the U.S. Capitol Police and the response from the Defense Department and others to the insurrection. Pelosi noted she has been in touch with the secretary of the Army and the head of U.S. Secret Service to ensure that all requests for reinforcements from the Capitol Police for security around the inauguration are met. She pointed out that for weeks the inauguration would be a smaller ceremony due to the coronavirus pandemic. "This is not a concession to the terrorists," she said. "It is a recognition of the danger of COVID." more...
*** The people who committed insurrection, sedition, sacked our capital and wanted to capture and kill those who they disagree with do not deserve a pardon. ***Jacob Chansley, a 33-year-old man from Phoenix, was one of the most recognizable perpetrators of the Capitol siege.By QUINT FORGEYThe lawyer for the “QAnon shaman” who was part of the deadly siege of the Capitol last week publicly petitioned President Donald Trump on Thursday to pardon his client. In an interview on CNN, attorney Albert Watkins said his client, Jacob Chansley, “felt like he was answering the call of our president” when he stormed the nation’s seat of government last Wednesday during a riot that resulted in the deaths of at least five people. more...
By Teo ArmusAs federal law enforcement officers sift through evidence tied to the attack on the U.S. Capitol, they have tried to determine what compelled rioters to force their way into the building. Namely, did any of them plan to kill or capture lawmakers or their staffers? Officials now say they have found clues to that question from one of the mob’s most distinctive figures: Jacob Anthony Chansley, the shirtless, tattooed “QAnon Shaman,” who stood out in a headdress made of coyote skin and buffalo horns. In a court filing late on Thursday, federal prosecutors in Phoenix wrote that “strong evidence, including Chansley’s own words and actions at the Capitol, supports that the intent of the Capitol rioters was to capture and assassinate elected officials in the United States government.” The 18-page memo, which asked a judge to keep Chansley detained before his trial, said the 33-year-old Arizona man left an ominous note for Vice President Pence at his desk in the Senate chamber: “It’s only a matter of time, justice is coming.” more...
By MICHAEL BIESECKER, JAKE BLEIBERG and JAMES LAPORTAWASHINGTON (AP) — As President Donald Trump’s supporters massed outside the Capitol last week and sang the national anthem, a line of men wearing olive-drab helmets and body armor trudged purposefully up the marble stairs in a single-file line, each man holding the jacket collar of the one ahead. The formation, known as “Ranger File,” is standard operating procedure for a combat team that is “stacking up” to breach a building — instantly recognizable to any U.S. soldier or Marine who served in Iraq and Afghanistan. It was a chilling sign that many at the vanguard of the mob that stormed the seat of American democracy either had military training or were trained by those who did.An Associated Press review of public records, social media posts and videos shows at least 21 current or former members of the U.S. military or law enforcement have been identified as being at or near the Capitol riot, with more than a dozen others under investigation but not yet named. In many cases, those who stormed the Capitol appeared to employ tactics, body armor and technology such as two-way radio headsets that were similar to those of the very police they were confronting. Experts in homegrown extremism have warned for years about efforts by far-right militants and white-supremacist groups to radicalize and recruit people with military and law enforcement training, and they say the Jan. 6 insurrection that left five people dead saw some of their worst fears realized. more...
By Paul Sonne, Matt Zapotosky and Nick MiroffThe three top federal agencies responsible for protecting the nation — the Departments of Justice, Defense and Homeland Security — are all being run by acting officials, as the United States endures one of its most sensitive national security crises. The leadership vacuum is the product of President Trump’s tempestuous relationships with his Cabinet secretaries and tendency to replace them for long periods of time with acting officials who lack Senate confirmation — a pattern that has led to turmoil atop critical federal agencies for much of his presidency. Never has the absence of confirmed leaders seemed more pronounced than now. All three agencies were being led by acting officials in the run-up to the Jan. 6 riot at the Capitol, where extremist Trump supporters who embrace the president’s false claims of election fraud stormed the building to demand that lawmakers dispute President-elect Joe Biden’s victory during a pro forma certification of the electoral college vote. more...
“We’re all on high alert based on the events over the last couple of weeks in Washington,” Delta CEO Ed Bastian said.By Leslie Josephs, CNBCDelta Air Lines won’t allow travelers flying to the airports serving the Washington metropolitan area to check firearms on flights ahead of President-elect Joe Biden’s inauguration, CEO Ed Bastian told CNBC on Thursday. The new policy, which starts this weekend and runs through next week, comes after last week’s deadly pro-Trump riot at the U.S. Capitol and a spate of politically motivated disturbances on flights and at airports. Law enforcement authorized to carry firearms will be exempt. “We’re all on high alert based on the events over the last couple of weeks in Washington,” Bastian said in an interview on “Squawk Box.” The Federal Aviation Administration said Wednesday it will take a zero tolerance policy for travelers who are unruly or interfere with flight crew duties, fining them up to $35,000. more...
CHESTER, Pennsylvania (WPVI) -- A retired firefighter from Chester, Pennsylvania is accused of being the man seen on video throwing a fire extinguisher that hit three police officers at the Capitol during the riot in Washington, D.C. last week. Robert Sanford, 55, was arrested Thursday morning on four federal charges, including knowingly entering a restricted building, disorderly conduct on Capitol grounds, civil disorder and assaulting officers engaging in their official duties. more...
Dan ManganA man who carried the Confederate battle flag into the U.S. Capitol as part of an invasion by a mob of supporters of President Donald Trump surrendered with his son Thursday after arrest warrants were issued for their roles in the riot, the FBI said. Kevin Seefried, who was carrying the flag that he later told authorities had been displayed outside his Delaware home, and his son Hunter Seefried are expected to be arraigned later Thursday in U.S. District Court in Washington, D.C. According to a charging document, Kevin Seefried told the FBI on Tuesday during a voluntary interview that he and his son had been part of the group that breached the Capitol’s entrances on Jan. 6, and that they had been in Washington that day to hear Trump speak at a rally on the Ellipse. more...
What the pro-Trump rioters attacked was not only a building but also the Constitution, the electoral system, our democratic processNicholas Kristof | NYTWednesday was a horrifying and shameful moment in American history. I’ve covered attempted coups in many countries around the world, and now I’m finally covering one in the United States. Trump and his enablers talk a good game about patriotism. They denounced President Barack Obama for sometimes not wearing a flag lapel pin. They criticized Colin Kaepernick for protesting police brutality by taking a knee rather than standing during the national anthem — and then Trump incited a mob on Wednesday to invade the United States Capitol. The rioters encountered a minimal police response, not the kind that Black Lives Matter protesters received. Many of those pro-Trump rioters probably dispute the idea of white privilege. But the fact that they were allowed to overrun the police and invade the Senate and House chambers was evidence of that privilege. “We are witnessing absolute banana republic crap in the United States Capitol right now,” Mike Gallagher, a Republican representative from Wisconsin, tweeted, adding an appeal to Trump: “You need to call this off.” more...
By Marlee GinterROSEVILLE (CBS13) — A Roseville flower shop is caught in the middle of a fight that’s not even theirs. Now Becky’s Flowers wants to set the record straight. The Roseville store is taking heat for someone in Midland, Texas who’s accused of taking part in the Capitol riots. Assistant manager Kali Mitchell described the stress of simply answering the telephone. “I said, ‘Becky’s Flowers how can I help you?’ And it was immediately met with, ‘Are you the b**** that stormed the Capitol?'” said Mitchell. “I even had one guy say a lot of things I can’t say on TV, obviously,” said owner Aaron Alberti. Those words were aimed at Jenny Cudd. Cudd was arrested Wednesday and charged with a misdemeanor accused of taking part in the Capitol riots. She could be seen smiling and waving at cameras as she left a virtual hearing. She told media outlets she’d, “do it again, and I’d have a gas mask next time.” more...
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Looking for more information on Donald J. Trump (aka Don the Con, aka Don the Snake, aka Two face Donnie, aka The Don, aka Criminal Don). Here you can find information on lawsuits against Trump, Trump’s time is the white house, Trump Administration scandals and corruption, Trump before the white house, Trump’s Enablers, Flunkies, Minions and Sycophants, Trump Impeachments, Trump Insurrection, Trump Insurrection Videos, Trump Is a Crook, Trump Is Threat To National Security, Trump Russia Affair, Trump-Ukraine Affair, Trump vs. Trump, how Trump runs his properties and more. Find out if Trump is filling his pockets with foreign money and your tax dollars. Find out if Trump is a good a businessman or a bad businessman and how viral, nasty and disgusting Trump properties are. Find out if Trump is a crook and/or a conman. Find out if Trump lies about his lies and more.The more you know the better informed you will be to make your own determination on the real Donald J. Trump (aka Don the Con, aka Don the Snake, aka Two face Donnie, aka The Don, aka Criminal Don). Find out all you can about Donald J. Trump, for some you may find he is not the man you thought he was, for others you may be proven right, for others you may find he is far worse than you thought he was.
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