Category: US House

‘Murder the media’: Photographers release terrifying video of the mob attack outside the Capitol gates

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As violent Trump supporters terrorized the U.S. Capitol on Wednesday, members of Congress were not the only people they were looking to intimidate. These terrorists also targeted journalists and press under Donald Trump’s message of declaring the news and media an “enemy of the people.”

“Murder the media,” was written on a door of the Capitol while terrorists took over and attacked a group of reporters. In one incident John Minchillo, a photographer of the Associated Press, was attacked by a mob of Trump supporters outside the Capitol building. The violent incident was captured on video and shared by another photographer on Twitter. Local photographers and reporters were present at the break of the horrific violence that took place Wednesday. Footage shared on social media depicts the consequences of words bigots like Trump use to incite violence on communities and spaces.

“Please use this moment to reflect on the importance of journalism as a conduit between us. We tell stories. That’s our mission. We have the privilege to shepherd moments over time and space. Please subscribe to your hard working local papers, support their vocation,” Minchillo replied to the video of his attack being shared on Twitter. Continue reading.

The Capitol mob desecrated a historical workplace — and left behind some disturbing artifacts

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It was after the House had reconvened Wednesday night, and after Rep. Andy Kim (D-N.J.) had voted to certify the Arizona vote for President-elect Joe Biden, that he decided to take a walk. He exited the House chamber through doors with bashed-out glass windows. He walked to the middle of the Rotunda and looked around at the remnants of the riot that had engulfed the Capitol hours earlier. There were American flags and splinters of historic furniture scattered with gloves and cigarette butts and the powdery residue left behind by fire extinguishers. The meaningful mixed with the mundane.

Kim was overwhelmed with sadness at the desecration of what he considers the most beautiful building in the country. “Under that great dome was just ransacked, just garbage and debris everywhere, all of it all over the statues, all over the floor,” he says. “It was really painful to see this room and this building that I love so much hurting.”

So he got a trash bag, and started to pick it up. Continue reading.

In Capitol, a G.O.P. Crisis. At the R.N.C. Meeting, a Trump Celebration.

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Party members at a gathering of the Republican National Committee endorsed President Trump as the man to lead the party forward, ignoring the turmoil in Washington.

AMELIA ISLAND, Fla. — In Washington, Republicans were dealing with a burgeoning crisis in their ranks, with high-profile resignations and bitter infighting over how to deal with an erratic and isolated president. But at the Republican National Committee’s winter meeting on Friday, most party members were operating in a parallel universe.

In a chandelier-adorned ballroom at the seaside Ritz-Carlton here, there was no mention of President Trump’s disruption of the coronavirus relief package or his phone call to the Georgia secretary of state demanding that he help steal the election, both of which contributed to Republicans’ losing control of the Senate.

And while the R.N.C. chair, Ronna McDaniel, condemned the attack on the Capitol, neither she nor any other speaker so much as publicly hinted at Mr. Trump’s role in inciting a mob assault on America’s seat of government. Continue reading.

Minnesota Republicans divided over certifying presidential election results

Once the violent pro-Trump mob was cleared from the nation’s Capitol Wednesday, Minnesota’s Republican members of Congress ended up divided over whether to certify Arizona and Pennsylvania’s electors.

U.S. Reps. Jim Hagedorn and Michelle Fischbach objected to the certification, while Reps. Tom Emmer and Pete Stauber voted to accept them, as lawmakers worked deep into the night to approve the the Electoral College results showing Joe Biden won the presidential election.

By Thursday morning, 121 House Republicans had voted to decertify Arizona’s electors and 138 House Republicans voted to decertify Pennsylvania’s electors. Six senators objected to Arizona’s electors and seven to Pennsylvania’s.  Continue reading.

Bipartisan Disgust Could Save the Republic

The frightening reality check lawmakers and the public got on Jan. 6 is likely to make things a bit easier for the incoming president.

IT WAS, PRESIDENT-ELECT Joe Biden said solemnly, “one of the darkest days in the history of our nation,” a day when pro-Trump insurrectionists stormed the Capitol and occupied the chamber where both defenders and detractors of the president found themselves jointly threatened by a marauding mob.

But if that day was a low point in a tumultuous five years of a campaign and presidency that served to further divide an already partisan Congress, it may also have been just the jolt lawmakers needed to remember why they were sent to Washington in the first place.

Republicans who just hours before had been defiantly challenging an Electoral College vote count to make Biden the next president backed down, looking shell-shocked as they said this was no longer the best way to go. Trump’s golf pal, Sen. Lindsey Graham of South Carolina, called on his colleagues to accept the election results and on Thursday tweeted laudatory comments about Biden’s response to what lawmakers called an attempted coup. Continue reading.

Capitol Police rejected offers of federal help to quell mob

WASHINGTON — Three days before supporters of President Donald Trump rioted at the Capitol, the Pentagon asked the U.S Capitol Police if it needed National Guard manpower. And as the mob descended on the building Wednesday, Justice Department leaders reached out to offer up FBI agents. The police turned them down both times, according to senior defense officials and two people familiar with the matter. 

Despite plenty of warnings of a possible insurrection and ample resources and time to prepare, the Capitol Police planned only for a free speech demonstration.

Still stinging from the uproar over the violent response by law enforcement to protests last June near the White House, officials also were intent on avoiding any appearance that the federal government was deploying active duty or National Guard troops against Americans. Continue reading.

Capitol Police chief resigns a day after Congress was taken by a violent pro-Trump mob

Resignation comes amid grim news of another officer’s death

A day after his department failed to protect Congress from rioting by a violent pro-Trump mob that left five dead, many injured and lawmakers terrified, Capitol Police Chief Steven A. Sund announced that he will resign, effective Jan. 16.

Sund submitted his resignation letter to the Capitol Police Board just hours after Speaker Nancy Pelosi called for him to step down.

“I am respectfully submitting my letter of resignation, effective Sunday, January 16, 2021. It has been a pleasure and true honor to serve the United States Capitol Police Board and the Congressional community alongside and the women and men of the United States Capitol Police,” Sund wrote. “As discussed, I will transition into a sick leave status effective January 17, 2021, until I exhaust my available sick leave balance of approximately 440 hours.” Continue reading.

Republicans Blame ‘Antifa’ For Capitol Assault By Trumpists

A number of Republican lawmakers and right-wing media personalities are blaming “antifa” for the violent attack by supporters of Donald Trump on the Capitol on Wednesday that led to at least four deaths, ignoring their own responsibility in helping foment the rage underlying the attack.

Some GOP lawmakers did call out Trump and members of their own party for the lies about voter fraud and a stolen election that culminated in Wednesday’s failed coup, placing the blame at their feet.

“What happened here today was an insurrection incited by the President of the United States,” Sen. Mitt Romney (R-UT) said in an impassioned speech on the Senate floor after the body reconvened to certify President-elect Joe Biden as the winner of the 2020 election. Continue reading.

Mob fallout: Pelosi calls for Capitol Police chief to be fired; House SAA to resign

Members of Congress praise rank and file but say probe is necessary

Top Capitol Hill law enforcement figures on Thursday started feeling repercussions for their failure to contain the Capitol against a pro-Trump mob that occupied the complex and prevented the counting of Electoral College votes. 

Speaker Nancy Pelosi on Thursday called for the firing of Capitol Police Chief Steven Sund and said House Sergeant-at-Arms Paul D. Irving would be resigning.

“I am calling for the resignation of the chief of the Capitol Police, Mr. Sund, and I have received notice from Mr. Irving that he will be submitting his resignation,” the California Democrat said at a news conference. Sund sent out a release on Thursday defending his department in the wake of the disruption of government, but Pelosi was not impressed. “Mr. Sund, he hasn’t even called us since this happened.” Continue reading.

In Letter, Phillips Calls on Congressional Leaders to Immediately Reconvene and Address the Assault on Our Democracy

Phillips remains in Washington, backs Articles of Impeachment

WASHINGTON, D.C. – Today, Reps. Dean Phillips (MN-03), Tom Malinowski (NJ-07), and Debbie Wasserman Schultz (FL-23) led 59 of their colleagues in a letter calling on House leaders to immediately reconvene the House of Representatives to reckon with the assault on our democracy that took place on January 6th.

“While we should take pride in finishing the work of certifying the presidential election and demonstrating to the world that Congress cannot be intimidated, this is not enough. We should show the American people that Congress is continuing to meet its responsibilities in the face of extraordinary threats, including by strengthening our nation’s defenses against these threats and by holding accountable those who enable them,” wrote the lawmakers.

Phillips has pledged to remain in Washington until Congress has a plan to hold those who stoked sedition accountable. Earlier today, Phillips signed on to Articles of Impeachment introduced by Reps. David Cicilline (RI-01), Ted Lieu (CA-33), and Jamie Raskin (MD-08).

 Find the text of the letter below and here.