Tag: Trump 1-6 insurrection

Capitol insurrectionist may be jailed after hostility in court

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Accused Capitol rioter Dan Goodwyn apparently had a hard time being respectful while in court this week and now he might end up in jail as a result. 

According to NBC News’ Scott MacFarlane, who is following the indictments closely, Goodwyn is accused of refusing to meet with any pretrial services. He also refused to wear a mask during meetings and would play “word games” with court employees. 

“During the execution of the search warrant, FBI learned that at least one individual in the residence believed they had COVID-19. When FBI asked the defendant if he was positive for COVID-19, the defendant refused to answer the question. The defendant additionally refused to take a COVID-19 test and refused to wear any personal protective equipment,” said the court documents.  Continue reading.

McCarthy claims he called Trump on Jan. 6 ‘because none of you would know unless you were in the Capitol’

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House Minority Leader Kevin McCarthy (R-CA) claimed Thursday that he called then-President Donald Trump on Jan. 6 because he would not have known about the riot otherwise.

McCarthy made the remarks to CNN correspondent Melanie Zanona.

“When I called the president, I was telling him about what was happening in the Capitol, because none of you would know unless you were in the Capitol,” McCarthy said. Continue reading.

Legal expert ‘totally convinced’ investigators will uncover if Republicans worked with militias on Jan. 6

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Speaking to MSNBC’s Ari Melber, Ackerman explained that he is “totally convinced” that if House members coordinated with the Three Percenters or Proud Boys online or on their phones that it will be found out and they will be prosecuted. 

Indeed, those alleged terrorists who have not been convinced and haven’t made a deal with prosecutors would have an opportunity to give up the Republican officials to save themselves. The only person that Republicans could “give up” for a deal would likely be Donald Trump. 

Both Melber and Ackerman supported the Justice Department’s decision not to defend Rep. Mo Brooks (R-AL) for his involvement in the January 6th rally that led to the attack on the U.S. Capitol. Tuesday, the House of Representatives counsel also said that they wouldn’t defend Brooks with taxpayer dollars. Continue reading.

Jim Acosta: Trump advisers are trying to talk ‘insane’ Trump ‘off the ledge’

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On Thursday’s edition of CNN’s “OutFront,” correspondent Jim Acosta gave new details about former President Donald Trump’s delusion that he could be “reinstated” as president later in the year.

“How seriously is Trump believing this insane theory?” asked anchor Erin Burnett.

“It’s insane and very disturbing, Erin, but he believes it,” said Acosta. “He thinks that there is some chance that he could somehow be reinstated as president, somehow this year. And what he’s been doing over the last several weeks is reaching out to advisers and allies, and they basically have been trying to talk him off the ledge, Erin, but Trump has been asking, I’m told by one source, what do you think of this theory? And what this one adviser told me is that he’s been told it’s not true.” Continue reading.

Pence: Trump and I may never ‘see eye to eye’ on events of Jan. 6

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Former Vice President Mike Pence on Thursday offered his most extensive comments to date on the Jan. 6 Capitol riots, calling it a “dark” and “tragic” day in history, but accused Democrats of using the events that day to divide the country.

Pence, in a speech in Hillsborough County, N.H., acknowledged he and former President Trump may never agree on what transpired that day, a nod to Trump’s defense of the rioters at the Capitol.

But Pence called for the nation to move on from the attack on the Capitol that left multiple people dead as protesters halted the certification of President Biden‘s electoral victory. Continue reading.

‘Sick and twisted excuse for a human being’: Wisconsin paper slams Ron Johnson for defending Jan. 6 insurrectionists

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Sen. Ron Johnson of Wisconsin not only voted against a bill calling for a commission to investigate the January 6 insurrection — he has also downplayed the violence that occurred that day, insisting that the insurrectionists did not frighten him and claiming that the riot was mostly a “peaceful protest.” The Cap Times, based in Wisconsin’s state capitol of Madison, slams the far-right GOP senator in a blistering editorial published on June 2 — describing his actions as those of a “sick and twisted excuse for a human being.”

Gladys Sicknick, mother of Brian Sicknick — a Capitol Police Officer who died following the violence of January 6 — tried to convince Johnson and other Senate Republicans that a January 6 commission was badly needed. But Johnson was unmoved.

“Wisconsin Sen. Ron Johnson met last week with the mother of fallen U.S. Capitol Police Officer Brian Sicknick, who died on the day that former President Trump incited an insurrectionist mob to attack the Capitol in an attempt to overturn the results of the 2020 election,” the Cap Times’ editorial board explains. “She did so despite the fact that Johnson has declared that he was not frightened by the attack on the Capitol because the seditionists were people who ‘truly respect law enforcement.’ Gladys Sicknick wanted to explain to Johnson that what happened on the day her son died was not, as the senator continues to claim, a ‘peaceful protest.'” Continue reading.

‘Raw political fear’: George Conway torches GOP lawmakers for their ‘dereliction’ on Jan 6 commission vote

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George Conway is displeased with Republican lawmakers’ handling of all things Trump, but he argues that there is one failed effort that tops all of the rest. In a new piece published by The Washington Post, Conway fired off as he voiced his frustrations about Republicans’ efforts to block the Jan. 6 commission which would have established an entity to investigate the insurrection on the U.S. Capitol. 

Although they allowed Trump to slide during both impeachment trials, Conway noted that at least they had some form of excuse for their actions regardless of how futile their justifications were.

However, where the Jan. 6 commission is concerned Conway argues: “There was no excuse — none — for what they did last week.” Continue reading.

Tampa man pleads guilty to felony in Jan. 6 Capitol riot; his recommended prison sentence could set bar for other cases

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A Tampa man who carried a Trump flag into the well of the Senate on Jan. 6 pleaded guilty Wednesday to one felony count of storming the Capitol to obstruct Congress’s certification of the 2020 presidential election.

Paul Allard Hodgkins, 38, did not enter a cooperation deal with prosecutors, and he is not accused of any other wrongdoing or involvement with extremist groups.

In admitting to the stiffest felony count charged by prosecutors against individuals not otherwise accused of conspiracy or violence in the Capitol riot, Hodgkins faces a prison sentence of 15 to 21 months under federal guidelines. His sentencing is poised to become a test case watched by other defendants deciding whether to accept pleas, several defense lawyers said. Continue reading.

‘Striking, horrific and brutal’: Reporter details disturbing accusations against a 1/6 rioter in new filing

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Pennsylvania resident Ryan Samsel is among the many people facing federal criminal charges in connection with the January 6 assault on the U.S. Capitol Building. Scott MacFarlane, a reporter for WRC-TV Channel 4 (the NBC affiliate in Washington, D.C.) who is also an MSNBC contributor, discusses Samsel in a Twitter thread posted this week — and lays out some reasons why his case is especially troubling.

MacFarlane tweets, “WHOA!!! The filing just submitted in the Jan 6 prosecution of Ryan Samsel of Pennsylvania might” include “the most striking, horrific and brutal accusations I’ve read so far in *any* of these 460+ cases.”

MacFarlane reports that last week, Samsel asked to be released from the Washington, D.C. jail where he is being held, “citing injuries he allegedly suffered in (a) beating there.” Continue reading.

The GOP push to revisit 2020 has worrisome implications for future elections

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Donald Trump’s “big lie” has spawned a movement that under the guise of assuring election integrity threatens to do the opposite, potentially affecting the election process with questionable challenges that could block or delay the certification of results and undermine an essential pillar of democratic governance.

Trump’s refusal to accept the 2020 results has kept alive the fiction that the election was stolen or the process was deeply corrupted. That fiction — fueled by conspiracy theories — has encouraged members of his party, elected officials and ordinary citizens, to take steps to address this; these actions could lead to worse outcomes in the future.

For some Americans, the 2020 election isn’t over, as unsubstantiated claims of fraud or widespread irregularities prompt continuing efforts to reexamine ballots and voting machines. Continue reading.