Tag: Trump attempt to steal a second term

MAGA rioter who vowed ‘no remorse or shame’ for his actions arrested by feds

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A Trump-loving rioter who vowed to have “no remorse” for his decision to storm the United States Capitol building was arrested by the FBI on Tuesday morning.

According to the U.S Attorney’s Office for the Middle District of Tennessee, 56-year-old Tennessee resident Michael Timbrook was arrested on charges related to the infamous January 6th Trump-incited riots that left five people dead.

The Department of Justice’s website states Timbrook has so far been charged with “knowingly entering or remaining in any restricted building or grounds without  Continue reading.

Post-riot effort to tackle extremism in the military largely overlooks veterans

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The Defense Department is focusing on how to weed out possible extremists from the active-duty ranks in the wake of the Capitol riot, with a recent, military-wide “stand down” for troops to discuss the issue ahead of policy decisions on the matter by Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin.

But the arrest data from the riot shows that allegedly criminal participation in the insurrection on Jan. 6 was far more prevalent among veterans than active-duty forces, a more difficult problem for the U.S. government to address.

Of the nearly 380 individuals federally charged in connection with the riot, at least 44 are current or former members of the U.S. armed forces, according to service records and data compiled by The Washington Post. At least three other veterans are among more than two dozen people charged in D.C. Superior Court for crimes like trespassing and curfew violations. Continue reading.

’60 Minutes’ interview reveals Oath Keepers militia are being trained by police

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In an interview with “60 Minutes” Sunday evening, Oath Keepers leader Jim Arroyo revealed that active-duty law enforcement is part of their movement and helping with militia training.

“Our guys are very experienced. We have active-duty law enforcement in our organization that are helping to train us. We can blend in with our law enforcement,” he said. 

Javed Ali, Towsley Policymaker in Residence at the Gerald Ford School of Public Policy, formerly served as a former NSC senior director and was a counterterrorism official at the FBI under the Trump administration. Speaking to CBS News, he explained that the Oath Keepers is “unique.” Continue reading.

Republicans who backed Trump impeachment see fundraising boost

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The majority of House Republicans who voted to impeach former President Trump in January saw fundraising gains in the first three months of the year despite intense backlash from members of their own party, according to new financial disclosures.

Most of the Republicans who publicly went against Trump after the Jan. 6 attack on the Capitol saw their 2021 first quarter hauls increase from their 2019 hauls during the same period. Two of Trump’s most high-profile critics in the House received a major financial boost in particular: House GOP Conference Chairwoman Liz Cheney (Wyo.) raised $1.5 million at the start of 2021 compared to $321,000 during the same period in 2019, while Rep. Adam Kinzinger (R-Ill.) brought in $1.2 million during the first three months of the year compared to $326,000 in 2019. 

The fundraising hauls come amid a growing divide within the party, as Trump and his allies threaten to support primary challengers against those who voted to impeach him — some of whom are also raking in money. Continue reading.

How the Jan. 6 riot is affecting campaign fundraising

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Small donors buoy Republicans who saw PAC funding drop

Industry PAC contributions to House Republicans who voted against certifying Electoral College results in January fell during the first quarter of the year, but many made up for it with an influx of contributions from small donors.

Meanwhile, Republicans who voted to impeach President Donald Trump for inciting insurrection also saw their fundraising grow, including from PACs, as they prepared for primary challenges.

Political action committees of many companies and lobbying groups said they would pause some or all contributions after rioters broke into the Capitol on Jan. 6 to stop Congress from certifying Joe Biden’s 2020 presidential win. Continue reading.

Prosecutors secure first guilty plea from Capitol riot

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A member of the far-right Oath Keepers militia pleaded guilty Friday to two charges stemming from his involvement in the Jan. 6 Capitol siege.

Why it matters: It’s the first guilty plea that federal prosecutors have secured in their sprawling investigation, and it comes exactly 100 days after the Jan. 6 siege. Jon Schaffer, 53, is expected to cooperate with the government and will receive “witness security.”

  • Schaffer turned himself in to the FBI on Jan. 18 and has been jailed since. He originally faced six charges, including for using bear spray on police officers, but he will now plead guilty to obstruction of an official proceeding and entering a restricted building with a dangerous weapon. Continue reading.

17 requests for backup in 78 minutes


A reconstruction shows how failures of planning and preparation
left police at the Capitol severely disadvantaged on Jan. 6

“I Felt Hate More Than Anything”: How an Active Duty Airman Tried to Start a Civil War

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Steven Carrillo’s path to the Boogaloo Bois shows the hate group is far more organized and dangerous than previously known.

It was 2:20 p.m. on June 6, 2020, and Steven Carrillo, a 32-year-old Air Force sergeant who belonged to the anti-government Boogaloo Bois movement, was on the run in the tiny mountain town of Ben Lomond, California.

With deputy sheriffs closing in, Carrillo texted his brother, Evan, asking him to tell his children he loved them and instructing him to give $50,000 to his fiancée. “I love you bro,” Carrillo signed off. Thinking the text message was a suicide note from a brother with a history of mental health troubles, Evan Carrillo quickly texted back: “Think about the ones you love.”

In fact, Steven Carrillo had a different objective, a goal he had written about on Facebook, discussed with other Boogaloo Bois and even scrawled out in his own blood as he hid from police that day. He wanted to incite a second Civil War in the United States by killing police officers he viewed as enforcers of a corrupt and tyrannical political order — officers he described as “domestic enemies” of the Constitution he professed to revere. Continue reading.

Top private law firms plan ‘SWAT teams’ to fight voting restrictions in court

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Top private law firms plan ‘SWAT teams’ to fight voting restrictions in court

First, it was the businesses. Now, it’s the bar.

More than a dozen of the country’s top law firms have committed to join forces to challenge voting restrictions across the country, adding legal might to the corporate pressure campaign opposing Republican-led attempts to overhaul elections in the wake of former President Donald Trump’s loss.

One of the effort’s leaders, Brad Karp, chairman of the law firm Paul, Weiss, Rifkind, Wharton & Garrison of New York, said Monday that 16 firms had signed on so far, including his. The lawyers will act like “SWAT teams” for legal action, he said. Jeffrey Sonnenfeld, a Yale School of Management professor who is working to help mobilize corporate America against the restrictions, described the legal coalition as an “army of election law experts ready to dispatch at a moment’s notice.”

The group came together from conversations among major law firms about publicly taking a stand against restrictive voting laws like the one enacted in Georgia last month, as well as bills under consideration in Texas, Arizona, Florida and other states. Continue reading.

As Michigan G.O.P. Plans Voting Limits, Top Corporations Fire a Warning Shot

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State Republicans pushing a new voting law are threatening to use a rarely invoked option to circumvent a promised veto by the governor. And Michigan businesses are trying to get out ahead of the issue.

At first glance, the partisan battle over voting rights in Michigan appears similar to that of many other states: The Republican-led Legislature, spurred by former President Donald J. Trump’s lies about election fraud, has introduced a rash of proposals to restrict voting access, angering Democrats, who are fighting back.

But plenty of twists and turns are looming as Michigan’s State Senate prepares to hold hearings on a package of voting bills beginning Wednesday. Unlike Georgia, Florida and Texas, which have also moved to limit voting access, Michigan has a Democratic governor, Gretchen Whitmer, who said last month she would vetoany bill imposing new restrictions. But unlike in other states with divided governments, Michigan’s Constitution offers Republicans a rarely used option for circumventing Ms. Whitmer’s veto.

Last month, the state’s Republican chairman told activists that he aimed to do just that — usher new voting restrictions into law using a voter-driven petition process that would bypass the governor’s veto pen. Continue reading.