Tag: Trump attempt to steal a second term

Capitol Police Told to Hold Back on Riot Response on Jan. 6, Report Finds

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Despite being tipped that “Congress itself is the target” on Jan. 6, Capitol Police were ordered not to use their most powerful crowd-control weapons, according to a scathing new watchdog report.

WASHINGTON — The Capitol Police had clearer advance warnings about the Jan. 6 attack than were previously known, including the potential for violence in which “Congress itself is the target.” But officers were instructed by their leaders not to use their most aggressive tactics to hold off the mob, according to a scathing new report by the agency’s internal investigator.

In a 104-page document, the inspector general, Michael A. Bolton, criticized the way the Capitol Police prepared for and responded to the mob violence on Jan. 6. The report was reviewed by The New York Times and will be the subject of a Capitol Hill hearing on Thursday.

Mr. Bolton found that the agency’s leaders failed to adequately prepare despite explicit warnings that pro-Trump extremists posed a threat to law enforcement and civilians and that the police used defective protective equipment. He also found that the leaders ordered their Civil Disturbance Unit to refrain from using its most powerful crowd-control tools — like stun grenades — to put down the onslaught. Continue reading.

The great capitulation of Trump’s voter fraud crusade

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The 2020 election is a case study in how unproved claims can be weaponized. For decades, former president Donald Trump’s party warned of significant voter fraud while successfully pushing policies such as voter ID. In 2016, Trump laid a predicate for contesting an election by suggesting there was massive fraud, even in an election he had won. By 2020, when Trump lost, it culminated in a huge portion of the electorate believing a “stolen election” theory for which there is vanishingly little actual evidence.

Some have done more than raise questions, though. They, like Trump and often in search of his allies’ support, have alleged actual massive fraud.

But now they’ve been asked to account for it. And crucially and increasingly, they have backed down. Continue reading.

NYPD Retiree Charged In Capitol Cop Attack Shocked He’s Jailed With ‘Inner-City’ Inmates

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New York police veteran Thomas Webster is unhappy with his “dormitory” detention, his lawyer reportedly said.

An NYPD veteran charged with beating a police officer during the Capitol riot is shocked that he’s locked up with “inner-city” criminals, according to his lawyer.

Thomas Webster, who retired after two decades with the New York City Police Department, is unhappy with the “dormitory setting” where he’s held without bail on charges related to the Jan. 6 insurrection, Washington Post reporter Rachel Weiner reported, citing Webster’s defense lawyer.

“For a middle aged guy whose never been arrested before, this has been a shock for him,” the attorney reportedly explained.  Continue reading.

He heeded Trump’s call to fight. Now a Georgia teen awaits the consequences

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ATLANTA — Long before he stormed the U.S. Capitol, Bruno Joseph Cua flashed warning signs he was headed for serious trouble in his hometown of Milton, Georgia.

Perched behind the wheel of his Toyota pickup with a Trump 2020 flag streaming from the truck bed, the 18-year-old harassed drivers whose vehicles showed support for Joe Biden or liberal causes.

He joined social media sites favored by the extreme right and filled up his feeds with screeds that became more strident following Trump’s Nov. 3 loss. He wrote of acquiring an assault-style weapon illegally. And when Trump called supporters to Washington Jan. 6 for his “Save America” rally, Cua was all in. Continue reading.

‘Boogaloo’ extremists destroyed evidence in probe of officer’s murder, feds say

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Four members of an armed right-wing group linked to the anti-government “boogaloo” movementhave been charged with conspiring to destroy evidence related to the fatal shooting of a Federal Protective Service officer and the wounding of another in Oakland, Calif., last May, prosecutors announced Friday.

A federal grand jury indictment says members of the Northern California-based Grizzly Scouts tried to cover for one of their own after he allegedly gunned down the officers, deleting chat histories that included a message reading, “Dudes i offed a fed.”

Jessie Alexander Rush, 29, Robert Jesus Blancas, 33, Simon Sage Ybarra, 23, and Kenny Matthew Miksch, 21, are accused of conspiracy to destroy records and destruction of records in official proceedings. Rush faces an additional count of obstruction of official proceedings, and Blancas is charged with an additional count of destruction of records in official proceedings. Continue reading.

Trump slashes at McConnell as he reiterates election falsehoods at Republican event

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Former president Donald Trump called Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell a “dumb son of a bitch” as he used a Saturday night speech to Republicans to blame the senator for not helping overturn the 2020 election and reiterated false assertions that he won the November contest.

Trump, speaking at a Republican National Committee gathering at his Mar-a-Lago Club in Palm Beach, Fla., excoriated a number of Republicans even as he publicly called for party unity — focusing on those who voted to convict him in impeachment proceedings. But he saved his sharpest vitriol for the Kentucky Republican.

“If that were Schumer instead of this dumb son of a bitch Mitch McConnell, they would never allow it to happen. They would have fought it,” he said of the election certification on Jan. 6, the day his supporters led an insurrection on the Capitol to block President Biden’s formal victory. Continue reading.

EXCLUSIVE: Leaked chats show Proud Boys integral to planning for ‘White Lives Matter’ rallies

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Two self-identified Proud Boys have been involved in the internal planning for a set of simultaneous “White Lives Matter” rallies scheduled for Sunday, according to chat logs leaked to the media.

The association with the White Lives Matter rallies, which are promoting overtly white supremacist messages about a supposed white genocide, is a liability for the Proud Boys, a violent proto-fascist group that claims to be non-racist. The leaked chats show that a Proud Boy responsible for organizing the Michigan White Lives Matter rally went to some effort to hide the fact that members of his group are involved in the effort.

The Telegram user “Telly Savalas,” who was the admin for the @WLM_Michigan channel, expressed concern on April 5 about a user named “BamaPatriot 2º” who wrote, “POYB,” with an A-OK emoji. Those are signifiers associated with the Proud Boys. Continue reading.

‘This is a political prosecution’: After its members were charged in the Capitol riot, one group says it is more popular than ever

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BRIDGEWATER, Mass. — In federal court, Mark Sahady and Suzanne Ianni are facing charges of illegal entry and disorderly conduct for their alleged involvement in the Jan. 6 riot at the U.S. Capitol. But at a rally against coronavirus restrictions held last month in a field outside Boston, the pair were hailed as “patriots.”

“Yeah, we are definitely not terrorists,” Sahady, 46, told the crowd. “Make no mistake about it: This is a political prosecution.”

In the weeks since the Capitol riot, many participants have tearfully apologized for their actions, often after paying a price legally, socially or professionally. But for some, Jan. 6 has emerged as a source of pride and inspiration — a reflection of how robustly many in the Republican Party have embraced former president Donald Trump’s false claims that he lost the White House because of fraud. Continue reading.

Texas faith leaders condemn new election bills as Jim Crow dressed up in a ‘tuxedo’

Faith leaders in Texas are accusing Gov. Greg Abbott and other Republicans of using ‘election integrity’ as an excuse to enact restrictive laws that target voters of color.

Faith leaders in Texas condemned a pair of controversial election bills Wednesday (April 7) working their way through the state Legislature, accusing lawmakers of trying to “dress up Jim and Jane Crow in a tuxedo.”

An array of clergy and other religious leaders assembled outside the Capitol in Austin to express opposition to the bills, known as SB 7 and HB 6. They invoked their respective faiths while criticizing provisions of the proposed legislation such as banning drive-thru voting, shortening early voting hours, sending mail voting applications only to voters who request them and requiring disabled voters to prove their disability with documentation from a physician or the federal government.

“We have those in leadership — in Texas government — (people) who have in their ideological DNA the same mindset of those slave masters who denied the humanity of Black people,” said the Rev. Frederick Haynes III, pastor of Friendship-West Baptist Church in Dallas. “The same mindset of those individuals who upheld Jim and Jane Crow segregation.” Continue reading.

Michigan Authorities Cite Sidney Powell’s Own Arguments In Disbarment Action

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Sidney Powell’s defense against a $1.3 billion lawsuit over her lies about voter fraud in the 2020 election could come back to bite her.

Powell, a lawyer who supported Donald Trump’s claims of election fraud and filed multiple failed lawsuits across the country seeking to overturn the 2020 election, is being sued by Dominion Voting Systems for defamation after she falsely accused the company of conspiring with a dead Venezuelan dictator to rig the election against Trump.

Back in March, Powell argued that Dominion’s lawsuit should be dismissed because “no reasonable person” would believe her lies about voting machine rigging. Continue reading.