Tag: Trump big lie

‘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.

Republicans across the country are helping Dominion make its case against the defendants’ lies

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Baseless Republican attacks on Dominion Voting Systems may come back to bite major Donald Trump supporters in the wallet. That’s because the company appears to be losing significant business in jurisdictions where Republicans control decisions about which vendors will supply voting equipment.

To collect damages the company must show that it suffered financial harm. In that regard, various elected Republicans around the country are helping Dominion make its case as the defendants’ lies about Dominion machines are causing it to lose millions of dollars of business.

In separate lawsuits, Dominion is seeking actual damages of $1.6 billion from Fox News, and $1.3 billion each from Trump lawyers Rudy Giuliani and Sidney Powell, and the My Pillow Guy, Mike Lindell. It is also seeking punitive damages. 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.

How Voting Laws Suppress the ‘New South’

GOP-backed proposals to restrict voting are steadily gaining traction across the Sun Belt, aiming to slow the effects of ongoing demographic shifts that favor Democrats.

LOOKING BACK IN AN election cycle or two, it may be that the political and economic fallout gripping Georgia today over its controversial new voter law proves to have been a sign of an inevitable march toward a very different electoral map.

The next frontier in the battle over voting rights is already creeping toward other states across the South and the Sun Belt that have two things in common: They are all seeing a similar rapid demographic shift in their electorates that stands to reimagine the American political landscape. And they have entrenched political interests trying to stop it.

After a year of record turnout, especially among voters of color in Southern states, and a barrage of unfounded fraud claims propagated by the former president, GOP-led state legislatures are leading the charge to challenge and amend voting laws. They saw their first big success last month in Georgia. That sweeping law among other things imposes identification requirements for absentee ballots, limits ballot drop boxes and shortens runoff elections. Continue reading.

Video shows Texas GOP official seeking ‘army’ of volunteers to monitor polls in mostly Black and Hispanic Houston precincts

A leaked presentation from the Harris County Republican Party shows an official citing widespread voter fraud in a call for 10,000 poll watchers in Texas. (Common Cause Texas)

‘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.

St. Cloud ‘Boogaloo Bois’ member charged with planning attack on Minnesota Capitol

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Boogaloo Bois member from St. Cloud is accused of plotting strike in St. Paul. 

Federal agents in Minnesota have arrested a St. Cloud man who claims allegiance to anti-government Boogaloo Bois and plotted a violent attack on the Minnesota State Capitol earlier this year, according to charges unsealed in Minnesota U.S. District Court on Wednesday.

Last December, Michael Paul Dahlager, 27, traveled to a “Stop the Steal” rally at the Capitol in St. Paul to take video of law enforcement numbers, scout tactical positions for the Boogaloo Bois and note which streets were being blocked off, according to the criminal complaint. He told a confidential informant, who recorded the conversation for the FBI, he was conducting reconnaissance for an attack on Jan. 17. Rallies to protest President Joe Biden’s election were planned for that date by a nonviolent group of Donald Trump supporters.

After the assault on the U.S. Capitol on Jan. 6, Minnesota erected a fence around the Capitol, and hundreds of state police officers — which Dahlager called an “army” — stood guard on the perimeter in response to threats of more attacks. Continue reading.

Tucker Carlson Goes Full Revisionist On The U.S. Capitol Riot

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The Fox News personality’s reality-denying spin on the deadly insurrection was slammed as “gaslighting garbage.”

Tucker Carlson struck a snide tone on Tuesday night to downplay the U.S. Capitol riot on the three-month anniversary of the deadly insurrection.

The Fox News personality attempted to spin the narrative on the Jan. 6 storming of the U.S. Capitol by supporters of Donald Trump — who were incited by the then-president ― as just “a mob of older people from unfashionable zip codes” protesting mass voter fraud in the 2020 election.

Carlson’s characterization of the violence contradicts videos showing the maurading mob. Five people, including a U.S. Capitol police officer, died. Trump supporters were caught on camera screaming, “Hang Mike Pence!” and stalked progressive lawmakers. Continue reading.