Tag: Trump big lie

Trump Lawyer Who Urged Executing Pence Seeks GOP Chair

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Lin Wood, the far-right, pro-Trump attorney who lost multiple lawsuits attempting to overturn the 2020 election, has announced he is running to be chair of the South Carolina Republican Party, the Post and Courier reported on Monday.

“My decision to run for the office was heavily influenced by my well known desire to reform local and state political parties and return power to the people,” Wood told the paper. “Here, I want to return power and control of the South Carolina Republican Party to the members of the party.”

Wood is now well-known for filing lie-filled legal challenges alleging voter fraud in the 2020 election, with zero evidence to back them up. Continue reading.

Accused Capitol rioter arrested in T-shirt reading ‘I was there’ with Trump’s photo, insurrection date

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When police showed up at Garret Miller’s Dallas home earlier this year to arrest him on charges that he had participated in the Capitol riot, his wardrobe spoke for itself.

The 34-year-old unemployed man, who allegedly forced his way into the U.S. Capitol building and threatened a congresswoman and a police officer, was clad in a T-shirt emblazoned with a photograph of former president Donald Trump and text declaring: “I Was There, Washington D.C., January 6, 2021.”

New details of his Jan. 20 arrest were revealed this week in court documents as prosecutors urged a judge not to release him before his trial, noting that he allegedly admitted to bringing a gun into the Capitol during the deadly insurrection. Police also found an array of weapons and gear in Miller’s house, prosecutors said, including a grappling hook, ropes, body armor, night vision goggles, a crossbow and arrows, and multiple firearms with ammunition. Continue reading.

Sean Hannity calls for voter suppression in 5 more states: ‘This has nothing to do with race’

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Following passage of voter suppression bills by Republicans in Iowa and Georgia, Fox News personality Sean Hannity is now calling for his viewers to demand similar measures in five additional states.

“Now we turn to an important story on election integrity, and it matters. People ask me, ‘Hannity, what can I do?’ Well, first, if you live in Georgia, if you live in Wisconsin, Michigan, Pennsylvania, Arizona, Nevada, you want to work with your state legislatures,” he argued.

Four of the five states Hannity listed have Republican legislatures, with only Nevada controlled by Democrats. Continue reading.

Delta faces boycott threats for stance on new Georgia voting law

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Social media users said they would no longer give the airline their business

Georgia’s new voting law, which puts barriers in place for absentee and mail-in voting and makes it illegal for third-party groups to hand out food and water to voters in line, has earned widespread criticism from Democrats and voting rights advocates. President Biden called it “Jim Crow in the 21st Century.”

Atlanta-based Delta Air Lines, on the other hand, put out a statementon Friday saying the bill — which was signed into law Thursday night — had “improved considerably during the legislative process” and noted some elements for praise.

That statement from CEO Ed Bastian has prompted a #BoycottDelta trend on social media. Continue reading.

Two Capitol Police officers sue Trump for ‘physical and emotional injuries’ suffered in riots

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Two Capitol Police officers who battled the mob of Donald Trump supporters that stormed the Capitol on Jan. 6 are suing the former president for the physical and emotional injuries they say they suffered in the attacks.

In a federal suit filed Tuesday in D.C., Officers James Blassingame and Sidney Hemby allege that for months, Trump rallied the insurrectionists with baseless election fraud claims that eventually culminated in the breach of the Capitol that left five dead, including a Capitol Police officer. About 140 police officers were injured, according to the police union, and two officers who had been on duty at the Capitol that day later died by suicide. 

“Both United States Capitol Police Officers reported for duty on January 6, 2021, without any suspicion that they would soon become the targets of Trump’s followers,” according to the suit. Continue reading.

Former Trump chief of staff calls ex-President’s Capitol riot claims ‘manifestly false’

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The former chief of staff to ex-President Donald Trump on Saturday pushed back against his former boss’ recent attempt to whitewash the history of the January 6 Capitol riot. 

Mick Mulvaney, who stepped down as Trump’s special envoy to Northern Ireland after the insurrection, called Trump’s comments that his supporters were “hugging and kissing” police officers and posed “zero threat,” despite widespread violence, “manifestly false.”

“I was surprised to hear the President say that. Clearly there were people who were behaving themselves, and then there were people who absolutely were not, but to come out and say that everyone was fine and there was no risk, that’s just manifestly false — people died, other people were severely injured,” Mulvaney told CNN’s Pamela Brown on “Newsroom.” Continue reading.

Far-Right Extremists Move From ‘Stop the Steal’ to Stop the Vaccine

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Extremist organizations are now bashing the safety and efficacy of coronavirus vaccines in an effort to try to undermine the government.

Adherents of far-right groups who cluster online have turned repeatedly to one particular website in recent weeks — the federal database showing deaths and adverse reactions nationwide among people who have received Covid-19 vaccinations.

Although negative reactions have been relatively rare, the numbers are used by many extremist groups to try to bolster a rash of false and alarmist disinformation in articles and videos with titles like “Covid-19 Vaccines Are Weapons of Mass Destruction — and Could Wipe out the Human Race” or “Doctors and Nurses Giving the Covid-19 Vaccine Will be Tried as War Criminals.”

If the so-called Stop the Steal movement appeared to be chasing a lost cause once President Biden was inaugurated, its supporters among extremist organizations are now adopting a new agenda from the anti-vaccination campaign to try to undermine the government. Continue reading.

FBI: Texas Man Hurled Lit Firecracker at Cops During Capitol Riot

The FBI arrested a Texas man on Friday who allegedly hurled a lit firecracker at police officers during the Jan. 6 Capitol riot. David Judd, 35, has been charged with assaulting police, resisting or impeding officers, and civil disorder for what prosecutors describe as his attack against police guarding the Capitol building’s Lower West Terrace doors. Judd was taken into custody by the Dallas FBI field office on Friday morning. According to an affidavit, he was caught on surveillance footage joining other protesters in trying to shove their way through a line of police officers. He then allegedly helped other protesters use riot shields stolen from police to make a “shield wall” against officers before lighting a firecracker and throwing it at the line of officers.

A fellow member of the crowd was apparently so shocked by the move that they yelled: “You going to do that and run away! What the fuck.” According to the affidavit, that same unidentified person then notified others in the area that “he threw a firecracker, a big giant, what the…” In addition to being captured in footage from the riots, Judd also posted to social media before the rally boasting of having “a license to carry a firearm” before proclaiming it was time to “fight to save this country and support the greatest president,” federal prosecutors say. View the post here.

Dominion files $1.6 billion defamation lawsuit against Fox News

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Dominion Voting Systems filed a defamation lawsuit on Friday seeking $1.6 billion in damages against Fox News, arguing that the network knowingly spread misinformation about the company’s role in nonexistent voter fraud.

Why it matters: This is the first time Dominion has sued a media company in its efforts to collect billions in damages from pro-Trump figures who have pushed baseless conspiracy theories about its voting machines.

  • Dominion has previously sued Trump’s personal attorney Rudy Giuliani, pro-Trump lawyer Sidney Powell, and the pro-Trump MyPillow CEO Mike Lindell. All have appeared as guests on Fox News. Continue reading.

Scoop: House chamber hardened with bulletproof doors

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The House chamber is being transformed into a massive safe room for members with the addition of bulletproof doors.

Why it matters: One of the most dramatic images from the Jan. 6 attack was Capitol Police officers inside the chamber holding protesters at bay by pointing their guns at them after they broke windows in the doors. The new doors will provide fresh fortification.

Details: An Axios reporter leaving the Capitol on Wednesday night saw workers removing doors on one of the double-doored entrances to the gallery one level above the floor of the chamber. Some members huddled there on Jan. 6. Continue reading.