Tag: Trump election fraud lie

Oath Keeper Claims She Met with Secret Service Before Capitol Riot

WASHINGTON (Reuters) – A leader of the far-right “Oath Keepers” group charged in the deadly U.S. Capitol riots said she was in Washington on Jan. 6 to provide security for legislators and meet with Secret Service agents, according to a court filing.

Jessica Watkins, 38, is one of nine associates of the anti-government group charged with conspiring to storm the Capitol to prevent Congress from certifying President Joe Biden’s election victory.

Prosecutors said Watkins entered the Capitol building illegally. According to a defense petition filed on Saturday: “Ms. Watkins did not engage in any violence or force at the Capitol grounds or in the Capitol.” Continue reading.

The Lost Hours: How Confusion and Inaction at the Capitol Delayed a Troop Deployment

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As violence grew out of control on Jan. 6, the head of the Capitol Police made an urgent request for the National Guard. It took nearly two hours to be approved.

WASHINGTON — At 1:09 p.m. on Jan. 6, minutes after protesters had burst through the barricades around the U.S. Capitol and began using the steel debris to assault the officers standing guard, the chief of the Capitol Police made a desperate call for backup. It took nearly two hours for officials to approve the deployment of the National Guard.

New details about what transpired over those 115 minutes on that dark, violent day — revealed in interviews and documents — tell a story of how chaotic decision-making among political and military leaders burned precious time as the rioting at the Capitol spiraled out of control.

Communication breakdowns, inaction and confusion over who had authority to call for the National Guard delayed a deployment of hundreds of troops who might have helped quell the violence that raged for hours. Continue reading.

‘Stop the Steal’ organization hasn’t filed IRS reports — and its registered agent has disappeared

A political nonprofit with ties to longtime Trump associate Roger Stone, which was supposedly created to challenge the 2020 election results, has missed two federal deadlines to disclose how much money it spent and received before and after the election. Furthermore, the law firm that employed the group’s registered agent told Salon that she no longer works there, and her LinkedIn page appears deactivated.

“Committee to Stop the Steal” was registered with the federal government as a 527 tax-exempt political organization on Oct. 16, a few weeks before the election, by a clerk at a Southern California personal injury firm called Jensen & Associates. The IRS does not require 527 groups to disclose their donors, but it does mandate that they publicize how much money they raise and spend, including in post-election and year-end reports. Committee to Stop the Steal has missed the deadlines for both.

Jensen & Associates is led by Paul Rolf Jensen, a friend of Stone’s who has represented the right-wing provocateur in an array of matters for at least two decades. The firm’s website appears to have been unattended in recent months, but an archived version from last February does not mention political work. While Jensen himself isn’t listed on the IRS registration for the Committee to Stop the Steal, the group’s listed address is a UPS Store mailbox located near the firm’s physical address, and its custodian of records, Ashley Maderos, worked at Jensen for a time as a post-bar law clerk. Continue reading.

‘He Wants Us To Make It WILD’: Feds Lay Out How Trump Rhetoric Fueled Oath Keepers

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“Trump said It’s gonna be wild!!!!!!! It’s gonna be wild!!!!!!!” one defendant wrote. “He called us all to the Capitol and wants us to make it wild!!!”

Six additional people associated with the Oath Keepers organization were arrested this week in connection with the Jan. 6 attack on the U.S. Capitol after a federal grand jury returned a superseding indictment that laid out a conspiracy to block the certification of Joe Biden’s Electoral College win.

The superseding indictment, which replaced a Jan. 27 indictment returned against three defendants, also lays out how members of the right-wing group saw then-President Donald Trump sending them clear messages to fight to overturn the November election results on his behalf. The new indictment cites an article on the Oath Keepers website that tells members it is “CRITICAL that all patriots who can be in DC get to DC to stand tall in support of President Trump’s fight to defeat the enemies foreign and domestic who are attempting a coup, through the massive vote fraud and related attacks on our Republic.” 

The six new defendants are now co-defendants alongside Thomas Caldwell, Donavan Crowl and Jessica Watkins, who were previously charged. The new defendants ― 54-year-old Graydon Young of Englewood, Florida; 52-year-old Kelly Meggs and 59-year-old Connie Meggs of Dunnellon, Florida; 52-year-old Laura Steele of Thomasville, North Carolina; and 62-year-old Sandra Ruth Parker and 70-year-old Bennie Alvin Parker of Morrow, Ohio ― are now all charged as part of a criminal conspiracy to interfere with the certification of the Electoral College results. Continue reading.

Feds Charge Pa. Cop For Rioting During Capitol Insurrection: ‘I May Need A Job’

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Patrolman Joseph Fischer, the feds say, charged at a police line at the U.S. Capitol and posted a video of it on Facebook.

Pennsylvania police officer is facing felony charges for rioting during the pro-Trump attack on the U.S. Capitol after he posted a video of himself charging a line of police officers on Facebook.

Joseph Fischer, a patrolman at North Cornwall Township Police Department, faces charges of obstruction of law enforcement during civil disorder, knowingly entering a restricted building without lawful authority, violent entry and conduct on Capitol grounds, and obstruction of justice/Congress.

Using the account SV Spindrift, the feds say, Fischer posted video of himself running at a line of officers while yelling “Charge!” Fischer wrote that the police line was four cops deep and that he “made it to level two.” Continue reading.

U.S. alleges wider Oath Keepers conspiracy, adds more defendants in Jan. 6 Capitol riot

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U.S. authorities on Friday alleged a broader conspiracy by Oath Keepers to attack the U.S. Capitol on Jan. 6, charging six new individuals who appeared to be members or associates of the right-wing group.

One self-described leader in the group, which recruits among military and law enforcement, sent a Facebook message claiming at least 50 to 100 Oath Keepers planned to travel to D.C. with him on Jan. 6 and that they would “make it wild,” echoing a comment President Donald Trump made on Twitter rallying supporters to the Capitol.

A 21-page indictment alleged that the defendants “did knowingly combine, conspire, confederate, and agree with each other and others known and unknown” to force entry to the Capitol and obstruct Congress from certifying the election of Joe Biden as president in riots that led to five deaths and assaults on 139 police. Continue reading.

Texas lawyer fired for Capitol assault dumped by pro-Trump groups trying to prove election fraud: report

A Texas attorney who was quickly fired as counsel for an insurance companyafter he posted a video of himself taking part in the Jan. 6th insurrection at the U.S. Capitol that forced lawmakers to flee for their lives is once again out of a job after new clients alleging election fraud fired him too.

Two days after the Capitol riot, attorney Paul Davis was let go by Goosehead Insurance after proudly posting video of himself at the protest that turned into a riot, saying, “The fact that they will not let us inspect any of the ballots or the machines should tell you something. We’re all trying to get into the Capitol to stop this and this is what’s happening, they’re tear-gassing us.”

Since that time, he signed on with lawyer Kellye SoRelle in a lawsuit, described by Above the Law as, “seeking to overturn the results of the 2020 presidential election.” Continue reading.

Ex-FBI official explains why he thinks Capitol Police are staying silent on the riot: ‘I fear this story is ugly’

On MSNBC Wednesday, former FBI official Frank Figliuzzi offered a theory as to why the Capitol Police have not spoken out about their experience of the pro-Trump riot in January.

“We heard the House impeachment managers tell the most detailed version of their story that day, but we still have not heard from Capitol Police,” said anchor Nicolle Wallace.

“There’s an overriding historical reason why people don’t tell their story. Our institutions choose not to tell their story,” said Figliuzzi. “It’s because even they don’t like their story. I’m concerned that we’re not hearing from these agencies because the truth is too painful even for them, and I think it’s going to be the independent commission that finally gets to the bottom of this, if we can even assemble an effective commission.” Continue reading.

L. Brent Bozell IV, descendant of prominent conservative family, charged in Capitol breach

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The son of a prominent conservative activist who denounced the Jan. 6 breach of the Capitol but has claimed that Democrats stole the 2020 presidential election has been charged with participating in the riot.

Leo Brent Bozell IV, the son of L. Brent Bozell III, was charged with trespassing and obstruction of an official proceeding in the assault that left five dead, injured more than 100 police officers and delayed the electoral-vote confirmation of President Biden’s victory.

Charging papers made public Tuesday allege that the younger Bozell, 41, appeared on video on the Senate chamber floor during the event wearing a Hershey Christian Academy hooded sweatshirt. Online tipsters identified him as “Zeek” or “Zeeker Bozell” and traced his work as a girls’ basketball coach in Hershey, Pa., the FBI said. Continue reading.

Trump spews election lies while eulogizing Rush Limbaugh on Fox News: ‘He was furious about it’

Former President Donald Trump made his first media appearance on Wednesday to eulogize conservative radio host Rush Limbaugh.

“He was special,” Trump said, recalling that he had given Limbaugh the Presidential Medal of Freedom. “Rush is irreplaceable. He had an audience that was massive.”

“He was a fantastic man, a fantastic talent and people, whether they loved him or not, they respected him,” he added. Continue reading.