Tag: Trump fake patriots stormed the Capitol

Capitol riot fuels debate over domestic terror laws

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The White House’s focus on rising domestic extremism has sparked a debate over whether the U.S. needs new laws to fight it, with some groups concerned that such measures could lead to over surveillance of communities of color and infringe on First Amendment rights.

The Jan. 6 riot that overran the Capitol and left multiple people dead has prompted the Biden administration and Democrats in Congress to prioritize white supremacists and various right-wing anti-government extremists as a top national security concern.

It’s still unclear how much momentum is behind any potential new domestic terrorism statute or what it would ultimately look like, but lawmakers’ focus on the issue is already prompting debate about whether such legislation is needed and if it could do more harm than good. Continue reading.

Ex-Defense Secretary Delivers Damning Takedown Of GOP Spin On U.S. Capitol Riot

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“They’re trying to perform a frontal lobotomy on the American people,” warned William Cohen, the Republican former senator for Maine.

Bill Clinton-era Defense Secretary William Cohen on Friday tore into elected Republicans who are desperately trying to spin the narrative on the deadly U.S. Capitol riot.

“Those members who are trying to say, ‘No big deal on Jan. 6,’ they’re trying to perform a frontal lobotomy on the American people, a side effect which is mental dullness,” Cohen, a Republican former senator for Maine, told CNN’s Anderson Cooper.

GOP lawmakers on Wednesday tried to depict the riot, in which five people died, as “a normal tour visit” involving “peaceful patriots.” That’s despite the existence of thousands of hours of video footage proving the violence incited by ex-President Donald Trump and his enablers was anything but. Continue reading.

Democrat moves to censure three Republicans for downplaying Jan. 6

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Rep. David Cicilline (D-R.I.) on Friday began asking Democratic colleagues to sign on to a resolution to censure three House Republicans who tried this week to minimize the severity of the Jan. 6 insurrection.

In a letter to fellow House Democrats, Cicilline said that a resolution will be forthcoming to specifically censure Republican Reps. Andrew Clyde (Ga.), Jody Hice (Ga.) and Paul Gosar (Ariz.) for their remarks at a House Oversight and Reform Committee hearing on Wednesday downplaying and making false claims about the violent attack on the Capitol.

“These three members dangerously mischaracterized what happened that day and showed more sympathy for the domestic terrorists than the Capitol Police officers who died during the attack,” Cicilline wrote. Continue reading.

‘It’s disgraceful’: An officer denounces the GOP’s Capitol riot denialism — and commission plans move forward

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On Friday, Democrat Rep. Bennie G. Thompson of Mississippi announced an agreement for a bipartisan committee to investigate the January 6 attack on the U.S. Capitol Building — an agreement reached with Republican Rep. John Katko of New York State. Liberal Washington Post opinion writer Greg Sargentapplauds this “surprising bit of good news” in his column, but he also laments the fact that there are still many disingenuous Republicans who are determined to “obscure” the horrifying events of January 6.

“Predictably, House Minority Leader Kevin McCarthy (R-Calif.) immediately said he hadn’t agreed to the deal,” Sargent notes. “What’s still unclear is how many Republicans will support it. The bill will pass in the Democratic-controlled House, but it will also need GOP support in the Senate, since it could theoretically be filibustered.”

Sargent explains why Thomson and Katko’s proposal is a positive development, writing, “Perhaps the most important thing is that it focuses the scope of the commission on ‘the facts and causes’ related to the January 6 attack and to ‘the interference with the peaceful transfer of power.’ It will also look at the ‘influencing factors’ that ‘fomented’ this attack. Importantly, it describes January 6 as a ‘domestic terrorist attack’ waged against ‘American representative democracy.’ That counters the GOP whitewash effort by framing the mission around the need to explore the deep radicalization that led to an effort to overthrow U.S. democracy itself.” Continue reading.

Lawmakers reach deal on bipartisan commission to investigate Jan. 6

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House negotiators have reached an agreement on the parameters of a 9/11-style commission to investigate the “facts and circumstances” surrounding the Jan. 6 attack on the U.S. Capitol, the House Homeland Security Committee announced Friday.

Why it matters: The formation of a bipartisan Jan. 6 commission had been delayed for months, after some Republicans insisted that the scope of the investigation be expanded to include violence by far-left protesters last summer.

Details, according to the House Homeland Security Committee: Continue reading.

‘You left us bloody and alone!’ Feds reveal MAGA rioter’s anguished message to Trump after realizing he wasn’t getting pardoned

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A member of the Proud Boys who was arrested for taking part in the January 6th MAGA riots angrily lashed out at former President Donald Trump after he realized he wouldn’t be getting pardoned for his crimes.

Politico’s Kyle Cheney reports that federal prosecutors this week revealed anguished messages sent by Proud Boy Ethan Nordean on January 20th after he watched Trump leave office without delivering a blanket pardon to all those who rioted on his behalf weeks earlier.

“F*CK TRUMP!” he wrote in a social media message. “F*ck him more than Biden. I’ve followed this guy for 4 years and given everything and lost it all.” Continue reading.

A sprawling investigation: What we know so far about the Capitol riot suspects

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Since the Jan. 6 attack on the U.S. Capitol, more than 400 people who were part of the pro-Trump mob that day have been arrested — a number that could still grow substantially.

Four months after the Jan. 6. attack on the U.S. Capitol, Congress is starkly divided about how to investigate the deadly assault by supporters of President Donald Trump, many of whom were animated by his false claims that the election was stolen. House Republicans this week ousted Rep. Liz Cheney (R-Wyo.) from party leadership for continuing to warn that Trump’s rhetoric led to violence, and some GOP lawmakers have echoed the former president in attempting to minimize the destruction that day.

In fact, the ongoing criminal probe has swept up at least 411 suspects in what federal officials have called an unprecedented domestic attack on a branch of the U.S. government.

“I have not seen a more dangerous threat to democracy than the invasion of the Capitol,” Attorney General Merrick Garland told senators in a hearing Wednesday. He called the assault “an attempt to interfere with the fundamental element of our democracy, a peaceful transfer of power.” Continue reading.

First active duty service member arrested over Jan. 6 riot

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A Marine Corps officer was arrested Thursday over his involvement in the Jan. 6 insurrection, making him the first active-duty service member charged over the Capitol attack.

The Justice Department said in a statement that Maj. Christopher Warnagiris, 40, “violently entered the Capitol on Jan. 6, after pushing through a line of police officers guarding the East Rotunda doors.”

He then allegedly used his body to prop a door open to allow more people to rush into the Capitol. Continue reading.

WATCH: Ex-Secretary of Defense says Trump wanted the National Guard ‘to protect the demonstrators’

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Former Secretary of Defense Christopher Miller said Wednesday that Donald Trump was interested in the deployment of the National Guard during their Jan. 3 discussion.

When Rep. Byron Donalds (R-FL) questioned, “did you tell the president about the mayor’s requests or did President Trump ask if there were requests?”

“He asked if there were requests,” said Miller. Continue reading.

Trump Guilty Of ‘Egging On’ Capitol Riot, Says Facebook Oversight Panel Co-Chair

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Washington (AFP) – Donald Trump encouraged the Capitol rioters and so earned his Facebook ban, but the social media giant’s rules are in “shambles” and need fixing, the co-chair of the network’s oversight panel said Sunday.

The panel agreed just days ago that Facebook was right to oust the ex-president for his comments regarding the deadly January 6 rampage, though it sidestepped an overall decision on whether he will ever be allowed back.

“He issued these statements which were just egging on — with perfunctory asking for peace — but mostly he was just egging them on to continue,” oversight body co-chair Michael McConnell told Fox News Sunday. Continue reading.