Rioter Who Posed in Pelosi’s Office Argues for Release: I Called Her a ‘Biatch,’ Not ‘Bitch’

The self-described white nationalist who stormed Sen. Nancy Pelosi’s (D-CA) office during the Capitol riot has a new argument for why he shouldn’t be jailed pending trial: He isn’t a threat because he only called the House speaker “a biatch.” In a motion last week to modify Richard “Bigo” Barnett’s bail, his lawyer argued that he isn’t a threat to society because the note he left on Pelosi’s office during the riots was not dangerous. The motion claims that while prosecutors insist the note read “Hey Nancy Bigo was here bitch,” the 60-year-old Arkansas man actually wrote “biatd.”

“On information and belief, the ‘d’ was meant to be two letters, ‘c’ and ‘h’ with the ‘c’ connected to an ‘h’ to spell the word ‘biatch’ which is a slang and less offensive word for ‘bitch,’” the motion states, as first reported by Politico. “As such, Richard now asks this Court to look past and ultimately disregard the government’s distorted representations, which do not rise to the level of showing ‘dangerousness’ and grant Richard pretrial release as required by law and recent court decisions,” the motion added. Barnett, who faces several charges, including theft, after posing for an infamous photo in Pelosi’s office and wielding a stun gun during the Jan. 6 insurrection, has a hearing on May 4. Continue reading.

Capitol riot probes home in on Oath Keepers

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Federal prosecutors appear to be zeroing in on the Oath Keepers following the Jan. 6 Capitol riot, making the paramilitary group a priority among the more than 400 people facing criminal charges over the rampage.

A dozen co-defendants reportedly affiliated with the right-wing militia organization are facing conspiracy and other charges over their alleged roles in the storming of the Capitol.

Last week, another member of the Oath Keepers, Jon Ryan Schaffer, became the first defendant following Jan. 6 to plead guilty and agree to cooperatewith law enforcement. Continue reading.

Watch: GOP leader McCarthy squirms as Chris Wallace grills him on Trump’s seditious Jan. 6 behavior

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House Minority Leader Kevin McCarthy (R-CA) on Sunday disputed allegations that President Donald Trump reached out to him to coordinate an alibi after the Capitol was attacked by Trump-supporting insurrectionists on Jan. 6.

Fox News host Chris Wallace confronted McCarthy about a telephone call he had with Trump soon after the attack on the Capitol was underway.

“Well, Kevin, I guess these people are more upset about the election than you are,” Trump reportedly told McCarthy at the time, according to Rep. Herrera Beutler (R-WA). Continue reading.

Trump-loving insurrectionist couple arrested for attacking Capitol police after leaving evidence all over Facebook

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Mark and Jalise Middleton, a husband and wife from rural Texas, have been arrested on charges that include “engaging in physical violence” against police officers at the January 6 Capitol riot.

The Middletons, from Forestburg TX, are accused of having made a couples’ activity out of assaulting officers on the front line of the Capitol insurrection. Here’s some of the description from the FBI complaint, citing footage from police body cams:

“Officers begin struggling against rioters who are refusing repeated orders to step back from the barricade and are attempting to breach the police line. As the struggle ensues, a male individual wearing a red, white, and blue “Trump” beanie hat, red and white scarf, gray or silver jacket, blue jeans, red and white “Nike” shoes, and gray backpack with a red logo on the back—later identified as Mark Middleton— pushes against the barricades and the police line with his body. As officers repeatedly order (him) and other rioters to “get back,” (he) is heard yelling “fuck you!” as he continues pushing against the barricade. Continue reading.

Minnesota GOP challenges Democrats over Rep. Maxine Waters’ words

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Democrats counter that GOP was silent on Jan. 6 insurrection at Capitol. 

WASHINGTON – Comments last weekend by Democratic U.S. Rep. Maxine Waters at a Twin Cities protest are deeply dividing Minnesota’s political delegation in Washington as Republicans unsuccessfully sought to censure the California lawmaker.

As the nation waited for the verdict in the Derek Chauvin trial Tuesday, House Democrats, including four from Minnesota, blocked the GOP’s resolution censuring Waters for urging protesters “to get more confrontational” if the jury acquitted the former police officer.

Minnesota’s four GOP House members pushed for Waters to be censured, saying in a letter that “these comments … are unacceptable, divisive and can only be viewed as a means to incite further violence and destruction.” Continue reading.

GOP attorneys general group in turmoil after Jan. 6 Trump rally

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The chairman of the top outside group dedicated to electing Republican attorneys general has resigned his position in the wake of a show of force by rivals from other states, months after it supported a rally with then-President Trump that turned into an insurrectionist attack on the U.S. Capitol.

Georgia Attorney General Chris Carr (R) last week stepped down as chairman of the Republican Attorneys General Association (RAGA), citing a “significant difference of opinion” with the group’s strategic direction.

He is the latest in a string of departures from the organization, including its executive director, Adam Piper, who resigned under what sources said was pressure from the group in the days after the Jan. 6 insurrection. Continue reading.

Judge Emmet Sullivan cites Donald Trump’s ‘continued’ election lies as reason not to release rioter

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Federal judge Emmet Sullivan this week cited former President Donald Trump’s recent statements about the 2020 election as a reason not to allow the release of a man who allegedly took part in the failed insurrection of Jan. 6.

In a 39-page opinion filed on Tuesday, Sullivan explained why he was denying the release of Jack Wade Whitton, who is charged with eight felonies and misdemeanors relating to the Jan. 6 events. Whitton is accused of “brutally” assaulting officers who were guarding the U.S. Capitol.

“[T]he Court concludes that clear and convincing evidence supports a finding that no condition or combination of conditions will reasonably assure the safety of the community,” Sullivan explains in the opinion. “Accordingly, the Court orders that Mr. Whitton be detained pending trial.” Continue reading.

Pelosi to offer even split on 9/11-style commission to probe Capitol riot

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House Speaker Nancy Pelosi (D-Calif.) has offered a plan for a bipartisan 9/11-style commission to review the Jan. 6 attack on the Capitol, backtracking from an earlier proposal that would have allowed Democrats to appoint the majority of the commission’s members.

A source familiar with the discussions told The Hill Pelosi briefed members of her leadership team on the proposal Monday night after efforts to create the commission stalled in the months following the attack.

Pelosi’s plans were first reported by CNN.   Continue reading.

Greene Objects To FBI ‘Targeting’ Capitol Rioters

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Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene (R-GA) complained on Monday that the FBI is investigating members of the pro-Trump mob who attacked the U.S. Capitol on January 6.

In an appearance on the Todd Starnes Show, Greene was asked by the host to comment on the recent vandalization of a statue of Christopher Columbus outside Union Station in Washington, D.C. Starnes attempted to connect the event to “antifa.”

“They’re out of control. But yet here we have the FBI targeting people that were at the Capitol on January 6,” Greene replied. “And none of us agree with what happened at the Capitol, but they’re acting as if that’s the only riot that has ever occurred.” Continue reading.

MAGA rioter who vowed ‘no remorse or shame’ for his actions arrested by feds

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A Trump-loving rioter who vowed to have “no remorse” for his decision to storm the United States Capitol building was arrested by the FBI on Tuesday morning.

According to the U.S Attorney’s Office for the Middle District of Tennessee, 56-year-old Tennessee resident Michael Timbrook was arrested on charges related to the infamous January 6th Trump-incited riots that left five people dead.

The Department of Justice’s website states Timbrook has so far been charged with “knowingly entering or remaining in any restricted building or grounds without  Continue reading.