Tag: Trump insurrection

‘No remorse’: Man accused in Capitol officer beating, who allegedly buried badge in backyard, ordered to jail

USA Today Logo

A New York man charged in a vicious assault on a D.C. police officer during the deadly Capitol riot was ordered jailed pending trial, when an angry federal judge Tuesday declared the suspect’s alleged behavior as “just not acceptable.”

Thomas Sibick is accused of ripping the radio and badge from the tactical vest worn by Officer Michael Fanone, who was later pulled into a mob where he was battered and shocked with a stun gun by rioters who attempted to take his service weapon.

After allegedly lying to the FBI multiple times about his involvement in the attack, Sibick last month surrendered Fanone’s mud-smeared badge, which the suspect had allegedly buried in the backyard of his Buffalo home. Continue reading.

Army initially pushed to deny District’s request for National Guard before Jan. 6

Washington Post logo

The Army initially pushed to reject the D.C. government’s request for a modest National Guard presence ahead of the Jan. 6 rally that led to the Capitol riot, underscoring the deep reluctance of some higher-ups at the Pentagon to involve the military in security arrangements that day.

In an internal draft memo obtained by The Washington Post, the Army said the U.S. military shouldn’t be needed to help police with traffic and crowd management, as city officials had requested, unless more than 100,000 demonstrators were expected.

The draft memo also said the request should be denied because a federal agency hadn’t been identified to run the preparations and on-the-day operations; the resources of other federal agencies hadn’t been exhausted; and law enforcement was “far better suited” for the task. Continue reading.

Corporate PAC donations to parties and candidates plummet after Capitol riot

Roll Call Logo

Companies weigh options knowing ‘scrutiny is not going to go away’

AT&T’s political action committee shelled out more than $322,000 to members of Congress and party committees in January 2019. Two years later, the same corporate PAC disclosed no donations at all. Ditto for Comcast’s PAC, which dished out $231,000in January 2019 and nothing to federal coffers in the first, tumultuous month of this year.

The unusual inaction of the two PACs, among the biggest of their kind, is emblematic of a dramatic plunge in contributions by all corporate PACs following the deadly Jan. 6 riots on Capitol Hill.

Early campaign finance data show that companies and organizations largely stuck to their public pledges to pause at least some of their political donations after a pro-Trump mob attacked the Capitol and after 147 Republicans in the House and Senate voted to reject the electoral votes from certain states President Joe Biden won. The companies took such moves after coming under public pressure for their previous contributions to the 147. Continue reading.

MAGA rioter arrested for assaulting Capitol cops refers to himself as the ‘Sandwich Nazi’

Raw Story Logo

George Pierre Tanios, a 39-year-old MAGA rioter who was arrested on Sunday for allegedly assaulting late Capitol police officer Brian Sicknick, refers to himslf as the “Sandwich Nazi” in his LinkedIn profile.

West Virginia Metro News reports that Tanios is the owner of the Sandwich University diner in Morgantown, West Virginia, which describes itself as the “King of the Fat Sandwich” on its website.

In his LinkedIn profile, Tanios lists being a “Sandwich Nazi” as his work experience, although it’s not clear if this is a commentary on his own far-right political views that inspired him to storm the United States Capitol on January 6th in the name of keeping former President Donald Trump in power. Continue reading.

Two arrested in assault on police officer Brian D. Sicknick, who died after Jan. 6 Capitol riot

Washington Post logo

Federal authorities have arrested and charged two men with assaulting U.S. Capitol Police officer Brian D. Sicknick with an unknown chemical spray during the Jan. 6 Capitol riot but have not determined whether the exposure caused his death.

Julian Elie Khater, 32, of Pennsylvania and George Pierre Tanios, 39, of Morgantown, W.Va., were taken into custody Sunday. Authorities said they grew up together in New Jersey.

“Give me that bear sh–,” Khater said to Tanios on video recorded at 2:14 p.m. at the Lower West Terrace of the Capitol, where Sicknick and other officers were standing guard behind metal bicycle racks, arrest papers say. Continue reading.

‘Um, so you already have the picture’: Capitol rioter facing 20 years tried to talk his way out of arrest

Raw Story Logo

According to a report from the Daytona Beach Journal, a 60-year-old man from Edgewater, Florida was taken into custody for his part in the storming of the Capitol on Jan 6th., by law enforcement officials acting on a federal warrant issued by U.S. District Court for the District of Columbia.

Howard Berton Adams Jr. is facing up to 20 years in prison on charges of obstruction of law enforcement during civil disorder; obstruction of justice/Congress; knowingly entering or remaining in a restricted building; disorderly conduct in restricted building or grounds; disorderly conduct on Capitol grounds; and parading or demonstrating in Capitol building, the report states.

Court documents state that Adams stood out in the crowd while “screaming and brandishing a flagpole with a U.S. flag emblazoned with a coiled snake.” Continue reading.

Police Shrugged Off the Proud Boys, Until They Attacked the Capitol

New York Times logo

Two Proud Boys accused of leading a mob to Congress followed a bloody path to get there. Law enforcement did little to stop them.

A protester was burning an American flag outside the 2016 Republican convention in Cleveland when Joseph Biggs rushed to attack. Jumping a police line, he ripped the man’s shirt off and “started pounding,” he boasted that night in an online video.

But the local police charged the flag burner with assaulting Mr. Biggs. The city later paid $225,000 to settle accusations that the police had falsified their reports out of sympathy with Mr. Biggs, who went on to become a leader of the far-right Proud Boys.

Two years later, in Portland, Ore., something similar occurred. A Proud Boy named Ethan Nordean was caught on video pushing his way through a crowd of counterprotesters, punching one of them, then slamming him to the ground, unconscious. Once again, the police charged only the other man in the skirmish, accusing him of swinging a baton at Mr. Nordean. Continue reading.

GOP senator: If insurrectionists had been Black instead of MAGA I would have been ‘concerned’

Raw Story Logo

Embattled U.S. Senator Ron Johnson (R-WI), a top Trump supporter, admitted that he felt safe during the January 6 insurrection because he trusted the MAGA crowd, thousands of whom were breaking not only the law but government property and causing physical harm.

But he also admits that if those rioters had been Black Lives Matter protestors he would not have felt safe – he would he felt “concerned.”

His remarks are causing anger and accusations of racism. Continue reading.

Trump’s own Defense Secretary just threw him under the bus for inciting the insurrection

AlterNet logo

The former Acting Secretary of Defense under the Trump administration, Chris Miller, spoke to VICE on Showtime recently, and said that he thinks then-President Trump’s speech on the morning of Jan. 6 helped spark the attack on the U.S. Capitol building later that day.

“…would anybody have marched on the Capitol, and tried to overrun the Capitol, without the President’s speech?” Miller asked, adding that he thinks it’s “pretty much definitive” that the violence wouldn’t have taken place if Trump hadn’t spoke.

“It seems cause and effect,” Miller said. “The question is, did he know he was enraging people to do that? I don’t know.” Continue reading.

Capitol attacker claims his threats were just ‘locker room talk’ and he was drugged: court documents

Raw Story Logo

The indictment for Capitol attacker Thomas Edward Caldwell revealed some information about the defense he intends to use in court.

NBC News’ Scott McFarlane has followed the indictments and trials of those who participated in the attack on the U.S. Capitol on Jan. 6. Caldwell was arrested on Jan. 19 and indicted on the 27th, and he was later identified as an alleged Oath Keeper who worked with the FBI and had “top-secret clearance,” WUSA reported.

“The government has asserted all three are members of the Oath Keepers militia group,” said the report. “Ray Crowl and Jessica Marie Watkins are accused of being part of the Ohio State Regular Militia Chapter. During a search of Watkins’ Ohio home, federal investigators have said they found homemade weapons and instructions for making plastic explosives.” Continue reading.