Tag: Trump insurrection

MAGA rioter demands Texas trial because DC jurors would be too eager to ‘cancel’ her for ‘white supremacy’

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MAGA rioter Jenny Cudd, who infamously boasted on video about breaking into House Speaker Nancy Pelosi’s office, is now demanding that her trial be held in her home state of Texas due to concerns about bias of jurors in Washington D.C.

Reuters legal reporter Jan Wolfe flags a new filing made by Cudd’s attorneys that claims D.C. jurors would be far more likely to unjustly “cancel” Cudd because they’d believe that she’s a racist.

“There is a social expectation of punishment for anyone accused of being a ‘white supremacist,'” the filing states. “In Washington, D.C., people have been readily ‘canceled’ for being politically conservative and for their public support of Donald Trump.” Continue reading.

Oath Keepers founder Stewart Rhodes was in direct contact with rioters before and during Capitol breach, U.S. alleges

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U.S. prosecutors alleged Monday that Oath Keepers founder Stewart Rhodes was in direct contact before, during and immediately after the Jan. 6 Capitol breach with members since charged with plotting to prevent Congress from confirming the results of the 2020 presidential election.

In a late-night court filing, prosecutors alleged that Rhodes directed the right-wing anti-government group to rally during the riot to the southeast steps of the Capitol, after which several members forcibly entered the east side of the building.

Prosecutors said they had recovered a chat called “DC OP: Jan 6 21” on the encrypted Signal messaging app that “shows that individuals, including those alleged to have conspired with [others], were actively planning to use force and violence.” Continue reading.

Judge rules against U.S., grants bail to Oath Keeper charged in Capitol riot

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The U.S. Justice Department arrested another alleged associate of the anti-government Oath Keepers militia on charges he took part in the Jan. 6 storming of the U.S. Capitol, 6, and a judge granted him bail on Monday, rejecting government requests to keep him detained.

According to court papers, Roberto Minuta, 36, who owns a tattoo shop in Newburgh, New York, “berated and taunted” U.S. Capitol Police while clad in military-style gear, then attacked the Capitol and disrupted Congress as it was certifying President Joe Biden’s election victory.

Minuta later deleted a Facebook account to “conceal his involvement in these offenses,” the court papers said. Continue reading.

Capitol Police, DC National Guard leaders need emergency authority to act, review finds

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Task force led by Honoré recommends big changes to security apparatus

As part of the review of Capitol security after the Jan. 6 attack, retired Army Lt. Gen. Russel L. Honoré and his task force are recommending a boost to the Capitol Police chief’s authority in times of crisis, the deployment of a mobile fencing option and an upgrade in member security, along with changes to how law enforcement agencies in the region interact.

In January, Speaker Nancy Pelosi selected Honoré, well known for coordinating relief efforts in New Orleans after Hurricane Katrina, to examine improving security at the Capitol complex. 

Congressional hearings in the past two months have exposed the structure of the Capitol Police Board as inefficient and ripe for an overhaul, a sentiment shared by a bipartisan contingent of lawmakers and those who have served on the board.  Continue reading.

Report urges sweeping changes to Capitol security after Jan. 6 attack

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The U.S. Capitol Police were “understaffed, insufficiently equipped, and inadequately trained” to protect the complex from the mob attack of Jan. 6, according to security experts reviewing the rampage who are recommending nearly 900 new officers and a retractable perimeter fence.

The 13-page report, authored by a team led by Ret. Lt. Gen. Russel Honoré, identifies a host of inherent flaws in the Capitol’s intelligence-gathering, communications structure and power hierarchy that hobbled efforts to repel rioters that day.

The analysts are recommending a long list of reforms to Capitol Hill security, from conspicuous infrastructure changes — like permanent but retractable fencing — to more obscure adjustments, like the adoption of a mounted unit to patrol the grounds on horses. Continue reading.

Congresswoman drops social media report on Republicans who tried to overturn the election for Trump

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A Democratic congresswoman has just released a massive report detailing the social media posts of her Republican colleagues who tried to overturn the U.S. presidential election results.

Rep. Zoe Lofgren, who represents California, posted the nearly 2,000 page Social Media Review report on her government website on Friday. The report is broken down by state and includes archived social media posts from “Members of the U.S. House of Representatives who were sworn-in to office in January 2021 and who voted to overturn the 2020 presidential election.”

According to Rep. Lofgren, following the events of Jan. 6, when thousands of Trump supporters  stormed the U.S. Capitol, she instructed her staff to put together a review of public social media posts from members of Congress who voted to overturn the election results. The report also includes social media posts that correlate with the actions of that day, as well as any postings that claimed the 2020 presidential election results were illegitimate. Continue reading.

F.B.I. Finds Contact Between Proud Boys Member and Trump Associate Before Riot

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A leader of the far-right group separately said he had been in touch with Roger Stone, but an official said it was not the same contact investigators found through electronic communications records.

WASHINGTON — A member of the far-right nationalist Proud Boys was in communication with a person associated with the White House in the days just before the Jan. 6 assault on the Capitol, according to a law enforcement official briefed on the investigation.

Location, cellular and call record data revealed a call tying a Proud Boys member to the Trump White House, the official said. The F.B.I. has not determined what they discussed, and the official would not reveal the names of either party.

The connection revealed by the communications data comes as the F.B.I. intensifies its investigation of contacts among far-right extremists, Trump White House associates and conservative members of Congress in the days before the attack. Continue reading.

Trump sued by Democrat over mob attack on Capitol

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Former President Trump, his eldest son and several of his allies were sued on Friday by Rep. Eric Swalwell (D-Calif.) over their role in the run-up to the Jan. 6 breach of the U.S. Capitol.

The 65-page complaint filed in federal court in Washington, D.C., accuses Trump, his son Donald Trump Jr., Rep. Mo Brooks (R-Ala.) and Trump lawyer Rudy Giuliani of inciting the riot and violating a number of federal and D.C. laws.

Each defendant was among the speakers at a pro-Trump rally that immediately preceded the deadly Capitol breach. The lawsuit depicts the incendiary rally speeches as a tipping point that culminated a months-long disinformation campaign to push the false claim that the 2020 presidential election was stolen from Trump. Continue reading.

Officers maced, trampled: Docs expose depth of Jan. 6 chaos

Two firefighters loaned to Washington for the day were the only medics on the Capitol steps Jan. 6, trying to triage injured officers as they watched the angry mob swell and attack police working to protect Congress.

Law enforcement agents were “being pulled into the crowd and trampled, assaulted with scaffolding materials, and/or bear maced by protesters,” wrote Arlington County firefighter Taylor Blunt in an after-action memo. Some couldn’t walk, and had to be dragged to safety.

Even the attackers sought medical help, and Blunt and his colleague Nathan Waterfall treated those who were passing out or had been hit. But some “feigned illness to remain behind police lines,” Blunt wrote.  Continue reading.

Trump appointee arrested in connection with Capitol riot

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Federico Klein, a former State Department aide, was picked up Thursday on charges stemming from the Jan. 6 takeover of Congress.

The FBI on Thursday arrested Federico Klein, a former State Department aide, on charges related to the storming of the Capitol on Jan. 6, marking the first known instance of an appointee of President Donald Trump facing criminal prosecution in connection with the attempt to block Congress from certifying President Joe Biden’s victory.

Klein, 42, was taken into custody in Virginia, said Samantha Shero, a spokesperson for the FBI’s Washington Field Office.

An FBI lookout bulletin issued two weeks after the Capitol assault included a photo of Klein, prompting two tipsters to contact the FBI and finger him as the man in that picture, according to an affidavit filed in federal court in Washington.