Tag: Trump insurrectionists stormed the capitol

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.

‘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.

Judge says Capitol riot suspects ‘zip tie guy’ and his mom must stay in custody

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In a blistering opinion Wednesday, a federal judge said a Nashville man and his mother, charged in the deadly riot at the U.S. Capitol, must stay in custody because their release on bail would threaten national security.

Eric Munchel, dubbed “zip tie guy” in the aftermath of the Jan. 6 insurrection, and his mother Lisa Eisenhart will be held until their trials. Federal prosecutors say they were part of the pro-Trump mob that stormed the Capitol to stop lawmakers from certifying the election of President Joe Biden.

Investigators identified Munchel, 30, and Eisenhart, 56, in video footage from the riot. Munchel was seen inside the Capitol carrying plastic handcuffs, wearing a tactical vest, with a taser holstered on his right hip and an iPhone strapped to his chest, facing outward. 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.

‘Completely unhinged’: Devin Nunes and Jim Jordan try to blame Nancy Pelosi for the Capitol attack

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Four Republican members of Congress, including Ohio’s Jim Jordan and California’s Devin Nunes, on Presidents’ Day sent Speaker of the House Nancy Pelosi a three-page letter effectively blaming her for the deadly January 6 insurrection, urging her to end “this political charade.”

The sum of their letter, that the speaker – and not then-President Donald Trump – is responsible for the events of January 6 flies in the face of a mountain of facts, including those presented during last week’s impeachment trial. Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell publicly agreed with at least seven other Republicans, 48 Democrats, and 2 independents, that Trump was responsible for the deadly riot.

Jordan and Nunes have been among Trump’s most ardent supporters. Trump awarded both Congressmen the Presidential Medal of Freedom.

Pelosi on Monday announced she is forming a 9/11 style congressional commission to “investigate and report on the facts and causes” of the January 6 insurrection. Continue reading.

Trump and Kevin McCarthy battled during expletive-filled phone call while the Capitol was under siege: report

After the completion of the fourth day of Donald Trump’s second impeachment trial, CNN published a bombshell new report on phone call the then-president had during the January 6th insurrection.

“In an expletive-laced phone call with House Republican leader Kevin McCarthy while the Capitol was under attack, then-President Donald Trump said the rioters cared more about the election results than McCarthy did. ‘Well, Kevin, I guess these people are more upset about the election than you are,’ Trump said, according to lawmakers who were briefed on the call afterward by McCarthy,” CNN reported Friday.

“Trump’s comment set off what Republican lawmakers familiar with the call described as a shouting match between the two men. A furious McCarthy told the President the rioters were breaking into his office through the windows, and asked Trump, ‘Who the f*ck do you think you are talking to?’ according to a Republican lawmaker familiar with the call,” CNN reported. “The Republican members of Congress said the exchange showed Trump had no intention of calling off the rioters even as lawmakers were pleading with him to intervene. Several said it amounted to a dereliction of his presidential duty.” Continue reading.