A quick break from one conflict in Ukraine to an internal conflict here in the US…..

My series on the failed coup has hit some slow times but there are major news stories being generated around 06 January and the insurrection that was attempted….

The ex-president is being shown to have an active part in the violence of that day….

The House select committee investigating the Jan. 6, 2021, attack on the US Capitol says it has evidence that then-President Donald Trump and his campaign “engaged in a criminal conspiracy to defraud the United States” and illegally attempted to obstruct the counting of electoral votes and certification of the 2020 election results in Congress. The committee made the allegations in a court filing Wednesday that is part of its attempt to persuade a judge to give the committee access to lawyer John Eastman’s emails, CNN reports. Eastman, a right-wing lawyer who was on the campaign team and allegedly involved in the Jan. 6 planning, has been claiming attorney-client privilege and sued to block the release of the emails, Politico reports.

In what is being called a “major” release of its findings and, per the Hill, the “most serious” accusations leveled against Trump so far, the panel submitted excerpts of almost a dozen depositions and laid out Eastman’s alleged efforts to plan a legal strategy justifying then-VP Mike Pence’s overturning of the election results, and his alleged continued pushing of Pence to do so even after the mob of rioters stormed the Capitol. Accused by Pence’s counsel of being to blame for the “siege,” Eastman responded, “The ‘siege’ is because YOU and your boss did not do what was necessary to allow this to be aired in a public way so the American people can see for themselves what happened.” The committee says Eastman knew he was asking Pence to violate the law, but carried on anyway.

Appears that one insurrectionist took the easy way out…..

A 37-year-old man awaiting sentencing for his role in the Capitol riot has died by suicide—and his family blames “the constant delays in hearings.” Sharpsville, Pennsylvania, resident Matt Perna was due to be sentenced April 1, the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette reports. In an obituary, his family said postponements had dragged the case out for more than a year. “Because of this, Matt’s heart broke and his spirit died, and many people are responsible for the pain he endured,” they said, among them “his community (which he loved), his country, and the justice system.” Perna was out on bail and the Mercer County Coroner’s office confirmed Tuesday that he died by suicide at his residence on Friday.

According to the Department of Justice, Perna was arrested on Jan. 19, 2021 and pleaded guilty to all four counts against him—including a felony count obstruction of an official proceeding—as part of a plea agreement on Dec. 17 last year. Prosecutors said Perna spent around 20 minutes inside the Capitol building during the Jan. 6 riot and posted a video on Facebook later that day, NBC reports. “It’s not over, trust me,” he said. “The purpose of today was to expose Pence as a traitor.” A person who knew Perna contacted the FBI after the agency shared his photo and asked for the public’s help.

In Perna’s obituary, his family said he went to Donald Trump’s Jan. 6 rally to “peacefully stand up for his beliefs.” “Matt’s family stood by him during this devastating ordeal, and are extremely proud of his passion for life and his pursuit of many dreams,” they wrote. “His actions last year are not looked down upon, instead his family is grateful and humbled by his courage.” They said Perna was “ushered in by police” and did not “break, touch, or steal” anything inside the building. A sentencing memo had not been filed in his case, but others who have pleaded guilty to the same felony obstruction count faced recommended sentences of more than two years, WUSA9 reports.

Apparently this is one criminal that will not “take a bullet for freedom”

Proud Boys leader is indicted on conspiracy charges…..

Time for these people to face the music that created….all should be put on the ‘no-fly list’…..there should be stiff penalties for their actions….I feel some are getting off too light for the participation.

We have a good news/bad news thing going on with hate groups….

As far as raw counts go, they’re down: In its annual report released Wednesday, the Southern Poverty Law Center (SPLC) said it recorded nearly 300 fewer hate groups in 2021 as compared to the year prior, logging 733, and about 80 fewer anti-government groups, logging 488 of those. But the Hill reports the SPLC made clear that a lower number doesn’t necessarily mean that what these groups espouse is on the wane. “Rather than demonstrating a decline in the power of the far right, the dropping numbers of organized hate and antigovernment groups suggest that the extremist ideas that mobilize them now operate more openly in the political mainstream,” reads the SPLC report.

Indeed, the report notes that most of those arrested over their alleged role in the Jan. 6 Capitol attack had no formal ties to right-wing groups. The SPLC report sees a pattern, noting that “the growth of a mainstream reactionary right-wing movement in 2021 is inextricably linked to the powerful racial justice movement that mobilized Americans in 2020.” It highlights similar parallels in US history: the formation of the Ku Klux Klan during Reconstruction, and the “massive resistance” to school desegregation the US witnessed during the civil rights era.

Like I said….good news/bad news…..

There will be more updates as long as there are trials for their part in the 06 January failed coup.

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