Tag: Insurrection

Closing Thought–28Sep22

Since 06 January there have been many attempts to try and make sure that the insurrection could never happen again…..and at every turn the GOP has blocked all attempts…..

Recently…..The Presidential Election Reform Act, written by Reps. Liz Cheney (R-Wyo.) and Zoe Lofgren (D-Calif.), seeks to prevent presidents from manipulating the Electoral Count Act like former President Donald Trump attempted to do as part of his effort to overturn the 2020 presidential election and prevent the peaceful transfer of power to President Joe Biden.

The measure passed by a vote of 229-203, with every House Democrat present voting in favor. Only nine House Republicans joined them. All nine are leaving Congress after this term, either because they lost primary challenges or are retiring.

In addition to Cheney, they are Reps. Anthony Gonzalez (Ohio), Jamie Herrera Beutler (Wash.), Chris Jacobs (N.Y.), John Katko (N.Y.), Adam Kinzinger (Ill.), Peter Meijer (Mich.), Tom Rice (S.C.), and Fred Upton (Mich.).

“To all those who oppose this legislation, I ask you, how could anyone vote against free and fair elections—the cornerstone of our constitution?” House Speaker Nancy Pelosi (D-Calif.)—who leads a party that has repeatedly fought to keep more progressive challengers off ballots and out of debates across the country—said Wednesday on the House floor.

“How could anyone vote against our founders’ vision: placing power in the hands of the people?” she added. “How could anyone vote against their own constituents, allowing radical politicians to rip away their say in our democracy?”

In a swipe at Sen. Ron Johnson (R-Wis.), Rep. Marc Pocan (D-Wis.) tweeted that the newly passed bill “eliminates loopholes insurrectionists tried to exploit on January 6th—even for those who only spent ‘a couple seconds’ trying to overthrow democracy.”

https://www.commondreams.org/news/2022/09/21/siding-insurrectionists-203-house-republicans-vote-no-coup-prevention-bill

How many so-called “Leftists” have been jailed for a “few seconds” of dissension?

Can we really quantify the attempt to overthrow democracy?

I weep for this country and its representation.

I Read, I Write, You Know

“lego ergo scribo”

Rehash Of The ‘Day Of Infamy’

No not some history lesson of the sneak attack on Pearl Harbor….but rather a real Day of Infamy when a rabid mob descended on DC and tried to basically take over the government and prevent the Congress from doing its Constitutional duty.

It is a rehash because the actions of the mental deficient POS on 06 January needs to be re-told and re-told so that the actions on this day so that the humans in our society NEVER forget the treasonous acts perpetrated on this against the nation.

Mike Jensen keeps a database of bad guys. As a senior researcher at the University of Maryland’s National Consortium for the Study of Terrorism and Responses to Terrorism (START), part of Jensen’s job is to identify violent events that occur in the U.S. and investigate whether the people involved have any ties to extremism. If they do, he adds them to his database. 

In what he calls a “very active” year, Jensen says he might end up adding 300 individuals to the database. But after the Jan. 6, 2021, attack on the U.S. Capitol, Jensen’s database grew dramatically. 

“We have three times that on one day that potentially qualify,” Jensen said.

After the attack on the Capitol, Jensen started putting together a social network consisting of individuals who had been charged in relation to Jan. 6 and had existing ties to extremist organizations. He found many of the defendants had connections to extremist groups prior to Jan. 6, and that these groups were connected to one another. Relationships between defendants and a shared belief in the Big Lie forged new connections between these disparate groups. It’s not that your local Proud Boys chapter is regularly planning a bowling night with the neighborhood sovereign citizens collective. But when a lie about a stolen election aligns with their respective ideologies, they’ll be sure to show up in Washington, D.C., to riot together.

More than 800 individuals have been charged in relation to the Jan. 6 attack. To identify who had existing ties to extremist organizations, Jensen analyzed court filings, news reports and social media posts. He found roughly a third of those charged had preexisting ties to extremist groups1 and nearly one in five also had verifiable contact with other defendants prior to Jan. 6.

Jan. 6’s Tangled Web Of Extremism

This may seem like old hat when the country is dealing with SCOTUS, inflation, mass shootings and support for a war that is needless funded by the US as a proxy war…..

Time for Americans to deal with real problems, real threats and real issues and leave the stupidity behind for the sake of the country.

This nation is sinking….it is a rudderless ship of state with NO captain…..the rocks to disaster loom and only the voter can find the solution needed to save it from sinking in these rough seas.

The seas will get rougher….

According to a report from Bloomberg News, former members of the one-term president Donald Trump’s cabinet, as well as other officials tied to him, are busy at work creating what is being described as a “shadow government” that will be ready to hit the ground running should he run for president — and win — in 2024.

 

With the former president hinting that he may announce his third bid for the presidency possibly in September, a large number of officials from former White House advisor Kellyanne Conway to former Homeland Security head Chad Wolf have signed on with the non-profit America First Policy Institute being run by former Trump cabinet member and World Wrestling Entertainment executive Linda McMahon.

According to the report, the institute has assembled the group with the idea of not repeating the chaos of 2016 when Trump surprisingly won the election, and that should he not run and win in 2024, the organization is hoping whomever the GOP nominee is will make use of their roadmap.

https://www.rawstory.com/trump-2657677991/

Indeed….rough seas ahead!

I Read, I Write, You Know

“lego ergo scribo”

Insurrection Act Of 1807

Since the failed coup by insurrectionists on 06 January 2022 there has been lots of concern over the actions of a few…..and of course that made me think about history….there was a time when the president was in fear of a popular insurrection against the government of the nearly formed American government…..and he did something about the rise of insurrection…..

There has been some recent talk in Congress about changing the Insurrection Act of 1807. This act empowers the president to send federal troops to quash “any insurrection, domestic violence, unlawful combination, or conspiracy.”

Although altering the law has been caught up in the politics surrounding the end of the Trump administration, when the administration considered invoking it several times in 2020, the statute has always been dangerous, is outdated and unneeded, and should be either completely repealed or amended to restrict severely presidential actions.

In 1807, President Thomas Jefferson signed the congressional legislation when rumors abounded that the scurrilous Aaron Burr, his former vice president, was raising a personal army. During American history, it has since been used to send active U.S. military forces to both support and impair civil rights and quell a riot. In the latest case, President George H.W. Bush used federal forces to quell the 1992 Los Angeles riots in the wake of the acquittal of four policemen in the beating of Rodney King.

Yet one of the major fears of the nation’s founders—which continued well into the 20th century but has now been forgotten—was the dread that a standing military would impair Americans’ liberty. Because of the anxiety in American society about the depredations of the British military on civil liberties before the American Revolution, George Washington, the first president, had trouble getting Congress to give him enough forces to fight Native Americans on the frontier.

Only after two major defeats at the hands of the Indians did Congress even marginally increase the U.S. Army. And this skepticism of a standing military lasted through the 19th century and well into the 20th century. It was American tradition that when a war was over, most of the U.S. military demobilized—even after the sizeable conflicts in the Civil War, World War I and World War II.

https://www.independent.org/news/article.asp

If you are interested there is more background on this attempt by Jefferson…..

https://www.brennancenter.org/our-work/research-reports/insurrection-act-explained

https://www.history.com/news/insurrection-act-thomas-jefferson-aaron-burr

This is the law that Trump was considering to use to try and stop the count of the electorate ballots…..lawful exercise of government.

This law needs a major overhaul…..but that is for another day because there is too much plaguing the nation for this to be a concern.

Class Dismissed!

I Read, I Write, You Know

“lego ergo scribo”

Those J6 Hearings

After the assault on our democracy on 06 January I am all for prosecuting the offenders to the full extent of the law.

Now we have the J6 hearings that is attempting to find out who knew what and said what and did what…..if this was another time I would be in full agreement with the hearings….but as it is today they are nothing more than political theater for both parties.

Just watch part of a hearing and tell me it is not theater of the absurd.

I agree with former Senator Al Franken that these hearing will accomplish little…..

Monday’s edition of The Al Franken Podcast, the former senator praised the hearings, but ultimately believes they will make little to no difference.

“I have been watching the hearings and they have completely surpassed my expectations or at least surpassed what I had feared,” Franken said.

“I think that they have been devastating. Am I shocked by anything? No. No revelation has shocked me because this is (Donald) Trump. And how can you possibly be shocked by anything about Donald Trump? Nothing anyone could say at these hearings about Donald Trump could possibly shock me, you know, and there are at least four more hearings!”

The former senator went on to list examples of the kind of ridiculous information that could come out which would still fail to move the needle.

Franken imitated a committee member asking the question, “‘Just curiously during the three hours of the riot, did the president ever dance a jig? … Can you tell us about it?’”

“‘Yes,’” he continued impersonating a witness, “‘There was a misreport that the crowd had found the vice president and was tearing him to pieces and that’s when President Trump danced a jig. Well, I’m not exactly sure the legal definition of a jig, but it was clearly a celebratory dance of some sort.’ I mean, would you be shocked if we heard that in the next hearing and then commentators would be asking, ‘Do we really think it would be wise to indict a former president?’”

“Here’s my take, the only thing worse than prosecuting Donald Trump is not prosecuting Donald Trump,” he added. “Judge Luttig was right. Donald Trump and his allies continue to pose a clear and present danger to our democracy. And by the way, I was just on CNN, I said that all these Trump / (Mike) Pence people who testify are not heroes. If they had spoken out before January 6th, there would be a number of people alive who are now gone. But even if they hadn’t come out before January 6th, why didn’t they speak up during the impeachment?”

Al Franken Doesn’t Think Jan. 6 Hearings Will Make A Difference: ‘How Can You Possibly Be Shocked by Anything’ About Trump?’

These hearings will accomplish nothing….any ‘bad guys’ will have the pee-pee whacked and then go on to continue to spread crap and dissension.

Again they are little more than political theater that sole purpose is to generate 30 second news bytes….little will change.

If you have been watching this theatrical performance play out….what are your thoughts?

Watch This Blog!

I Read, I Write, You Know

“lego ergo scribo”

“It Only Happened Once”

Another great thought for the “Can’t Fix Stupid” Files.

Once again it is from a member of Congress, my favorite MORON, Taylor-Green…..

It seems that she wants the country to stop talking about the failed coup of m06 January because it only happened once.

Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene (R-GA) on Sunday shared video of herself berating a reporter who asked about the Jan. 6 attack on the U.S. Capitol.

The reporter was NBC’s Scott Wong, who quoted Greene in an article about Jan. 6.

“The American people are fed up with this over-dramatization of a riot that happened here at the Capitol one time,” Greene said, according to Wong. “They are sick and tired of Jan. 6 — it’s over, OK?”

On Sunday, Greene posted video of the brief interview and suggested Wong’s report was misleading.

But the video shared by Greene confirmed that the quote was accurate.

In the video, Greene seems to become upset after Wong asks if Republicans were wrong to boycott the Jan. 6 Committee.

“People are rotting in jail pre-trial because they have been arrested for it,” she says at one point. “Why don’t you go to the jail and visit those people? Everyone is being prosecuted that should be prosecuted. Why don’t you care about things that honestly care about instead of continuing on with this? OK?”

https://www.alternet.org/2022/04/marjorie-taylor-greene-fed-up/

Only happened once?

9/11 only happened once….should we not talk about it any more?

The same for Pearl Harbor…..or the Alamo…..should we just forget it?

Everyday this moron proves just how stupid she real is and yet she can win an election…..what does that say about the people in her district?

She truly proves…..You Can’t Fix Stupid!

Turn The Page!

I Read, I Write, You Know

“lego ergo scribo”

Another Insurrectionist Convicted

If you celebrate Easter then I wish you a pleasant and safe day.

After the failed coup of 06 January the participants are finding justice is final.

Another fool that followed the idiocy of Trump and his idiot sycophants had found Lady Justice is not kind to the guilty….

An Ohio man who testified he was “following presidential orders” from Donald Trump when he stormed the US Capitol was convicted Thursday of obstructing Congress from certifying Joe Biden’s 2020 electoral victory. A federal jury also found Dustin Byron Thompson, 38, guilty of stealing a coat rack from an office in the Capitol during the riot on Jan. 6, 2021, the AP reports. Jurors deliberated less than three hours before reaching a verdict, rejecting Thompson’s novel defense. He blamed Trump and members of the president’s inner circle for the insurrection and for his own actions. Thompson, who had been free since his arrest, was ordered held pending sentencing on July 20.

Thompson’s jury trial was the third among hundreds of Capitol riot cases prosecuted by the Justice Department. In the first two cases, jurors convicted both defendants of all charges. An exterminator who lost his job during the pandemic, Thompson was the first riot defendant to mount a trial defense blaming Trump and members of his inner circle for the insurrection. Assistant US Attorney William Dreher told jurors that Thompson knew he was breaking the law when he joined the mob that attacked the Capitol and, in his case, looted the Senate parliamentarian’s office. Thompson’s lawyer “wants you to think you have to choose between President Trump and his client,” the prosecutor said. “You don’t have to choose because this is not President Trump’s trial. This is the trial for Dustin Thompson.”

His defense attorney said Thompson hasn’t avoided taking responsibility. “This shameful chapter in our history is all on TV,” Samuel Shamansky told jurors. But he said Thompson, unemployed and consumed by a steady diet of conspiracy theories, was vulnerable to Trump’s lies about a stolen election. He described Thompson as a “pawn” and Trump as a “gangster” who abused his power to manipulate supporters. US District Judge Reggie Walton barred the defense from calling Trump and former New York City Mayor Rudy Giuliani as witnesses. But the judge allowed jurors to hear recordings of speeches that Trump and Giuliani delivered on Jan. 6, just before the riot. Thompson testified that he joined the mob attack and stole a coat rack and a bourbon from the Senate parliamentarian’s office. “I can’t believe the things that I did,” he said.

Glad to see that ignorance of the law is still not a defense for stupidity.

Then there is a leader of the Proud Boys that wimped out and pleas guilty….

A Proud Boys defendant pleaded guilty Friday to two felonies in the Jan. 6 attack on the US Capitol, becoming the first of the group’s leadership to admit guilt and agree to cooperate with the investigation of the organization. Charles Donohoe, who led the North Carolina chapter of the Proud Boys, pleaded guilty to conspiring to obstruct an official proceeding, as well as to assaulting, resisting, or impeding an officer. In return, prosecutors dropped the other counts in his indictment, NPR reports. The case is one of the most prominent brought by the Justice Department as a result of its investigation of the riot. Donohoe appeared in federal court in Washington virtually.

Five other senior Proud Boys, including Henry Enrique Tarrio, are charged with conspiracy in the attempt to stop Congress from certifying President Biden’s electoral victory and have pleaded not guilty. Donohue’s cooperation could help those prosecutions and cause others to seek similar deals. The 34-year-old faces 20 years in prison on the conspiracy conviction and eight years for assaulting police, though Donohue’s plea deal probably will mean shorter terms, per CBS News. He also will pay $2,000 in restitution for damage to the building.

Before Jan. 6, Donohue posted in a Proud Boys group chat that DC officials were trying to contain the protests to deny former President Donald Trump “the people’s support,” adding, “We can’t let them succeed.” The leaders met at the Washington Monument on Jan. 6, then went to the Capitol, per CNN. Video shows him pushing past police with a crowd, carrying a police riot shield, and going up the steps to the Capitol. “We took it over unarmed,” he messaged other Proud Boys later, court records say.

Personally I say throw the book at the treasonous pricks….give them the max fine and time.

Watch This Blog!

I Read, I Write, You Know

“lego ergo scribo”

“Legitimate Political Discourse”

Note:  I wrote this post before the Ukraine thing fired up…..so I thought I would step back from the war to look at what is happening in this country.

The GOP continues to downplay the insurrection of 06 January….they have been on the hunt for a tagline that would explain the treasonous acts committed that day and now they have a new one….’legitimate political discourse’.

“Legitimate political discourse” is an interesting phrase. Three weeks ago the Republican National Committee (RNC) voted overwhelmingly to call the violent putschist Capitol Rioters of January 6, 2021 “ordinary citizens engaged in legitimate political discourse.” That was their phrase for fascist marauders who:

+ Said “we’re going to take out country back” as they headed to physically assault the legislative branch of the US government.

+ Screamed “Hang Mike Pence” while invading the US Capitol to prevent the peaceful transfer of presidential power after the 2020 election.

+ Constructed gallows intended for the execution of Pence and other elected officials on the steps of the Capitol.

+ Chanted “USA, USA” and “Fight for Trump” while beating Capitol police officers, defacing monuments and paintings, breaking windows, denting doors, stealing government documents and computers, and wiping feces on Capitol walls and looking to kidnap, beat, and kill Congresspersons and Congressional staff.

+ Screamed “stop the steal” to falsely claim that Joe Biden’s election was fraudulent and to justify an attempted putsch meant to install their Dear Cult Leader Donald Trump as a de facto dictator.

+ Carried the Confederate Flag, symbol of Black chattel slavery and slaveholder secession, into the halls of Congress.

It was all very consistent with the prompting of the wannabe president-for-life and “instinctive fascist” Trump, who helped spark the riot by telling his supporters on January 6th to go down to the Capitol and “fight…fight like Hell. If you don’t fight like Hell,” Trump added, “you’re not going to have a country anymore.” At the same “Save America” rally before the Attack on the Capitol, Trump’s demented mob lawyer Rudy Giuliani told “Stop the Steal” protesters to engage in “trial by combat.”

On “Legitimate Political Discourse”

The GOP is trying to do what they do best….rewrite history….whitewash the ugly if you will.

Every Red State legislature is doing this on multiple fronts……from education to abortion to race and now the acts of treason…..

This LIE should be confronted on every level and at every turn….

The failed coup on 06 January was nothing noble it was affront to our very laws and the republic….this lie should not be allowed to continue.

But the fools that stormed the Capital we doing nothing…..the coup is taking place in plain sight…..with the help of the Supreme Court and the Senate….chamber….then SCOTUS…..a conservative body that is forcing their values on the rest of the nation.

The Senate does nothing to help the situation by being a no progress

Ignorance cannot prevail!

Turn The Page!

I Read, I Write, You Know

“lego ergo scribo”

Insurrection Update #26

The continuing saga of the idiots that took part in the failed coup of 06 January……

Looks like the Proud Boys are in the news again….this time a document has come to light with directions on how to proceed with the proposed takeover of the Capitol…..

When the former leader of the Proud Boys was arrested last week for his alleged role in coordinating the Capitol riot, prosecutors made reference to a document found in his possession. Now the New York Times is reporting new details, and they don’t appear to bode well for Enrique Tarrio as he fights conspiracy charges. The newspaper describes it as a “specific written plan to storm and occupy government buildings” the day of the Stop the Steal rally. It doesn’t specifically mention the Capitol, but the document lays out strategies to gain control of seven high-profile government buildings, and it generally matches what actually unfolded at the Capitol. From the story by Alan Feuer:

  • “Broken into five parts—Infiltrate, Execution, Distract, Occupy and Sit-In—the nine-page document recommends recruiting at least 50 people to enter each of the seven government buildings and advises protesters to appear ‘unsuspecting’ and to ‘not look tactical,'” writes Feuer. “After ensuring that crowds at the buildings are “full and ready to go,” the document suggests that ‘leads and seconds’ should enter and open doors for others to go in, ‘causing trouble’ to distract security guards, if necessary.”

Tarrio, who wasn’t actually in DC the day of the riot and has since stepped down as Proud Boys leader, remains in custody, and Justice Department lawyers argued Monday that he should remain so, reports CNN. In a filing, they provided new details of a meeting between Tarrio and the leader of another far-right group, the Oath Keepers, in a DC parking garage on Jan. 5. In the meeting, Tarrio said he had wiped messages from his phone and said it was safely protected anyway. Prosecutors also say Tarrio declared, “We did this” the following day in an encrypted chat, in regard to the storming of the Capitol. When somebody asked what should happen next, he allegedly responded, “Do it again.”

The last statement sums up the feelings among these useless insurrectionists, “Do it again”.

It is possible that some of these convicted insurrectionists will try to get their case heard by the Supreme Court…..and that could work in their favor….

It seems that one of the wives of a sitting judge was ass deep in the insurrection….

Clarence Thomas’ wife, who has already come under scrutiny, reveals to the Washington Free Beacon that she attended the Jan. 6, 2021, “Stop the Steal” rally that preceded the mob attack on the US Capitol. However, Virginia “Ginni” Thomas says she got cold and left before then-President Trump even took the stage. “I was disappointed and frustrated that there was violence that happened following a peaceful gathering of Trump supporters on the Ellipse on Jan. 6,” she says. “There are important and legitimate substantive questions about achieving goals like electoral integrity, racial equality, and political accountability that a democratic system like ours needs to be able to discuss and debate rationally in the political square. I fear we are losing that ability.”

She adds that she had no part in helping to organize the rally, as has recently been alleged in multiple news pieces, and that her political activities have nothing to do with her husband or his position as a Supreme Court justice. “Like so many married couples, we share many of the same ideals, principles, and aspirations for America,” she says. “But we have our own separate careers, and our own ideas and opinions too. Clarence doesn’t discuss his work with me, and I don’t involve him in my work.” After much speculation on her involvement in the events of Jan. 6, the Washington Post reports this is the first time Thomas has publicly acknowledged being in attendance.

Time for Thomas to recuse himself from anything that his wife is involved in….like this situation and her work with Big Pharma…..he needs to be challenged….period.

More good news….yet another d/bag goes to trial…..

An elected official from New Mexico went to trial with a judge—not a jury—set to decide if he is guilty of charges that he illegally entered the US Capitol grounds on the day a pro-Trump mob disrupted the certification of Joe Biden’s presidential election victory. US District Judge Trevor McFadden is scheduled to hear attorneys’ closing arguments Tuesday for the case against Otero County Commissioner Couy Griffin, whose trial in Washington, DC, is the second among the hundreds of people charged with federal crimes related to the Jan. 6, 2021, siege. (The first ended in Guy Wesley Reffitt being found guilty on all counts.) The judge heard testimony Monday from three government witnesses. Griffin’s lawyer said he doesn’t plan to call any defense witnesses, the AP reports.

The case against Griffin is unlike most of the Capitol riot prosecutions. He is one of the few riot defendants who isn’t accused of entering the Capitol or engaging in any violent or destructive behavior. Smith said prosecutors apparently believe Griffin engaged in disorderly conduct by peacefully leading a prayer on the Capitol steps. “That is offensive and wrong,” Smith told the judge during his brief opening statements. Griffin claims he has been selectively prosecuted for his political views. Griffin, one of three members of the Otero County Commission in southern New Mexico, is among a handful of riot defendants who either held public office or ran for a government leadership post in the 2 1/2 years before the attack. He is among only three riot defendants who have asked for a bench trial, which means a judge will decide his case without a jury.

Griffin, a 48-year-old former rodeo rider and pastor, helped found a political committee called Cowboys for Trump. He had vowed to arrive at the courthouse on horseback. Instead, he showed up Monday as a passenger in a pickup truck that had a horse trailer on the back. Griffin is charged with two misdemeanors: entering and remaining in a restricted building or grounds and disorderly and disruptive conduct in a restricted building or grounds. A key question in Griffin’s case is whether he entered a restricted area outside the Capitol while Pence was still present on Capitol grounds, a prerequisite for the US Secret Service to invoke access restrictions. In a court filing, prosecutors called Griffin “an inflammatory provocateur and fabulist who engages in racist invective and propounds baseless conspiracy theories, including that Communist China stole the 2020 Presidential Election.”

Guilty!

A federal judge on Tuesday convicted an elected official from New Mexico of illegally entering restricted US Capitol grounds but acquitted him of engaging in disorderly conduct during the riot that disrupted Congress from certifying Joe Biden’s presidential election victory, per the AP. US District Court Judge Trevor McFadden heard one day of testimony without a jury on Monday before handing down a verdict in the misdemeanor case against Otero County Commissioner Couy Griffin, a 48-year-old former rodeo rider who helped found a group called Cowboys for Trump. He faces a maximum sentence of one year in jail when sentenced in June.

McFadden, a nominee of then-President Trump, said there was ample evidence that Griffin knew he was in a restricted area and didn’t leave. Griffin crossed over three walls, needing help from others or a ladder to get over them, the judge noted. “All of this would suggest to a normal person that perhaps you should not be entering the area,” McFadden said from the bench. But the judge said prosecutors didn’t meet their burden to prove that Griffin engaged in disorderly conduct. “Arguably, he was trying to calm people down, not rile them up,” he said.

One year?

Hell you get more time for a bag of weed than breaching of the Capitol…..something is wrong with that.

More to come I assume…..

I Read, I Write, You Know

“lego ergo scribo”

Insurrection Update #25

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…..

A federal grand jury on Tuesday indicted the leader of the right-wing Proud Boys on a conspiracy charge stemming from the Jan. 6 Capitol attack, the Justice Department announced.

Enrique Tarrio, 38, was arrested in Miami on a charge of conspiring to obstruct an official proceeding, a felony that federal prosecutors have brought against hundreds of Capitol riot defendants and carries a maximum possible sentence of 20 years in prison.

Tarrio is being charged alongside five co-defendants affiliated with the Proud Boys who were all indicted early last year and have since pleaded not guilt to an effort to “stop delay and hinder the certification of the electoral college vote.”

https://thehill.com/regulation/court-battles/597325-proud-boys-leader-indicted-on-conspiracy-charge-over-jan-6

Finally!  A major conviction of a moronic insurrectionist…..Guilty of ALL charges…..

Guy Wesley Reffitt was found guilty Tuesday of all five counts against him related to the Capitol riot, reports NBC News. In the first federal trial stemming from the Jan. 6 violence, Reffitt was convicted of storming the Capitol with a holstered gun, among other things. He faces serious jail time when sentenced, and the AP sees the guilty verdict as a potential “bellwether” for future riot cases.

  • The charges: He is charged with five counts, including obstruction of Congress, a charge originally meant to criminalize activities like tampering with documents or witnesses—defense lawyers tried to have it dismissed, arguing it was being taken too far, but judges are allowing a jury to decide, for the first time, whether it can apply to cases like this, the New York Times reports. That charge, the most serious, carries a sentence of up to 20 years, WUSA 9 reports. He is charged with four other felonies: two different civil disorder counts, being on restricted ground with a firearm, and obstruction of justice.
  • His kids are key witnesses: Two of the 49-year-old’s children will testify to the fact that he issued death threats should they turn him in, per WUSA 9. The obstruction of justice charge involves threats of physical force, which the 19- and 17-year-old kids will speak about, the station says, adding that recordings they made of him will be introduced as evidence. The 19-year-old is reportedly estranged from his family now.
  • Militia group: Another key witness will be an alleged fellow member of the Three Percenter militia group who authorities say traveled to DC from Texas with Reffitt; the witness was offered immunity in exchange for his testimony.
  • Setting the tone: As the Times explains in its look at the case, this trial will likely “set the tone” for dozens more that are scheduled to happen this year. “For the first time in a courtroom, [prosecutors] will present a broad portrait of the violent chaos that erupted that day and seek to persuade a jury that the pro-Trump mob that Mr. Reffitt is accused of joining struck at the heart of American democracy by disrupting the transition of presidential power.”
  • How long will this take? Jury selection is Monday, with opening arguments and testimony likely starting by Tuesday afternoon. The trial could last a week or longer, depending how long jury deliberations take.
  • Juror bias? Defense lawyers have argued that DC jurors will be biased against Jan. 6 defendants, and as such, judges will be closely watching for signs of bias, the Washington Post reports. “Reffitt’s prospective jurors Monday will be the subjects of a kind of trial-within-a-trial, scrutinized by both parties and the wider public, with potential ramifications for Capitol breach defendants to come.”
  • Jailhouse letter: Last week, Reffitt penned a defiant letter saying he’s ready to “receive the bullet of freedom,” WUSA 9 reports.

About damn time!

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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Insurrection Update #24

A short break from the top news of the day….Ukraine Conflict.

My continuing series on the issues around the failed coup attempt of 06 January…..

DHS has issued a warning of a possible attack on our fragile power grid….

Domestic violent extremists and racially motivated extremists have been developing plans to attack the U.S. electric sector, according to an intelligence bulletin from the Department of Homeland Security that was issued this week and obtained by The Daily Beast.

“DVEs have developed credible, specific plans to attack electricity infrastructure since at least 2020, identifying the electric grid as a particularly attractive target given its interdependency with other infrastructure sectors,” the alert said.

DHS’ Office of Intelligence and Analysis issued the alert to the electric sector Monday, following requests from power companies to take stock of increased threats from domestic violent extremists in 2020 and 2021.

Another insurrectionist is convicted…..

A Capitol rioter photographed with Nancy Pelosi’s lectern is going to prison, though not for long. A federal judge on Friday sentenced Adam Johnson of Florida to 75 days in prison, plus a $5,000 fine for his role in the Jan. 6 events, reports NBC News. Johnson told the court he was “ashamed” of his behavior and said he grabbed Pelosi’s lectern and started walking with it only because he thought it would make a good photo prop. He added that he understood that had he done this somewhere other than the US, he’d be “on a firing wall instead of a courtroom.” Johnson pleaded guilty to unlawfully entering the Capitol.

After a harrowing experience during the Jan. 6 assault on the US Capitol by a pro-Trump mob, Nancy Pelosi’s lectern is reportedly back on the job. The lectern—which has been widely seen in photos being carried by accused rioter Adam Johnson, a Florida man who has since been arrested—was wheeled through the Capitol rotunda on Wednesday, Politico reports. It was placed in the Capitol’s Rayburn Room for use during an engrossment ceremony after the House voted to impeach Trump for a record second time, per ABC News. The lectern, which is worth about $1,000, was found the day after Trump supporters occupied the Capitol, according to reports. A Pelosi spokesman tells Politico that it never left the Capitol but was just moved to the Senate side of the building.

75 days?

Crap you get more than that for smoking weed.

The first trial of an alleged Capitol rioter begins Monday in Federal District Court in Washington, DC. Guy Wesley Reffitt, the man who was turned in by his own son despite allegedly threatening to kill his kids if they did so, is one of about 750 defendants charged in the January 6, 2021, attack on the US Capitol, but more than 200 of them have pleaded guilty, and his is the first case so far to head to court. A rundown of the coverage surrounding the trial:

  • The charges: He is charged with five counts, including obstruction of Congress, a charge originally meant to criminalize activities like tampering with documents or witnesses—defense lawyers tried to have it dismissed, arguing it was being taken too far, but judges are allowing a jury to decide, for the first time, whether it can apply to cases like this, the New York Times reports. That charge, the most serious, carries a sentence of up to 20 years, WUSA 9 reports. He is charged with four other felonies: two different civil disorder counts, being on restricted ground with a firearm, and obstruction of justice.
  • His kids are key witnesses: Two of the 49-year-old’s children will testify to the fact that he issued death threats should they turn him in, per WUSA 9. The obstruction of justice charge involves threats of physical force, which the 19- and 17-year-old kids will speak about, the station says, adding that recordings they made of him will be introduced as evidence. The 19-year-old is reportedly estranged from his family now.
  • Militia group: Another key witness will be an alleged fellow member of the Three Percenter militia group who authorities say traveled to DC from Texas with Reffitt; the witness was offered immunity in exchange for his testimony.
  • Setting the tone: As the Times explains in its look at the case, this trial will likely “set the tone” for dozens more that are scheduled to happen this year. “For the first time in a courtroom, [prosecutors] will present a broad portrait of the violent chaos that erupted that day and seek to persuade a jury that the pro-Trump mob that Mr. Reffitt is accused of joining struck at the heart of American democracy by disrupting the transition of presidential power.”
  • How long will this take? Jury selection is Monday, with opening arguments and testimony likely starting by Tuesday afternoon. The trial could last a week or longer, depending how long jury deliberations take.
  • Juror bias? Defense lawyers have argued that DC jurors will be biased against Jan. 6 defendants, and as such, judges will be closely watching for signs of bias, the Washington Post reports. “Reffitt’s prospective jurors Monday will be the subjects of a kind of trial-within-a-trial, scrutinized by both parties and the wider public, with potential ramifications for Capitol breach defendants to come.”
  • Jailhouse letter: Last week, Reffitt penned a defiant letter saying he’s ready to “receive the bullet of freedom,” WUSA 9 reports.

I think of a better ‘bullet of freedom’…..

All these people that are convicted regardless of the charges should be put on the “No Fly” list….which should also include Amtrak and interstate bus travel…..so if they want to go see grandma they can either walk or drive.

Too many of those that breached the capital are getting off too easy in my opinion.

More to come…..

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I Read, I Write, You Know

“lego ergo scribo”