https://twitter.com/TalbertSwan/stat...29755639750659Originally Posted by raisedbywolves
https://twitter.com/TalbertSwan/stat...29755639750659
https://extremism.gwu.edu/Capitol-Hill-Cases
In keeping with our tradition of providing primary source documents to the research community and the public at large, The Program on Extremism has launched a project to create a central database of court records related to the events of January 6, 2021. This page will be updated as additional individuals are charged with criminal activities and new records are introduced into the criminal justice system.
Capitol Hill Siege Snapshot
February 2, 2021
The number of federal cases against individuals involved in the Capitol Hill siege stands at 181. According to our latest analysis of the cases:
The average age of individuals was 40-years-old.
Individuals came from 39 states and the District of Columbia.
Cases have been brought against 158 men and 23 women.
We will continue to monitor developments and provide daily updates. Browse the cases below.
Last edited by puzzld; 02-03-2021 at 12:21 PM.
https://www.bbc.com/news/world-us-canada-55923485
Canada has designated the far-right group Proud Boys as a terrorist entity.
Public Safety Minister Bill Blair said the decision was influenced by the group's "pivotal role" in the 6 January riots at the Capitol in Washington, DC.
The designation allows the Proud Boys' assets to be frozen, and members of the groups could be charged with terrorist offences if they commit violent acts.
The group is all-male and anti-immigrant, and has a history of violent political confrontations.
It was founded in 2016 by Gavin McInnes, the Canadian co-founder of Vice Media. Vice has since worked to distance itself from Mr McInnes and the Proud Boys
The Proud Boys' platform includes ideas espoused by former US President Donald Trump, libertarianism and traditional gender roles.
The group was mentioned by Mr Trump during the first US presidential debate last October.
Responding to a question about white supremacist and militia groups, he said, "Proud Boys - stand back and stand by", which members of the group online took as a call to prepare for action. Mr Trump later distanced himself from them.
The announcement in Canada comes one week after the US Department of Homeland Security warned of a "heightened threat" of domestic terrorism from violent extremists unhappy with the outcome of the presidential election.
And in Canada on Wednesday, Mr Blair described a "growing threat of ideologically motivated violent extremism". The group's Canadian chapters had previously been thought of as disparate and disorganised.
Despite strict travel restrictions between the US and Canada, at least two Canadians later identified in media reports made it to Washington for last month's storming of the Capitol. And images and video of the 6 January riots show at least one Canadian flag held by someone in the crowd.
Canada is the first country to give the Proud Boys a terrorist designation.
Two other far-right US groups - Atomwaffen Division and the Base - have also been designated by Canada as terrorist entities, along with several affiliates of the Islamic State group and al-Qaeda.
A total of six white supremacist and neo-Nazi groups have been designated by terrorist entities in Canada. Prior to 2018, no such groups were listed as a terrorist threat.
https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/...-investigation
As prosecutors from the House of Representatives prepare to present their case against Donald Trump at his impeachment trial next week for incitement of insurrection, supporters who heeded his call on 6 January to “fight like hell” and went on to storm the Capitol Building are finding themselves in far greater legal peril.
The trial that kicks off in the US Senate on Tuesday could lead to a further vote that would permanently debar Trump from holding office in the future. By contrast, the mob of fervent Maga acolytes who broke into the US Capitol following an incendiary rally headlined by Trump could face prison for up to 20 years.
One month after the events which left five people dead including a US Capitol police officer, there is no sign of the Department of Justice and FBI letting up in their relentless pursuit of the insurrectionists. In the past week alone there have been arrests of alleged rioters in Seattle, Washington; Las Vegas, Nevada; Corinth, Texas; Garner, North Carolina; and Marion, Illinois.
All 56 FBI field offices are engaged in a huge investigation that ranks alongside the biggest the bureau has conducted. As Michael Sherwin, acting US attorney for Washington DC which is leading the hunt, has put it: “The scope and scale of this investigation are really unprecedented, not only in FBI history but probably DoJ history.”
David Gomez, a former FBI national security executive who spent years countering domestic terrorism, told the Guardian that the bureau would classify and handle the search as a “major case”.
“It is probably one of the largest investigations since 9/11,” he said.
Already the number of people who have been arrested, either by the FBI, Capitol police or local Washington DC officers has reached 235, spanning more than 40 states. As the investigation widens and deepens, the focus is tightening on anyone considered to have acted as a coordinator of the action in an attempt to take out the ringleaders.
The FBI has set up a special strike force of experienced federal prosecutors who have been given the express instruction to pursue aggressive sedition and conspiracy charges. So far at least 26 people have been charged with conspiracy or assault.
“Sedition is the most serious crime that anybody could be accused of from 6 January,” Gomez said. “It’s advocating the overthrow of the US government. It involves not just talking about overthrowing democracy but having the means and wherewithal to carry out those actions.”
As more has become known about those arrested, the strategy being pursued by the FBI has also revealed itself. In several cases, people who participated in the storming of the Capitol were picked up and charged with relatively minor offenses such as trespassing or theft of mail simply as a means to get them into prosecutorial clutches.
Once in the system, more serious charges could then be added as intelligence came in. That pattern of escalating charges can be seen in the cases of Nicholas DeCarlo from Texas and Nicholas Ochs from Hawaii.
Initially, the pair were accused of unlawful entry into federal property. But new conspiracy charges were added this week in which they are alleged to have planned out their travel across state lines, raised money to pay for it, and then made the trip to Washington DC in a premeditated attempt to obstruct the certification of Joe Biden as winner of the US presidential election.
If convicted, DeCarlo and Ochs each face maximum sentences of 20 years in prison and a $250,000 fine.
Prosecutors have made clear that they are ramping up the charges against select individuals as a means of discouraging further violence from Trump supporters and their far-right and white supremacist allies. “We are going to focus on the most significant charges as a deterrent, because regardless of if it was just a trespass in the Capitol or someone planted a pipe bomb, you will be charged and you will be found,” Sherwin said.
The FBI’s work has been greatly assisted by the plethora of intelligence swirling around online – in many cases posted by the suspects themselves. Take the hapless duo, DeCarlo and Ochs.
A photo of the pair, posing thumbs up in front of the memorial door of the US Capitol on which they had scrawled the words “MURDER THE MEDIA”, was easily found online. It has been included in the indictment against them, and earned them the special attentions of the media assault strike force set up by federal prosecutors to investigate violent threats against members of the media.
That photo is one of at least 200,000 digital media tips that have poured into the FBI from across the country, some coming from friends and even family members who recognized individual rioters from the profusion of video and stills footage plastered across the internet and promptly informed on them.
As federal agents work their way through this mountain of digital information they are starting to get a feel for the kinds of people who were present that fateful day on the Hill. As feared, the leadership role played by far-right and white supremacist groups has veered into sight.
At least 10 members of the extremist group the Proud Boys are among the mounting number of those arrested, including Ochs, who according to the justice department claims to have founded a Honolulu chapter of the network. This week’s Washington state arrest was also of a self-declared Proud Boys leader – Ethan Nordean calls himself “sergeant of arms” of the Seattle chapter and is accused in court documents of having led a group of rioters into the Capitol.
On the back of mounting evidence of the Proud Boys’ leadership role in the attack, the Canadian government this week moved to designate the group as a terrorist organization.
Meanwhile, several members of the Oath Keepers, one of the largest far-right militia groups in the US, have also been arrested.
Another chilling element emerging from the indictments is the number of current and former law enforcement officers and military personnel who are among them. An analysis of the first 150 people to be arrested by CNN found that at least 21 had military experience, some ongoing.
Of those, eight were former marines, underlining the danger of elite military training designed to defend the country from international threats being turned back on itself and used to attack the heart of US democracy at home.
At least four law enforcement officers who were actively serving in their positions at the time of the 6 January attack have been accused, and have left their jobs. They include a Houston, Texas, police officer and a corrections officer from New Jersey.
One of the emerging truths that FBI detectives and prosecutors will have to wrestle with is that, despite the substantial presence of white supremacists and military personnel, most of those who have been arrested are what might be described as unremarkable Americans with no previous criminal records or history of extremist behavior.
Political scientists at the University of Chicago who studied the profiles of arrestees and published their conclusions in the Atlantic found that many were middle-class and middle-aged – with an average age of 40. Almost 90% of them had no known links with militant groups. Some 40% were business owners or with white-collar jobs, and they came from relatively lucrative backgrounds as “CEOs, shop owners, doctors, lawyers, IT specialists, and accountants”.
The one common denominator uniting this large group is not any extremist group, website or media outlet, but an individual – Donald Trump. This is why the connection between the pending impeachment trial and the ongoing FBI roundup of suspects is so critical.
The link has been made overtly in the defense cases being compiled by lawyers on behalf of several of the arrested rioters. Take Jacob Chansley from Arizona, the self-styled “QAnon Shaman” who went shirtless and wore a furry headdress with horns as he battled as far as the Senate dais during the Capitol assault.
His lawyers have offered him up as a witness during Trump’s trial. They say Chansley, who faces six charges including civil disorder, used to be “horrendously smitten” by Trump but now feels betrayed by him. They are also likely to use the argument that Chansley was misled by the then US president as a central argument in his own defense.
But Gomez is doubtful that the ploy will prove effective.
“I don’t think that’s going to hold water in federal court,” Gomez said. “‘I only robbed that bank because somebody told me to do it’ – I’ve never heard that line working for any crime.”
https://www.8newsnow.com/i-team/i-te...-his-idol-fbi/
LAS VEGAS (KLAS) — The FBI identified a Las Vegas man accused of illegally entering the U.S. Capitol during the Jan. 6 riot by matching his driver’s license photo to surveillance images, court documents obtained by the I-Team late Thursday night said.
The FBI arrested Nathaniel “Nathan” DeGrave, of Las Vegas, and Ronald “Ronnie” Sandlin, of Tennessee, Thursday in connection with the riot.
Court documents said DeGrave was seen on camera inside the Capitol wearing a red, white and blue neck bandanna, officials wrote in documents filed in federal court.
FBI agents surveilled DeGrave’s apartment on Thursday, court documents said. A warrant was issued for his arrest the same day on charges of knowingly entering or remaining in any restricted building or grounds without lawful authority, violent entry and disorderly conduct on Capitol ground and obstruction of law enforcement during civil disorder, documents said.
Investigators tracked DeGrave’s social media accounts, finding a comment reading, “It’s time the American people rise and stand up for this country. We’re tired of the corruption.” The comment was under a post by a man also charged in the riot and surveilled Thursday in Las Vegas, investigators wrote in court documents.
Documents reveal investigators were given an anonymous tip that led them to video of DeGrave and two other men discussing the planned protest on Jan. 6, saying, “I say bring it. We are not silent anymore.”
Investigators allege the trio raised money for the trip on GoFundMe.
A photo posted on DeGrave’s Facebook page, which is linked in court documents, shows a photo of former President Donald Trump in DeGrave’s apartment with the caption, “My idol in my living room.”
On his Instagram, DeGrave identifies himself as the CEO of a celebrity event planner and adult model management company.
Sandlin, who was wanted for his alleged role in the Jan. 6 riot was taken into custody Thursday outside DeGrave’s apartment, court documents said. He is due in court Monday.
Five people died in the riot, including an officer for the Capitol Police. Federal prosecutors have filed charges stemming from the breach against more than 130 people so far.
https://www.kcrg.com/2021/02/16/char...ect-from-iowa/
An Iowa Man is going to have a hearing on February 23rd for his role in the riots.
DES MOINES, Iowa (AP) — Prosecutors have upgraded charges against an Iowa man who led a crowd of insurgents in taunting a police officer up several flights of stairs inside the U.S. Capitol during the Jan. 6 attack.
Douglas Jensen has been seen frequently in video wearing a QAnon shirt and leading an angry mob toward an officer protecting the Capitol.
An updated indictment filed in federal court in Washington D.C. now includes dangerous weapons charges to reflect that Jensen carried a knife in his pocket during the attack.
Jensen remains in custody and has a court hearing on Feb. 23.
https://www.comicsands.com/capitol-r...650598788.html
OMG. These people really are out there. More at link.
Several Charged Capitol Rioters Complained On Social Media About Antifa Getting Credit For Their Work
If you needed a reminder about how brain-meltingly weird things are in America right now, you can't really do much better than this.
Several people charged with crimes for their participation in the U.S. Capitol riots have been complaining on social media about the insurrection being blamed on Antifa.
Why? Because it's stealing their thunder by not giving them all the credit for their treason, of course.
https://www.kcra.com/article/feds-ar...chair/35542444
LOS ANGELES —
A Los Angeles college student and self-described fascist was arrested after he sat in former Vice President Mike Pence's chair in the Senate chambers during the insurrection at the U.S. Capitol, authorities said.
Officials say Christian Secor — a 22-year-old student at the University of California, Los Angeles, who has openly espoused white supremacy views online — was ordered held without bail Tuesday during his first appearance in federal court.
He broadcast a livestream from the Capitol, authorities said, with a username that appears to be a reference to a man who killed six people in Isla Vista, California, in 2014. Secor previously bragged that he would not be caught, officials said.
Secor was taken into custody Tuesday at his home in Costa Mesa, California, by FBI agents. It was not immediately clear if he had an attorney who could speak on his behalf.
Secor is charged with five federal offenses and is among more than 200 defendants accused of participating in the siege of the U.S. Capitol, where dozens of people were hurt and one Capitol police officer later died of his injuries.
Court documents show images of a man purported to be Secor wearing a red Make America Great Again hat and sitting in a chair on the dais where Pence had sat and presided over the Senate as lawmakers certified Electoral College votes.
At least 11 tipsters identified Secor to the FBI as the person seen in the images and videos, sometimes carrying a large blue “America First” flag, authorities said.
Last year at UCLA, according to court documents, Secor was repeatedly accused of inciting racism through comments and tweets about immigrants and Jews. He also founded a student group called America First Bruins at the university.
UCLA said information on Secor was not available to the public.
“As an institution, UCLA is committed to mutual respect, making decisions based on evidence and using rational debate and not physical violence," Bill Kisliuk, director of media relations, said in an email.
I cannot freaking believe how many older folks actually turned of FoxNews and headed out to storm the capitol. I mean I expect kids to get all radical but seniors? Sitting on the porch yelling "get off my lawn" is about all most of us have the energy for.
The U.S. Capitol Police has suspended six officers with pay for their actions on Jan. 6, when a pro-Trump mob attacked the U.S. Capitol in an attempt to stop the certification of President Biden's Electoral College victory, according to a department statement.
An additional 29 officers remain under investigation as part of the department's ongoing probe into the events that unfolded that day.
"The investigation into the January 6 attack remains under investigation. Our Office of Professional Responsibility is investigating the actions of 35 police officers from that day. We currently have suspended six of those officers with pay," the department said in a statement.
Capitol Police Acting Chief Yogananda Pittman further directed that any member whose behavior is not in keeping with the department's Rules of Conduct "will face appropriate discipline."
Last month, Pittman announced that the department is conducting an investigation after images and videos shared on social media raised questions about the actions of some USCP officers.
The department "has been actively reviewing video and other open source materials of some USCP officers and officials that appear to be in violation of Department regulations and policies," she said on Jan. 11.
Videos from the day of the attack appear to show some officers escorting rioters inside the building. In one video, USCP officers can be seen opening barricades allowing the mob to enter the Capitol complex without resistance.
At least 140 Capitol Police officers sustained injuries during the riot, according to a statement by Gus Papathanasiou, chairman of the USCP Labor Committee, the union representing Capitol Police officers.
"I have officers who were not issued helmets prior to the attack who have sustained brain injuries. One officer has two cracked ribs and two smashed spinal discs. One officer is going to lose his eye, and another was stabbed with a metal fence stake," he said.
Capitol Police Officer, Brian Sicknick died of injuries suffered during the riots. Two other officers who responded to the riot, one with the Capitol Police and the other with the Washington, D.C., Metropolitan Police Department, later died by suicide.
Following the events, the union said that the department's leadership failed its officers by not relaying important information ahead of Jan. 6.
"The disclosure that the entire executive team ... knew what was coming but did not better prepare us for potential violence, including the possible use of firearms against us, is unconscionable," Papathanasiou said. "The entire executive team failed us, and they must be held accountable. Their inaction cost lives."
The current turmoil within the USCP was further highlighted by last week's overwhelming no-confidence vote for the force's top brass.
https://www.npr.org/sections/insurre...ce=twitter.com
https://www.wesh.com/article/marion-...riots/35570340
Central Florida couple accused of storming US Capitol building during riot
https://www.wesh.com/article/thomasv...ction/35570857
Last edited by raisedbywolves; 11-11-2022 at 07:38 PM.
https://www.cnn.com/2021/02/19/polit...cop/index.html
Pennsylvania cop charged in Capitol riot: 'FBI may arrest me ..lol'
Last edited by raisedbywolves; 11-11-2022 at 07:38 PM.
https://www.wptv.com/news/region-s-p...ill-fbi-agents
BOCA RATON, Fla. ? Federal prosecutors said Friday a 59-year-old Boca Raton woman faces charges after she threatening to kill FBI agents.
Authorities said they received an online tip Jan. 16 that Suzanne Kaye posted information on her Facebook page that she was present at the U.S. Capitol on Jan. 6.
Agents then contacted Kaye by phone Jan. 28 and informed her that the FBI was interested in interviewing her about traveling to Washington, D.C.
Kaye asked the agents if they had proof that she traveled to Washington D.C., the affidavit states.
Prosecutors said she denied traveling to Washington but claimed she was aware of individuals who did travel there. The FBI said she agreed to speak with the FBI and gave them her address.
Then on Jan. 31, Kaye is accused of posting a video on her Facebook page titled "ANGRY Patriot Hippie" captioned, "F--- the FBI!!"
In the video, federal investigators said Kaye announced she received a telephone call from the FBI asking about her travel to Washington D.C.
Kaye stated in the video she would not talk to the FBI without counsel and would exercise her "second amendment right to shoot your f------ ass if you come here," according to federal prosecutors with the Southern District of Florida.
On that same day, they said Kaye also posted the same video to her Instagram and TikTok accounts, the affidavit states.
Kaye had an initial appearance this week before a federal magistrate judge in West Palm Beach where she was arrested.
A bond hearing is scheduled for Feb. 24.
The FBI division in West Palm Beach is handling the investigation.
https://www.wesh.com/article/ex-flor...arges/35587461
Ex-Florida police officer, Marine latest charged in Capitol breach
Last edited by raisedbywolves; 11-11-2022 at 07:40 PM.
Standing on the Capitol steps on Jan. 6, Richard Michetti allegedly took a break from the rioting to argue with his ex-girlfriend over text message. After sending photos and videos of the mob and boasting how he had avoided tear gas, Michetti parroted Donald Trump?s false claims of election fraud.
"If you can't see the election was stolen you're a moron," Michetti wrote in a text to the woman, according to court documents.
The next day, the woman he had insulted promptly told the FBI that her ex was at the Capitol, handing over to law enforcement the string of texts, photos and videos he had sent to her.
Michetti, who lives in Ridley Park, Pa., has now been charged with knowingly entering a restricted building, violent entry and disorderly conduct on Capitol grounds, and obstruction of Congress. If convicted, Michetti, who was arraigned Tuesday in federal court in Philadelphia, faces up to 20 years in prison, reported the Philadelphia Inquirer.
Neither Michetti nor his attorney, federal public defender Kathleen Gaughan, immediately responded to a request for comment late Wednesday.
Michetti joins the growing list of more than 200 people who have been charged in the insurrection. Many of the alleged rioters were identified by law enforcement through text messages sent to family and friends that bragged of their presence in D.C. last month. more at link:
https://www.washingtonpost.com/natio...lfriend-moron/
Last edited by puzzld; 02-25-2021 at 09:42 AM.
I applaud her!
Happy Birthday! I hid a dead body in your backyard to celebrate. Good luck finding it under the cement. You can only use a stick to look for it.
https://www.ksl.com/article/50114280...ce-chief-warns
WASHINGTON (Reuters) — Donald Trump supporters who launched a deadly assault on the U.S. Capitol last month have indicated they want to "blow up" the building and kill members of Congress, the acting chief of the Capitol Police said on Thursday.
Threats suggest extremists could target the building during an address by President Joe Biden, Acting Chief Yogananda Pittman told lawmakers as she advocated for continued high security around the building. "Members of militia groups that were present on Jan. 6 have stated their desires that they want to blow up the Capitol and kill as many members as possible with a direct nexus to the State of the Union," Pittman told members of the House Appropriations Committee.
"We think that it's prudent that Capitol Police maintain its enhanced and robust security posture until we address those vulnerabilities going forward," she said.
A date has not been announced for Biden to deliver his State of the Union address to Congress, which typically happens early in the year.
Unprecedented security measures were imposed in Washington following the deadly Jan. 6 assault on the Capitol, including fences topped with razor wire and checkpoints manned by the National Guard.
About 5,000 troops are expected to stay through mid-March.
Trump supporters stormed the Capitol in an attempt to stop Congress from certifying Democrat Biden's electoral victory over the Republican president, who falsely claimed the November election had been marred by widespread fraud.
The attack delayed the certification of Biden's win by several hours, as lawmakers were forced to flee the mob. Five people died in the violence, including a Capitol Police officer.
More than 200 people have been charged so far for their roles in the riot, including some with ties to far-right fringe groups such as the Oath Keepers and Proud Boys.
(Reporting by Susan Cornwell in Washington and Kanishka Singh in Bengaluru; Editing by Scott Malone and Peter Cooney)
? Copyright Thomson Reuters 2021
https://ktla.com/news/nationworld/la...m-u-s-capitol/
Law enforcement was on high alert Thursday around the U.S. Capitol after authorities said intelligence had uncovered a “possible plot” by a militia group to storm the iconic building again. The alert came two months after Donald Trump supporters smashed through windows and doors to try to stop Congress from certifying now-President Joe Biden’s victory.
The threat appeared to be connected to a far-right conspiracy theory, mainly promoted by supporters of QAnon, that former President Trump would rise again to power on March 4 and that thousands would come to Washington to try to remove Democrats from office. March 4 was the original presidential inauguration day until 1933, when it was moved to Jan. 20.
There were no signs of disturbance Thursday at the heavily secured building, with Capitol Police and National Guardsmen on duty and a large fence around the perimeter that was put in place after the Jan. 6 riot. The Pentagon is reviewing a request to extend the Guard deployment 60 days beyond its current expiration date of March 12.
Online chatter identified by authorities included discussions among members of the Three Percenters, an anti-government militia group, concerning possible plots against the Capitol on Thursday, according to two law enforcement officials who were not authorized to speak publicly and spoke on condition of anonymity. Members of the Three Percenters were among the extremists who stormed the Capitol on Jan. 6.
The threat came as the Capitol police and other law enforcement agencies were taking criticism from Congress in contentious hearings this week on their handling of the Jan. 6 riot. Police were ill-prepared for the mass of Trump supporters, some in tactical gear and armed, and it took hours for National Guard reinforcements to come. By then, rioters had broken into the building and they roamed the halls for hours, stalling Congress’ certification effort temporarily and sending lawmakers into hiding.
Lawmakers, congressional staffers and law enforcement officials are still on edge after the attack on Jan. 6, even as security around the Capitol remains at an unprecedented level.
The U.S. House wrapped up its work for the week Wednesday night, but the U.S. Senate still had a busy day scheduled for Thursday with votes into the evening. Police beefed up their presence in and around the Capitol. About 5,200 National Guard members remain in D.C., the remainder of the roughly 26,000 who were brought in for President Biden’s inauguration in January, which went off with no problems.
Rep. Michael McCaul, R-Texas, the former chairman of the House Homeland Security Committee and among those briefed about the new threat, said lawmakers were braced.
“I think we’ll see some violence here,” he said in an interview.
But unlike on Jan. 6, the Capitol is now fortified against intrusions. “We have the razor wire, we have the National Guard. We didn’t have that January 6. So I feel very confident in the security,” he said.
Initially it seemed as though the online chatter did not rise to the level of serious concern; an advisory sent earlier this week to members of Congress by Timothy Blodgett, the acting House sergeant-at-arms, said the Capitol Police had “no indication that groups will travel to Washington, D.C., to protest or commit acts of violence.”
But that advisory was updated in a note to lawmakers Wednesday morning. Blodgett wrote that the Capitol Police had received “new and concerning information and intelligence indicating additional interest in the Capitol for the dates of March 4th – 6th by a militia group.”
Acting Capitol Police Chief Yogananda Pittman said during House testimony Wednesday that her investigators had collected “some concerning intelligence,” but declined to provide any details publicly, saying that it was “law enforcement sensitive” and that she would provide a private briefing for the subcommittee members.
Meanwhile, federal agents found no significant increases in the number of hotel rooms being rented in Washington, or in flights to the area, car rental reservations or buses being chartered, a person familiar with the matter told The Associated Press. The person could not publicly discuss details of the security planning and spoke on the condition of anonymity.
The FBI and Department of Homeland Security also sent a joint intelligence bulletin to local law enforcement officials Tuesday that said a group of militia extremists had discussed trying to take control of the Capitol on March 4 and encouraging thousands of people to come to D.C. to try to remove Democrats from power.
But there has been a noticeable decline in online activity on some social media platforms surrounding efforts on March 4, and there was already considerably less online chatter than during the lead-up to Jan. 6, a day that Trump repeatedly had promoted for a his rally and encouraged thousands to come to the nation’s capital.
Also, thousands of accounts that promoted the Jan. 6 event that led to a violent storming of the U.S. Capitol have since been suspended by major tech companies like Facebook and Twitter, making it far more difficult for groups to organize a repeat of the mass gathering.
So far, about 300 people have been charged with federal crimes for their roles in the riot. Five people, including a Capitol Police officer, died.
Since his defeat, Trump has been promoting lies that the election was stolen from him through mass voter fraud, even though such claims have been rejected by judges, Republican state officials and Trump’s own administration. He was impeached by the House after the Jan. 6 riot on a charge of incitement of insurrection but was acquitted by the Senate.
https://apnews.com/article/capitol-s...9be092d28745de
. WASHINGTON (AP) — Rep. Eric Swalwell, who served as a House manager in Donald Trump’s last impeachment trial, filed a lawsuit Friday against the former president, his son, lawyer and a Republican congressman whose actions he charges led to January’s insurrection.
The California Democrat’s suit, filed in federal court in Washington, alleges a conspiracy to violate civil rights, along with negligence, inciting a riot and inflicting emotional distress. It follows a similar suit filed by Rep. Bennie Thompson last month in an attempt to hold the former president accountable in some way for his actions Jan. 6, following his Senate acquittal.
Swalwell charges that Trump, his son Donald Jr., along with former New York City Mayor Rudy Giuliani and Republican Rep. Mo Brooks of Alabama, had made “false and incendiary allegations of fraud and theft, and in direct response to the Defendant’s express calls for violence at the rally, a violent mob attacked the U.S. Capitol.”
The lawsuit spells out in detail how the Trumps, Giuliani and Brooks spread baseless claims of election fraud, both before and after the 2020 presidential election was declared, and charges that they helped to spin up the thousands of rioters before they stormed the Capitol. Five people died as a result of the violence on Jan. 6, including a U.S. Capitol Police officer.
Trump’s spokesman Jason Miller called Swalwell a “low-life” with “no credibility.”
“Now, after failing miserably with two impeachment hoaxes,” Swalwell is attacking “our greatest President with yet another witch hunt,” Miller said in a statement. “It’s a disgrace that a compromised Member of Congress like Swalwell still sits on the House Intelligence Committee.”
Brooks said the lawsuit was frivolous and “a meritless ploy.”
“I make no apologies whatsoever for fighting for accurate and honest elections,” he said, adding he wore the lawsuit “like a badge of courage.”
The lawsuit, through Trump’s own words, accuses the former president of inciting the riot, using much of the same playbook used by Swalwell and others during Trump’s impeachment trial — that his lies over the election results stirred supporters into the false belief the 2020 election had been stolen, that he egged the angry mob on through his rally speech and that he did nothing when faced with the images of throngs of his supporters smashing windows at the U.S. Capitol and sending lawmakers fleeing.
Those with knowledge claimed that during this moment of national horror, Trump was ‘delighted’ and was ‘confused about why other people on his team weren’t as excited as he was.’ Others described Trump as ‘borderline enthusiastic’ about the unfolding violence,” according to the suit.
Unlike Thompson’s lawsuit — filed against Trump, Giuliani and some far-right extremist groups whose members are alleged to have participated in the insurrection — Swalwell’s did not specify whether he was filing in his personal or official capacity, which would require additional approvals from the House and involve House attorneys.
Both lawsuits cite a federal civil rights law that was enacted to counter the Ku Klux Klan’s intimidation of officials. Swalwell’s attorney Philip Andonian praised Thompson’s lawsuit, filed under a Reconstruction-era law called the Ku Klux Klan Act, and said they were behind it 100%, but saw the need for this one, too.
“We see ourselves as having a different angle to this, holding Trump accountable for the incitement, the disinformation,” he said.
Presidents are historically afforded broad immunity from lawsuits for actions they take in their role as commander in chief. But the lawsuit, like the one by Thompson, was brought against Trump in his personal, not official, capacity.
Swalwell also describes in detail being trapped in the House chamber with many other members of Congress as plainclothes Capitol Police officers barricaded the doors and tried to fend off the mob at gunpoint.
“Fearing for their lives, the Plaintiff and others masked their identities as members of Congress, texted loved ones in case the worst happened, and took shelter throughout the Capitol complex,” the lawsuit reads.
The lawsuit alleges that Brooks “conspired with the other Defendants to undermine the election results by alleging, without evidence, that the election had been rigged and by pressuring elected officials, courts, and ultimately Congress to reject the results.” It notes that he spoke at a rally supporting Trump at the Ellipse, near the White House, shortly before thousands of pro-Trump rioters made their way to the Capitol and overwhelmed police officers to shove their way inside the building.
The suit seeks unspecified damages, and Swalwell also wants a court to order all of the defendants to provide written notice to him a week before they plan to have a rally in Washington that would draw more than 50 people.
“Unable to accept defeat, Donald Trump waged an all out war on a peaceful transition of power,” Swalwell said in a statement. “He lied to his followers again and again claiming the election was stolen from them, filed a mountain of frivolous lawsuits — nearly all of which failed, tried to intimidate election officials, and finally called upon his supporters to descend on Washington D.C. to ’stop the steal.’”
https://nypost.com/2021/03/06/capito...me-to-parents/
A Georgia 18-year-old charged in the Capitol riot told a judge he?ll be a good boy if he?s allowed to go home to Mommy and Daddy.
Bruno Joseph Cua, who?s been in federal custody since his arrest on Feb. 5 for his role in the attack on the nation?s Capitol, wrote a letter to US District Court Judge Randolph D. Moss Thursday begging to be sent home while he?s waiting for his trial, the Atlanta Journal Constitution reported.
The feds charged Cua, of Milton, Georgia, with assault on a federal officer, civil disorder and several other crimes, including entering the floor of the Senate, according to the criminal complaint. Cua was videotaped in the Senate chamber and spotted in a video posted by The New Yorker magazine of the siege, the complaint said.
"Yes, for everyone asking, I stormed the capital (sic) with hundreds of thousands of patriots," Cua posted on his since-deleted Instagram account. "What happened was unbelievable," he continued. "Yes, we physically fought our way in."
Cua?s the youngest person charged in the riot, which he joined after attending the earlier rally near the White House with his parents, who drove him to Washington, the Journal Constitution said.
The feds charged Cua, of Milton, Georgia, with assault on a federal officer, civil disorder and several other crimes.
Cua sent a plaintive, "I love you, I love you both." to his folks on Feb. 12 when he was denied bond, Atlanta?s 11 Alive reported.
He promised in his letter "not to step one foot out of line" if was able to go back to his suburban Atlanta home.
The teen was denied bond in part because of his history of violent rhetoric online, including a Jan. 6 post that said, "We didn?t attack American people. We attacked the swamp rats," according to the Journal Constitution.
"Given how innaproprite (sic) my social media activity was, I truly understand your worries," Cua wrote. "I am not a danger to anyone, and I will absolutely never act on what I said."
"I have completely lost those aggressive feelings and moved on from the entire politcal (sic) idea," he added a few sentences later. "I was wrong."
Prosecutors also objected to Cua?s release to his parents? custody because they drove with him to Washington.
A federal judge has ruled that the so-called "QAnon shaman" who was charged in the Capitol insurrection is too dangerous to release and must stay in jail while his case moves forward.
https://www.cnn.com/2021/03/08/polit...9T05%3A01%3A07
A federal judge ruled Monday that the so-called "QAnon shaman" who was charged in the Capitol insurrection is too dangerous to release and must stay in jail while his case moves forward.
Judge Royce Lamberth said that Jacob Chansley was unrepentant and could plot further attacks against the US government if put on house arrest. He rebuked Chansley as having shown "a detachment from reality" by claiming his actions on January 6 were peaceful and harmless.
"Defendant characterizes himself as a peaceful person who was welcomed into the Capitol building on January 6th by police officers. The Court finds none of his many attempts to manipulate the evidence and minimize the seriousness of his actions persuasive," Lamberth wrote.
Chansley had asked the judge to release him from jail in recent weeks, in a series of attention-grabbing moves from him and his lawyer. Lamberth's decision on Monday rejected several of Chansley's arguments but primarily hinged on the fact that Chansley carried a spear on January 6.
Chansley's lawyer had argued it was a flagpole, but Lamberth determined it was clearly a dangerous weapon.
Lamberth's 32-page opinion methodically dismantled most of Chansley's arguments and sided with the Justice Department's request to keep Chansley behind bars pending trial. The judge used Chansley's words against him, including his recent jailhouse interview, which seems to have backfired.
"The statements defendant has made to the public from jail show that defendant does not fully appreciate the severity of the allegations against him," Lamberth wrote. "To the contrary, he believes that he -- not the American people or members of Congress -- was the victim on January 6th."
Chansley isn't charged with attacking anyone, but the Justice Department has maintained that his behavior during the insurrection makes him too dangerous to release. He was a well-known figure in the QAnon conspiracy community -- one of many QAnon believers who have been charged in the Capitol riot.
Lamberth also said he was not persuaded by Chansley's attempts to argue that the spear he brought into the Capitol was not a weapon. The dangerousness of the item was an important sticking point in whether he would be jailed before trial, as it relates to the violent nature of the charges he's facing.
"A six-foot pole with a metal spearhead fixed to the top is, undoubtably, a dangerous weapon," Lamberth wrote, agreeing with the Justice Department's point of view regarding the weapon.
Attorneys for a woman who bragged in a Facebook live stream about storming the U.S. Capitol on Jan. 6 asked a federal judge Wednesday to move her case from Washington, D.C., to near her home in western Texas, saying a more Republican-friendly jury would decide her guilt or innocence more fairly.
Jenny Cudd, a 36-year-old florist and former mayoral candidate from Midland, Tex., has been indicted on five counts including obstruction of an official proceeding, trespassing, disorderly conduct, and parading, demonstrating or picketing in the Capitol building.
?Pretrial publicity and community prejudice in Washington D.C. is so likely to have affected the jury pool that the [entire panel] must be presumed as tainted,? Cudd?s attorney Marina Medvin argued.
?The facts of this case center around Donald Trump and his supporters. The evidence in this case is emotionally political in every respect,? the Alexandria attorney wrote. ?But the jury who would hear the facts in Washington D.C. is the most politically prejudiced jury in the entire country? against Trump.
Cudd and co-defendant Eliel Rosa were charged Jan. 12 and arrested a week after the riot that left five dead, forced the evacuation of the Capitol and disrupted Congress?s confirmation of the presidential election. Cudd faces charges that carry a maximum of 20 years in prison.
Cudd?s motion for a venue change is believed to be the first brought by a defendant among the more than 300 people federally charged so far. Federal law usually requires that defendants be tried where a crime occurred, and the U.S. attorney?s office and FBI field office for Washington have spearheaded the sprawling investigation.
https://www.washingtonpost.com/local...source=twitter
Almost seems like there needs to be a major review of security clearance protocols & the people employed to assess them - & not just in the US
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