Category: Capitol Insurrection

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Capitol Insurrection Donald Trump January 6 Justice Department

DOJ Plans To Hit Trump With An ‘Appeal-Proof’ Charge For His Role In January 6: Report

Now that several members of the domestic terrorist group the Oath Keepers have been convicted for seditious conspiracy, many have suggested that disgraced, one-term former president Donald Trump should be charged with the same thing for his role in inciting the January 6, 2021 attack on the U.S. Capitol.

The House Select Committee investigating Jan. 6 referred the ex-president to the Justice Department on four charges — obstruction of an official proceeding of Congress, conspiracy to defraud the United States, inciting or assisting an insurrection, and conspiracy to make a false statement — in December, but Hugo Lowell of The Guardian suggested Tuesday morning that the DOJ will likely try to build a narrow, “appeal-proof” case against Trump.

During an appearance on MSNBC, Lowell remarked:

“The Oath Keepers seditious conspiracy verdicts really come about because the government had concrete evidence that the leaders of the Oath Keepers effectively engaged in political violence to stop the peaceful transfer of power, and because it was presented in that way and because, you know, the Oath Keepers had a quick reaction force across the river in Virginia. They had weapons and ammunition, and they were texting about we can come to the Capitol, and, you know, bring fire support if you really need it. I think that’s the kind of evidence that’s convincing for a jury.”

Lowell continued:

“It’s the kind of evidence that we’re missing as of yet with Trump, and that’s why I think that the Justice Department is looking more at an obstruction of an official proceeding kind of thing for Trump, as opposed to, you know, seditious conspiracy. I don’t think it materially makes any difference because they are still really serious felonies and they carry lengthy prison terms, and the Justice Department doesn’t like to score big home runs, they like to score single hits, and if they can find one charge that sticks with Trump, they would much prefer that.”

Ultimately, Lowell concluded, the Justice Department wants a solid case that will stand up to any appeal:

“They want a sustained conviction, they just don’t want a conviction, they want to sustain it upon appeal,” he added, “and I think he was talking about how you want to make sure it follows through all the way. They’re much more likely to take a lesser charge that is more likely to be sustained than the big charge.”

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Capitol Insurrection Congress January 6

January 6 Rioter Draws A Blank When Prosecutors Ask Him About The Bill Of Rights

It became one of the most famous images from the January 6. 2021 attack on the Capitol: A man sitting at a desk in the office of then-Speaker of the House Nancy Pelosi, his feet propped up as if he belonged there.

But as Richard “Bigo” Barnett soon learned, his brush with fame had serious consequences, as he’s now facing years in prison for what he later dubbed a “joke.”

Barnett appeared in a federal court Thursday and tried to make it sound like he had merely gotten caught up in the moment and was sorry for his actions:

“Because of all the controversies. I probably shouldn’t have put my feet on the desk. And my language.” Although he still suspects that former president Donald Trump was fraudulently denied reelection and that “nefarious characters” on the political left are intent on destroying the Constitution, he told the jury he would apologize to Pelosi in person if he could.

“I’m a Christian. It just wasn’t good. It wasn’t who I am.”

Barnett, you may recall, left a hateful message for Pelosi, which also came up Thursday:

“Nancy, Bigo was here, you b—-,” he said he wrote in a note, leaving it on the desk before departing with an item that didn’t belong to him: an empty envelope addressed to a House Democrat and bearing the digital signature of Pelosi (D-Calif.). “I put a quarter on the desk even though she ain’t f—-ing worth it,” he shouted hoarsely outside the Capitol, displaying his souvenir for video cameras.

At one point, a prosecutor asked Barnett, “You love the Constitution?” 

Barnett: “Love it!”

Prosecutor: “First Amendment?”

Barnett: “Yes.”

Prosecutor: “Second Amendment?”

Barnett: “Yes.”

Prosecutor: “Love the Third Amendment?”

Barnett: “Yes.”

The prosecutor then inquired, “What’s the Third Amendment?”

Barnett paused and sheepishly admitted, “I don’t know.”

The Third Amendment prohibits the government from quartering troops in civilian homes.

Barnett has been indicted on eight criminal counts, including felony obstruction of an official proceeding and entering a restricted building with a dangerous weapon.

 

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Capitol Insurrection Crime Donald Trump January 6

New Legal Liability For Trump – Judge Rules Jan. 6 Rioter ‘Followed’ Ex-President’s ‘Instructions’

As he waits to find out if the Justice Department will charge him for his role in the January 6, 2021 attack on the U.S. Capitol, one-term, twice-impeached former president Donald Trump will now have to contend with a federal judge’s ruling that a January 6 rioter “followed President Trump’s instructions” on the day of the riot.

U.S. District Judge Colleen Kollar-Kotelly found Trump supporter Danean MacAndrew guilty on four counts Tuesday, but she also ruled that MacAndrew had acted on the advice of the ex-president, writing:

“After MacAndrew read then-President Trump’s announcement that he would hold a rally on January 6, 2021 that ‘w[ould] be wild,’ she made plans to attend, excited to hear then-President Trump speak and to protest against the 2020 Presidential Election.

 “And at the ‘Stop the Steal’ rally, then-President Trump eponymously exhorted his supporters to, in fact, stop the steal by marching to the Capitol. Defendant marched to the Capitol where, she testified, she understood that only Congress had the power to fix the election’s outcome and that Congress was likely in session while she was around and in the Capitol.”

Next was the direct mention of Trump, with the judge concluding:

“Having followed then-President Trump’s instructions, which were in line with her stated desires, the Court therefore finds that Defendant intended her presence to be disruptive to Congressional business.

“[H]eeding the call of former President Trump, she continued onwards to ‘stop the steal. For her participation in the insurrection of January 6, the Court finds Danean MacAndrew GUILTY.”

This latest ruling could help DOJ prosecutors decide to indict Trump for his role in the horrors of Jan. 6, and it also gives potential plaintiffs a legal footing to sue the former president for millions of dollars in damages.

Special Counsel Jack Smith has been appointed by Attorney General Merrick Garland to determine if Trump should be charged for Jan. 6 also also for hoarding classified documents at his Mar-a-Lago resort.

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Capitol Insurrection Donald Trump Elections January 6 Joe Biden

Biden Slams Trump And The GOP At Jan. 6 Ceremony: ‘Predators And Peddlers Of Lies That Fueled Insurrection’

At a White House ceremony this afternoon, President Joe Biden presented the Presidential Citizens Medal to 14 Americans who showed courage, selflessness, and dedication in the days after the 2020 election and also during the January 6, 2021 insurrection at the U.S. Capitol.

CNBC reports that the recipients were “honored for their actions before, during and after the riot, when a violent mob of former President Donald Trump’s supporters stormed the U.S. Capitol, fighting with officers, destroying and stealing property and threatening lawmakers.”

Though he never once said the name of failed, one-term, twice-impeached former president Donald Trump or his apologists, it could not have been clearer who Biden was talking about when he said this as he referred to Georgia election workers Ruby Freeman and Shaye Moss:

“Ruby, who for years has taken time away from her own business to work an election season to honor voting rights in her beloved city, and her daughter Shaye, who learned from her grandmom, how older generations of her family fought so hard to get the right to vote, so Shaye decided to become a full-time election worker to help the elderly, disabled, students, exercise their fundamental right to vote.

“Both of them were just doing their jobs until they were targeted and threatened by the same predators and peddlers of lies which fueled the insurrection. They were literally forced from their homes, facing despicable racist taunts, despite it all, Ruby Freeman and Shaye Moss found the courage to testify in front of the entire world to set the record straight about the lies.”

Despite the efforts of those who wanted to subvert American democracy, Biden noted that “we the people did not flinch, we the people endured, we the people prevailed,” which is almost certain to draw a hateful posting by the disgraced ex-president on his failing Truth Social site.

Even though Trump says he’s running for the White House again in 2024, polls show the vast majority of American voters don’t want to see a second Trump administration.

Here’s the full ceremony:

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Capitol Insurrection Donald Trump GOP January 6 The Trump Adminstration

Former Trump Staffer Hope Hicks Rages About Jan. 6: ‘We All Look Like Domestic Terrorists’

Former Trump administration aide and confidant Hope Hicks is wishing she had never heard of her ex-boss, according to text messages made public by the January 6 House Select Committee last week.

Hicks, who served as White House director of strategic communications, White House communications director, and counselor to the President, raged to Julie Radford, former chief of staff to Ivanka Trump that she might never be able to get another job after what transpired at the Capitol on Jan. 6, Mediaite reports.

The former Trump aide also noted that her ex-colleague, current View co-host Alyssa Farah Griffin for resigning from her post one month before the attack on the Capitol.

“Alyssa looks like a genius,” Hicks wrote.

“Her most recent post?” Radford asked.

“And leaving,” Hicks added.

Hicks has disclosed texts to the Jan. 6 committee which show she advised the failed ex-president to send out messages of calm and calls for nonviolence prior to the Capitol insurrection. Trump refused and watched the violence for hours before finally recording a tepid video in which he told the rioters to go home and expressed his “love” for them.

The problem for Hicks and others who served in the Trump administration is that they will always have the stink of Donald on them. They agreed to be a part of the most craven and corrupt White House in history, and they don’t have anyone to blame but themselves. Donald used them and spit them out, the way he does everyone.

Or, as the old saying goes, If the shoe fits, wear it.