Tona Boyd, @SenBooker’s chief counsel & senior legal advisor, has just been named special assistant to the president & special counsel in the White House Counsel’s office. Her tireless work to advance the cause of justice, defend civil rights… 1/2 pic.twitter.com/5B7bXRlGZr
... and confront some of the most pressing challenges of our time has been a hallmark of her time with us, and will no doubt continue down the street. Please join me in celebrating Tona and this next step in her journey to help our country live up to its promise. pic.twitter.com/jKAmB7IxxB
This Sista is Tona Boyd. She is now the Special Counsel in the Office of the Biden White House. I'mma sleep a bit better tonight. https://t.co/siT1vKLljj
(1 of 2) Paul Manafort—a longtime associate of Howard Liebengood Sr.—is an exec at Event Strategies, which planned the 1/6 rally that ended with a breach of security at the Capitol, where Howard Liebengood Jr. worked security (USCP). 2 days later Liebengood Jr. committed suicide.
For my foreign Tweeps: The Alamo battle was in San Antonio, and the Texans (Americans) LOST the famous last stand, to Mexicans. Trump thinks this is apt metaphor for his campaign's last public event? To go down in defeat
“Trump’s New Criminal Problem”
“The president could face charges for inciting the Capitol riot—and maybe even for inciting the murder
of a Capitol Police Officer”
by Andrew McCabe, fmr deputy director of the the FBI, David Williams, fmr IG for five federal agencies.
(https://www.politico.com/news/magazine/2021/01/11/trumps-new-criminal-problem-457298)
Senate Minority Leader Schumer has notified senators there will be an all-senators briefing on inauguration security this afternoon, a Senate source tells @NBCNews.
Briefers will include reps from the Secret Service, Dept. of Defense and DHS – @frankthorp
JUST IN: Rep. Jayapal says she has tested positive for Covid-19 after sheltering in place with lawmakers who refused to wear masks during the violent rioting at the U.S. Capitol last week. https://t.co/RISHNnDCrt
Modi Mess https://www.cnbc.com/2021/01/12/india-new-farm-laws-temporarily-halted-by-supreme-court.html
India’s Supreme Court temporarily paused the implementation of new agricultural laws that have led to widespread protests from farmers.
For more than a month, tens of thousands of farmers have camped on the outskirts of New Delhi, the capital, to protest against reform measures that they say benefit large private buyers and harm growers.
Glen Kirschner:
“Goodness knows, it’s an affidavit that would need a table of contents, footnootes, and an appendix,
with all the crime Donald Trump has committed…
The Judge would ask (the agent) well is there any Supreme Court precedent, case law, that says you may not indict a sitting criminal president?
No your Honor.
Is there any statute, any law on the books, that says you can’t indict a sitting criminal president?
No your Honor.
And then in my opinion, the Judge would sign a warrant authorizing the arrest of a sitting criminal president who launched an attack on a largely unprotected body of government.
This was the executive branching launching an attack against the legislative branch,
and depriving the legislative branch of the law enforcement resources necessary to repel the attack.
And if that’s not worthy of any arrest warrant right here, right now, I don’t know what is.”
Three Democrats Now Have COVID After Republicans Refused To Wear Masks During The Capitol Attack
At least six GOP members of Congress could be seen in video footage refusing to take a face mask while sheltering w/ their colleagues during the insurrection. https://t.co/VQPn7xbygv
A deep pocket Republican has died https://www.cnn.com/2021/01/12/business/sheldon-adelson-death/index.html
Sheldon Adelson, the chairman and CEO of Las Vegas Sands and a major donor to Republican politicians, died late Monday following complications related to his cancer treatment, his company said. He was 87. Adelson took a leave of absence from Sands last week to resume treatment for non-Hodgkin’s lymphom a, which his aides first disclosed in late February 2019.
He rose from a hardscrabble childhood in Boston to become one of the world’s richest men as founder and CEO of Las Vegas Sands Corp. (LVS) He was Sands’ first employee, which has since grown to 50,000 employees. Adelson spent his fortune — pegged at $35 billion by Forbes — to become an influential behind-the-scenes-player in Washington, working to shape US policy toward Israel, help guide Republican Party strategy and lobby against threats posed to his business interests.
Terry Bouton,
Historian of the American Revolution. Author of Taming Democracy:
“The People,” The Founders, and the Troubled Ending of the American Revolution
“My wife and I attended the “Stop the Steal” Trump Insurrection on Wednesday (as observers, NOT participants) and there are FIVE big take-aways from what we witnessed and heard outside the Capitol that I’d like to share. (We took all the pictures below). 1/22
1) This insurrection wasn’t just redneck white supremacists and QAnon kooks. The people participating in, espousing, or cheering the violence cut across the different factions of the Republican Party and those factions were working in unison. 2/22
Preppy looking “country club Republicans,” well-dressed social conservatives, and white Evangelicals in Jesus caps were standing shoulder to shoulder with QAnon cultists, Second Amendment cosplay commandos, and doughy, hardcore white nationalists. 3/22
We eavesdropped on conversations for hours and no one expressed the slightest concern about the large number of white supremacists and para-military spewing violent rhetoric. Even the man in the “Camp Auschwitz” sweatshirt wasn’t beyond the pale. They were all “patriots.” 4/22
I’m sure there were Republicans there who were horrified by what was happening. But the most common emotions we witnessed by nearly everyone were jubilation at the take over and anger at Democrats, Mike Pence, non-Trump supporting Republicans, and the Capitol Police. 5/22
2) There is no doubt the Capitol was left purposefully understaffed as far as law enforcement and there was no federal effort to provide support even as things turned very dark. This contrasts sharply with all of other major protests we have attended. 6/22
A lot has been made of the contrast to the overwhelming police presence at Black Lives Matters protests in the fall, and this is certainly true. But there was also A LOT more federal law enforcement presence at every single previous protest we have attended in DC. 7/22
Most of these protests involved tens of thousands of mostly white, middle-aged people (meaning race wasn’t the only reason for the disparate police presence). Even the March for Science had far more police for a non-partisan event featuring “Bill Nye the Science Guy.” 8/22
By contrast, there was a tiny federal police presence at “Stop the Steal” despite weeks of promises of violence spread on social media by well-known far-right radicals, many of whom had long histories of inciting violence. 9/22
When we arrived, the only forces present were the clearly overwhelmed Capitol Police. The only reinforcements that arrived were other Capitol Police. There were a handful of DC Metro police, but they had accompanied the ambulances to take away the injured. 10/22
The only other federal law enforcement presence was an FBI Swat team of about eight officers who arrived to provide cover for the Capitol Fire and EMTs there to extract Ashli Babbitt, the QAnon radical who was shot inside the Capitol Building. 11/22
Once the FBI team got Babbitt out, they left and no other federal officers arrived in the more than two hours that followed. The small Capitol Police force was left to deal with the chaos by themselves. 12/22
(much more…..)
And it wasn’t just the white nationalists, Second Amendment radicals, and QAnon boneheads.
I can’t adequately describe
the blood lust we heard everywhere
as we walked over the Capitol grounds, even from mild-mannered looking people.”
20/22
So much for Trump and his Maga BS, people didn’t get what they wanted from him, now they are blaming everyone else except Trump and themselves. Their only solution is to make others pay for it, kill them, they don’t care, same mind set as psycho Trump.
Speaker Pelosi:
“Statement on House Republicans Blocking Unanimous Consent Request”
“On Wednesday, the President incited a deadly insurrection against America that targeted the very heart of our Democracy. The President represents an imminent threat to our Constitution, our Country and the American people, and he must be removed from office immediately.
“Today, in pro forma session, Leader Hoyer introduced a Unanimous Consent request to take up legislation by Congressman Jamie Raskin calling on the Vice President to mobilize the Cabinet to activate the 25th Amendment to remove the President.
“The House Republicans rejected this legislation to protect America, enabling the President’s unhinged, unstable and deranged acts of sedition to continue. Their complicity endangers America, erodes our Democracy, and it must end.” (more)
(speaker.gov)
BREAKING: @SenSchumer calls for anyone who broke into the Capitol to be put on the No Fly List, as they are an existential threat to the homeland, especially ahead of the inauguration @NewsNationNowpic.twitter.com/wcRkrpfcHK
Hey @Twitter, so it took a revolt at the US Capitol, the near-lynching of the Speaker & VP, the death of 5 people, the total attack on the peaceful transfer of power in the United States for you FINALLY to HALT BEING THE 'RADIO' for TERRORISTS & SEDITIONISTS.
“Secretary of State Mike Pompeo cancelled his Europe trip at the last minute on Tuesday after Luxembourg's foreign minister and top European Union officials declined to meet him, European diplomats and other people familiar with the matter said”
And he tried to pretend that State cancelled all trips so to do “smooth transition”, & some BS along those lines. Alrighty then. In that case, I woke up this morning & none of them had ever existed! 😏😂😷
Congresswoman Maxine Waters, Chair of the House Financial Services Committee,
speaking to Joy Reid:
REID:
“Congresswoman, you questioned the Capitol Police Chief, then Police Chief Sund…I read reports that you said he assured that everything was under control. What did he tell you at the time and what do you make of what’s happening now, in terms of their lack of response, not even a press Conference since?”
CONGRESSWOMAN WATERS:
“It is absolutely true that I brought the question up about security in the Caucus,
and Zoe Lofgren who is Head of our Administrative Committee had him call me. So the Chief of Police called me and I was very specific in what I talked to him about. The first thing I said to him was, are you going to make sure that these so-called protestors do not occupy the Plaza -that’s around the Capitol building.
He said ‘Don’t worry about that, that will be barricaded. Absolutely they will not get on the Plaza’. And then I asked him what about the grassy area, what if you have opposing protestors who will want to stop them or just confront them? ‘Don’t worry about that” he said. ‘We’re going to have officers on the grassy area, and they will make sure that there is no confrontation’. And then I asked him about whether or not he had the cooperation of the Metropolitan Police. He said ‘Absolutely. We’re working with them. We have a great relationship’. And then I asked him whether or not they were going to have police officers on top of the buildings, because I told him I was thinking about the assassinations of Martin Luther King and John Kennedy, and how it happened from tall buildings even though they may have been coming from a window, that snipers like getting on top of the building. He said ‘They can’t get on top of the building because they would have to go through the Capitol in order to get up to the top of the building. Don’t worry about that. That will not happen’. I asked him about whether or not he had identified the domestic terrorist groups that were coming. And he said that they have a permitting process, and that they don’t have to identify the group per se. Individuals could come in and they could get a permit just by giving their name and filling out the papers. I reminded him that the Proud Boys were in town. I also reminded him that I understood the Oath Keepers, that the white supremacists, and all these other groups, the KKK,
all of them were coming. And he said that ‘We have everything under control’ that ‘We are confident that we can handle this.’ He absolutely assured me that they had it all under control. And that they were not worried because they had planned it and it was going to be fine. He absolutely did.”
CONGRESSWOMAN WATERS:
“I kept him on the phone for one hour Joy! One hour asking him all of these questions and more. And I was a little bit uneasy about the fact that he did not seem to be worried about the domestic terrorists, and the way that the permitting process was being handled. But I thought now this is the Police Chief and he must know what he is doing! It seems that now he is telling another story, a different story.”
REID:
“He is certainly making a lot of excuses and there’s a lot of finger pointing like this way…
Stories and news reports out there that the 17th is being targeted as another day for trump forces to rally all over the country…the 19th is being named….the Inauguration…are you confident that after watching the Capitol get sieged, that the Capitol Police, the Secret Service, and other federal law enforcement are ready for the Inauguration. Do you think it will be secure?”
CONGRESSWOMAN WATERS:
“Well no I’m not comfortable based on what we’ve just experienced.
And we need to do a deep investigation about how this happened and who is complicit in all of this.
But I want to tell you, not only am I not confident about the times that you identify that possibly we could have real problems. I do believe that the president of the United States, Trump, has organized and worked in a way that even after he is not serving as the president, that he believes that he is going to have control over significant populations in this country, that he can use to basically rule and confront whatever entity he would like to confront that’s not agreeing with him. Turn them on to other groups, etc. I think that he intends to exercise power even past his presidency. And so whether you’re talking about particular dates where we may have trouble. And I also think that when they talk about 17th and they talk about the 20th, that some of our state legislative offices are also targeted. And they may have an operation that’s going all over the country at one time, where we’re being attacked. So I think we’re in a very dangerous time in the history of this country.”
REID:
“What that sounds like is an insurgency. And we’ve seen that in places like Iraq, and that is a frightening prospect, that that’s what we might be seeing here.”
BREAKING—Congressman Brad Schneider (IL-10) says he’s tested positive for #COVID19 as well, after being sheltered in the crowded protective room during the Capitol siege where many GOP unmasked.
BREAKING—AP is reporting that former Michigan Gov. Rick Snyder @onetoughnerd and others have been told they’re being charged in in the Flint water lead poisoning scandal.
DETROIT (AP) — Former Michigan Gov. Rick Snyder, his health director & other ex-officials have been told they’re being charged after a new investigation of the Flint water scandal, The Associated Press has learned. https://t.co/sxowz1gM60
We analyzed, minute by minute, the crucial two-hour period during which a Trump rally to stop the certification of the election results gave way to a mob that nearly came face to face with Congress. Here’s what we found: https://t.co/HSsHQLiEpppic.twitter.com/AC9HgwQqbO
The Senate must vote to end trump.
For the sake of all of our children, millions of children and their safety across the country, their futures:
McConnell…it is on you to protect our children, and their children.
“Senate Democratic Leader Chuck Schumer
is exploring whether the chamber can be called into an emergency session for a trial of President Donald Trump on an article of impeachment the House is set to approve this week.”
(Bloomberg)
@FBI is looking for more people involved in the January 6th event on Capitol Hill. “There are 160 case files and that is the tip of the iceberg” “More than 100 thousand digital media’s images” FBI contends their memory is long and their reach broad.
Acting U.S. Attorney Michael Sherwin and FBI Washington Field Office ADIC Steven D'Antuono providing an update now on charges related to the Capitol attack: https://t.co/YndIargbpX
This is just terrorism. This is arguing the case for supporting terrorism. They’ll try to make it sound like something else hoping the media falls for it but you’re watching the Republican Party come up with new ways to condone and plan terrorism https://t.co/tvLZPon2Zc
— Matt Negrin, HOST OF HARDBALL AT 7PM ON MSNBC (@MattNegrin) January 12, 2021
Joint Chiefs con't: "On January 20, 2021, in accordance with the Constitution, confirmed by the states and the courts, and certified by Congress, President-elect Biden will be inaugurated and will become our 46th Commander in Chief."
FBI Washington Field Office ADIC, Steven D’Antuono: "Even if you've left D.C., agents from our local field offices will be knocking on your door if we find out that you were part of the criminal activity at the Capitol." pic.twitter.com/OV8GmYZwI9
"The U.S. military will obey lawful orders from civilian leadership, support civil authorities to protect lives and property, ensure public safety in accordance with the law …" (2/5)
BREAKING: Former Michigan Gov. Rick Snyder and other ex-officials have been told they’ll be charged in the Flint water scandal, two people with knowledge of the planned prosecution tell AP. Lead-contaminated water devastated the majority Black city. https://t.co/qiYMKn8yqA
🚨ALERT: Right-wing group Election Integrity Project agrees to DISMISS lawsuit challenging the constitutionality of Nevada's voting rights bill. This was the group's SECOND failed attempt at undermining VBM. Trump and his allies remain 1-64 in court.https://t.co/7Pd7j6qLRa
Sheldon Whitehouse Is Not Screwing Around w/His Republican Colleagues Anymore. The Democratic senator called for Ted Cruz, Josh Hawley & Ron Johnson to be removed from any committees investigating the Capitol riot—& for them to be investigated themselves. https://t.co/uitchBeqzwpic.twitter.com/QfvirPdSTc
"We can't let the next administration even think about taking it down," Trump says about his border wall. Also makes rare direct acknowledgement of Biden's win, saying 25th Amendment "is of zero risk to me, but will come back to haunt Joe Biden and the Biden administration" pic.twitter.com/1DootBW2JQ
The President of the United States incited & then watched an attack on the US Capitol while awaiting the Vice President & Speaker of the House to appear on his @FoxNews live stream & be lynched.
6 Days later the head of @FBI & @TheJusticeDept were too busy to attend a presser.
U.S. Capitol Police just shared this picture with me. This man is wanted for questioning in connection with the murder of fallen Capitol Police Officer Brian Sicknick.
The Right has no principles beyond pursuit of power and wealth.
They’re not pro-life, they’re not for free markets, they’re not fiscally or socially conservative, they’re not pro-troops, and after their people murdered cops we know they’re not actually pro-law enforcement.
1933, FDR, Democrats have always at the National Level bailing out, protecting, & defending our Republic. There's a special place in hell for the likes of.@senatemajldr.@SenateGOP & their #RightWingMedia enablers. These people put their.@GOP over🇺🇸 https://t.co/9iWshV2N6O
A Chicago man is arrested for threatening to “kill any motherf—ing Democrat" at the inauguration, feds say.
Louis Capriotti said if lawmakers think Biden will enter the W.H. "on January 20th, they’re sadly f—ing mistaken,” court papers say.https://t.co/tnbxfRdQhv
A Chicago-area man was arrested today after threatening to kill Democrats at Joe Biden’s inauguration, the Department of Justice announcedhttps://t.co/O9zq3Pq1vj
‘They were not protesters, they were rioters tearing up the People’s House’ — Rev. Raphael Warnock condemned the Capitol attack in his powerful first sermon as senator-elect pic.twitter.com/fpvFhXYVOW
‘Our democracy has been grievously injured by this lying coward … and those who pursue this effort are supporting a coup.’ — @EWarren did not mince words pic.twitter.com/B3SwtlyOqB
Eight months after armed militias and anti-lockdown protesters breached Michigan's state Capitol, officials banned all open carry weapons from the statehouse. https://t.co/aSTDtqABOB
Have been dreaming of this day for MI.
This must become true for every other such Capitol in America.
…………………………..
MT. NB, NV, NH, NJ, NM, NY, NC, ND, OH, OK, OR, PA, RI, SC, SD, TN, TX, UT, VA, WA, WI, WV, WY
On this day in 1932, Hattie Caraway became the 1st woman elected to the US Senate, representing Arkansas. And now we are just 8 days away from our first female VP. We’ve come a long way but have much further to go. Let’s keep shattering those glass ceilings, ladies. #herstorypic.twitter.com/bQDnmh5q2y
Hattie Ophelia Wyatt Caraway (February 1, 1878 – December 21, 1950) was an American politician who became the first woman elected to serve a full term as a United States Senator.
Wikipedia
Donald Trump’s campaign to undermine our democratic system is the single most irresponsible act ever committed by a United States President in our history. He must be held accountable – either through his resignation, the 25th Amendment, or impeachment. My full statement: pic.twitter.com/peaZiAIs2j
Breaking NYT: Mitch McConnell has told associates he believes Trump committed impeachable offenses and that he is pleased that Democrats are moving to impeach him, believing that it will make it easier to purge him from the GOP.https://t.co/kqagCZzx6f
I hope Biden appoints a new FBI director in a clean break from the thug’s admin. No more Obama era let’s appoint some rethugs bipartisanship crap. I blame mueller for the traitorous thug’s rise to the power.
New: Defending Democracy Together releases a statement of more than 100 senior Republicans calling for Trump’s removal. "We believe President Trump remaining in office is a threat to the United States. He must be removed from office immediately.”https://t.co/TXBTEtMJnA
A federal judge has upheld the validity of undated mail ballots cast in Allegheny County, ruling in favor of a Democratic candidate for Pennsylvania Senate whose win was previously certified by the state.
CNN is reporting that Mitch McConnell has no intention whatsoever of speaking to Trump again at any time in the foreseeable future, and *also* that he is in touch with president-elect Joe Biden about how to structure the coming impeachment trial.
"Speaker Nancy Pelosi announced that there will be fines levied against members who don't wear masks on the floor. They will be fined $500 for first offense and $2,500 for second." https://t.co/EZ7kogCKaN
The military called the Jan 6 attack “sedition and insurrection.” The 14th Amendment bars from serving in Congress people who “engaged in insurrection.”
Seems to me like a big step towards barring/expelling a number of sitting members and senators. pic.twitter.com/vlxPAg1Hmg
🚨NEW: A Pennsylvania federal judge appointed by Trump issued a decision today in a case involving the state legislature that squarely rejects the GOP lie that the PA Supreme Court "changed the rules" in the election. pic.twitter.com/jvq5Ibz4At
Getting America vaccinated will be one of the greatest operational challenges we’ve ever faced, but my administration will spare no effort to get it done.
We’re going to ensure the vaccine is distributed quickly, equitably, and free of charge to every American.
One of the defining features of this era has been the most fragile of snowflakes, the brittlest of spirits, masquerading as confrontational tough guys. https://t.co/eEBbycmrw9
The Obama Diary 
Good Morning Family!
Thank you Nerdy!
I love that Tona Boyd is joining the Biden Admin! Yay America!
Squeeeee 🥰💃🏾🙋🏾♀️😘
LOL!!!! This is everything!
😂 So cute!!
Bless the babe! Go on, Chile!💃💞
Long thread. 😳
Trump is a loser in every way. Worst president ever.
“Trump’s New Criminal Problem”
“The president could face charges for inciting the Capitol riot—and maybe even for inciting the murder
of a Capitol Police Officer”
by Andrew McCabe, fmr deputy director of the the FBI, David Williams, fmr IG for five federal agencies.
(https://www.politico.com/news/magazine/2021/01/11/trumps-new-criminal-problem-457298)
MofUncle does NOT get off on mental illness plea… nfw.
Like yesterday!
All senators? Do they trust Hawley and Cruz to not notify terrorists of the briefing?
My thoughts too.
Congresswoman Ayanna Pressley:
‘Trump is a threat to the American people, clear and present’
Congresswoman Ayanna Pressley joins the Reidout to talk about the Capitol Hill insurrection and the question of impeachment: “This was an attack led and coordinated by white supremacists. It was a violent mob, an attempted coup, to disrupt the peaceful transfer of power …”
Hear: (https://www.stitcher.com/show/the-reidout-with-joy-reid/episode/rep-ayanna-pressley-trump-is-a-threat-to-the-american-people-clear-and-present-80755803)
Good West Coast morning sista Nerdy & TOD family.
It’s good news that Ms. Tona Boyd will be joining forces to get in some serious “Good Trouble”. Congratulations!
Modi Mess
https://www.cnbc.com/2021/01/12/india-new-farm-laws-temporarily-halted-by-supreme-court.html
India’s Supreme Court temporarily paused the implementation of new agricultural laws that have led to widespread protests from farmers.
For more than a month, tens of thousands of farmers have camped on the outskirts of New Delhi, the capital, to protest against reform measures that they say benefit large private buyers and harm growers.
Glen Kirschner:
“Goodness knows, it’s an affidavit that would need a table of contents, footnootes, and an appendix,
with all the crime Donald Trump has committed…
The Judge would ask (the agent) well is there any Supreme Court precedent, case law, that says you may not indict a sitting criminal president?
No your Honor.
Is there any statute, any law on the books, that says you can’t indict a sitting criminal president?
No your Honor.
And then in my opinion, the Judge would sign a warrant authorizing the arrest of a sitting criminal president who launched an attack on a largely unprotected body of government.
This was the executive branching launching an attack against the legislative branch,
and depriving the legislative branch of the law enforcement resources necessary to repel the attack.
And if that’s not worthy of any arrest warrant right here, right now, I don’t know what is.”
“Why Arrest Warrants Should Issue for Trump, Don Jr., Rudy & Others for the Jan. 6 US Capitol Riot”
(https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=f8OW6VJCwno&list=UUrWmonkmTk5NbvmVnc7f70w)
A deep pocket Republican has died
https://www.cnn.com/2021/01/12/business/sheldon-adelson-death/index.html
Sheldon Adelson, the chairman and CEO of Las Vegas Sands and a major donor to Republican politicians, died late Monday following complications related to his cancer treatment, his company said. He was 87. Adelson took a leave of absence from Sands last week to resume treatment for non-Hodgkin’s lymphom a, which his aides first disclosed in late February 2019.
He rose from a hardscrabble childhood in Boston to become one of the world’s richest men as founder and CEO of Las Vegas Sands Corp. (LVS) He was Sands’ first employee, which has since grown to 50,000 employees. Adelson spent his fortune — pegged at $35 billion by Forbes — to become an influential behind-the-scenes-player in Washington, working to shape US policy toward Israel, help guide Republican Party strategy and lobby against threats posed to his business interests.
No comment.
Yo’ y’all, all the good news we need so
much these days! Brava, Tona Boyd, you will make such a difference for the good of all!
🕊🙏🏼🕯💙🕯🙏🏼🕊
Terry Bouton,
Historian of the American Revolution. Author of Taming Democracy:
“The People,” The Founders, and the Troubled Ending of the American Revolution
“My wife and I attended the “Stop the Steal” Trump Insurrection on Wednesday (as observers, NOT participants) and there are FIVE big take-aways from what we witnessed and heard outside the Capitol that I’d like to share. (We took all the pictures below). 1/22
1) This insurrection wasn’t just redneck white supremacists and QAnon kooks. The people participating in, espousing, or cheering the violence cut across the different factions of the Republican Party and those factions were working in unison. 2/22
Preppy looking “country club Republicans,” well-dressed social conservatives, and white Evangelicals in Jesus caps were standing shoulder to shoulder with QAnon cultists, Second Amendment cosplay commandos, and doughy, hardcore white nationalists. 3/22
We eavesdropped on conversations for hours and no one expressed the slightest concern about the large number of white supremacists and para-military spewing violent rhetoric. Even the man in the “Camp Auschwitz” sweatshirt wasn’t beyond the pale. They were all “patriots.” 4/22
I’m sure there were Republicans there who were horrified by what was happening. But the most common emotions we witnessed by nearly everyone were jubilation at the take over and anger at Democrats, Mike Pence, non-Trump supporting Republicans, and the Capitol Police. 5/22
2) There is no doubt the Capitol was left purposefully understaffed as far as law enforcement and there was no federal effort to provide support even as things turned very dark. This contrasts sharply with all of other major protests we have attended. 6/22
A lot has been made of the contrast to the overwhelming police presence at Black Lives Matters protests in the fall, and this is certainly true. But there was also A LOT more federal law enforcement presence at every single previous protest we have attended in DC. 7/22
Most of these protests involved tens of thousands of mostly white, middle-aged people (meaning race wasn’t the only reason for the disparate police presence). Even the March for Science had far more police for a non-partisan event featuring “Bill Nye the Science Guy.” 8/22
By contrast, there was a tiny federal police presence at “Stop the Steal” despite weeks of promises of violence spread on social media by well-known far-right radicals, many of whom had long histories of inciting violence. 9/22
When we arrived, the only forces present were the clearly overwhelmed Capitol Police. The only reinforcements that arrived were other Capitol Police. There were a handful of DC Metro police, but they had accompanied the ambulances to take away the injured. 10/22
The only other federal law enforcement presence was an FBI Swat team of about eight officers who arrived to provide cover for the Capitol Fire and EMTs there to extract Ashli Babbitt, the QAnon radical who was shot inside the Capitol Building. 11/22
Once the FBI team got Babbitt out, they left and no other federal officers arrived in the more than two hours that followed. The small Capitol Police force was left to deal with the chaos by themselves. 12/22
(much more…..)
And it wasn’t just the white nationalists, Second Amendment radicals, and QAnon boneheads.
I can’t adequately describe
the blood lust we heard everywhere
as we walked over the Capitol grounds, even from mild-mannered looking people.”
20/22
So much for Trump and his Maga BS, people didn’t get what they wanted from him, now they are blaming everyone else except Trump and themselves. Their only solution is to make others pay for it, kill them, they don’t care, same mind set as psycho Trump.
Yes, he must be removed. He needs to be in prison as well.
“FBI warns of armed protests ahead of inauguration”
(https://www.reuters.com/article/us-usa-election-inauguration/fbi-warns-of-armed-protests-ahead-of-inauguration-idUSKBN29G0Q5)
Speaker Pelosi:
“Statement on House Republicans Blocking Unanimous Consent Request”
“On Wednesday, the President incited a deadly insurrection against America that targeted the very heart of our Democracy. The President represents an imminent threat to our Constitution, our Country and the American people, and he must be removed from office immediately.
“Today, in pro forma session, Leader Hoyer introduced a Unanimous Consent request to take up legislation by Congressman Jamie Raskin calling on the Vice President to mobilize the Cabinet to activate the 25th Amendment to remove the President.
“The House Republicans rejected this legislation to protect America, enabling the President’s unhinged, unstable and deranged acts of sedition to continue. Their complicity endangers America, erodes our Democracy, and it must end.” (more)
(speaker.gov)
Good Afternoon, TODbots.😍🤗😍
Congrats, Dudette on your Furst🎉🎊🥂🥁
Thank you, Nerdy Wonka.😍🤗😍
End all gun carry at the Capitols.
A few observations …
Be sure to listen to …..
Bottom line.
If we had an effective Law Enforcement Agency, Trump and others would already be in custody awaiting trial.
That they are not will only further embolden the #Trumpian cult to be vastly more violent in the days ahead.
https://www.theatlantic.com/ideas/archive/2021/01/these-old-evils-require-old-remedies/617628/
👏🏿 👏🏿 👏🏿 Europeans aren’t playing!!
And he tried to pretend that State cancelled all trips so to do “smooth transition”, & some BS along those lines. Alrighty then. In that case, I woke up this morning & none of them had ever existed! 😏😂😷
Congresswoman Maxine Waters, Chair of the House Financial Services Committee,
speaking to Joy Reid:
REID:
“Congresswoman, you questioned the Capitol Police Chief, then Police Chief Sund…I read reports that you said he assured that everything was under control. What did he tell you at the time and what do you make of what’s happening now, in terms of their lack of response, not even a press Conference since?”
CONGRESSWOMAN WATERS:
“It is absolutely true that I brought the question up about security in the Caucus,
and Zoe Lofgren who is Head of our Administrative Committee had him call me. So the Chief of Police called me and I was very specific in what I talked to him about. The first thing I said to him was, are you going to make sure that these so-called protestors do not occupy the Plaza -that’s around the Capitol building.
He said ‘Don’t worry about that, that will be barricaded. Absolutely they will not get on the Plaza’. And then I asked him what about the grassy area, what if you have opposing protestors who will want to stop them or just confront them? ‘Don’t worry about that” he said. ‘We’re going to have officers on the grassy area, and they will make sure that there is no confrontation’. And then I asked him about whether or not he had the cooperation of the Metropolitan Police. He said ‘Absolutely. We’re working with them. We have a great relationship’. And then I asked him whether or not they were going to have police officers on top of the buildings, because I told him I was thinking about the assassinations of Martin Luther King and John Kennedy, and how it happened from tall buildings even though they may have been coming from a window, that snipers like getting on top of the building. He said ‘They can’t get on top of the building because they would have to go through the Capitol in order to get up to the top of the building. Don’t worry about that. That will not happen’. I asked him about whether or not he had identified the domestic terrorist groups that were coming. And he said that they have a permitting process, and that they don’t have to identify the group per se. Individuals could come in and they could get a permit just by giving their name and filling out the papers. I reminded him that the Proud Boys were in town. I also reminded him that I understood the Oath Keepers, that the white supremacists, and all these other groups, the KKK,
all of them were coming. And he said that ‘We have everything under control’ that ‘We are confident that we can handle this.’ He absolutely assured me that they had it all under control. And that they were not worried because they had planned it and it was going to be fine. He absolutely did.”
CONGRESSWOMAN WATERS:
“I kept him on the phone for one hour Joy! One hour asking him all of these questions and more. And I was a little bit uneasy about the fact that he did not seem to be worried about the domestic terrorists, and the way that the permitting process was being handled. But I thought now this is the Police Chief and he must know what he is doing! It seems that now he is telling another story, a different story.”
REID:
“He is certainly making a lot of excuses and there’s a lot of finger pointing like this way…
Stories and news reports out there that the 17th is being targeted as another day for trump forces to rally all over the country…the 19th is being named….the Inauguration…are you confident that after watching the Capitol get sieged, that the Capitol Police, the Secret Service, and other federal law enforcement are ready for the Inauguration. Do you think it will be secure?”
CONGRESSWOMAN WATERS:
“Well no I’m not comfortable based on what we’ve just experienced.
And we need to do a deep investigation about how this happened and who is complicit in all of this.
But I want to tell you, not only am I not confident about the times that you identify that possibly we could have real problems. I do believe that the president of the United States, Trump, has organized and worked in a way that even after he is not serving as the president, that he believes that he is going to have control over significant populations in this country, that he can use to basically rule and confront whatever entity he would like to confront that’s not agreeing with him. Turn them on to other groups, etc. I think that he intends to exercise power even past his presidency. And so whether you’re talking about particular dates where we may have trouble. And I also think that when they talk about 17th and they talk about the 20th, that some of our state legislative offices are also targeted. And they may have an operation that’s going all over the country at one time, where we’re being attacked. So I think we’re in a very dangerous time in the history of this country.”
REID:
“What that sounds like is an insurgency. And we’ve seen that in places like Iraq, and that is a frightening prospect, that that’s what we might be seeing here.”
The Senate must vote to end trump.
For the sake of all of our children, millions of children and their safety across the country, their futures:
McConnell…it is on you to protect our children, and their children.
“Senate Democratic Leader Chuck Schumer
is exploring whether the chamber can be called into an emergency session for a trial of President Donald Trump on an article of impeachment the House is set to approve this week.”
(Bloomberg)
Justice for Flint is on the way.
Thread
NZ’s Jacinda brought a nationwide gun ban within a week of mass shooting. That’s sanity.
Have been dreaming of this day for MI.
This must become true for every other such Capitol in America.
…………………………..
MT. NB, NV, NH, NJ, NM, NY, NC, ND, OH, OK, OR, PA, RI, SC, SD, TN, TX, UT, VA, WA, WI, WV, WY
Hattie Ophelia Wyatt Caraway (February 1, 1878 – December 21, 1950) was an American politician who became the first woman elected to serve a full term as a United States Senator.
Wikipedia
Now 2 GOP Reps will vote for Impeachment tommorrow…Liz Cheney has announced.
Talk is cheap, mitch. Bring it to the floor and bring a minimum 16 of your minions with you to impeach.
AMEN!!
Fucking coward.
I hope Biden appoints a new FBI director in a clean break from the thug’s admin. No more Obama era let’s appoint some rethugs bipartisanship crap. I blame mueller for the traitorous thug’s rise to the power.
Good. Smash that cockroach to the ground.
Any of them currently serving in Congress?
Covid: 2020 saw most excess deaths since World War Two
https://www.bbc.com/news/uk-55631693
It has been a truly annus horribilis.
LOL!
what if the thugs refuse to pay?
LOL.
Right, so they just walk in, infect some people, and pay a fine (or don’t pay). Big whoop! 🙄
fucking mancin again.
fucking schumer better get his fucking caucus in line on the most crucial vote the senate will ever vote for.
Ugh!
with assholes like manchin?
New post.
https://obamadiary.wordpress.com/2021/01/12/no-uniting-with-terrorists/