Meeting in Salt Lake City on Friday, the Republican National Committee (RNC) passed a resolution declaring that the actions of the Insurrection of January 6, 2021, including the violent attempt to overthrow the elected government of the United States and the defilement of the Capitol building, were “legitimate political discourse.” The resolution (co-authored by Chairwoman Ronna McDaniel) was passed by voice vote, without debate, so individual Republican leaders could avoid personal (and legal) responsibility for this outrage against two centuries of American democratic values. They’re not just fascists, they’re weasels.
More:
“Republican party calls January 6 attack ‘legitimate political discourse,’” Martin Pengelly, The Guardian
“GOP leaders approve resolution that says Jan. 6 was ‘legitimate political discourse,’” Bryan Schott, Salt Lake City Tribune
“G.O.P. Declares Jan. 6 Attack ‘Legitimate Political Discourse,’” Jonathan Weisman and Reid J. Epstein, New York Times
Updates:
“Murkowski criticizes RNC calling Jan. 6 attack ‘legitimate political discourse,'” Caroline Vakil,The Hill
“‘Legitimate Political Discourse’ Is Now an Official Republican Party Description of the Jan. 6 Attack on the Capitol,” Ryan Bort, Rolling Stone
Many Republican leaders — including House Minority Leader Kevin McCarthy (R-CA), Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-KY), Sen. Ted Cruz (R-TX), Sen. Lindsey Graham (R-SC) and Rep. Mike Gallagher (R-WI 8 ) — were horrified by the Capitol attack of last January 6th, and rightly blamed Donald Trump for instigating it. Somehow, they forgot.
America’a red-hatted MAGAheads will be celebrating January 6th, but not as the Feast of the Epiphany (which features swarthy, undocumented Magi immigrants) or as a national day of prayer and mourning for the near-death of American democracy last year. The right-wing paranoid and election-denying alt-right, GOP coup plotters, Proud Boys, QAnon, Boogaloo Bois, Oath Keepers, Trump loyalists, white nationalists and Infowars fanatics and their ilk will commemorate their deadly attack on the U.S. Capitol last year, when they attempted to overturn the presidential election, as directed by the election’s clear loser.
“A Roundup of January 6 Anniversary Commemorations in DC,” Damare Baker, Washingtonian
“Right-wing and liberal vigils planned in D.C. on anniversary of Capitol riot,” Ellie Silverman, Washington Post
“At time of Capitol prayer service Jan. 6, Trump will deliver remarks doubling down on the ‘Big Lie,’” David Siders, Politico
“Bannon, Trump to counterprogram Dems for Jan. 6 anniversary,” Jonathan Swan, Axios
Updates:
“Ingraham, Graham talked Trump out of Jan. 6 press conference,” Axios
“Trump cancels Jan. 6 news conference at Mar-a-Lago, blames news media and House committee investigating attack on Capitol,” Felicia Sonmez and Josh Dawsey, Washington Post
Logan Jaffe of ProPublica and Robert Evans of Bellingcat describe the warning signs they observed weeks, months, and even years before a mob of violent Trump supporters broke into the Capitol. A Vox video by Liz Scheltens.
Twitter also disabled 70,000 QAnon-linked accounts used to propagate the conspiracy theories behind the MAGA Capitol insurrection. People those conspirators followed were unhappy. (more…)
“MAGA Mob Kills Capitol Police Officer Brian Sicknick, Iraq War Veteran Defending Congress From Trump Rioters,” Pilar Melendez, Ana Lucia Murillo, Will Lennon, and Matt Taylor, BuzzFeed News
“Capitol Police Officer Dies From Injuries in Pro-Trump Rampage,” Marc Santora, Megan Specia and Mike Baker, New York Times
“Capitol Police officer’s death investigated as homicide; Trump’s legal exposure questioned,” Kristine Phillips and Kevin Johnson, USA Today
“Bleeding Capitol cop screams for help as he is crushed against a metal door by MAGA mob that stormed police lines and bludgeoned officers with stolen shields,” Snejana Farberov, Daily Mail
“The Mob at the Capitol Proves That Blue Lives Have Never Mattered to Trump Supporters,” Nathalie Baptiste, Mother Jones
“Rioters breached the Capitol as they waved pro-police flags. Police support on the right may be eroding, experts warn.” Marissa J. Lang and Peter Jamison, Washington Post
Updates:
“‘They Got a Officer!’: How a Mob Dragged and Beat Police at the Capitol,” Evan Hill, Arielle Ray and Dahlia Kozlowsky, New York Times
“FBI, NYPD told Capitol Police about possibility of violence before riot, senior officials say,” Ken Dilanian, Tom Winter, Jonathan Dienst and Andrew Blankstein, NBC News
“Video shows Capitol mob dragging police officer down stairs. One rioter beat the officer with a pole flying the U.S. flag.” Katie Shepherd, Washington Post
“New Video Shows Officer Beaten by Trump Insurrectionists,” TMZ
“Guns, Brass Knuckles, Homemade Napalm: Read Some of the Documents From Arrests After the Capitol Riot,” Andrew Beaujon, Washingtonian
“MAGA Mob Assaulted at Least 139 Cops at Capitol: Prosecutors,” Jamie Ross, Daily Beast
Related:
“Decoding the flags and banners seen at the Capitol Hill insurrection,” By Anne Quito and Amanda Shendruk, Quartz
“Decoding the Far-Right Symbols at the Capitol Riot,” Matthew Rosenberg and Ainara Tiefenthäler, New York Times
Terrorist Trump had allies, and some of them were already inside the Capitol, blocking the purely ceremonial recognition of the presidential election results, a rite required by the Constitution, which usually takes two hours. The falsehood-spewing, Trump-abetting obstructionists seeking to overturn the will of the electorate, all Republican members of the Senate and House, helped incite the MAGA mobs. Their names can be found here. Chief among them were Senators Josh Hawley and Ted Cruz, who used their unconstitutional, unconscionable ploy to send out fundraising emails at the very time mobs were vandalizing the Capitol building.
While some of these congressional coup plotters have already faced loss of political donors and publishing contracts, Congress itself needs to act. Tepid measures like censure seem inadequate; perhaps expulsion under Article I, Section 5, clause 2 of the Constitution, expulsion from the Senate and House, should be invoked, since precedents have concerned disloyalty to the United States and its Constitution.
In a statement shared online, the FBI asks the public to help identify the domestic terrorists who broke into the U.S. Capitol on Wednesday:
“The FBI is seeking information that will assist in identifying individuals who are actively instigating violence in Washington, D.C. The FBI is accepting tips and digital media depicting rioting and violence in the U.S. Capitol Building and surrounding area in Washington, D.C., on January 6, 2021.”
Since most of the rioters wore no facemasks, it shouldn’t be hard to find other insurrectionists. On Thursday morning, former Obama speechwriter Cody Keenan suggested that questing G-Men should look in the breakfast bar of the Hyatt Regency, two blocks from FBI headquarters. Reporters had been interviewing the seditionists in the Hyatt lobby for days.
Updates:
“US Capitol Building Riot: Justice Dept. Pursues at Least 150 Suspects,” Katie Benner and Adam Goldman, New York Times
“Who were they? Records reveal Trump fans who stormed Capitol,” Michael Biesecker,
Michael Kunzelman, Gillian Flaccus, and Jim Mustian, Associated Press
“‘Trump said I could’: One possible legal defense for accused rioters,” Teri Kanefield and Mark Reichel, Washington Post
More:
“West Virginia delegate records himself storming U.S. Capitol,” Cuneyt Dil, Associated Press
“W.Va. delegate, just sworn in, was among the mob storming U.S. Capitol,” Brad McElhinny, W.Va. MetroNews
“Remove House of Delegates Member Derrick Evans for Terrorism,” Change.org petition
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