Trump lashes out at Gov. Doug Ducey following certification

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Josh Hawley’s Mentor Calls Him ‘The Worst Mistake He’s Ever Made In His Life’: Former Sen. Jack Danforth told a local newspaper Hawley’s attempts to overturn the election were “dangerous.”
by Kevin Robillard
HuffPost
01/07/2021 05:08 pm ET Updated Jan 07, 2021

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The political mentor of Sen. Josh Hawley (Mo.) told a local newspaper on Thursday that backing the freshman Republican’s bids for office was “the worst mistake I ever made in my life,” calling Hawley’s attempts to undermine confidence in the election of President-elect Joe Biden “dangerous.”

Jack Danforth, a former senator and U.S. Ambassador to the United Nations who is considered the dean of Missouri Republican politics, played a key role in elevating Hawley ahead of the latter man’s race against Democratic Sen. Claire McCaskill in 2018.

“Supporting Josh and trying so hard to get him elected to the Senate was the worst mistake I ever made in my life,” Danforth told St. Louis Post-Dispatch columnist Tony Messenger. “Yesterday was the physical culmination of the long attempt (by Hawley and others) to foment a lack of public confidence in our democratic system. It is very dangerous to America to continue pushing this idea that government doesn’t work and that voting was fraudulent.”

Danforth’s comments starkly display the gap between many retired Republican officials and a new generation of Republicans who grew of political age during the Trump era and are far more willing to indulge constituents who believe in conspiracy theories.

Danforth helped Hawley, a University of Missouri law professor who had just become the state’s attorney general, clear the field of major competition during the Republican primary ahead of his successful bid against McCaskill.

Other Republicans in the Senate, including Utah Sen. Mitt Romney, have criticized Hawley’s objections to counting electoral votes cast for Biden, arguing the effort was doomed from the start, encouraged Wednesday’s violence and set a dangerous precedent.

Danforth, who was considered a moderate during his time in the Senate, agreed.

“This guy is doing real harm,” he said. “What he’s doing to his party is one thing. What he’s doing to the country is much worse.”

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Some among America's military allies believe Trump deliberately attempted a coup and may have had help from federal law-enforcement officials
by Mitch Prothero
Business Insider
Jan 7, 2021, 6:58 AM

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* Multiple European security officials told Insider that President Donald Trump appeared to have tacit support among US federal agencies responsible for securing the Capitol complex in Wednesday's coup attempt.

* Insider is reporting this information because it illustrates the serious repercussions of Wednesday's events: Even if they are mistaken, some among America's international military allies are now willing to give credence to the idea that Trump deliberately tried to violently overturn an election and had help from some federal law-enforcement agents.

*"We train alongside the US federal law enforcement to handle these very matters, and it's obvious that large parts of any successful plan were just ignored," one source told us.

The supporters of President Donald Trump who stormed the Capitol on Wednesday to stop the ratification of President-elect Joe Biden's election victory were attempting a violent coup that multiple European security officials said appeared to have at least tacit support from aspects of the US federal agencies responsible for securing the Capitol complex.

Insider spoke with three officials on Thursday morning: a French police official responsible for public security in a key section of central Paris, and two intelligence officials from NATO countries who directly work in counterterrorism and counterintelligence operations involving the US, terrorism, and Russia.

They said the circumstantial evidence available pointed to what would be openly called a coup attempt in any other nation. None were willing to speak on the record because of the dire nature of the subject.

While they did not furnish evidence that federal agency officials facilitated the chaos, Insider is reporting this information because it illustrates the scale and seriousness of Wednesday's events: America's international military and security allies are now willing to give serious credence to the idea that Trump deliberately tried to violently overturn an election and that some federal law-enforcement agents — by omission or otherwise — facilitated the attempt.

'Today I am briefing my government that we believe with a reasonable level of certainty that Donald Trump attempted a coup'

One NATO source set the stage, using terms more commonly used to describe unrest in developing countries.

"The defeated president gives a speech to a group of supporters where he tells them he was robbed of the election, denounces his own administration's members and party as traitors, and tells his supporters to storm the building where the voting is being held," the NATO intelligence official said.

"The supporters, many dressed in military attire and waving revolutionary-style flags, then storm the building where the federal law-enforcement agencies controlled by the current president do not establish a security cordon, and the protesters quickly overwhelm the last line of police.

"The president then makes a public statement to the supporters attacking the Capitol that he loves them but doesn't really tell them to stop," the official said. "Today I am briefing my government that we believe with a reasonable level of certainty that Donald Trump attempted a coup that failed when the system did not buckle.

"I can't believe this happened."

A law-enforcement official who trains with US forces believes someone interfered with the proper deployment of officers around Congress

The French police official said they believed that an investigation would find that someone interfered with the deployment of additional federal law-enforcement officials on the perimeter of the Capitol complex; the official has direct knowledge of the proper procedures for security of the facility.

The security of Congress is entrusted to the US Capitol Police, a federal agency that answers to Congress.

It is routine for the Capitol Police to coordinate with the federal Secret Service and the Park Police and local police in Washington, DC, before large demonstrations. The National Guard, commanded by the Department of Defense, is often on standby too.

On Wednesday, however, that coordination was late or absent.

'It's obvious that large parts of any successful plan were just ignored'

"You cannot tell me I don't know what they should have done. I can fly to Washington tomorrow and do that job, just as any police official in Washington can fly to Paris and do mine," the official said. The official directs public security in a central Paris police district filled with government buildings and tourist sites.

"These are not subtle principles" for managing demonstrations, "and they transfer to every situation," the official said. "This is why we train alongside the US federal law enforcement to handle these very matters, and it's obvious that large parts of any successful plan were just ignored."

The National Guard, which was deployed heavily to quell the Black Lives Matter protests in 2020, did not show up to assist the police until two hours after the action started on Wednesday, according to The Associated Press.

Video shows police doing nothing as rioters access the building

One video appeared to show some police officers opening a barrier to allow a group of protesters to get closer to the Capitol dome. Another video showed a police officer allowing a rioter to take a selfie with him inside the Capitol while protesters milled around the building unchecked.

Kim Dine, who was the chief of the Capitol Police from 2012 to 2016, told The Washington Post that he was surprised that the Capitol Police allowed demonstrators on the steps of the Capitol. He said he was also mystified that few rioters were arrested on the spot.

Larry Schaefer, who worked for the Capitol Police for more than 30 years, told ProPublica something similar: "We have a planned, known demonstration that has a propensity for violence in the past and threats to carry weapons — why would you not prepare yourself as we have done in the past?"

The Capitol Police did not immediately respond to Insider's request for comment.

Systematic failures

The French police official detailed multiple lapses they believe were systematic:

1. Large crowds of protesters needed to be managed far earlier by the police, who instead controlled a scene at the first demonstration Trump addressed, then ignored the crowd as it streamed toward the Capitol.

2. "It should have been surrounded, managed, and directed immediately, and that pressure never released."

3. Because the crowd was not managed and directed, the official said, the protesters were able to congregate unimpeded around the Capitol, where the next major failure took place.

4. "It is unthinkable there was not a strong police cordon on the outskirts of the complex. Fences and barricades are useless without strong police enforcement. This is when you start making arrests, targeting key people that appear violent, anyone who attacks an officer, anyone who breaches the barricade. You have to show that crossing the line will fail and end in arrest."

5. "I cannot believe the failure to establish a proper cordon was a mistake. These are very skilled police officials, but they are federal, and that means they ultimately report to the president. This needs to be investigated."

6. "When the crowd reached the steps of the building, the situation was over. The police are there to protect the building from terrorist attacks and crime, not a battalion of infantry. That had to be managed from hundreds of meters away unless the police were willing to completely open fire, and I can respect why they were not."

'Thank God it didn't work, because I can't imagine how hard it would be to sanction the US financial system'

The third official, who works in counterintelligence for a NATO member, agreed that the situation could only be seen as a coup attempt, no matter how poorly considered and likely to fail, and said its implications might be too huge to immediately fathom.

"Thank God it didn't work, because I can't imagine how hard it would be to sanction the US financial system," the official said. By sanctions, he means the imposition of the diplomatic, military, and trade blockages that democratic nations usually reserve for dictatorships.

"The broader damage around the world will be extensive in terms of reputation, and that's why Putin doesn't mind at all that Trump lost. He's got to be happy to take his chips and count his winnings, which from the Trump era will be a shockingly quick decline in American prestige and moral high ground.

"Every moment the Americans spend on their own self-inflicted chaos helps China, it helps Putin, and, to a lesser extent, it helps the mini-dictators like [Turkish President Recep Tayyip] Erdogan and [Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor] Orban, who breathe cynicism about politics, human rights, and democracy as their air," the official said. "They won't miss Trump; they'll be glad to see his drama leave so they can enjoy the poisoned political climate."

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Marjorie Taylor Greene indicated support for executing prominent Democrats in 2018 and 2019 before running for Congress
by Em Steck and Andrew Kaczynski
CNN
Updated 11:31 PM ET, Tue January 26, 2021

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(CNN) Republican Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene repeatedly indicated support for executing prominent Democratic politicians in 2018 and 2019 before being elected to Congress, a CNN KFile review of hundreds of posts and comments from Greene's Facebook page shows.

Greene, who represents Georgia's 14th Congressional District, frequently posted far-right extremist and debunked conspiracy theories on her page, including the baseless QAnon conspiracy which casts former President Donald Trump in an imagined battle against a sinister cabal of Democrats and celebrities who abuse children.

In one post, from January 2019, Greene liked a comment that said "a bullet to the head would be quicker" to remove House Speaker Nancy Pelosi. In other posts, Greene liked comments about executing FBI agents who, in her eyes, were part of the "deep state" working against Trump.



In one Facebook post from April 2018, Greene wrote conspiratorially about the Iran Deal, one of former President Barack Obama's signature foreign policy achievements. A commenter asked Greene, "Now do we get to hang them ?? Meaning H & O ???," referring to Obama and Hillary Clinton.

Greene replied, "Stage is being set. Players are being put in place. We must be patient. This must be done perfectly or liberal judges would let them off."

After CNN reached out to Greene, her personal Twitter account posted a statement in which she did not deny that she liked posts and replied to comments but claimed that many people have run her Facebook page.

"Over the years, I've had teams of people manage my pages. Many posts have been liked. Many posts have been shared. Some did not represent my views. Especially the ones that CNN is about to spread across the internet," she wrote.

Greene did not specify whether she or a member of her team were behind the posts reviewed by CNN's KFile.

CNN reached out to Pelosi's office for comment multiple times but did not receive a response.

Though her tenure in Congress has only lasted a few weeks, Greene is already facing calls to leave the House for her role in fanning the flames of the Capitol insurrection earlier this month after she objected to the election certification process and falsely insisted that Trump would remain president.

After Democratic Rep. Jimmy Gomez called on Greene to be expelled from the House for her role in the insurrection, Greene condemned the violence at the Capitol and falsely accused "Antifa/BLM terrorism" and Democratic politicians of stoking the insurrection.

"I fully condemn ALL violence. The Antifa/BLM terrorism funded on ActBlue rests with Democrat accomplices like @CoriBush @Ilhan @KamalaHarris @AOC @timkaine & many more... Those who stoke insurrection & spread conspiracies have blood on their hands. They must be expelled," she tweeted.

Last week Greene faced calls to resign from the survivors of the Parkland shooting survivors after Media Matters reported she agreed with comments calling the 2018 shooting a "false flag" operation, which refers to acts that are designed by perpetrators to be made to look like they were carried out by other individuals or groups.

CNN's KFile found additional comments from Greene where she called David Hogg, a survivor and activist, "#littleHitler" and spread a conspiracy that he was a "bought and paid little pawn" and actor.

Before she ran for Congress in 2020, Greene created a White House petition in January 2019 to impeach the House speaker for "crimes of treason," citing Pelosi's support of so-called sanctuary policies that "are serving illegals and not United States citizens" and because Pelosi did not support Trump's border wall.

In one speech, promoting the petition, Greene suggested Pelosi could be executed for treason.

"She's a traitor to our country, she's guilty of treason," Greene says in the video, which she posted on Facebook at the time. "She took an oath to protect American citizens and uphold our laws. And she gives aid and comfort to our enemies who illegally invade our land. That's what treason is. And by our law representatives and senators can be kicked out and no longer serve in our government. And it's, uh, it's a crime punishable by death is what treason is. Nancy Pelosi is guilty of treason."

In another Facebook Live broadcast from inside Pelosi's office on February 22, 2019, Greene suggested the House speaker will "suffer death or she'll be in prison" for her "treason." Notably, Greene never mentions a trial. In another broadcast from later that day, she suggested California Rep. Maxine Waters was "just as guilty of treason as Nancy Pelosi."

In the comments of her Facebook posts, often promoting the petition, Greene liked a comment that said "through removal or death, doesn't matter, as long as she goes," referring to Pelosi, and another that encouraged Greene to "beat Pelosi's ass."

The petition for Pelosi's impeachment and removal for treason amassed over 420,000 signatures as of January 2021.

On social media, Greene portrays herself as an opponent to political violence and casts Democrats as the real instigators of political violence, either real or imaginary, who get away with threatening calls for violence.

"Do any of you remember a day when talking about assassinating the President resulted in getting arrested? As in arrested in real life, not FB [Facebook] jail. When was that? Pre-2016 I think, right??? But if you are a conservative that's a different story!" wrote Greene in 2019.

While Greene notes in Facebook posts that she disavows and denounces violence, within the comment sections of Greene's Facebook page, commenters frequently cheer for politicians to be executed by hanging or firing squad.

Elsewhere on her Facebook page, Greene liked comments that advocated to "arrest" Obama and former Secretary of State John Kerry and one comment that said, "HANG that bitch," referring to either Obama or Kerry or possibly both of them. She also liked a comment that urged for "civil war 2.0" to begin.

Greene, who has embraced and spread the baseless conspiracy theory about a "deep state" working to usurp Trump's agenda, suggested in Facebook posts that FBI agents disloyal to Trump were traitors.

She liked a comment that said, "Trump already said there were some great ones working with FBI but some have fallen and quite frankly need to be hung for TREASON!" Another she liked said, "These Traitors need to be put to death as an example of what will no longer be tolerated in our country!!!"

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Oregon Republican Party calls Capitol riot a 'false flag' operation to discredit GOP, silence Trump supporters
by Lexi Lonas
The Hill
01/26/21 12:26 PM EST

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The Oregon Republican Party earlier this month approved and released a resolution calling the Jan. 6 Capitol riot by pro-Trump supporters a “false flag” operation and condemning Republicans who voted to impeach now-former President Trump over his role in the assault.

The resolution claims without proof that there is “growing evidence” that the Capitol attack that left five dead was a “false flag” event meant to “discredit President Trump, his supporters, and all conservative Republicans.”

Oregon GOP
@Oregon_GOP
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Tuesday, January 19, 2021
Contact: ORP Communications Director
[email protected] - (503) 902-4671

Oregon GOP Condemns Betrayal by the Ten House Republicans Who Voted to Impeach President Trump

State Party Chairman says "This type of sham process has become the norm for Democrats, but no Republican should support or give in to such an abuse of our Constitutional system."

Salem, OR -- The Oregon Republican Party released a statement announcing that the attached resolution has been passed by the State Party Executive Committee condemning the betrayal by the ten House Republicans who voted to impeach President Trump last week:

"Our party is speaking out in condemnation of the profound betrayal by the ten House Republicans who supported impeaching President Trump last week without any investigation, hearing, shred of due process, and in contradiction to the known and emerging facts," said Oregon Republican Party Chairman Bill Currier. "This type of sham process has become the norm for Democrats, but no Republican should support or give in to such an abuse of our Constitutional system."

"On January 6th, we immediately condemned the political violence in the strongest possible terms and called for those actually committing the violent acts to be held accountable and prosecuted to the fullest extent of the law. The President called only for 'peaceful' voicing of concerns and has repudiated and disavowed anyone who did otherwise that day. The record shows that President Trump in no way incited the violence which actually started 20 minutes before the President finished his remarks far from the Capitol Building itself."

"We demand a full and transparent public investigation of the actual instigators of the violence, and of the nearly nonexistent Capitol Hill security that was warned in advance by the FBI, refused assistance from the Pentagon, and is shown on video allowing demonstrators into the Capitol Building. None of this was considered by the House of Representatives in the sham impeachment process last week."

"Of equally grave concern is how Democrats and their enablers are trying to falsely assign blame to the peaceful protesters present that day, the members of Congress who followed the law and the Constitution, and to tens of millions of Trump supporters," said Currier. "This or any attempt to cancel or target anyone with deep concerns about the conduct of the 2020 election, or quite simply anyone who disagrees with Joe Biden and his supporters, should receive zero GOP support. In fact, it should be condemned and opposed by anyone who still believes in free speech, the right to peaceably assemble, and the right to petition our government to redress grievances. The effort underway to erase the freedoms and liberties of millions of Americans should be opposed by all Americans."

The Oregon Republican Party is the state's arm of the Republican National Committee. Its Chairman and officers are dedicated to promoting Republican principles within the state of Oregon and to improving the lives and livelihoods of Oregon's working families through economic freedom and equal protection under the law.



Resolution of the Oregon Republican Party Condemning the Betrayal by the Ten House Republicans Who Voted to Impeach President Trump

Whereas President Trump gave a speech on January 6th encouraging his supporters to exercise their constitutionally protected right to peacefully assemble and petition the government for redress of grievances; and

Whereas the demonstration at the U.S. Capitol on January 6th turned violent and resulted in the tragic deaths of five persons; and

Whereas the House of Representatives voted on January 8th to impeach President Trump for "incitement of insurrection" without investigation, evidence, sworn testimony, or serious debate, exhibiting not even a shred of due process constitutionally guaranteed to President Trump; and

Whereas history tells us that after George Washington appointed Major General Benedict Arnold to command West Point, Arnold conspired to surrender the fort to the British (https:.//en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Benedict_Arnold); and

Whereas the ten Republican House members, by voting to impeach President Trump, repeated history by conspiring to surrender our nation to Leftist forces seeking to establish a dictatorship void of all cherished freedoms and liberties.

Whereas the actual transcript of President Trump's speech contradicts Democrat claims of "incitement of insurrection" (https://pjmedia.com/news-and-politics/v ... t-n1327633 and https://pjmedia.com/news-and-politics/r ... b-n1328053); and

Whereas there is growing evidence that the violence at the Capitol was a "false flag" operation designed to discredit President Trump, his supporters, and all conservative Republicans; this provided the sham motivation to impeach President Trump in order to advance the Democrat goal of seizing total power, in a frightening parallel to the February 1933 burning of the German Reichstag (https://justthenews.com/government/cong ... unanswered, https://justthenews.com/government/cong ... unanswered, https://justthenews.com/nation/crime/th ... ng-privacy, https://pjmedia.com/news-and-politics/v ... n-n1325022, https://www.theepochtimes.com/black-liv ... 48749.html and https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Reichstag_fire); and

Whereas this false flag effort will support Joe Biden plans to introducing new domestic terrorism legislation likely placing more emphasis on themes from the post-911 Patriot Act such as allowing those charged with terrorism to be automatically detained before trial, outlawing donations to government-designated terrorist groups, allowing electronic surveillance of suspected terrorists, letting the government use evidence from secret sources in those trials, and perhaps new provisions such as codifying putting conservatives on a secret no-fly list without recourse to due process and restricting free speech, similar to the Sedition Act of 1798, which criminalized making "false statements" critical of the Federal government (https://www.jacobinmag.com/2021/01/joe- ... l-building and https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Alien_and_Sedition_Acts); and

Whereas the way of life and the entire economic future of Oregon and America is under attack, and we should be able to count on our elected officials to protect us from all enemies, foreign and domestic; and

Whereas a second sham impeachment of President Trump makes it more difficult for Congress to address serious problems such as aggression by China, Iran, and North Korea, a crushing national debt, and the broken state-level distribution of COVID 19 vaccines.

Now therefore be it resolved by the Oregon Republican Party:

That we condemn the betrayal by the following ten Republican members of Congress who voted in lockstep with Nancy Pelosi to support a second sham impeachment, and we urge the voters of their districts to replace them with dedicated and courageous conservatives:

Liz Cheney of Wyoming, Tom Rice of South Carolina, John Katko of New York. Anthony Gonzalez of Ohio, Peter Meijer of Michigan, Adam Kinzinger of Illinois, Dan Newhouse of Washington, Fred Upton of Michigan, Jaime Herrera Beutler of Washington and David Valadao of California.

That we warn the citizens of Oregon, and the entire nation, that the move to impeach President Trump shows that we have legitimate reasons to fear what will happen under a Biden/Harris administration; and

That we urge the citizens of Oregon, and the entire nation, to strongly oppose any new domestic terrorism legislation;

That we thank Oregon's 2nd District Republican Congressman Cliff Bentz for challenging Presidential Electors from disputed states where claims of election irregularities were never resolved and for voting against President Trump's impeachment; and

That we acknowledge Oregon's 5th District Democrat Congressman Kurt Schrader for accurately describing President Trump's impeachment was a "lynching", even though he subsequently was pressured to recant.

3:23 PM Jan 19, 2021

“This provided sham motivation to impeach President Trump in order to advance the Democrat goal of seizing total power,” the statement says.

The resolution goes on to rebuke the 10 House Republicans — none of whom are from Oregon — who joined every Democrat in the chamber in voting to impeach Trump on Jan. 13.

“Our party is speaking out in condemnation of the profound betrayal by the ten House Republicans who supported impeaching President Trump last week without any investigation, hearing, shred of due process, and in contradiction to the known and emerging facts,” said Oregon Republican Party Chairman Bill Currier.

Pro-Trump rioters stormed the Capitol on Jan. 6 in a failed attempt to prevent Congress from certifying the Electoral College victory of President Biden, who Trump repeatedly and falsely claimed won the November election through widespread fraud.

"We're going to walk down to the Capitol and we're going to cheer on our brave senators and congressmen and women, and we're probably not going to be cheering so much for some of them," Trump told a crowd of supporters ahead of the attack.

"Because you'll never take back our country with weakness. You have to show strength and you have to be strong. We have come to demand that Congress do the right thing and only count the electors who have been lawfully slated," he continued. "I know that everyone here will soon be marching over to the Capitol building to peacefully and patriotically make your voices heard."

More than 100 people have been arrested over their alleged participation in the Capitol breach.

On Monday evening, the House delivered an article of impeachment against Trump to the Senate, accusing him of "willfully inciting violence against the government of the United States." The Senate's trial is set to begin early next month.

Although it is unlikely that enough GOP senators will vote to convict the former president, many have sharply condemned his actions ahead of the deadly riot, including Minority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-Ky.), who said Trump "provoked" the insurrectionists.

Oregon’s resolution calls it a “shame impeachment” that takes away from more pressing issues.

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Proud Boys Leader Secretly Cooperated With F.B.I. and Police: Enrique Tarrio, the chairman of the far-right nationalist group, which is under increasing scrutiny for its role in the Capitol riot, helped to convict more than a dozen people.
by Alan Feuer
New York Times
Published Jan. 27, 2021
Updated Jan. 28, 2021, 1:27 p.m. ET

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-- 9/11 Commission Misses FBI's Embarrassing Al Qaeda Dealings, by Peter Dale Scott
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-- The FBI is 'manufacturing terrorism cases' on a greater scale than ever before, by Caroline Simon
-- Kevin Shipp Interviews Paul Williams, Ph.D. Who Exposes Islamic Terrorist Training Camps Inside the U.S.
-- FBI Documents Reveal Secret Nationwide Occupy Monitoring, by The Partnership for Civil Justice Fund
-- FBI Occupy Wall Street Memos Skip Infiltration of Occupy Cleveland, by Huffington Post
-- FBI Surveillance of Occupy Wall Street Detailed, by Huffington Post
-- How FBI Entrapment is Inventing "Terrorists" -- and Letting Bad Guys Off the Hook, by Rick Perlstein
-- Occupy Wall Street: Federal Bureau of Investigation FOIA Release
-- The Plot Against Occupy: How the Government Turned Five Stoner Misfits into the World's Most Hapless Terrorist Cell, by Sabrina Rubin Erdely
-- ‘A Total Failure’: The Proud Boys Now Mock Trump: Members of the far-right group, who were among Donald Trump’s staunchest fans, are calling him “weak” as more of them were charged for storming the U.S. Capitol, by Sheera Frenkel and Alan Feuer
-- Facebook's fight club: how the Proud Boys use the social media platform to vet their fighters: Want to join the far-right group the Proud Boys? Simply apply to your nearest regional vetting page on the world’s largest social network, Facebook, by Southern Poverty Law Center
-- New "Fight Club" Ready for Street Violence: A new fight club “fraternity” of young white, pro-Trump men is being formed, its organizers claim, to defend free-speech rights by “Alt-Right” leaders and engage in street fighting, by Bill Morlin
-- Fight Club at 20: A vision of Trump’s United States, David Fincher’s film, starring Brad Pitt and Edward Norton, was eerily prescient, by Scott Tobias
-- Proud Boys Call For Disguises, Violence At Biden Inauguration, by Michael Stone

[Curiously,] Judge Renee Raymond ordered him to stay away from Washington. Raymond said the government's request for Tarrio to stay away was reasonable given his ...

-- Proud Boys leader ordered to stay away from D.C. after arrest, by Clare Hymes, Caroline Linton

Enrique Tarrio, who took over leadership of the Proud Boys three years ago, has a criminal history dating to at least 2004. Credit...Victor J. Blue for The New York Times

Enrique Tarrio, the chairman of the Proud Boys, a far-right nationalist group that is a major target of the sprawling investigation into the riot at the Capitol this month, has a history of cooperating with law enforcement, according to court records and a former prosecutor.

The stunning revelation that Mr. Tarrio, who leads one of the country’s most notorious extremist groups, helped the F.B.I. and local police departments go after more than a dozen criminal defendants about a decade ago was first reported by Reuters on Wednesday.

The news emerged as Mr. Tarrio himself has fallen under scrutiny for his role in encouraging the Proud Boys to attend a “Stop the Steal” rally in Washington on Jan. 6, after which a mob of hundreds broke into the Capitol, disrupting the final certification of the presidential election.

“He cooperated with local and federal law enforcement, to aid in the prosecution of those running other, separate criminal enterprises,” the former prosecutor, Vanessa Singh Johannes, said in a statement.

The court transcript, which documents a hearing in 2014 where Mr. Tarrio sought to reduce his own sentence in a fraud case, shows that he helped law enforcement officers in his home state, Florida, to investigate and prosecute criminal enterprises, including an illegal gambling business, a marijuana grow lab, an operation that sold anabolic steroids and an immigrant smuggling ring.

Mr. Tarrio did not respond to messages from The New York Times seeking comment, but he denied to Reuters that he had ever worked undercover or cooperated with law enforcement.

“I don’t know any of this,” he said. “I don’t recall any of this.”

Mr. Tarrio, 36, has been a focus of the F.B.I.’s enormous inquiry into the Capitol attack, which has led so far to more than 150 arrests, including those of at least six members of the Proud Boys. The group of self-described “Western chauvinists” has a history of scuffling in street fights with left-wing antifascist activists and has made a name for itself in recent years for its vocal — and often violent — support of former President Donald J. Trump.

Although Mr. Tarrio went to Washington earlier this month, he was arrested by the local police on suspicion of burning a Black Lives Matter banner torn from one of the city’s Black churches during a separate round of protests in December.

After he was thrown out of the city by a judge, he posted messages online encouraging the Proud Boys to attend the rally on Jan. 6, not in their typical black-and-yellow polo shirts, but instead “incognito.” Federal agents cited the messages in their criminal complaint against one of Mr. Tarrio’s top lieutenants, Joseph Biggs, who was arrested last week.

Mr. Tarrio’s criminal history reaches back to at least 2004 when he was convicted of stealing a $50,000 motorcycle. In 2012, he was charged with fraud in Miami in connection with a scheme to sell loads of diabetes test kits that co-defendants had stolen from a truck in Kentucky and was sentenced to 30 months in prison. “He was kind of like the marketing person,” his lawyer, Jeffrey Feiler, said at the time.

In July 2014, Mr. Feiler went to court to ask a federal judge to reduce Mr. Tarrio’s sentence, arguing that his client had cooperated “in a significant way” in two other federal cases, leading to the prosecution of 13 people. Mr. Feiler also noted that Mr. Tarrio had worked undercover for police departments in Miami and Hialeah, at times putting himself at risk.

“I find that the defendant has provided substantial assistance in the investigation and prosecution of other persons involved in criminal conduct,” the judge in Mr. Tarrio’s case, Joan A. Lenard, ruled.

She ultimately cut his sentence to 16 months.

While there is no evidence that Mr. Tarrio has continued to help the authorities fight crime, Mr. Feiler believed at the time that his client was good at it.

“Frankly, in all the years, which is now more than 30 that I’ve been doing this,” he said at the hearing, “I’ve never had a client as prolific in terms of cooperating in any respect.”

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Proud Boys Call For Disguises, Violence At Biden Inauguration
by Michael Stone
Patheos: Progressive Secular Humanist
December 17, 2020

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Domestic Terrorists: Leaders of the Proud Boys, a far-right, neo-fascist group, are encouraging members to disguise themselves as Biden supporters in order to “wreak havoc” and engage in political violence at Biden’s presidential inauguration next month.

The Sun reports:

Members of the Proud Boys are reportedly plotting to disguise themselves as Joe Biden fans to wreak havoc during the presidential inauguration.

The Trojan Horse-style plot was revealed on InfoWars alum Joe Biggs’ YouTube channel — on which the right-wing militants were ordered to ‘kick off this presidency with f*cking fireworks.’

Daily Dot reports:

The Proud Boys are using YouTube to organize violence at Joe Biden’s inauguration

Discussing the Biden inauguration on YouTube, Proud Boys leader Enrique Tarrio instructed his followers to gain admission to the inauguration anyway possible, including by disguise as Biden supporters, and then “revolt.”

Tarrio said:

“Revolt motherf***ers!

Do whatever you got to do to f*cking get your tickets. You show up there in Biden gear and you turn his inauguration into a f*cking circus, a sign of resistance, a sign of revolution.

Last September, during a presidential debate, when asked to condemn the political violence of the Proud Boys and other alt-right, white nationalist groups, Trump refused, and instead gave a shout out to the Proud Boys, telling them to “stand back and stand-by.”

The Proud Boys are not the only domestic terrorist organization planning violence when Biden assumes power. According to Stewart Rhodes, leader of the Oath Keepers, the domestic terrorist militia will lead a “bloody civil war and revolution” if Trump leaves office and Joe Biden is sworn in as president.

Bottom line: The Proud Boys, a far-right, neo-fascist group, are encouraging members to disguise themselves as Biden supporters in order to “wreak havoc” and engage in political violence at Biden’s presidential inauguration next month.


Proud Boys Call For Disguises, Violence At Biden Inauguration (Image via Twitter)

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Proud Boys leader ordered to stay away from D.C. after arrest
by Clare Hymes, Caroline Linton
CBS News
January 6, 2021 / 7:21 AM

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Enrique Tarrio

Enrique Tarrio, the leader of the right-wing group the Proud Boys, has been ordered to stay away from Washington, D.C., after he was arrested on vandalism and weapons charges. The ruling comes one day before pro-Trump demonstrations are planned in Washington as Congress convenes to count the Electoral College votes ahead of President-elect Joe Biden's inauguration on January 20.

Tarrio was released from custody on Tuesday, but Judge Renee Raymond ordered him to stay away from Washington. Raymond said the government's request for Tarrio to stay away was reasonable given his prior statements about burning anything associated with Black Lives Matter, Raymond also ordered that Tarrio not possess a firearm or ammunition while in Washington.

Tarrio was arrested Monday after he arrived in Washington on a charge stemming from the destruction of a Black Lives Matter banner at a historically Black church. He was found to be in possession of several high-capacity firearms, stemming in felony charges.

Mr. Trump has urged his supporters to gather in Washington to protest the election results, and he tweeted that he will be there. Congress will be convening Wednesday for a joint session to count the Electoral College votes, the last formal step before Mr. Biden is sworn in.

The National Guard has been deployed to Washington at the request of D.C. Mayor Muriel Bowser. Firearms will not be allowed in the city, Metro police chief Robert Contee said Monday.

The original charge against Tarrio, who came to Washington from Miami, stemmed from a December 12 incident at Asbury United Methodist Church, which is on the District of Columbia Register of Historic Places and is the oldest Black church to remain on its original site. The church said its Black Lives Matter flag was torn down and burned during pro-Trump rallies.

Tarrio told The Washington Post days after the incident that he had participated in the burning of the flag, but he insisted he hadn't participated in a hate crime. He said he would surrender to authorities, plead guilty to destruction of property and pay the church the cost of the banner.

"So, let me make this simple. I did it," he said on December 18.

Asbury United Methodist Church replaced the stolen banner on December 18 and then held a prayer service outside the church, according to The Washington Post.

Tarrio said the Proud Boys were reacting to the stabbing of four members of its group outside a nearby bar. Metropolitan African Methodist Episcopal Church, another historically Black house of worship, also said a Black Lives Matter sign was taken as well. That church filed a lawsuit on Monday against Tarrio for the destruction of the banner.

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Why the GOP is Still 'Ride or Die' for Trumpism
by Mehdi Hasan
The Mehdi Hasan Show
Jan 26, 2021



Michael Steele and Tina Nguyen join Mehdi Hasan to discuss the bonds between the Republican Party, former President Trump and extremism as any window to cut those ties appears to be closing. Fast.

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NYT's Ezra Klein: "The Filibuster Is a Disaster"
by Amanpour and Company
Jan 26, 2021

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As the economic fallout from the pandemic perpetuates Americans’ suffering, many are arguing that President Biden should follow up on his promise to quickly put money into the pockets of the American people. One of those making the case is author and New York Times columnist Ezra Klein, who launches his new podcast this week. He explains to Walter Isaacson his thoughts on bipartisanship in this age of polarization.

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Nancy Pelosi: "The enemy is within" the House of Representatives
by Rebecca Kaplan
CBS News
JANUARY 29, 2021 / 6:43 AM

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House Speaker Nancy Pelosi said Thursday that House members can pay for additional security measures with their congressional allowances, and said the House would likely need to pass additional funding for member safety because "the enemy is within the House of Representatives."

"It shouldn't be that not only is the president of the United States inciting an insurrection, but keeps fanning the flame endangering the security of members of Congress, to the point that they're even concerned about members in the House of Representatives being a danger to them," she said.

Asked what she meant by "the enemy is within," the California Democrat said, "It means that we have members of Congress who want to bring guns on the floor and have threatened violence on other members of Congress."

Some Republican representatives, including Andy Harris of Maryland and Lauren Boebert of Colorado, have reportedly expressed a desire or attempted to bring guns to the floor of the House chamber, where they are prohibited. Pelosi ordered the installation of magnetometers outside the House chamber in the wake of the January 6 assault and pledged to institute thousands of dollars in fines for members who refused to abide by the screening.

Another Republican member, Representative Marjorie Taylor Greene of Georgia, posted a speech to Facebook in February 2019 where she said Pelosi, "is guilty of treason ... a crime punishable by death."

Earlier in her press conference, the speaker questioned the decision by Republican leadership to give Greene a seat on the House Education and Labor Committee in light of Greene's previous assertion that school shootings were "false-flag" operations.

"What could they be thinking — or is thinking too generous a word about what they might be doing? It's absolutely appalling," Pelosi said.

The speaker's comments came in response to a question about a request from more than 30 members of the House of Representatives to use their congressional allowances to augment their personal safety in their home districts by hiring local law enforcement or other security personnel, among other things. The letter was first obtained by CBS News.

Members asked for greater latitude in how they spend their Members' Representational Allowance, an annual allotment set by the Committee on House Administration that provides members with the operating budget for staff, mail and other office expenses to carry out their official duties.

"I do think though that while it's appropriate that they use their MRA for their security, they should not have to because money is there to meet the needs of constituents," Pelosi said.

The January 6 attack on the U.S. Capitol increased many lawmakers' uneasiness about their personal safety in Washington, but even more so at home, where they lack the protection afforded by the Capitol Police — and where most spend the majority of their time.

Pelosi said she will meet later Thursday with retired Lieutenant General Russel Honoré, who is conducting a security review of the Capitol and studying member security both in Washington, D.C. and in their districts, as well as transportation in between.

Zak Hudak contributed to this story.
First published on January 28, 2021 / 1:32 PM
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