2021 Trump-Incited Insurrection at Capitol Building

[Monash]

Well at least they'll all have something to compare notes on/talk about when they get out.

[TopHatter]

‘Deranged leadership’: Oath Keepers facing Jan. 6 sentences disavow Stewart Rhodes

Roberto Minuta, one of more than a dozen Oath Keepers who surged with a mob into the Capitol on Jan. 6, lashed out at the group’s founder, Stewart Rhodes, on Thursday as he prepared to face sentencing for his conviction on seditious conspiracy.

Minuta said Rhodes was part of a “deranged leadership” that turned the Oath Keepers “into a political ‘rah-rah Trump’ disaster” that duped many of the group’s members into criminal activity.

“I was misled and naive,” Minuta said, shortly before U.S. District Court Judge Amit Mehta sentenced him to 4½ years in prison.

Mehta credited Minuta’s comments and expressions of remorse for his actions but said his efforts to downplay his actions and involvement were belied by his clear violent intentions in the weeks preceding Jan. 6.

“Steeping yourself and cloaking yourself in this tradition of the founders and violent uprising and believing that the Second Amendment allows individual citizens to gather up arms to battle their government?” Mehta said. “The law doesn’t permit that.”

Minuta is the third Jan. 6 defendant sentenced for seditious conspiracy, the gravest charge leveled by prosecutors against about a dozen defendants charged for their role in the Jan. 6 attack.

Mehta sentenced Rhodes last week to 18 years in prison, the longest sentence handed down yet in the 1,000 cases prosecuted stemming from the violent Jan. 6 assault on the Capitol. Mehta also sentenced Oath Keeper Kelly Meggs to 12 years in prison last week. Their sentencings are the start of the most significant reckoning for the Jan. 6 rioters whom prosecutors have described as the key drivers of the violence and chaos.

The judge described Rhodes as an ongoing danger to the republic who used his Yale Law education and charisma to manipulate supporters and gin up chaos and destruction. Rhodes, he found, was a key driver of the mayhem on Jan. 6, positioning the Oath Keepers to be at the forefront of a potential violent clash to prevent the transfer of power from Donald Trump to Joe Biden.

Minuta’s lawyer, William Shipley, similarly piled on Rhodes, calling him a “parasite” who used the Oath Keepers organization. And another Oath Keeper sentenced later Thursday afternoon, Ed Vallejo, similarly accused Rhodes of leading him down a treacherous path toward Jan. 6.

“I wish I never associated myself with Stewart Rhodes,” Vallejo said, shortly before Mehta sentenced him to 36 months in prison, including a portion on home confinement.

Minuta, in his remarks, said his fury at the government was driven in part by the Covid-era destruction of his business and threats he received when he opened his Newburgh, N.Y., tattoo shop in violation of local restrictions. He said that anger fused with claims by Trump and others that the election had been stolen led him to make incendiary comments on social media. He apologized for both his words and his conduct on Jan. 6.

Minuta also said his entry into the Capitol was simply about aiding police, who he claimed had asked for assistance — a proposition Mehta said was belied by Minuta’s words and actions the entire day.

“You weren’t there to help them,” Mehta said. “You may have convinced yourself of that. But there isn’t any shred of evidence that would be consistent with that intent.”

The judge added that the jury found Minuta culpable of acting in concert with other Oath Keepers whose conduct was even graver — and the law makes him culpable for the actions of his co-conspirators.

“Operating with others gives people greater courage, it gives them the ability to do more harm and it gives them the ability to have a far greater impact than they can do on their own,” Mehta said.

But Mehta also sharply diverged from prosecutors, who initially sought a 17-year sentence, and tried to cast Minuta in a similar light as Rhodes. Assistant U.S. Attorney Troy Edwards described him as a “dangerous individual to others and his republic” with a “warped sense of patriotism that calls for violence against the government when he disagrees with it.”

“This is his belief system,” Edwards said during sentencing proceedings. “He lived up to his twisted creed to take the fight to the government that he considered corrupt and tyrannical.”

Mehta, however, said he doesn’t view Minuta as likely to commit future crimes.

Prosecutors highlighted Minuta’s pre-Jan. 6 rhetoric, in which he predicted a bloody civil war in which “millions” would die. “So what?” he said in a social media video. “Get your fucking soul ready. Get right with god.”

On the afternoon of Jan. 6, Minuta would join with other Oath Keepers to race to the Capitol — riding in golf carts through D.C. streets — after they learned that pro-Trump rioters and other members of their group had entered the Capitol, some clashing with police. He berated police officers on his way into the Capitol and was present as others in the mob pushed against the police line. Prosecutors say he joined in the pushing, though Minuta disputes the claim.

Prosecutors cast Vallejo as a similarly instrumental part of the Oath Keepers’ seditious conspiracy, describing him as the leader of the Oath Keepers’ stash of weapons, kept at a Comfort Inn in Arlington, Va., picked for easy access to the highway into Washington D.C. The Justice Department has indicated that Vallejo was prepared to drive the firearms into Washington to ratchet up the attack on Congress.

Vallejo, in a tearful address to Mehta, said he had renounced his views and forsworn politics. His attorney, Matthew Peed, characterized Vallejo as a genuine believer that the election had been stolen, duped by Trump and Rhodes, and convinced that his efforts to prevent the transfer of power were patriotic.

Mehta addressed that claim as he issued his sentence. “People like Mr. Vallejo are victims in their own right,” the judge said. “That of course doesn’t mean they aren’t responsible for their own actions.”

Mehta emphasized that the relatively short sentence he gave Vallejo — despite the seriousness of his crimes — was a reflection of Vallejo’s age, health and appearance of genuine remorse for his actions. He said that prior to Jan. 6, Vallejo had lived “a life that is worthy of great respect,” including by overcoming alcoholism and remaining sober for 40 years, while mentoring others struggling with addiction.

Nevertheless, Mehta emphasized that Vallejo’s preparation to potentially turn Jan. 6 into an even bloodier and deadlier day “posed a threat to democracy.”
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[tbm3fan]

‘Deranged leadership’: Oath Keepers facing Jan. 6 sentences disavow Stewart Rhodes

Roberto Minuta, one of more than a dozen Oath Keepers who surged with a mob into the Capitol on Jan. 6, lashed out at the group’s founder, Stewart Rhodes, on Thursday as he prepared to face sentencing for his conviction on seditious conspiracy.

Minuta said Rhodes was part of a “deranged leadership” that turned the Oath Keepers “into a political ‘rah-rah Trump’ disaster” that duped many of the group’s members into criminal activity.

Is a ship sinking? Sounds like it now...

[TopHatter]

Is a ship sinking? Sounds like it now...

Oath Keepers are kaput but the Proud Boys are still going strong, supposedly.

But Trump will always have a solid core of followers, from the ammosexual militia types to the apologists who can't ever bring themselves to denounce him.

[TopHatter]

Oath Keeper sentenced to 3 years in prison for sedition in US Capitol attack



WASHINGTON, June 2 (Reuters) - Oath Keepers militant group member David Moerschel was sentenced on Friday to three years in prison for seditious conspiracy and other crimes arising from the Jan. 6, 2021, attack on the U.S. Capitol by then-President Donald Trump's supporters.

U.S. District Judge Amit Mehta said that Moerschel transporting weapons, including a semiautomatic AR-15 rifle, to the Washington area ahead of Jan. 6 brought "its own degree of danger" because of his political motivations.

But the judge said that he was less culpable than other Oath Keepers convicted in the Capitol attack.

Prosecutors had asked U.S. District Judge Amit Mehta to sentence Moerschel to 10 years. One of his co-defendants, Joseph Hackett, will be sentenced later Friday, and prosecutors are seeking 12 years in prison for him.

Mehta since last week has sentenced six other members of the far-right Oath Keepers to prison terms ranging from three to 18 years.

Hackett and Moerschel were convicted of seditious conspiracy - a felony charge involving attempts "to overthrow, put down or to destroy by force the government of the United States" - as well as obstructing an official proceeding and conspiracy to prevent members of Congress from discharging their duties.

Hackett also was convicted of tampering with documents or proceedings.

Both men were among a group of Oath Keepers who breached the Capitol on the day of the attack, clad in paramilitary gear. The attack was intended to prevent Congress from certifying Democrat Joe Biden's victory over Trump, a Republican, in the November 2020 U.S. presidential election. Hackett and Moerschel were near the House of Representatives chamber as lawmakers were gathered for the certification process.

In an emotional statement, Moerschel said that when he was in the Capitol on Jan. 6, "I felt like God was saying to me, 'Get out of here,' and I didn’t. And I disobeyed God and I broke laws."

Moerschel's lawyer on Friday asked that this client be sentenced to home detention or minimal incarceration. "He has lived an exemplary life other than those 11 minutes" Moerschel was in the Capitol building, attorney Scott Weinberg said.

Prosecutor Troy Edwards said that Moerschel's bringing of guns to a Virginia hotel near Washington merited a strong sentence. "When he came to this district, he brought weapons of war and he wanted his guy," Edwards said, referring to Trump. "And he was ready to act."

The two men are among six Oath Keepers found guilty of seditious conspiracy. Oath Keepers founder Stewart Rhodes, a former U.S. Army paratrooper turned Yale University-educated lawyer, last week was sentenced to 18 years in prison, the longest sentence handed down yet over the Jan. 6 attack.

Prosecutors in court papers described Hackett as a low-level leader in the Oath Keepers, and pointed to his call for the arrest of "corrupt politicians" as foreshadowing his actions at the Capitol including "forcing his way" toward the office of the leader of the House of Representatives.

Hackett's lawyer in a separate legal filing asked that Mehta "primarily focus on alternatives to incarceration" in issuing a sentence.

Two other Oath Keepers convicted of seditious conspiracy, Robert Minuta and Edward Vallejo, were sentenced on Thursday. Minuta was sentenced to 4-1/2 years in prison and Vallejo to three. Three others were sentenced last week to between four and 12 years in prison.

The judge has delayed the sentencing of Thomas Caldwell, another Oath Keepers member who acquitted on the seditious conspiracy charge but convicted of other crimes.
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[TopHatter]

Greene flips on public release of Jan. 6 tapes, claims it could ‘put the security of the Capitol at risk’


Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene (R-Ga.) speaks during the Conservative Political Action Conference (CPAC) at the Gaylord National Resort and Convention Center in National Harbor, Md., on Friday, March 3, 2023.

Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene (R-Ga.) has changed her position on the public release of the tapes documenting the Jan. 6, 2021, insurrection, warning Friday that their release could “put the security of the Capitol at risk.”

Greene said in an interview on the right-wing channel Real America’s Voice that releasing the video footage publicly would jeopardize the Capitol’s security and endanger those who were present at the Capitol grounds but did not enter the Capitol nor commit crimes.

“And this is our real concern with the video tapes. If we released these video tapes just widely for the public — number one, we put the security of the Capitol at risk, because there’s over 1,700 video cameras,” she said.

“Number two, we also endanger many Americans that were simply standing on the Capitol grounds, maybe never even walked through the Capitol or committed any crimes, but they could have just walked further than where the barrier was simply because the barrier was torn down by the time they got there,” Greene continued.

She said she is concerned about left-wing groups that would use facial-recognition technology to identify those seen in the videos to “hand them over” to the FBI and Justice Department. She said that some people committed violence and broke the law and should be held accountable but many others did not commit crimes.

“Sedition Hunters would spend every second of every day analyzing the videos in order to hunt innocent people that just stood on Capitol grounds on J6,” Greene later tweeted.

Greene has previously called for the public release of the tapes so “everyone knows what did or didn’t happen.”

She announced Wednesday that that House Speaker Kevin McCarthy (R-Calif.) planned to release the tapes to three outlets that would receive “unfettered access.” She said two of the recipients of the tapes would be Just the News founder John Solomon, who interviewed Greene on Friday, and American Greatness senior writer Julie Kelly.

McCarthy released 44,000 hours of footage to then-Fox News host Tucker Carlson earlier this year, yielding criticism from Democrats who argued that it could put Capitol security procedures at risk and allow Carlson, who has downplayed the violence from the attack, to distort what happened.
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Oh Marjorie, it's you and your fellow MAGAts that put the Capitol at risk.

So there’s danger in releasing video of “tourists” doing normal tourist activities and "legitimate political discourse" on the Capitol grounds? These people can’t keep their story straight.

Her buddy the Speaker released it to Tucker and that was okay, but if the public can see everything, instead of the carefully curated material Tucker released, that's dangerous?

What is she so suddenly so afraid of? Maybe she's is worried that the more the public learns about the attack on the Capitol, the less that the GQP will be able to white-wash what happened there.

She states: "“Number two, we also endanger many Americans that were simply standing on the Capitol grounds, maybe never even walked through the Capitol or committed any crimes, but they could have just walked further than where the barrier was simply because the barrier was torn down by the time they got there,” Greene continued.

Translation: "I'm afraid that releasing the tapes would help SeditionHunters and the FBI find the Trumpers that haven't yet been identified."

[TopHatter]

Oath Keepers member pleads guilty to felony in Jan. 6 case

1

A New Jersey man pleaded guilty Tuesday to obstruction of an official proceeding in connection to the Jan. 6, 2021 attacks on the Capitol.

James Breheny, 61, pleaded guilty to the felony charge due to his involvement in the Jan. 6 Capitol breach. Court documents show that Breheny — who is also known as Seamus Evers — is affiliated with the Oath Keepers, where he served as the Bergen County Coordinator for the New Jersey chapter.

According to the Justice Department (DOJ), court documents show that Breheny was in a group chat titled “DC OP: Jan 21” on Signal, which is an encrypted messaging platform. The group chat included discussions on Breheny “coming in with a team from NJ, and who also has contacts with several militia leaders coming in.”

“His actions and the actions of others disrupted a joint session of the U.S. Congress which was in the process of ascertaining and counting the electoral votes related for the 2020 presidential election,” the release reads.

The DOJ also noted that other members of the group chat have been indicted on conspiracy charges. Public video footage cited by the department also showed Breheny entering the Capitol and standing inside the rotunda, as well as his “close proximity” to violence against law enforcement officers.

Text messages from Breheny’s phone showed messages he sent including, “I breached the Capitol door!” and “Made it in Brother” and “I have to clear chats,” according to the DOJ.

His phone also had texts from his associates urging him to delete his messages, take down social media posts and buy a new phone.

Breheny’s guilty plea comes shortly after Oath Keepers founder Stewart Rhodes was sentenced to 18 years in prison last month after being convicted of seditious conspiracy and charged for his involvement in the Capitol attacks.
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And another one goes down.....

[TopHatter]

GOP donor arrested for attacking police with wasp spray on Jan. 6



NEW YORK — A prominent Long Island funeral home director and frequent donor to GOP causes was arrested Wednesday and charged by federal prosecutors with spraying wasp insecticide at police officers during the Jan. 6 attack at the Capitol.

Peter G. Moloney, who campaign finance records show has given thousands of dollars to GOP campaigns and committees — including Donald Trump, the Republican National Committee and Lee Zeldin, a former congressman and New York gubernatorial candidate — was also charged with assaulting a member of the media. Moloney is slated to make his initial appearance at a federal courthouse on Long Island on Wednesday afternoon.

He is being prosecuted by the U.S. attorney’s office for the District of Columbia. A lawyer for Moloney didn’t immediately respond to a request for comment.

According to court documents, Moloney, 58, used Black Flag Wasp, Hornet & Yellow Jacket Killer spray to attack police officers several times while wearing gear to protect himself, including a helmet and protective eyewear.

Moloney also attacked an Associated Press photographer “by grabbing onto his camera and pulling, causing him to stumble down the stairs,” according to court filings. He punched and shoved the photographer away from the Capitol’s West Plaza, and other rioters pushed the photographer over a wall, prosecutors alleged.

Additional pictures included in the charging documents show Moloney attempting to grab a second journalist’s camera. Though the filing only identifies the journalist as “N.Q.,” POLITICO has confirmed that the initials represent Nick Quested, a well-known filmmaker who was a witness for the Jan. 6 select committee and at the recent seditious conspiracy trial of members of the Proud Boys leadership. Quested’s footage has been crucial evidence for both prosecutors and the committee over the past two years.

Prosecutors nodded to the support of an online group of open-source researchers — dubbed the Sedition Hunters — in identifying Moloney, linking to videos posted by accounts associated with the group, which has been pursuing evidence related to Moloney for two years.

Federal authorities indicated in court filings that they may charge another person who works with Moloney at the funeral home and who attended the Jan. 6 attack with him. Prosecutors did not identify the second person.
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[TopHatter]

Pence argues Jan. 6 is disqualifying for Trump as he launches campaign

Former Vice President Mike Pence launched his 2024 presidential campaign Wednesday by sharply breaking with former President Donald Trump, laying out clear differences on policy and values and arguing that Trump’s push to overturn the 2020 election should be disqualifying.

Pence, speaking to a crowd of supporters in Ankeny, Iowa, offered his clearest rationale yet for why he is challenging his old running mate for the Republican nomination. Pence accused Trump of wavering on conservative policy priorities such as curtailing abortion access and balancing the budget and bemoaned Trump’s brand of politics as too divisive.

The former vice president also focused extensively on the events of Jan. 6, 2021, when pro-Trump rioters stormed the Capitol trying to stop the certification of the 2020 election, with some chanting, “Hang Mike Pence.”

The day marked a turning point in Pence’s relationship with his old boss, and Wednesday he argued Trump’s attempts to overturn the election — and his request for Pence to violate the Constitution in the process — make him unfit for office.

“The American people deserve to know on that fateful day, President Trump also demanded I choose between him and our Constitution,” Pence said. “Now, voters will be faced with the same choice. I chose the Constitution, and I always will.”

“The American people must know that leaders in the Republican Party will keep our oath to support and defend the Constitution, even when it is not in our political interests,” Pence added. “One last word that in part brings us here today: I believe that anyone who puts themselves over the Constitution should never be president of the United States, and anyone who asks someone else to put them over the Constitution should never be president of the United States again.”

In officially launching his campaign, Pence became the first vice president in modern times to challenge his old running mate for the party’s nomination.

Pence spent four years serving as a loyal cheerleader to Trump, defending him through a steady stream of scandals, vouching for his at-times unorthodox policy decisions and urging Americans in 2020 to give the Trump-Pence ticket four more years in office.

The balancing act Pence will attempt to walk was on display Wednesday, as he said he was “incredibly proud” of the accomplishments of the last administration, even as he sought to argue Trump should not be given another term.

He now faces an uphill battle to overtake Trump at a time when many GOP primary voters view Pence as a traitor for refusing to reject the 2020 election results. Others looking for a Trump alternative appear to be backing Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis (R).

“Given my support for our record, it might be fair to ask why I am challenging my former running mate for the Republican nomination for president,” Pence said. “It begins with a promise I made to the American people and to almighty God, and ends with two different visions for the future of our party and the country.”

A CNN poll released late last month found Pence was the first choice of 6 percent of Republican and Republican-leaning primary voters, trailing Trump, who was the first choice of 53 percent of voters, and DeSantis, who was the first choice of 26 percent.

A Monmouth University poll released last week asked GOP voters who they’d like to see as the Republican nominee for president but did not give a list of names. Pence polled at 3 percent, well behind Trump (43 percent) and DeSantis (19 percent).

Pence and his team intend to lean into the former vice president’s lengthy and consistent conservative track record on foreign policy, trade, entitlement reform and abortion, hoping that message will resonate with GOP voters who want to win general elections, and more specifically with Iowa evangelicals who will participate in the first caucus on the primary calendar next winter.

Pence repeatedly needled Trump on Wednesday as he laid out some of the particulars of his agenda.

The former vice president has vowed to support legislation to restrict abortion access and called on states to do the same. On Wednesday, he said Trump treats the issue of abortion as “an inconvenience,” blaming the issue for Republican election losses.

Pence has called for “common sense” reforms to Social Security and Medicare to address the budget and the solvency of the programs, while Trump has urged Republicans to leave entitlements untouched.

“Addressing a looming debt crisis and long-term survival of Social Security and Medicare are less important than their short-term political fortunes,” Pence said Wednesday.

And Pence, who in his launch video earlier Wednesday said the country needed a leader to appeal to its “better angels,” argued plainly in Des Moines that Trump was not capable of being that leader.

“Most Americans treat each other with kindness and respect — even when we disagree. It’s not too much to ask our leaders to do the same,” Pence said. “It is clear that neither Joe Biden nor Donald Trump share this belief, and neither of them intend to bring this nation together.”

Pence is slated to attend a CNN town hall Wednesday evening in Des Moines, followed by more events Thursday in the Hawkeye State. He will travel to New Hampshire on Friday for a rally in Derry for his first campaign event in the Granite State, which hosts the first Republican primary.
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Couple years late on that one Mikey...Guess you finally figured out that kowtowing to Trump wasn't going to do jack shit for you with the MAGA crowd.

[tbm3fan]

[SIZE=18px]
“Most Americans treat each other with kindness and respect — even when we disagree. It’s not too much to ask our leaders to do the same,” Pence said. “It is clear that neither Joe Biden nor Donald Trump share this belief, and neither of them intend to bring this nation together.”
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Couple years late on that one Mikey...Guess you finally figured out that kowtowing to Trump wasn't going to do jack shit for you with the MAGA crowd.

He puts Biden into the same boat as Trump? Trump is in a one man dinghy while there is no way in hell Biden, or much less anyone else, could bring MAGA to the table for a sit down for tea and crumpets.

[TopHatter]

He puts Biden into the same boat as Trump? Trump is in a one man dinghy while there is no way in hell Biden, or much less anyone else, could bring MAGA to the table for a sit down for tea and crumpets.

He's doing that "bOtH sIdEs" thing. Disingenuous as all hell, but entirely predictable.

[TopHatter]

Trump ally Bannon subpoenaed in special counsel Jack Smith's Jan. 6 grand jury probe
The Washington, D.C.-based grand jury is separate from one investigating the former president's handling of classified documents.

WASHINGTON — Former Trump White House official Steve Bannon has been subpoenaed by a federal grand jury in Washington, D.C., in connection with special counsel Jack Smith's investigation into Jan. 6 and former President Donald Trump's efforts to stay in office, according to two sources familiar with the matter.

The subpoena, for documents and testimony, was sent out in late May, the sources said. The grand jury investigating Trump's actions surrounding Jan. 6 and in connection with efforts to interfere with the peaceful transfer of power is separate from the grand jury in Miami that heard testimony on Wednesday about Trump's handling of classified documents.

A spokesman for the special counsel declined to comment. Bannon's attorney Harlan Protass declined to comment.

Bannon, who now hosts a podcast, was previously charged with contempt of Congress for refusing to cooperate after he received congressional subpoenas from the Jan. 6 committee, and was convicted of two charges in July 2022 following a jury trial. In October, U.S. District Judge Carl Nichols sentenced Bannon to four months in federal prison, but suspended the sentence while Bannon pursued appeals.
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[Albany Rifles]

Trump ally Bannon subpoenaed in special counsel Jack Smith's Jan. 6 grand jury probe
The Washington, D.C.-based grand jury is separate from one investigating the former president's handling of classified documents.

WASHINGTON — Former Trump White House official Steve Bannon has been subpoenaed by a federal grand jury in Washington, D.C., in connection with special counsel Jack Smith's investigation into Jan. 6 and former President Donald Trump's efforts to stay in office, according to two sources familiar with the matter.

The subpoena, for documents and testimony, was sent out in late May, the sources said. The grand jury investigating Trump's actions surrounding Jan. 6 and in connection with efforts to interfere with the peaceful transfer of power is separate from the grand jury in Miami that heard testimony on Wednesday about Trump's handling of classified documents.

A spokesman for the special counsel declined to comment. Bannon's attorney Harlan Protass declined to comment.

Bannon, who now hosts a podcast, was previously charged with contempt of Congress for refusing to cooperate after he received congressional subpoenas from the Jan. 6 committee, and was convicted of two charges in July 2022 following a jury trial. In October, U.S. District Judge Carl Nichols sentenced Bannon to four months in federal prison, but suspended the sentence while Bannon pursued appeals.
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Try blowing this one off, Stevie Boy!

[TopHatter]

Pence Launches Campaign, Faceplants on Trump Indictment Issue
The former VP wants to stand for law and order—except when it comes to his former boss.


Former Vice President Mike Pence arrives with his wife Karen to formally announces his intention to seek the Republican nomination for president on June 07, 2023 in Ankeny, Iowa.

FORMER VICE PRESIDENT MIKE PENCE, who officially launched his 2024 bid for the presidency on Wednesday, is positioning himself as a faithful proponent of law and order—with one glaring exception: the indictment of a former president.

When CNN anchor Dana Bash asked Pence in a town hall Wednesday evening about the breaking news that the Department of Justice notified Donald Trump that he was the target of a criminal investigation, Pence said he hoped the federal prosecutors would back down:
.

Now more than ever, we ought to be finding ways we could actually come together. And this kind of action by the Department of Justice would only fuel further division in the country.

And let me also say, I think it would also send a terrible message to the wider world. I mean, we’re the emblem of democracy, we’re the symbol of justice in the world, and the serious matter—which has already happened once in New York—of indicting a former president of the United States sends a terrible message to the world. I hope the DOJ thinks better of it and resolves these issues without an indictment.

Bash followed up by asking, “Sir, I just want to clarify: What you’re saying is if they believe he committed a crime, they should not go forward with an indictment? You just talked before about committing to the rule of law.”

Pence replied by hemming and hawing about what he called the “unique circumstances” pertaining to Trump:
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I would just hope there would be a way for them to move forward without the dramatic and drastic and divisive step of indicting a former president of the United States. We’ve got to find a way to move our country forward and restore confidence in equal treatment under the law in this country. We really do.

This Mar-a-Lago-sized carveout for legal accountability undermines Pence’s positioning in the race. A big part of his campaign rollout on Wednesday centered on the idea that he is a committed adherent of constitutional law, as demonstrated by his unwillingness to overturn the election for the president he served.

Consider what Pence told an Iowa audience in his announcement speech: Trump “demanded that I choose between him and the Constitution. . . . I chose the Constitution, and I always will.” The audience stood and applauded him, which for Pence must have been a welcome change from MAGA audiences that usually curse his name. Pence also boldly stated that Trump should “never” be returned to the nation’s highest office: “Anyone who asks someone else to put them over the Constitution should never be president of the United States again.”

And, Pence defied his former running mate a few more times in the CNN town hall. First, in contrast to Trump, Pence said he believed January 6th rioters should be prosecuted to the “fullest extent of the law.”

He then said January 6th defendants should not be pardoned, as Trump has said he would do if elected president again.

And what about pardoning Trump? When Bash asked him about this, Pence laughed it off. “I don’t want to speak about hypotheticals. I’m not sure I’m going to be elected president of the United States,” he joked, awkwardly dodging the question.

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THERE WAS ONE OTHER huge Trump-related flaw in Pence’s campaign rollout. Despite saying in his announcement speech that Trump should “never” be president again, the former veep in an appearance on Fox News mid-day affirmed his support for the Republican National Committee’s pledge to back whoever becomes the GOP presidential nominee.

Meaning that if Trump—who is far and away the leading candidate in the GOP primary polls—wins the nomination, Pence would willingly endorse a man he has said should “never” be president.

Perhaps someone could explain to Pence what “never” means. Some of us Never Trumpers would be happy to clue him in. And while we’re at it, how about teaching Pence what “equal treatment under the law” means, too?
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Ahh here we go, back on track...or in Pence's case, back on his knees.

Note to Trump: This is what "milktoast"* looks like....







*Caspar wept

[TopHatter]

Pendleton Proud Boy accused in Jan. 6 attack says Antifa and ‘left wing’ gangs are to blame
The lawyer for a Pendleton Proud Boys member accused of aiding in the Jan. 6 attack on the U.S. Capitol is saying the blame should actually fall on Antifa and other left-wing groups.

In a 93-page response filing in the District of Columbia’s civil suit, California attorney John M. Pierce makes the case that Jonathanpeter Klein, 23, and other members of the Proud Boys and Oath Keepers did not come prepared to cause violence, but were instead anticipating it from left-wing agitators.

He also denies that an attack on the Capitol building or insurrection by Pro-Trump groups ever took place.

Klein, who is also facing separate criminal charges, is accused of participating in the riot as part of an organized attempt by Proud Boys and Oath Keepers to stop the certification of the 2020 election.


Jonathanpeter Klein

Pierce, who has been described as Pro-Trump and MAGA attorney, is representing more than a dozen people in the District of Columbia’s civil suit against the organization. He was previously in the spotlight after being fired from Kyle Rittenhouse’s defense team.

The filing is one of many received by the court recently, after senior leadership of the Proud Boys were convicted of seditious conspiracy in May.

Members of leadership of the Oath Keepers, including founder Stewart Rhodes, also were convicted of seditious conspiracy in late 2022 and early 2023.

Klein’s alleged role
Klein is awaiting trial in a federal criminal case, along with his brother, Matthew Klein, 26. His brother also is charged in the attack, but is not part of the civil suit.


Oregon brothers Jonathanpeter Klein, 21, and Matthew Klein, 24, are charged with conspiracy and obstruction in the Jan. 6 insurrection in Washington, D.C.

Earlier filings described Klein as an active participant, who helped Proud Boys, Oath Keepers and other rioters breach the Capitol building. He is a self-admitted member of the Proud Boys, a far-right organization that has gained notoriety for violence at protests.

Court documents say Klein was using a police barrier as a makeshift ladder to help others scale the wall of the building away from the main staircase.

“After pushing their way past another barricade, Proud Boys member Defendant Klein obtained and used the police barricade to help others climb the Capitol walls and gain access to an external stairwell,” said the initial complaint documents.

‘False flag event’
In the filing Klein largely denies participation in, or knowledge of, most of the the District’s complaints, to the point of stating “Klein is unaware of a January 6th Attack” in one instance.

The document is broken down into responses to each of the hundreds of paragraphs in the complaint, with denials or admissions of statements in each section.


Jonathanpeter Klein, wearing goggles and flag neck gaiter, had made his way from the Senate side of the Capitol, through a line of law enforcement officers to the House of Representatives side by 2:29 p.m. Jan. 6, 2021, according to the FBI. He then proceeded up a flight of stairs to the Capitol’s Rotunda.

The documents described the lawsuit as an attempt to engage in political activism by the Democrat Party “against the Republican Party in future elections using this lawsuit as a political prop paid for at taxpayer expense.”

In the document Pierce places the blame largely on “Left Wing Street Gangs” such as Antifa and Black Lives Matter, the latter of which he repeatedly describes as “so-called” or “misnamed” Black Lives Matter.

“The Proud Boys assemble in large and small groups at public events or demonstrations because violence from anarchist street gangs like ANTIFA, Left-wing street gangs like the completely mis-named Black Lives Matter (who would eagerly attack Black (Proud Boys Leader) Enrique Tarrio and the other 20% of the Proud Boys who are minorities) and others are announced or expected ...,” reads one passage of the filing.

He also asserts that Klein believes that the insurrection was a false flag event possibly orchestrated by federal agents.

They specifically called the “1776 Returns” document a false flag “fabricated by U.S. Government Agents.” The document, which was circulated among the Proud Boys ahead of Jan. 6, outlined strategic plans for taking over federal buildings.

“Klein suggests that those “who planned, conspired to carry out, and executed the January 6th Attack” are likely to be Federal agents or assets and/or agents of private organizations who are not what the Plaintiff is expecting.”

2020 election
In response to another portion of the claim disputing a quote from former president Donald Trump, Pierce also states that Trump did in fact win the 2020 election.

“Although President Trump did claim to have won the 2020 presidential election – and he did in fact win the 2020 presidential election at a minimum because the rules were changed during the election in violation of Article II, Section 1, of the U.S. Constitution which requires that only the state legislatures can set the rules, this paragraph is not what Trump said on November 4, 2020.”

In reference to violence at the 2020 “Stop the Steal” rally, Pierce again blamed left-wing activists, claiming the Proud Boys were merely defending conservative demonstrators.


Pro-Trump supporters storm the U.S. Capitol following a rally with President Donald Trump on Wednesday, Jan. 6, 2021 in Washington, D.C.

“The Proud Boys were violently attacked by members of Antifa, the so-called Black Lives Matters, anarchists, and other Leftists while trying to protect innocent conservative demonstrators. Leftists were solely and exclusively responsible for their violence against the Proud Boys and other Trump supporters, just as the Leftists had done since Trump’s inauguration in January 2017, and from 2012 through 2020.”

He also says the Proud Boys and Oath Keepers had to step in because demonstrators were “left defenseless” by D.C.’s gun laws at these rallies leading up to the insurrection, later describing the group’s intent as coming to the Capitol to “protect Trump supporters, so that those Trump supporters could engage in a lawful protest.”

In response to the prosecutor’s asserting the Proud Boys were wearing a mix of street clothes and tactical gear, Pierce said any body armor was to protect them from left wing provocateurs. The use of street clothes to blend in was also a means of protection.

“There are no fashion crimes in America. The United States of America does not have a national dress code,” Pierce states in the filing.

Breaching the Capitol
Pierce also refers to the police barriers as “portable bike racks” throughout the filing, claiming they had no signs indicating they were intended to be barriers. He denies Klein used one to help others scale the wall.

He said that the claims of bragging that the Proud Boys stormed the Capitol were hyperbole and “puffery.”

“The Proud Boys clearly did not, in fact, storm the Capitol (whatever that means) and clearly did not ‘take’ the Capitol. Therefore, the statements are clearly hyperbole and exaggeration.”


Protesters supporting U.S. President Donald Trump break into the U.S. Capitol on Wednesday, Jan. 6, 2021 in Washington, D.C.

The documents also claim that D.C. Metropolitan Police attacked peaceful protesters.

“ ... They further confirm the unlawful police brutality and excessive use of force by the District of Columbia’s Metropolitan Police Department that transformed a peaceful demonstration into a few violent confrontations in a few small, isolated areas.”

The filings claim that one protester, who was killed in a crush as rioters surged against police, was murdered by the Metropolitan Police Department. And it said the Metropolitan force was not overwhelmed by the violence, but was the cause of it.

“Unfortunately (Rosanne) Boyland was murdered by the MPD in the same manner in which George Floyd was murdered by officer Derek Chauvin, as MPD officers then piled more and more people on top of her,” said the filing.

The response also denies knowledge of harm toward Metropolitan officers, stating “it is not credible that those trained to deal with violations of law would be so fragile.”

The union estimates at least 140 officers were injured.

The Klein brothers
At the time Matthew Klein was reportedly a third-year student attending George Fox University in Newberg, majoring in computer science. He was living with relatives on a farm in Sherwood, southwest of Portland, before his arrest.

Jonathanpeter Klein was arrested near Heppner — about 80 miles south of the Tri-Cities. They entered innocent pleas at the time, and were granted pretrial release to third-party guardians in May 2021.

But a judge would not release them to the custody of their parents in Baker City because of text messages from the parents advising Matthew after the attack to destroy his cellphone data and to keep quiet about what they had done because “braggers get caught.”

The charges in the indictment for both brothers were for conspiracy, obstruction of an official proceeding and aiding and abetting, obstruction of law enforcement during civil disorder and aiding and abetting, destruction of government property and aiding and abetting, entering and remaining in a restricting building or grounds and disorderly conduct in a restricted building or grounds.

That trial is pending while the D.C. lawsuit moves forward.

The brothers are required to make regular status updates to the court in the meantime.

▪ Another Tri-Cities area man accused of involvement in the Jan. 6 riot is also still awaiting trial in a civil suit over the wrongful death of an Metropolitan Police Department officer.

Taylor Taranto of Pasco and chiropractor David Walls-Kaufman were named in a wrongful death civil suit, filed by Erin Smith.


Prosecutors say these photos show David Walls-Kaufman during the Jan. 6, 2021 insurrection. A man matching the photos of Pasco resident Taylor Taranto is seen next to Walls-Kaufman in the second photo as they skirmish with Capitol police.

She is the widow of Officer Jeffrey Smith, who was attacked during the insurrection and later died by suicide.

Taranto was listed as the webmaster for the Franklin County Republican Party at the time. It’s unclear whether he is still involved with the organization. The U.S. Navy veteran is a one time Pasco school board candidate.

That lawsuit is still in progress, but has seen little in the way of updates since the judge presiding over it was appointed to a higher bench.

Taranto, who is representing himself, had asked the judge for $3.5 million and an apology.
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Hey, you racist fucks: 2021 called, they want their bullshit narrative back