Trump supporters and conspiracy theory - Part 2

[Rick Plant]

2nd grand jury empaneled into Trump investigation, sources say

The first grand jury served its six-month term, and now a second one will serve as part of an investigation into the former president and his business.

A second grand jury has been empaneled in New York in an investigation about former President Donald Trump and his business, two people familiar with the matter told NBC News.

A first grand jury served its six-month term, and now a new group of grand jurors will sit, the sources said, stressing that the development is a procedural action.

The investigation is being led by the Manhattan District Attorney Cy Vance and New York Attorney General Letitia James.

The new grand jury could hear testimony about the valuation of Trump’s properties and accounting and taxes tied to them, one of the sources familiar with the matter said.

The first grand jury heard evidence that led to the indictment of Trump Organization chief financial officer Allen Weisselberg on a separate alleged tax scheme in July.

The sources said that a second grand jury being empaneled was a procedural action and there has been no change to any on any potential subjects of the investigation or other aspects of it.

Grand juries have a time limit, and there was always going to be a second grand jury empaneled once the first's time had expired, the sources said.

In July, the Trump Organization and Weisselberg were charged in what prosecutors said was a 15-year scheme to compensate top executives "off the books" and help them avoid paying taxes.

Weisselberg and the Trump Organization have pleaded not guilty. Former President Trump reacted to the charges by calling it a "political witch hunt."

James, the New York attorney general, said at the time the charges were announced that the investigation would continue.

https://www.nbcnews.com/politics/politics-news/2nd-grand-jury-empaneled-trump-investigation-sources-say-n1283300

[Rick Plant]

These people are mentally ill, racist, antisemitic, and they all worship Trump. They are the base of the Republican Party and Republicans never condemn their hate, racism, antisemitism, or anti vaxx conspiracy theories. In fact the GOP and the right wing media helps to amplify their dangerous rhetoric.   

QAnon cultists drawn to Dallas by hideously antisemitic conspiracist who thinks Jesus had four children



The QAnon influencer who drew right-wing conspiracists to Dallas to await John F. Kennedy's reappearance has effectively built a cult around himself.

Conspiracists converged from across the county on the grassy knoll in Dealey Plaza, where the 35th president was assassinated while riding in a car with his wife -- and where the QAnon influencer Michael Brian Protzman, known as Negative48, promised a supernatural spectacle that would return Donald Trump to the White House as the "king of kings," reported Vice.

"His rise to notoriety and fame within the QAnon world has been rapid," the website reported. "Back in March, his Negative48 Telegram channel had around 1,700 members; today, it has over 105,000 members. But aside from the number of followers Protzman has, what makes him stand out from other QAnon influencers is the loyalty and worship he has instilled in those people."

The 58-year-old Protzman, who ran a demolition company in Washington state until beginning his new online career, pushes deeply antisemitic content, questionable financial advice and a fake version of gematria -- a Hebrew system of assigning numerical values to letters, words and phrases.

"The stuff that I have seen has shaken me to my core," said one extremism researcher, who asked for anonymity to protect himself from Protzman and his followers. "They are brainwashing people with English gematria."

Protzman applies this bogus system to passages in the Bible and QAnon slogans, which he uses to spin complex conspiracies linking Christianity, QAnon and the Kennedy family.

"In Protzman's telling, Jesus Christ married Mary Magdalene and had four children with her," Vice reported. "This gave rise to a bloodline that went on to create many famous people today, notably the Kennedys. He also claims that blood type O is a marker for the Christ bloodline and that the 'New World Order' is trying to hunt down that bloodline by DNA testing COVID-19 PCR swabs."

But most of all, Protzman repackages old antisemitic conspiracies for a new audience to claim the Holocaust never happened, and he has promoted the hideously antisemitic 10-part film "Europa: The Last Battle 2017," which claims Jews created communism and purposefully started both world wars in a plot to establish Israel, and the film "Adolf Hitler: The Greatest Story Ever Told."

"There are no Jews, period, anywhere -- period," Protzman said in one audio chat. "There is no Jewish race, and the Jewish leadership are basically the British empire, the Roman empire, it's just the criminals."

https://www.rawstory.com/michael-brian-protzman/

[Rick Plant]

Never let Criminal Donald be in charge of anything because everything he touches turns to a disaster.

'This is the thanks we get': Trump leaves Census workers holding the bag in $7M 'accounting mess'



Former president Donald Trump's decision to pause payroll taxes for certain employees – including temporary Census workers – has created a $7 million accounting mess for the bureau.

"The bureau was one of many federal agencies directed to stop collecting some employees' share of a payroll tax that helps fund the Social Security system in the final months of 2020," NPR reported Friday night. "Trump touted the push as a way to get 'bigger paychecks for working families' during the coronavirus pandemic. The former administration had said it would try to convince Congress to forgive the payroll taxes. But with no movement from lawmakers, the extra money essentially became a temporary loan that workers had to pay back eventually."

The Census bureau told NPR that $7,078,909 in payroll taxes were deferred for 177,964 temporary employees. The bureau determined that 147,619 employees owed less than it would cost to try to collect the debt from them, while it sent letters and emails to another 28,000.

One of the former employees who received the notices in September called it "kind of a shock ... so long after the fact."

"It was very upsetting in a way, like this is the thanks we get for all our efforts," said Alex Almeida of Phoenix, who finished his clerk job at a Census office in November 2020.

https://www.npr.org/2021/11/05/1043556762/payroll-tax-deferral-us-census-jobs-social-security-taxes-payback-recovery

[Rick Plant]

Trump Holding Massive Fundraiser for Senate Candidate Who Was Just Accused of Strangling His Wife

The former president will be hosting an event at Mar-a-Lago for the Pennsylvania Senate candidate whose estranged wife said he once tried to choke her


Sean Parnell announces his candidacy for the Republican nomination for U.S. Senate


Laurie Snell, the estranged wife of Pennsylvania Senate candidate Sean Parnell, testified in court on Monday that her husband strangled her, abused their children, and told her to “go get an abortion.”

Punchbowl News reported on Friday that former President Trump is holding massive fundraiser for Parnell in January at Mar-a-Lago.

TRUMP fundraising for ⁦@SeanParnellUSA⁩ at mar a lago in January. Also his campaign issued full throated endorsement after ⁦@dlippman⁩ story about McCormick candidacy.



Parnell, an Army veteran who served in Afghanistan, is vying for the Republican nomination to fill the U.S. Senate seat that will be left empty after Sen. Pat Toomey retires next year. Trump endorsed Parnell in September. “Sean bravely fought for our Country as a Captain in the U.S. Army and was awarded two Bronze Stars (one for valor!) and the Purple Heart. Unlike our current administration, he never left anyone behind,” Trump said.

Parnell’s campaign has been dogged by personal issues, though. His opponents have brought up protective orders sought by his wife in 2017 and 2018 during divorce proceedings, which are still in progress. On Monday, his wife was in court to argue for custody of their three children. She testified that her husband would “rage” often and verbally and physically abuse her during their marriage. One time, she said, “He tried to choke me out on a couch and I literally had to bite him” to get away. “He was strangling me,” she added.

"It just got worse and worse,” she said, according to The Philadelphia Inquirer.

Parnell denied Laurie’s allegations in a statement to The Inquirer. “Let me empathically state: I have never raised a hand in anger towards my wife or any of our three children,” he said. “What happened today in court was not justice, nor did it have any basis in fact or truth. Next week, I’ll have an opportunity to present the truth to the court and I look forward to that opportunity.”

Many within the state’s Republican Party are looking for alternatives, especially as Glenn Younkin proved in Virginia that not only is public fealty to Trump is not a prerequisite to win an election, it might hurt one’s chances. In particular, Politico reported on Thursday, some are eying veteran and business executive David McCormick. McCormick has yet to decided whether he’s going to run, but even if he does, Trump seems to be doubling-down on his endorsement of Parnell.

Supporters in West Palm Beach can get a picture with them in January for only $25,000.

https://www.rollingstone.com/politics/politics-news/sean-parnell-trump-fundraiser-1253942/

[Rick Plant]

Georgia prosecutors set to 'ramp up' Trump probe with special grand jury

Georgia authorities are preparing to ramp up their criminal investigation into election interference by former president Donald Trump and his allies.

Fulton County District Attorney Fani Willis "is moving toward convening a special grand jury," the New York Times reported Saturday, citing a person with direct knowledge of the deliberations.

"By convening a grand jury dedicated solely to the allegations of election tampering, Ms. Willis, a Democrat, would be indicating that her own investigation is ramping up," the newspaper reports. "Her inquiry is seen by legal experts as potentially perilous for the former president, given the myriad interactions he and his allies had with Georgia officials, most notably Mr. Trump's January call to Secretary of State Brad Raffensperger, urging him to 'find 11,780 votes' — enough to reverse the state's election result."

Willis could submit evidence to two grand juries that are currently sitting in Fulton County, but the county has a backlog of 10,000 criminal cases.

"By contrast, a special grand jury, which by Georgia statute would include 16 to 23 members, could focus solely on the potential case against Mr. Trump and his allies," the newspaper reports. "Ms. Willis is likely to soon take the step, according to a person with direct knowledge of the deliberations, speaking on the condition of anonymity because the decision is not final."

Potential criminal charges against Trump in Georgia include racketeering, election fraud solicitation, intentional interference with performance of election duties, and conspiracy to commit election fraud, according to a recent analysis from the Brookings Institution.

Legal experts say Trump worsened his exposure to potential criminal charges in Georgia with statements at a recent MAGA rally, where he admitted to calling Georgia Republican Gov. Brian Kemp and saying: "Brian, listen. You have a big election-integrity problem in Georgia. I hope you can help us out and call a special election, and let's get to the bottom of it for the good of the country."

https://www.rawstory.com/donald-trump-2655514014/

[Rick Plant]

The Qanon quack Trump supporters are back at Dealey Plaza with more of their lunacy. They now believe Keith Richards of The Rolling Stones is JFK  Jr. This is the same GOP base that worships Trump believing he is Christ who came ​back to Earth and they also push idiotic anti vaccine disinformation. And to think the GOP used to be the Party of Ike and Reagan. Both of them are turning over in their graves.

QAnon followers return to Dealey Plaza four days after JFK Jr. failed to materialize

QAnon supporters returned to Dealey Plaza in Dallas on Saturday — four days after they first gathered expecting John F. Kennedy Jr. to rise from the dead.

"Despite JFK Jr. failing to materialize at Dealey Plaza and the Rolling Stones concert on Tuesday, QAnon-pilled JFK Jr. Truthers are STILL gathering in Dallas. Today, they're making the shape of a Q at Dealey Plaza," journalist Steven Monacelli reported Saturday.

Monacelli posted an image of the "Q" attendees formed, taken from the right-wing social media app Telegram.

"UPDATE: the situation with JFK Jr. Truthers at Dealey Plaza has, believe it or not, taken an even more bizarre turn," Monacelli wrote later. "They've now gathered into a single line and are one by one approaching a man with a bird on his shoulder who appears to be giving them individual directions."

QAnon followers first gathered at the site of president John F. Kennedy's assassination on Tuesday, reportedly expecting a speech from his son, who died in a plane crash 22 years ago. Some wore T-shirts suggesting that JFK Jr. would become former president Donald Trump's running mate in 2024.

Later, some QAnon followers surmised that Keith Richards was in fact JFK Jr. in disguise when they attended a Rolling Stones concert at the Cotton Bowl in Dallas.



https://www.rawstory.com/qanon-2655514524/

[Rick Plant]

Expert blames Trump for cops joining the ranks of radical groups



A recent hack revealed the extent of active-duty police officers who are members of the right-wing Oath Keepers paramilitary group, and new reports show their involvement in additional anti-government extremist groups.

Police officers from some of the nation's largest departments are involved with the Oath Keepers, according to a hacked membership list, and MSNBC legal analyst Frank Figliuzzi sees three factors that allowed radical extremism to infiltrate law enforcement agencies.

"First, President Donald Trump strategically cultivated cops in his bid to win and maintain power by recruiting those who already wielded it," Figliuzzi writes. "'Cops for Trump' rallies, often led by then-Vice President Mike Pence, played out in packed venues across the country, including one where Pence warned officers that they 'won't be safe' if Joe Biden were elected president. Trump also promoted the false notion that only his supporters were defenders of police, which caused most police unions, including the country's largest, to endorse Trump for president."

Figliuzzi argues police were radicalized by the nationwide wave of Black Lives Matter protests, which he says caused more than 2,000 injuries to officers and created a backlash.

"To police, the violence against them became a self-fulfilling MAGA prophecy — caused not by their own colleagues' misconduct but, as they were led to believe, by far-left liberals and minorities intent on destroying the country," Figliuzzi writes.

The former FBI assistant director of counterintelligence also believes the "defund the police" slogan further isolated police into an "us versus them" mindset.

"Counter-radicalization of police officers won't be easy, but it can be done," Figliuzzi writes. "The answer isn't to defund the police, because, in reality, corrective measures are likely to require increased budgets. Those measures must include changing the way police candidates are recruited. Targeted recruitment of college-educated, proven problem solvers, from a wide variety of academic, cultural, ethnic and racial backgrounds, will take more money, not less. Enhanced screening and vetting, including polygraphs and social media analysis, to identify and weed out those applicants more likely to default to physicality over verbal de-escalation or to act upon biases and violent ideologies, can be accomplished — but again, it will cost more, not less. Such vetting and background investigation can't end with the application process but rather must be systematically incorporated throughout officers' careers."

https://www.rawstory.com/cops-for-trump/