1/6 Insurrection Investigation

[Rick Plant]

Feds arrest MAGA-rioting Colorado pastor who allegedly tore down fencing at the Capitol



On Friday, the Justice Department announced the arrest of a Colorado pastor who participated in the January 6 attack on the U.S. Capitol — and is accused of removing fencing to force his way in.

Tyler Ethridge of Colorado Springs faces a felony charge of civil disorder, as well as multiple misdemeanor charges.

"According to court documents, on Jan. 6, Ethridge was among rioters illegally on the Capitol grounds," said the DOJ statement. "He helped remove fencing erected on the northwest approach to the Capitol. He proceeded with the crowd past the barricades to the West Plaza outside the Capitol Building. As law enforcement officers attempted to clear the crowd, Ethridge climbed a media scaffolding and exhorted the crowd to keep fighting."

According to the statement, Ethridge then "entered the Capitol Building at approximately 2:35 p.m. through the West Terrace Door. He then moved to the Rotunda, where he filmed several videos that he posted to social media. In one, he stated, 'I’m probably going to lose my job as a pastor after this … I think we’re to a point where talk is cheap. If this makes me lose my, my reputation, I don’t care.'"

DOJ officials noted that Ethridge continued to speak proudly of the attack on social media for months after, saying in a post the following September, “Don’t be afraid of what they sentence you with. I’m not. I’m ready for whatever I’ll be charged with. America is still primed and ready.”

More than 850 people from all over the country have been charged in the Capitol attack. The charges range from misdemeanors like trespassing and unlawful picketing, to assaulting law enforcement, and in the case of leadership of the far right Proud Boys and Oath Keepers, seditious conspiracy.

https://www.rawstory.com/tyler-ethridge-of-colorado-springs/

[Rick Plant]

'Stick a fork in Stewart Rhodes': ex-prosecutor says Oath Keeper is running out of ways to save himself



On Friday's edition of MSNBC's "The ReidOut," former federal prosecutor Glenn Kirschner walked through the legal situation of Oath Keepers leader Stewart Rhodes, whose paramilitary group was a key player in the January 6 attack on the U.S. Capitol.

Rhodes, who was recently charged with seditious conspiracy for his own role in the attack, reportedly now wants to give testimony to the House Select Committee investigating the attack.

"Stewart Rhodes is an important person to hear coming," said anchor Joy Reid. "Just a couple of things we have here. Prosecutors have already alleged that Stewart Rhodes held a meeting with a stack member. Exchanged a 97-second call with stack member and Oath Keepers leader Kelly Meggs as they embedded themselves at east side Capitol building doors. Their text messages that show that an unidentified person wrote about protecting Ronny Jackson, about providing physical protection to at least one Republican member of Congress. What do you expect Stewart Rhodes to add to this, and if he does it live, what do you think that means?"

"You know, Joy, stick a fork in Stewart Rhodes. He's done," said Kirschner. "And he is looking for a way out. But I can tell you the committee is not going to negotiate terms that are favorable to Stewart Rhodes to take his testimony live so that he can turn it into a circus. But I do think the negotiations will be ongoing. Because the strength of the evidence against Stewart Rhodes, it's overwhelming. So I think this is part of the negotiation dance that's being done."

Kirschner then outlined the only path forward Rhodes has to improving his legal situation.

"If he truly comes on board, if he accepts responsibility for his crimes, he pleads guilty as a cooperating witness, then I predict the Department of Justice will give him the opportunity to testify to the January 6th Committee under that cooperation agreement, and that's the only way we can sort of guarantee that what we get out of Stewart Rhodes is truthful, reliable testimony. So, you know, this is all posturing by Rhodes, and we'll see if he ends up ultimately pleading out and becoming a cooperating witness."

Watch below:

[Rick Plant]

Florida Oath Keeper brought explosives to DC for January 6: prosecutors



On Friday, Politico's Kyle Cheney revealed that a new filing by federal prosecutors against the Oath Keepers involved in the Capitol attack involves new evidence about their possession of weaponry on the day they attacked the Capitol.

Specifically, one allegation laid out in the document is that one of the Oath Keepers, Jeremy Brown, brought explosives to Washington, D.C. on the day of the attack.

Kyle Cheney @kyledcheney

UST IN: Prosecutors, in a court filing, outlined some of their trial evidence they plan to introduce against the Oath Keepers, including that “co-conspirator Jeremy Brown transported explosives to the Washington, D.C. area on Jan. 6, 2021.”



Brown, a former U.S. Army Special Forces op from Tampa, Florida, is also a former candidate for Congress. "Prosecutors say he was among the rioting crowd Jan. 6 at the U.S. Capitol, where he was photographed in military garb, a tactical vest and carrying surgical shears and zip ties. When federal agents searched his Palm River area home last week, they said they found a short-barrel rifle, a sawed-off shotgun, more than 8,000 rounds of ammunition and two hand grenades," reported the Tampa Bay Times in October.

Previous reports indicated that Brown was released ahead of trial — but then quickly ordered back to jail after threatening police visiting his home.

The Oath Keepers are a paramilitary group consisting mainly of current and retired military and law enforcement, who vow to stand against laws and orders that conflict with the group's extreme far-right view of the Constitution. They were present at many armed standoffs with the government, including the Bundy Ranch conflict in 2014.

Many key members of the Oath Keepers, including leader Stewart Rhodes, face charges of seditious conspiracy after members of the group formed a military "stack" to force their way into the Capitol.

Read More Here: https://twitter.com/kyledcheney/status/1545540246607118336

[Rick Plant]

'One loud voice!': Capitol riot preceded by months of mobilization by organizers linked to Mike Flynn



One of the most crucial questions for both the FBI investigation into the Jan. 6, 2021 attack on the US Capitol and the House Select Committee inquiry is the connection between President Trump and the militant groups that carried out the attack.

The next hearing of the January 6th Committee, scheduled for July 12 and led by Rep. Jamie Raskin (D-Md.) and Rep. Stephanie Murphy (D-Fla.), reportedly “plans to detail known links and conversations between political actors close to Trump and extremists,” according to the New York Times.

While it is not clear what evidence the committee will present, a network of operatives surrounding retired Lt. General Michael Flynn — an inspirational figure for rank-and-file Trump supporters protesting the outcome of the election — helped build an infrastructure for months in advance that stoked anger, called on the president to invoke he Insurrection Act, and amplified his call to supporters to be in Washington for a “wild rally” on Jan. 6.

One of the initiatives that sprung up around Flynn, Trump’s former national security advisor who was seeking a pardon after the US Department of Justice dismissed charges for lying to the FBI about his contacts with the Russian ambassador, was called Operation Voter Integrity.

Felisa Blazek, a New Hampshire-based event planner with ties to the QAnon community, outlined plans for the initiative in an interview with Tamara Leigh, a podcaster active in the campaign to vindicate Flynn, and Brent Hamachek, the executive editor of the right-wing publication Human Events. As Blazek described it, the project would deploy GOP activists to monitor polling places for voter fraud, with pro-Trump groups standing by to escalate complaints up through a network that she said would ultimately reach the White House.

Two of the groups mentioned by Blazek, Veterans for Trump and Bikers for Trump, would later show up at the Capitol on Jan. 6.

Blazek described a phone tree in which one activist would “would just call the head of your state for Bikers for Trump.” She continued: “One phone call. They dispatch 20 to 30 people to that precinct. Second phone call, you call in Veterans for Trump. They dispatch 20 to 30 people. They just show there and they just stand up, and they just let you know you’re not alone. The police will come. If the police don’t come, they’re all trained. We’re just standing by and letting you know that we know.”

Blazek could not be reached for comment for this story.

Two days after the election, Veterans for Trump co-founder Joshua Macias and an associate, Antonio LaMotta, were arrested on weapons charges outside the Philadelphia Convention Center, where election officials were tabulating votes. Local police made the arrests after receiving an FBI alert about a possible attempt to interfere with the vote count, according to the Philadelphia District Attorney’s office. The police reportedly recovered a semi-automatic AR-15-syle assault rifle, samurai sword and hundreds of firearms cartridges from the Hummer that the two men drove from Virginia.

Macias and LaMotta could not be reached for comment for this story.

At the time, some Democratic officials and voting rights groups condemned President Trump’s instruction to supporters to “go into the polls and watch very carefully,” saying it amounted to voter intimidation, and the Department of Homeland Security warned that polling places could be “flash points for potential violence.”

Both Macias and Blazek were avid supporters of Flynn.

Two years earlier, Macias had organized a rally to support Flynn outside the DC federal courthouse at the former general’s sentencing hearing, where he stood alongside Tamara Leigh, according to a report in Mother Jones. Chris Cox, the founder of Bikers for Trump, also attended the protest to support Flynn.

Blazek had recently organized a two-day QAnon-friendly gathering called the Patriot Party in Scottsdale, Ariz. that featured Barbara Redgate, Flynn’s sister.

During an interview to promote the event, Blazek had said, “We’re hoping to host General Flynn and his family as our honored guests. If they would choose to speak, that would be great. But really, we just want them to come there, and support them.” Blazek added that the Flynn family was like “the tip of the spear in our movement.”

David Sumrall, a Dallas-based organizer who founded the right-wing group Stop Hate, similarly extolled the Flynn family in an interview with Redgate to promote the Patriot Party.

“We want to make sure that General Flynn’s getting a message of support and love and encouragement because we have his back,” Sumrall said. “We understand what happened to him, and the whole fact that he’s willing to take one for the team.”

Soon after Biden was declared the winner of the 2020 election, Blazek and Sumrall, alongside Ali Alexander and Tomi Collins, began organizing rallies across the country to protest the electoral outcome.

Pasquali “Pat” Scopelliti, a business coach based in Charlottesville, Va. and frequent contributor on the PardonFlynnNow.com website, praised Blazek and Macias together in a post-election thread on Twitter. Referring to the two by their Twitter handles and using hashtags associated with Blazek’s election mobilization effort and a parallel campaign led by Alexander, Scopelliti tweeted: “Both @PatriotAssembly and @JoshuaMacias are on the Field of Fight, right now. I choose to support them, as should you./ #1LoudVoice/ #StopTheSteal.”

The following day, Scopelliti issued another Twitter thread, declaring that America was at “war,” with “voter fraud” being the “ultimate weapon,” while speculating that “$1,000 bottles of rice wine” were “being uncorked in Beijing.”

“There are three people I must mention,” Scopelliti continued, recognizing Sumrall, alongside Blazek and Macias. “They are: @HelpStopHate, @PatriotAssembly, @JoshuaMacias. These three patriots have known in their bones, the nature of this war. And they have joined forces to lead the ground game of its fight.”

Scopelliti attached a digital flier to the tweet with the heading “All 50 State Capitol Buildings, #1LoudVoice, Truth Rally, 12:00 PM across the nation.” The flier included URLs for nearly a dozen pro-Trump groups, including Sumrall’s Stop Hate; Blazek’s Patriot Party; PardonFlynnNow.com; and Cowboys for Trump, led by Couy Griffin, who had attended the Patriot Party event in Scottsdale. Griffin would later be arrested for his role in the attack on the Capitol, and found guilty of entering and remaining in a restricted building.

Veterans for America First, the successor organization to Veterans for Trump, currently lists Scopelliti as its community engagement advisor on the organization’s website.

Despite being out on a $750,000 bail with pending firearms charges in Philadelphia, Macias and LaMotta traveled to Washington, DC in early January for a cluster of rallies culminating with President Trump’s speech at the Ellipse. Macias was present during a brief meeting between Proud Boys national chairman Enrique Tarrio and Oath Keepers founder Stewart Rhodes in an underground parking garage on Jan. 5, the eve of the attack on the Capitol. Tarrio and Rhodes both face seditious conspiracy charges in separate cases related to the attack on the Capitol.

Philadelphia District Attorney Larry Krasner noted the meeting during a press conference last month to announce a motion to have Macias held for contempt of court due to his actions at the Capitol.

“When people are planning a bank robbery, when they are planning a mob hit, they do not let uninvolved people come to that small private meeting,” Krasner said. “When people are planning serious crimes, the only people that are going to be there, especially when they’re trying to be secretive, are people that are seriously involved.”

Also present at the parking garage meeting were Kelly SoRelle, who now serves as general counsel for the Oath Keepers, and Latinos for Trump President Bianca Gracia.

On Jan. 6, Blazek, Macias, LaMotta, Rhodes, SoRelle, Gracia and members of a Bikers for Trump faction known as Boots on the Ground gathered at the MAGA Freedom Rally in front of the Russell Senate Office Building, a block away from the Capitol.

In an interview with Sumrall last fall, SoRelle said she went back to a hotel room to eat and get warm, while Rhodes went to the Capitol. Rhodes took up a position outside the Capitol, while more than a dozen Oath Keepers members outfitted in tactical gear pushed through the crowd in a stack and followed a mob into the building. SoRelle said in that interview in September that there was no plan to attack the Capitol. In January, Rhodes and 10 other members of the Oath Keepers were charged with seditious conspiracy — a charge that amounts to attempting to overthrow the government by force. Two of those charged have pleaded guilty.

“Stewart had guys that were protecting different speakers at different events, namely Ali Alexander, who was supposed to have been literally on the Capitol grounds,” SoRelle told Sumrall last September. “Then everybody’s like, ‘Well, we don’t know where everybody’s at. This is chaos. Like, what the heck?’ So, that’s why we ended up at the Capitol. We went down there just to see if we could locate his people. You know? And then next thing you take it straight to crazy la-la land, as in everybody’s the mastermind, and whatever.”

Sumrall, who used social media to raise money to take a “team” to Washington, DC, concurred with SoRelle’s account.

Sumrall said he told FBI agents: “Guys, listen: The plan was to get to DC. That’s where it stopped. That’s where it stopped. You’re never going to find anything where anybody says, ‘We’re going in the Capitol.’”

Sumrall’s voice can be heard in a video posted on Stop Hate’s Instagram account that was taken from the west side of the Capitol. The post is accompanied by a text comment from the account owner: “We’ve broken down the gates and made it onto the Capitol grounds.”

Another video on the Stop Hate Instagram account shows police in riot gear lined up on the inauguration review stand and the terrace facing rioters, with the caption, “#StormTheCapitol.”

Macias and LaMotta also went to the Capitol. Footage recently obtained by NBC News shows LaMotta inside the Capitol. He has not been arrested to date.

With LaMotta standing nearby, Macias addressed the crowd on the east side of the Capitol, according to video archived by the @capitolhunters Twitter account.

“Mike Pence is a Benedict Arnold,” Macias roared. “We believed in you, Vice President. We had hope that you would do what’s right for our Constitution. I stood with you onstage, sir. We believed in you.

“President Trump, you have the ability to pass — if you have the strength, sir — the Insurrection Act is now,” Macias continued. “You have the power, sir, and we support you 110 percent. Do what’s right, sir…. Defend the Constitution against foreign and domestic enemies. Those domestic enemies are here. If you’re not awake, America, be awoke. The enemy is not at the gates; the enemy is already here.”

Another person could be heard answering Macias with the QAnon slogan: “Where we go one, we go all!”

“That’s right!” Macias said. “One loud voice! We are one. We are united. I am Josh Macias, Vets for Trump. We will never quit.”

https://www.rawstory.com/mike-flynn-riot-2657638150/

[Rick Plant]

'Donald is terrified' is an 'understatement' after Cipollone testimony: Mary Trump



Appearing on MSNBC's "Katie Phang Show," Donald Trump's niece Mary said her uncle is likely shaking in his boots after hearing former White House counsel Pat Cipollone spent over 8 hours talking with investigators working for the House select committee investigating the Jan 6th Capitol riot.

Cipollone, who reportedly warned former White House aide Cassidy Hutchinson that the administration was dangerously close to committing multiple crimes as Trump's inner circle tried to overturn the election results -- while also inciting the insurrection -- was expected to claim executive privilege. However, the amount of time he spent has raised eyebrows among observers who believe that he may have been more forthcoming than expected.

Speaking with host Phang, Mary Trump said her uncle is definitely alarmed at what may have been revealed.

"What do you think is going through his mind right now?" host Phang asked. "There is an even larger amount of damning testimony that is coming out. Notably, he did not attack Pat Cipollone before he testified before the committee."

"To say that Donald is terrified is accurate, it is also an understatement," she began. "I think this might be the first time in his entire life that even he can't deny the walls that are closing in. The amount of evidence that we see coming out of these committee hearings is overwhelming."

"Even more troubling for him is the witnesses coming forward," she elaborated. "They are increasingly important in terms of access and their position in his administration. It is not at all surprising that he would pull his punches when it comes to Pat Cipollone."

Watch:

[Rick Plant]

Cipollone's 8-hour testimony will light a fire under Trump's inner circle to talk to investigators: legal analyst

Appearing on MSNBC with host Ali Velshi early Saturday morning, the Democrat's chief counsel during Donald Trump's first impeachment trial claimed the 8-hour testimony given by former White House counsel Pat Cipollone will likely provoke a rush of members of Donald Trump's inner circle to talk to investigators out of fear they might have been implicated in the Jan 6th insurrection.

Speaking with the host, legal analyst Daniel Goldman claimed anyone who might have taken part in helping the president with his plan to steal the election would want to be one of the first to fess up in an effort to avoid criminal charges.

"They don't know what each other has said, now they are now starting to see what the committee understands, what the other witnesses have said," he explained. "It is almost like a sprint to get in first to tell the story in your own terms. That is always more beneficial than being the last one nd having to have a bit more of a target on your back."

"This is what happens often in criminal investigations," he elaborated. "I am very interested to see whether and to what extent any of these witnesses go marching into the Department of Justice to cooperate with them. Because what everybody is realizing now is that there was a crime spree as Cipollone indicated to Cassidy Hutchinson. The question now, who is going to have a target on his or her back as a part of the criminal investigation? You don't want to be the last one standing. You want to be the first one to cooperate and gave your information and get on the right side of the investigation."

"That is why Cipollone came in," he suggested. "I expect that others have realized, 'oh boy, we better get in'."

Watch:

[Rick Plant]

Oath Keepers Wanted to Protect Ex-Trump Doctor’s ‘Critical Data’ on Jan. 6

Oath Keeper text messages revealed by the congressional committee investigating Jan. 6 show the far-right militia wanted to “help” Rep. Ronny Jackson.



As rioters stormed the U.S. Capitol on Jan. 6, 2021, certain members of the Oath Keepers learned that a U.S. Congress member needed “help” from their militia.

“Dr. Ronnie Jackson—on the move. Needs protection,” wrote an unidentified Oath Keeper in a text message at 3:08 p.m. “If anyone inside cover him. He has critical data to protect.” (Jackson’s first name is spelled Ronny.)

Moments later, Oath Keeper leader Stewart Rhodes responded. “Help with what?” he replied. “Give him my cell.”

These text messages surfaced Monday in a letter from the House Select Committee that’s investigating the violent Capitol riot. And the lawmakers have a lot of questions. So far, 11 Oath Keepers, including Rhodes, have been charged with seditious conspiracy in connection to the riot. Two of those Oath Keepers have pleaded guilty.

“Why would these individuals have an interest in your specific location?” the committee asked in their letter, as an example of the kind of question they’d be putting to Jackson. “Why would they believe you ‘have critical data to protect?’ Why would they direct their members to protect your personal safety? With whom did you speak by cell phone that day?”

The committee sent the letter as a request to interview Jackson, who’s now a Republican representative in Texas, along with two of his Republican colleagues, Rep. Andy Biggs of Arizona and Rep. Mo Brooks of Alabama, as part of their investigation. The lawmakers are particularly interested in whether Jackson and the Oath Keepers communicated before, during, or after the riot.  The committee hopes to meet with all three congressmen the week of May 9.

Jackson, along with Biggs and Brooks, were outspoken proponents of the “Stop the Steal” conspiracy, which brought thousands of Trump supporters to Washington, D.C., on Jan. 6. Before he was elected to Congress in 2020, Jackson was best known as the White House doctor from 2013 to 2018. He earned the nickname “Candyman” because of his free-wheeling approach to handing out prescription drugs, according to NPR, and he famously hyped the president’s health and genes. Trump later nominated him to run Veterans Affairs, although he withdrew from the process over allegations of improper behavior. 

The Jan. 6 committee is also interested in the ties between Biggs, Brooks, and other known far-right activists or extremists. In the letter to Biggs, lawmakers wrote that they are aware Stop the Steal activist Ali Alexander publicly claimed that he and Biggs, plus two other members of Congress, cooked up the plan together to bring protesters to D.C. on Jan. 6, the day that the 2020 election results were expected to be certified.

“We would like to understand precisely what you knew before the violence on Jan. 6 about the purposes, planning, and expectations for the march on the Capitol,” they wrote.

Their interest in Brooks—once an ardent Trump loyalist—hinges on recent comments he made about the former president, according to the letter.

“The president has asked me to rescind the election of 2020,” Brooks told WIAT, a local Alabama TV station, in March. “He always brings up, 'We've got to rescind the election. We got to take Joe Biden down and put me in now.'" The letter quoted these remarks verbatim.

Brooks also told CNN that Trump continued to pressure him to rescind the election results even after Jan. 6.

Brooks' allegations against Trump came shortly after the former president had withdrawn his endorsement from the Alabama congressman in his bid for re-election. Trump accused Brooks of having gone “woke” by dropping the issue of the 2020 election on the campaign trail.

https://www.vice.com/en/article/epx3jw/oath-keepers-ronny-jackson-protection