JFK Assassination Forum
Off Topic => News - Off Topic - Weird & Wacky => Topic started by: Joe Elliott on June 05, 2022, 06:54:53 AM
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A Well-Regulated Militia.
https://www.msn.com/en-us/news/us/is-gun-control-written-in-the-second-amendment-gary-cosby-jr/ar-AAY4FDi?cvid=2a1f5366e1ae4156ab01a0f074ed1c7c
“A well-regulated Militia, being necessary to the security of a free State, the right of the people to keep and bear Arms, shall not be infringed.”
To me, the second amendment could not be clearer. So long as a citizen is a member of a well-regulated Militia, the federal government will not interfere with their right to bear arms. Presumably, this does not mean a few drinking buddies declaring themselves to be a “well-regulated” Militia. Presumably it means one controlled by a Governor or a state government.
The language could not be clearer. If the real intent was to say the federal government will not interfere with any citizen bearing arms, the language was very confusing. And the writers of the Constitution and it’s first ten amendments were pretty good at writing in clear, easily understood manner.
The second amendment was never used to protect the rights of any citizen to own guns of any type, until arbitrary decisions of certain courts starting in the 1950’s. The Dred Scott decision of the 1850’s, making slavery legal throughout the United States, the 1950’s court rulings on guns, the 2021 Supreme Court overturning Roe vs. Wade, are all examples of courts just making up new law that they think would be good for the country.
Are guns necessary for citizens to maintain Democracy. As a last resort that can be used if a dictator seizes control of the country, against the wishes of the majority?
The events of January 6, 2021 lead me to believe that armed citizens are as likely to take up arms to take down democracy as they are to protect it. So, the loss of thousands each year to gun violence, which other countries do not have, does not seem to buy us anything.
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The radical right has already been talking about taking up arms for a "civil war". Some of them tried to on Jan 6th.
Right wing extremists already have their militias like the proud boys, oath keepers, three percenters who tried to overthrow the government on Jan 6th and you have GOP members of congress who have ties to these violent militias.
They wanted Jan 6 to be their 1776.
You have wannabe dictator in Florida Ron DeSantis implementing a "secret police" to intimidate and harass voters at the polls.
Criminal Donald "retweeted" a call for civil war on his bogus social media site.
It's no secret these Republican fascists want to end democracy and replace it with an authoritarian regime like in Hungary. It's why Tucker Carlson slobbers over Orban in Hungary and the far right had the CPAC over there. And the sheep who belong to the Republican party as voters are willing to go right along with it.
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Oath Keepers insurrection on Jan 6th.
(https://static01.nyt.com/images/2021/02/19/us/politics/19dc-oathkeepers/19dc-oathkeepers-videoSixteenByNineJumbo1600.jpg)
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Nearly 2,000 New Yorkers enlisted with the Oath Keepers
https://buffalonews.com/news/local/nearly-2-000-new-yorkers-enlisted-with-the-oath-keepers-but-many-have-drifted-away/article_fbeb0a4a-9e46-11ec-9984-db59705ea2bf.html
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20 active-duty troops signed up for the extremist Oath Keepers militia — many with their military emails
https://www.businessinsider.com/us-troops-oath-keepers-militia-official-military-emails-2022-1
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The radical right has already been talking about taking up arms for a "civil war". Some of them tried to on Jan 6th.
Right wing extremists already have their militias like the proud boys, oath keepers, three percenters who tried to overthrow the government on Jan 6th and you have GOP members of congress who have ties to these violent militias.
They wanted Jan 6 to be their 1776.
You have wannabe dictator in Florida Ron DeSantis implementing a "secret police" to intimidate and harass voters at the polls.
Criminal Donald "retweeted" a call for civil war on his bogus social media site.
It's no secret these Republican fascists want to end democracy and replace it with an authoritarian regime like in Hungary. It's why Tucker Carlson slobbers over Orban in Hungary and the far right had the CPAC over there. And the sheep who belong to the Republican party as voters are willing to go right along with it.
The only "arms" used on Jan. 6 was a gun fired by a Capitol police officer that killed an unarmed woman and former military vet. The greater threat to democracy is suppressing free speech and having show trials designed to lock up dissenters. Like something out of the Stalinist-era. Fortunately Americans voters have not been fooled.
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Whoever claims that "no guns" were brought to the Capitol on January 6th is simply not telling the truth.
Yes folks, these Trump insurrectionist degenerates brought guns to the Capitol. It's been well documented guns were brought and prosecutors used that evidence to send some of these thugs to prison. In fact, the articles and the video below details the guns that were brought to the Capitol by Trump thugs on January 6th. Militias who were in contact with Trump insiders had weapons stockpiled for January 6th and they have now been indicted for seditious conspiracy. I've been documenting this for months.
Insurrectionist apologists lie about January 6th to downplay the violence from Trump's thugs. The right wing media does this on a daily basis and so does Republican politicians who were involved in the coup.
"Free Speech" does not entitle you to take part in a violent mob to beat police officers, break inside the Capitol, ransack the inside of the Capitol, and attempt to hunt down members of Congress to kill them. People who engage in a violent coup to overthrow the government will be arrested, prosecuted, and imprisoned. That's how the law works in America and it's not "suppressing free speech" or "Stalinist" to arrest violent criminals taking part in a violent coup.
As for the "unarmed woman", she was illegally breaking through a Capitol window door breaching a highly secured area which was near the House chamber. A Capitol police officer told her to retreat more than once and she refused and kept coming through. So fearing for his life, with a mob behind her she was shot. It was her own fault. When a cop tells you to "retreat" and "stand down", you do it, and don't keep coming at him. She had no business being inside the Capitol or breaking through a Capitol window in a highly secured area. If it wasn't for this brave police officer taking her down, that mob would have broken through to violently attack members of Congress who barely escaped the chamber.
Here she is below breaking through a Capitol window with the violent mob right behind her. She had absolutely no business breaking through this window trying to get to our elected officials. The purpose of the Capitol police is to protect our elected officials from deranged violent lunatics like this woman was. This should be common sense.
(https://pbs.twimg.com/media/ErM9XT1WMAIgXQq.jpg)
(https://nypost.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2021/01/210107-ashli-babbitt-video.jpg?quality=75&strip=all)
Handguns, crowbars, Tasers and tomahawk axes: Dozens of Capitol rioters wielded "deadly or dangerous" weapons, prosecutors say
https://www.cbsnews.com/news/capitol-riot-weapons-deadly-dangerous/
Trump Extremists Brought Numerous Guns on January 6, Evidence Shows
Rioters at the Capitol carried concealed pistols, allegedly stockpiled weapons nearby, and called for overthrowing the US government.
https://www.motherjones.com/crime-justice/2021/09/trump-extremists-guns-january-6-insurrection-congress-domestic-terrorism/
Oath Keepers Cached Weapons for Jan. 6 Capitol Attack, Prosecutors Say
Cartloads of arms and ammunition were at the ready at a Virginia hotel, according to an indictment against members of the far-right militia group
https://www.wsj.com/articles/oath-keepers-cached-weapons-for-jan-6-capitol-attack-prosecutors-say-11642693058
Alabama man sentenced to 46 months for bringing guns, Molotov cocktails, other weapons to Capitol Hill on Jan. 6
https://www.cbsnews.com/news/jan-6-lonnie-coffman-guns-molotov-cocktails-capitol/
Trump Extremists Brought Numerous Guns on January 6, Evidence Shows
Watch:
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A Militia Member’s Admission About Guns and the Capitol
NEW from THE TRACE: New bill targets lawbreaking gun dealers. Congressional Democrats want to toughen penalties for unscrupulous gun dealers with a measure that follows our reporting and President Joe Biden’s pledge to make combating dealer noncompliance a significant part of his violence prevention strategy. If approved, the reintroduction of the Keeping Gun Dealers Honest Act would make it easier for the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms, and Explosives to shutter lawbreaking gun dealers and allow the agency to fine them as much as $10,000 for each violation of federal rules. The bill would also increase penalties for dealers that falsify records, raise the number of times the ATF is allowed to inspect gun dealers, and allow the agency to hire more inspectors. Brian Freskos has that story.
Oath Keeper admits he stashed guns for insurrection. Mark Grods pleaded guilty to two felony counts of conspiracy and obstructing Congress, and acknowledged the Justice Department’s claims that he and members of the far-right militant group came to Washington, D.C., on January 6 with plans for violence and to get weapons into the city, where guns are heavily restricted. Grods is the second Oath Keeper to take a government plea deal admitting to conspiracy charges, following Graydon Young last week. A third Oath Keeper at the Capitol pleaded guilty to an unrelated charge. Related: The DOJ charged a U.S. Army veteran who was the first alleged Capitol rioter to have ties to the boogaloo movement, a loosely organized far-right faction prepping for a civil war. The Trace has covered how ammo makers and gun shops have been marketing to boogaloo believers.
https://www.thetrace.org/newsletter/a-militia-members-admission-about-guns-and-the-capitol/
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How about someone ask why four (count them) police officers committed suicide? Has any "Jan. 6" investigator looked into that oddity? I have no idea and neither does anyone else. It seems like an astronomically high number that creates some basis for investigation since these four are falsely lumped into the death toll for Jan. 6. There was actually one person killed that day. An unarmed protestor. The media to this day, however, claim five police officers were killed. One died of natural causes the next day despite false media reports that he died after being hit with a fire extinguisher that continue until this day. The other four were suicides days later. None died on Jan. 6 or as the result of any injury sustained on Jan. 6.
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First of all, these were not "protesters". These were insurrectionists trying to overthrow the US government and they had no business being there
The "so called unarmed woman" was trying to breach a highly secured area to attack members of Congress in the chamber. She refused to back off from coming through a Capitol window so she was shot. I already posted her photo breaching the area above.
We already know why Capitol police officers have committed suicide after the January 6th insurrection. We were told why during the January 6th Inquiry last year when Capitol police officers who were injured in the attack and the families of the officers testified as to why. All the articles and videos are documented below which show why.
The officers committed suicide due to the severe trauma they had to go through when they were fighting off Trump's insurrectionist thugs for several hours. They have been ruled "line of duty deaths" so the deaths are considered January 6th deaths.
Officer Brian Sicknick did not die from "natural causes". He was beaten in the head by Trump's thugs on January 6th and fell ill during the riot as told by fellow Capitol police officer Caroline Edwards. The injuries he sustained caused him to have 2 strokes the next day which killed him. Officer Brian Sicknick died as a result of the beating he took and died because of Trump and his thugs.
One of those colleagues was Capitol Police officer Brian Sicknick, who died from two strokes the day after the attack.
"All of a sudden, I see movement to the left of me. I turned, and it was Officer Sicknick with his head in his hands and he was ghostly pale, which I figured at that point, he had been sprayed and I was concerned. My cop alarm bells went off. Because if you get sprayed with pepper spray, you're going to turn red. He turned just about as pale as this sheet of paper," she said.
https://www.cbsnews.com/news/january-6-hearing-caroline-edwards-capitol-police-officer-testimony/
(https://d1hfln2sfez66z.cloudfront.net/01-08-2021/t_c5dcd600ff7a4a4fbf3a463d3b217008_name_Who_was_Brian_Sicknick_Capitol_police_of_5ff8540041a03234bad5555f_1_Jan_08_2021_12_55_37_poster.jpg)
Officers Give Harrowing Testimony On Their Experience Defending The Capitol On Jan. 6
July, 27 2021
https://www.npr.org/2021/07/27/1019736664/jan-6-insurrection-hearing-police-nancy-pelosi-committee
Police recount mayhem and 'attempted coup' in U.S. Capitol riot
https://www.reuters.com/world/us/police-who-defended-us-capitol-testify-riot-probes-first-hearing-2021-07-27/
July 27, 2021 House select committee hearing on Capitol riot
https://www.cnn.com/politics/live-news/jan-6-house-select-committee-hearing-07-27-21/index.html
'Constant trauma': After 2 post-insurrection suicides, DC's top cop has mental health woes
https://wjla.com/news/local/2-post-insurrection-suicides-dcs-top-cop-mental-health-woes
Police Officer’s Suicide After Jan. 6 Riot Is Ruled a Line-of-Duty Death
“If he did not go to work that day, he would be here,” said the widow of Officer Jeffrey Smith of the Metropolitan Police.
https://www.nytimes.com/2022/03/10/us/police-suicide-capitol-riot.html
New Program Helps Capitol Police Deal With Trauma From The Insurrection
https://www.npr.org/2021/04/25/989201440/new-program-helps-capitol-police-deal-with-trauma-from-the-insurrection
Angels on campus’: Record number of Capitol staff seek counseling in year after Jan. 6
https://rollcall.com/2022/01/05/staff-seek-counseling-capitol-riot/
'It's going to prey on their minds': Lawmakers call for mental health help for police and staff in wake of Capitol riot
https://www.usatoday.com/story/news/politics/2021/02/05/capitol-riots-congress-asks-mental-health-services-officers/4348823001/
Officer Michael Fanone testifies before House Select Committee
Watch:
House select committee on U.S. Capitol riot holds first hearing July 27, 2021
Watch:
Horrifying moment Trump mob hits cops with a FIRE EXTINGUISHER, flags, signs & crutches
Watch:
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If you watch the video of the shooting death of the unarmed protestor, you see several officers standing in front of the door. A few protestors stand there and do nothing for several minutes. These officers then step aside and stand with their backs against the wall for some reason watching but doing nothing. Again, these officers do not intervene and are not attacked by anyone. They seemingly received a message to stand down. The unarmed women then is shot at point blank range by an officer on the other side of the door. Thousands of similar protestors in the building are not shot. Should the police have mowed down everyone who entered the building? This is a public building. These individuals were trespassing in unauthorized area of the building. That is not a justification to use lethal force. The investigation of this shooting was conducted in secrecy (entirely in contrast to the radical left's calls for greater transparency in police shootings). Even the name of the shooter was not disclosed for months. A police officer in the other chamber calmly accompanied several unarmed protestors as they sat in the speakers chair. He did not kill these men because there was no legal justification to do so. They were not threatening anyone although in the commission of a misdemeanor trespass crime. For which they were charged.
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The nonsense above that the investigation was "done in secret" is bogus. It was a regular internal investigation like all of them are conducted and the police officer was found innocent of any wrongdoing.
USCP Completes Internal Investigation into the January 6 Officer-Involved Shooting
https://www.uscp.gov/media-center/press-releases/uscp-completes-internal-investigation-january-6-officer-involved
Once again, these thugs were not "protesters°. Anyone who says that is flat out not telling the truth.
Watch this video below. Do these thugs look like normal "protesters"?
Do they look like they "weren't threatening anyone"? The nonsense written above is absurd.
And these thugs just didn't get a "misdemeanor trespass crime". Some were sentenced to prison for 5 years for their violent actions. Proud Boys and the Oath Keepers militia were indicted for seditious conspiracy which when convicted, they will get 14 years in prison maximum.
They were a violent radical insurrectionist mob that was intent on stopping the vote certification and were looking to hang Mike Pence and members of Congress. They were trying to overthrow the government.
They illegally stormed the Capitol, beat police officers, broke windows to get inside the Capitol. Once they were inside, they were destroying the inside of the Capitol.
The aides and staff of our congressional leaders were running for their lives. Elected officials barely escaped the chamber before the mob got there.
The police feared for their lives with a violent mob breaking down the door to get to the House chamber.
The fact is, these insurrectionist thugs had no business being inside the Capitol during Biden's certification. They were there to stop it by force.
Capitol police officers are stationed in secure areas to protect our elected officials. Anyone who breaches that area is liable to get shot. That is common sense.
Of course you would use lethal force when your life is in danger. Right wingers make a big deal about guns for protection, but when Capitol police use a gun for protecting our elected officials they cry when an insurrectionist gets shot for attempting to harm our elected officials.
The hypocrisy from the right is unbelievable. And don't forget Republicans lives were in just as much danger inside the Capitol but they are defending this violent insurrection and attempted coup.
Watch:
WATCH: Jan. 6 committee shows new footage of Capitol attack
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Nine-page plan to occupy congressional buildings on January 6, 2021, released in court filing
CNN — A lawyer for one of the Proud Boys charged with seditious conspiracy released a 9-page document on Wednesday that outlines a plan to occupy key congressional buildings connected to the US Capitol and the Supreme Court on January 6, 2021, and to distribute a list of demands calling for a new election.
The plan envisioned using “covert sleeper(s)” to set up fake appointments in federal buildings and then having people “rush the building.” It claimed: “We have the ability to … Target Specific Senators Offices.”
The plan also included handing out flyers to demand “a new election” on January 20, 2021, and to warn prominent Republicans including then-Vice President Mike Pence and Sen. Mitch McConnell that, “We the people are watching you.”
Details of the document had been previously disclosed in court. But the full document, titled “1776 Returns,” has now been filed as part of a seditious conspiracy case against members of the Proud Boys, including the group’s leader, Enrique Tarrio. Prosecutors say Tarrio got a copy of the document before January 6.
The document has previously been cited by the Justice Department as well as the House select committee to show how extremist organizations such as the Proud Boys were considering storming government buildings as early as December 2020. Video from the riot shows members of the Proud Boys among the first to breach Capitol grounds.
Now, as federal prosecutors bring high-profile charges like seditious conspiracy, a defense lawyer for a member in the far-right group is pointing to the document as evidence that prosecutors are overstating the group’s alleged plans for January 6.
“1776 Returns is not a plan to attack the Capitol and does not even mention the Capitol,” Carmen Hernandez, who represents Proud Boys member Zachary Rehl, wrote in a court filing arguing for his release from jail. “It refers to occupying Congressional office buildings.”
While the superseding indictment charging the Proud Boys with seditious conspiracy added very little new information to the existing prosecution, it did include messages Tarrio sent the evening of January 6, seemingly referencing the plan to occupy congressional buildings.
Hernandez also cites portions of a new transcript of a December 30, 2020, call for a chapter of the Proud Boys called the Ministry of Self Defense that had been tasked with organizing national rallies.
In the call, according to the transcript, Tarrio warned others in the group to remain sober during rallies. “This specific chapter is going to have a code of conduct stricter than other chapters when it comes to these National public events,” Tarrio told the group.
According to the transcript, Tarrio also told the group to act only in self-defense, adding that “we’re never going to be the ones to cross the police barrier … in order to get to somebody.”
https://www.cnn.com/2022/06/15/politics/1776-returns-document-capitol-january-6/index.html
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All Three of the Capitol Complex Buildings Rep. Barry Loudermilk (R-GA) Gave January 6 Insurrectionists Access to and a Tour of on Insurrection Eve Appear As Circled Targets in the “1776 Returns” Coup Blueprints Shared Amongst Trump’s January 6 Paramilitaries militias.
Released yesterday by the January 6th Committee. Read below the “1776 returns” document found on Proud Boys leader Tarrio. Rep. Loudermilk should know that the Cannon, Longworth, & Rayburn buildings were on the “TARGETED BUILDINGS” list, and part of the plan was to “set up meetings with reps in target buildings.”
(https://pbs.twimg.com/media/FVUFDD2XEAQE39x?format=jpg&name=small)
(https://pbs.twimg.com/media/FVUFDEMWUAM4Vll?format=jpg&name=small)
All of these Republicans need to answer why they were all hanging out with Proud Boys leader Enrique Tarrio who was indicted for seditious conspiracy and planned to take over buildings by force in DC with this thugs.
(https://pbs.twimg.com/media/FUwJ8RUXoAAqU31?format=jpg&name=medium)
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So much for the bogus false claim that "nobody was threatened" on January 6th and these were just simply "protesters". Trump supporters who are the extreme right wing militias wanted to gas Democratic Congressmen to death inside the tunnels they were hiding in from Trump's rioters. The day before on Jan 5, 2021, insurrectionists were given a "tour" of the Capitol by Republican Representative Barry Loudermilk where they were taking pictures of these tunnels and staircases, so they knew exactly where our elected officials would be. These are the same militias who plotted to take over government buildings in DC by force. Their plans are in my post above.
Oath Keepers plotted to attack lawmakers in tunnels photographed by GOPer’s Capitol tour group
Extremists plotted to "gas" lawmakers after "sealing them in" the Capitol tunnels
Right wing extremists charged in the U.S. Capitol riot threatened to "gas" lawmakers in tunnels where Rep. Barry Loudermilk, R-Ga., led a tour the previous day.
The Georgia Republican led a group of 15 individuals later identified by police as constituents on a tour of the Capitol complex, where one participant took photos of hallways, staircases and tunnels, and that same man was shown on video from Jan. 6 shouting threats against individual Democratic lawmakers.
"We're coming to take you out and pull you out by your hairs," the man says, referring to Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez, D-N.Y. "When I get done with you, you're going to need a shine on top of that bald head."
Conspiracy charges filed shortly after the riot showed a group of three Oath Keepers were particularly interested in lawmakers' movements in the tunnels underneath the Capitol complex, and one of them, Thomas Edward Caldwell, allegedly received a Facebook message about them.
"All members are in the tunnels under capital seal them in," reads the message. "Turn on gas."
Caldwell also received another message on the topic, according to an affidavit that replicates spelling errors in the original statement.
"Tom all legislators are down in the Tunnels 3 floors down," the message reads. "Do like we had to do when I was in the core (sic) start tearing oit florrs go from top to bottom."
The Jan. 6 committee noted on Wednesday that the tour had visited "entrances to Capitol tunnels."
"Individuals on the tour photographed/recorded areas not typically of interest to tourists: hallways, staircases and security checkpoints," the committee tweeted.
https://www.salon.com/2022/06/15/oath-keepers-plotted-to-lawmakers-in-tunnels-photographed-by-gopers-capitol-tour-group_partner/
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We read the bogus claim above that these insurrectionists "weren't threatening anyone".
Well, why does this militia insurrectionist who illegally broke into the House chamber have zip ties in his hand?
He wanted to take members of Congress as hostages to overthrow the government.
(https://pbs.twimg.com/media/FVa4p2NVUAALk_z?format=jpg&name=medium)
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'Devastating piece of evidence': Filing reveals a Proud Boys plan to storm buildings Jan. 6
https://www.usatoday.com/story/news/politics/2022/06/15/1776-returns-proud-boys-enrique-tarrio-zachary-rehl/7640565001/
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Firearms, a drone and 30 days of supplies: New details of Oath Keepers Jan. 6 weapons cache
Prosecutors provided new details about the weapons stockpile Oath Keepers had assembled at a Comfort Inn in nearby Arlington, Va.
https://www.politico.com/news/2022/01/19/oath-keepers-jan-6-weapons-cache-527359
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U.S. charges three, including an Oath Keepers volunteer, for roles in Capitol attack
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WASHINGTON, June 15 (Reuters) - Three Florida residents were charged on Wednesday in connection with the January 2021 attack on the U.S. Capitol, including one of whom prosecutors said sought to volunteer with the far-right Oath Keepers militia.
The Justice Department said that Leslie Gray, 56, Traci Isaacs, 52, and her husband, Luis Hallon, 67, of St. Cloud, Florida were all arrested on Wednesday.
Gray is facing felony charges of civil disorder and obstruction of an official proceeding and other misdemeanors, while Isaacs is charged with destruction of documents and other lesser offenses, while Hallon is facing several misdemeanors.
All three are accused of illegally entering the Capitol on Jan. 6, 2021.
Isaacs, who is a paramedic, is alleged to have submitted an application with the Oath Keepers to volunteer her medical services.
A number of the group's members, including its leader Stewart Rhodes, are due to go to trial later this year on seditious conspiracy charges in connection with the riot at the U.S. Capitol.
Prosecutors say Isaacs later deleted text messages exchanged on Jan. 6, but the FBI was able to recover some of them. In one message, she told someone: “Delete anything I sent you please. Feds are going after people hard.”
More than 840 been charged with taking part in the Capitol riot in which supporters of Republican then-President Donald Trump tried to prevent formal congressional certification of his 2020 election loss to Democrat Joe Biden, attacking police and sending lawmakers scrambling for safety.
Trump has made false claims that he lost due to widespread voting fraud.
https://www.reuters.com/world/us/us-charges-three-including-an-oath-keepers-volunteer-roles-capitol-attack-2022-06-15/
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Prosecutors seek probe of whether Trump-allied lawyer is funding Oath Keepers defense
The DOJ cited reports alleging that legal fees are being paid by an entity controlled by attorney Sidney Powell, who played a key role in Trump’s effort to overturn the 2020 election.
(https://media-cldnry.s-nbcnews.com/image/upload/t_fit-1240w,f_auto,q_auto:best/rockcms/2022-05/220504-stewart-rhodes-ONETIMEUSE-mn-1145-d8745c.jpg)
WASHINGTON — U.S. prosecutors asked a judge on Wednesday to launch an ethics inquiry into whether defense lawyers for prominent members of the right-wing Oath Keepers are improperly allowing an attorney closely allied with former President Donald Trump to help pay their legal fees.
The Justice Department’s court filing cited media reports alleging that the legal fees for Oath Keepers leader Stewart Rhodes are being paid by Defending the Republic, an entity controlled by Sidney Powell, an attorney who played a key role in Trump’s attempt to overturn his election defeat. The group is also paying fees for Oath Keeper defendants Kelly Meggs, Connie Meggs and Kenneth Harrelson, it said.
The payments, if true, could violate professional conduct rules limiting compensation methods for attorneys in the District of Columbia, prosecutors said.
Under those rules, defense lawyers must only accept payments from their own clients, unless three conditions are met: The client must give informed consent, information related to the representation must be protected, and the third-party fee arrangement cannot cause “interference with the lawyer’s independence of professional judgment or with the client-lawyer relationship.”
Powell did not immediately respond to a request for comment.
Rhodes and the Oath Keepers are due to go to trial in September over charges of seditious conspiracy for their alleged roles in the attack on the U.S. Capitol on Jan. 6, 2021.
More than 840 people have been charged with taking part in the Capitol riot in which Trump supporters tried to prevent certification of his 2020 loss to Democrat Joe Biden, attacking police and sending lawmakers scrambling for safety.
“The government is filing this motion because it has an interest and an obligation to ensure it represents its client, the United States,” prosecutors wrote on Wednesday. “Those duties include raising potential conflicts with the Court as they arise.”
https://www.nbcnews.com/politics/justice-department/prosecutors-seek-probe-trump-allied-lawyers-funding-oath-keepers-defen-rcna34830
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Is Sidney Powell Secretly Funding the Oath Keepers’ Lawyers? The Feds Want to Know.
The DOJ is concerned that Sidney Powell may be paying for lawyers for Oath Keepers who breached the Capitol—and they want to find out if the Oath Keepers even know.
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Federal prosecutors in the nation’s capital are trying to drag several lawyers representing indicted Oath Keepers before a judge to make them explain how exactly they’re getting paid, citing a concern that conspiracy theorist Sidney Powell is actually covering the legal tab.
On Wednesday, the Department of Justice asked a federal judge to intervene to ensure that members of the armed, anti-government paramilitary group have “competent and conflict-free” attorneys.
They cited recent reports in Mother Jones and BuzzFeed News that laid out how Powell’s political group, Defending the Republic, has quietly funded several defense lawyers.
While the DOJ’s move may seem odd, it behooves prosecutors to have Oath Keepers adequately defended so that any eventual criminal trial is free from accusations of an unfair fight.
More than a dozen members of the MAGA-loyal militia face the extremely rare and serious criminal charge of seditious conspiracy for taking part in the violent insurrection on Jan. 6, 2021, when they took part in storming the Capitol building—and kept stashes of firearms and military gear at the ready just outside the District of Columbia.
In their five-page court filing, prosecutors warned that Powell’s secret funding campaign might violate the region’s legal ethics rules, which prohibit lawyers from getting paid by someone other than their client if the agreement causes “interference with the lawyer’s independence of professional judgment.”
The letter, which covers a whopping 17 defendants involved in three different criminal cases, listed five prosecutors from the District of Columbia’s local U.S. Attorney’s Office and two additional lawyers from the DOJ’s National Security Division.
In a separate letter prosecutors sent directly to these defense attorneys last week, they suggested having an outside entity bankroll the defense presented a conflict of interest, because a stronger defense could make these accused insurrectionists less likely drop their fight early and strike a plea deal—a gamble that could ultimately land each person more time in prison, if convicted.
“This fact could be against the interest of a particular defendant,” prosecutors wrote in a footnote.
Prosecutors revealed that they questioned all the defense attorneys about the financing arrangement, but only some of them assured that they weren’t being funded by Powell. Others either dodged the question or didn’t respond at all.
According to prosecutors, two attorneys who represent the farming couple Kelly and Connie Meggs, as well as another lawyer who represents Florida man Kenneth Harrelson, told the government they weren’t breaking the rules—but wouldn’t say how they’re getting paid. Meanwhile, they got no response at all from the lawyers who separately represent the eyepatch-sporting Oath Keepers leader from Texas, Elmer Stewart Rhodes, and Ohio bartender Jessica Watkins.
Prosecutors also got a cryptic response from another lawyer who seemed to suggest that Powell’s group is paying for the defense of Roberto Minuta, who owns a tattoo shop in a small Hudson River city just north of New York City.
“Should Judge Mehta wish for my client or me to explain the arrangement for funding my client’s legal defense in order to confirm that my client’s Sixth Amendment right to conflict free counsel are being afforded—or waived—we will provide him with whatever information he requests,” Hawaii-based defense lawyer William Shipley wrote to prosecutors.
None of these lawyers responded to several requests for comment from The Daily Beast on Wednesday.
But one attorney who previously represented Rhodes and other members of rightwing organizations now being targeted by the DOJ—and struck an arrangement to get paid by Defending the Republic—told The Daily Beast that Powell’s group is doing itself a disservice by operating with secrecy.
“Should Judge Mehta wish for my client or me to explain the arrangement for funding my client’s legal defense in order to confirm that my client’s Sixth Amendment right to conflict free counsel are being afforded—or waived—we will provide him with whatever information he requests,” Hawaii-based defense lawyer William Shipley wrote to prosecutors.
None of these lawyers responded to several requests for comment from The Daily Beast on Wednesday.
But one attorney who previously represented Rhodes and other members of rightwing organizations now being targeted by the DOJ—and struck an arrangement to get paid by Defending the Republic—told The Daily Beast that Powell’s group is doing itself a disservice by operating with secrecy.
Moseley detailed some of those concerns in a court filing last year when he was still representing Zachary Rehl, the leader of the Proud Boys’ chapter in Philadelphia. In that filing, Moseley explained the method by which attorneys seem to be getting funding from Powell’s group.
“Counsel formally applied for financial assistance and coverage for Zachary Rehl’s legal fees and expenses from Defending the Republic on December 2, 2021, after weeks of discussing the availability of such assistance with DTR and Zachary Rhel through his wife,” he wrote then, explaining how Powell’s group eventually “approved Zachary Rehl for financial assistance (donations) to cover his legal fees and expenses through trial in May to June 2022.”
The plan didn’t work out, though, as Rehl eventually went with a court-appointed attorney anyway.
Powell did not respond to requests for comment. However, The Daily Beast reached a Texas attorney at Defending the Republic, Travis Wilson Miller, by phone. When this reporter identified himself, the line went dead. Pressed for an explanation, Miller later texted back “bad service” and requested all questions in writing—but did not answer any of them.
Powell launched two versions of Defending the Republic registered in Dallas, Texas: a 501(c)(4) nonprofit organization and a Political Action Committee. The nonprofit’s website lists among its causes “election fraud,” “fighting lawfare,” and “defending Jan 6ers.”
On her group’s website, Powell writes that “those who actually broke into the Capitol, who destroyed property or stole property, who attacked an officer, should be held accountable.” But she also positions that alongside disproven conspiracy theories about the insurrection being “a ‘false flag’ operation created by someone on the left” and decrying the treatment of people “jailed for whatever the government says they did at the Capitol.”
Her nonprofit has also become a vehicle for all kinds of rightwing lightning rod issues.
Earlier this month, Defending the Republic sued the Food and Drug Administration demanding that the government agency quickly turn over records reflecting the way it approved the Moderna COVID-19 vaccine. The lawsuit is chock full of ominous sounding anti-vax points about the “glaring issues in the approval process.” The complaint was electronically signed by Miller, Powell, and Texas attorney Robert H. Holmes.
Meanwhile, Federal Election Records show that Powell’s similarly named PAC was used to bankroll the infamous Cyber Ninjas for their so-called election audit in Arizona, a misadventure that perpetuated unproven claims of election fraud and ended when the group concluded that now-President Joe Biden did, in fact, beat former President Donald Trump fair and square. According to FEC records, the PAC paid the Florida computer technicians $14,995 in September last year.
The matter of ensuring that Oath Keepers who are taking money from Powell’s group are aware of that potential conflict is currently before U.S. District Judge Amit Mehta. Prosecutors have asked him to hold “on the record” meetings in his chambers with each defense lawyer to have them explain the financial arrangements—and if their clients understand the implications.
Mehta could rule on the prosecutors’ motion in the coming days or weeks.
https://www.thedailybeast.com/is-sidney-powell-secretly-funding-the-oath-keepers-lawyers-the-feds-want-to-know
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U.S. seeks probe of Trump-allied lawyer's funding of Oath Keepers defense
https://www.reuters.com/world/us/us-seeks-probe-trump-allied-lawyers-funding-oath-keepers-defense-2022-06-22/
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So much for the bogus claim that "no guns" were brought to the Capitol by radical fascist Trump supporters.
Running List of Gun Arrests Tied to the U.S. Capitol Attack
Civilians didn't open fire on January 6, but that doesn’t mean the Trump supporters who congregated at the Capitol weren’t armed.
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The January 6 insurrection wasn’t explicitly billed as a Second Amendment event. But the specter of guns was everywhere: on the flags flown by rioters, in the insurrectionist theory they espoused, and the tactical gear they donned. And in some cases, despite Washington, D.C.’s unusually strict gun laws, which require firearms to be registered with local police, the Trump supporters who gathered at the U.S. Capitol were armed.
As of now, at least 13 people have been hit with illegal gun possession charges stemming from the riot, according to an analysis of arrest records and court documents. Two of them were detained after police noticed a bulge under their clothing. Three people were arrested the night before the riot. Another person, Proud Boys’ leader Enrique Tarrio, was found in possession of two large-capacity magazines when police arrested him for another crime on January 4. Because Tarrio planned on going to the rally, we included him in our tally.
But these are only the people who were caught with guns that day. We’ll never know how many people brought weapons with them to President Trump’s speech, and onward to the Capitol. Perhaps cognizant of the penalty for carrying a gun without a license in the District — up to five years in prison — only a few felt comfortable enough to display them. One rioter flashed his handgun at a group of journalists, a moment captured by a Vice reporter.
More gun charges may be coming. We’ll be tracking them here.
Henry “Enrique” Tarrio, 36, of Florida, was arrested at a Washington, D.C., hotel on January 4, 2021, for burning a Black Lives Matter flag he stole from a Black church last month. Metropolitan Police Department officers serving the warrant found him in possession of two AR-15/M4-compatible 30-round magazines branded with the Proud Boys insignia.
Harlen Boen, 48, of Colorado was arrested near Freedom Plaza on January 5, 2021, by a Metropolitan Police Department officer who noticed a bulge on his hip. He was found to be in possession of a Glock 23 handgun and a large-capacity magazine holding 13 rounds, which is three rounds over the legal limit in D.C.
Thomas Gronek, 46, of North Carolina was arrested half a mile from the Capitol on January 5, 2021, by Metropolitan Police Department officers who stopped his bus. Upon a search, they found a Springfield XD-S 9mm handgun, a pink .22-caliber Ruger rifle, a 110-round drum magazine, four .9mm magazines, and 275 rounds of ammunition.
Leslie Grimes, 25, of Michigan, was arrested a few blocks from the White House on January 6, 2021, by Metropolitan Police Department officers and charged with carrying a pistol without a license, possession of a large-capacity magazine, and possession of unregistered ammunition. Prosecutors later dropped the charges.
Christopher Michael Alberts, 33, of Maryland, was arrested outside the U.S. Capitol Visitor Center an hour and a half after curfew on the evening of January 6, 2021. A Metropolitan Police Department officer noticed a bulge in his pants and discovered a 9mm Taurus handgun that held 12 rounds — two more than the legal limit — and another magazine holding 12 rounds.
Lonnie Leroy Coffman, 70, of Alabama, was arrested on the evening of January 6, 2021, by a Capitol Police officer who came upon his truck and found an assault-style rifle, a shotgun, three handguns, a large-capacity magazine, and components for 11 molotov cocktails. Police also found a handwritten note with the name of a Muslim House representative on it.
Grant McHoyt Moore, 65, of Georgia, was arrested on January 6, 2021, by a Capitol Police officer who came upon his truck a block away from the Capitol and found a Ruger .380, three loaded six-round magazines, and 12 loose rounds. Moore had a carry license from his home state but the handgun was not registered in D.C. He was charged with carrying a pistol without a license.
Julian Snell, 40, of Virginia, was arrested a few blocks from the White House on January 6, 2021, by a Metropolitan Police Department officer and charged with carrying a pistol without a license and possession of a large-capacity magazine.
Timothy Wolfe, 32, of Virginia was arrested a few blocks from the White House on January 6, 2021, by a Metropolitan Police Department officer and charged with carrying a pistol without a license, possession of a large-capacity magazine, and possession of unregistered ammunition.
Cleveland Grover Meredith, Jr. of Colorado was arrested on January 7, 2021, by FBI agents who came to his Washington, D.C., hotel room to investigate a text he’d sent about shooting Nancy Pelosi. He agreed to let the agents search his trailer parked outside and they found a Glock 19, a Tavor X95 assault rifle, and more than 2,500 rounds of ammunition.
Samuel Fisher, 35, of New York was arrested in Manhattan on January 20, 2021, and charged with disorderly conduct on restricted grounds and unlawful entry. Based on social media posts and messages, FBI agents allege that Fisher was at the Capitol on January 6, and “in possession of multiple firearms” while in D.C. At his arraignment, prosecutors said he was found with a shotgun, a semiautomatic rifle, a handgun, and more than 1,000 rounds of ammunition upon his arrest and said more charges could be coming soon. The guns were cited by the judge in his decision to deny Fisher bail.
Mark Sami Ibrahim of California was arrested on July 20, 2021, and charged with entering and remaining in a restricted building or grounds with a deadly or dangerous weapon. Prosecutors say Ibrahim, a special agent with the Drug Enforcement Administration, entered the Capitol grounds after rioters breached the barricades and showed off his badge and gun to rioters, posing for photos. He was off-duty at the time.
Mark Andrew Mazza, 56, of Indiana was arrested in Shelbyville on November 17, 2021, and charged with unlawfully carrying a firearm on Capitol grounds, civil disorder, and assaulting, resisting, or impeding officers with a dangerous weapon. According to a criminal complaint, a Taurus revolver loaded with three shotgun shells and two hollow point bullets fell from Mazza’s waistband during a physical altercation with police officers at the Capitol on January 6, 2021. He fled with the crowd.
https://www.thetrace.org/2021/01/capitol-riot-firearms-arrests-proud-boys/
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Capitol Rioter & Former Militia Oath Keeper Spokesman Testify at Jan. 6 Hearing That Trump Radicalized Extremists
Chilling live testimony at the seventh hearing of the January 6 House select committee hearing came from former Donald Trump supporters who detailed their own radicalization in response to Trump’s actions leading up to the deadly insurrection.
“I think we need to quit mincing words and just talk about truths. And what it was going to be was an armed revolution. I mean, people died that day. Law enforcement officers died this day. There was a gallows set up in front of the Capitol. This could have been the spark that started a new civil war, and no one would have won there,” said Jason Van Tatenhove, former spokesperson for right-wing extremist militia conspiracy group the Oath Keepers.
"It makes me mad,” said Stephen Ayres, a former Trump supporter from Ohio who pleaded guilty last month for illegally entering the Capitol on January 6. “I was hanging on every word he was saying. Everything he was putting out I was following it. If I was doing it, hundreds of thousands or millions of other people were doing it. Or maybe even still doing it.”
Both men expressed regret for their actions.
Watch:
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Top spokeswoman for Nevada Republican Senate nominee marched on Jan. 6 with Oath Keepers, including one charged with sedition
https://www.cnn.com/2022/07/19/politics/courtney-holland-january-6-oath-keepers-kfile/index.html
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More on the violent MAGA radical right.
DOJ details evidence that Oath Keeper brought explosives to D.C. area
The evidence underscores the threat prosecutors say the Oath Keepers posed to the transfer of power.
(https://www.politico.com/dims4/default/d012507/2147483647/strip/true/crop/5083x3389+0+0/resize/1920x1280!/quality/90/?url=https%3A%2F%2Fstatic.politico.com%2Fca%2F00%2F5152fff3485f97fca33342e719bd%2Fcapitol-riot-oath-keepers-51112.jpg)
Federal prosecutors indicated Friday they intend to present evidence that a member of the Oath Keepers likely carried grenades in an RV that he drove to the Washington, D.C., area ahead of the Jan. 6 attack on the Capitol.
In court papers previewing evidence to be presented in the upcoming seditious conspiracy trial of Oath Keepers leaders, the Justice Department said it believes Jeremy Brown, a group member from Florida, likely traveled to Northern Virginia with grenades that were found by investigators in a subsequent search of his vehicle.
The basis for that evidence, prosecutors said, is a statement from fellow Florida member Kelly Meggs to Caleb Berry — an Oath Keeper who pleaded guilty to his involvement in the alleged conspiracy — that Brown had brought explosives with him in his RV.
“On September 30, 2021, pursuant to an authorized search warrant, the government seized two illegal short barrel firearms from Brown’s residence and military ordinance grenades from Brown’s RV—the same RV that Brown used to travel to Washington, D.C. on January 6,” Assistant U.S. Attorney Troy Edwards said in the filing.
Edwards indicated that investigators are unsure whether Brown stashed these explosives at a Comfort Inn in Arlington, Va., where other members of the group stockpiled firearms and other weapons, or kept them in his vehicle.
The evidence, however, underscores the threat prosecutors say the Oath Keepers posed to the transfer of power. Founder Stewart Rhodes and several other members of the Oath Keepers are facing seditious conspiracy charges. Two members of the group have already pleaded guilty to seditious conspiracy. More than a dozen other members are facing felony obstruction charges, and several have pleaded guilty for their involvement and are cooperating with the government.
Prosecutors say they also intend to introduce several other pieces of evidence in the case that they consider relevant to show jurors, even if they’re not part of the underlying charges facing the defendants. That evidence includes details of a trip several of the alleged co-conspirators took to Washington, D.C., in November 2020 to protest the election results. Just as before Jan. 6, the participants in the November trip stashed firearms and other weapons in a vehicle in Arlington, Va., prosecutors say.
Prosecutors also want to introduce evidence at trial that one of the alleged co-conspirators, Thomas Caldwell, kept a “death list” that included the name of a Georgia election official. That list, which the government has previously cited in other court filings, is evidence of Caldwell’s intent to thwart the peaceful transfer of power, prosecutors say. Prosecutors also want to introduce evidence that alleged co-conspirator Jessica Watkins kept bomb-making instructions at her home.
https://www.politico.com/news/2022/07/08/doj-oath-keeper-explosives-jan-6-00044845
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These right wing militias are on the side of Donald Trump and the GOP.
Right wing militias were at the Capitol on January 6 taking part in the riot to overthrow the U.S. government.
More than half of Americans view right-wing militia groups as a threat to US: poll
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More than half of Americans view right-wing militia groups as a threat to the U.S., with a third saying they pose an “immediate and serious threat” to the country, according to a poll from The Economist/YouGov.
The poll was taken following the first anniversary of the Jan. 6 insurrection, when Trump supporters stormed the Capitol in an effort to prevent Congress from certifying the results of the 2020 election. Members of known right-wing extremist groups including the Oath Keepers, the Proud Boys and the Three Percenters have been charged in connection with the attack.
The poll also found that 81 percent of those surveyed view domestic terrorism as a threat.
Sixty-six percent view right-wing militia groups as at least a minor threat, according to the poll, which surveyed 1,500 people in mid-January.
Of that number, 13 percent view the militia groups as a minor threat, 20 percent as a somewhat serious threat and 33 percent as an immediate and serious threat.
Broken down by party affiliation, 57 percent of Democrats polled said they view right-wing militia groups as a serious and immediate threat, while just 15 percent of Republican respondents said the same.
But the majority of Republicans — 53 percent of those polled — did say that right-wing militia groups posed at least a minor threat to the U.S., with 17 percent saying they viewed them as a somewhat serious threat and 21 saying they viewed them as a minor threat.
Thirty-one percent of Republicans who responded to the poll said that such groups posed no threat to the country, however, compared with just 1 percent of Democrats.
The Economist/YouGov poll was conducted Jan. 15-18 among 1,500 American citizens sampled randomly. The poll has a margin of error of 2.8 percentage points for all respondents and 3.1 percent for registered voters.
The Oath Keepers are among the more well-known right-wing militia groups in the U.S. The group’s founder, Stewart Rhodes, was recently arrested and, along with other members, charged with seditious conspiracy for his alleged role in the Jan. 6 uprising.
The new poll found 52 percent of Americans surveyed who had heard of the Oath Keepers had a very unfavorable opinion of the group.
Republican respondents who had heard of the group were fairly evenly split, with 36 percent saying they viewed the group either somewhat or very unfavorably and 38 percent saying they viewed them either somewhat or very favorably.
In comparison, 75 percent of Democrats polled who had heard of the group said they had a very unfavorable opinion of the Oath Keepers and an additional 5 percent said they had a somewhat unfavorable opinion.
https://thehill.com/policy/national-security/590928-more-than-half-of-americans-view-right-wing-militia-groups-as-a/
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Inside America's Largest Right Wing Militia
In the backwoods of Georgia, a controversial, right-wing, "anti-terror" militia group gathers once a month to complete field training exercises under the command of Chris Hill—a.k.a Blood Agent. This militia group, called the Georgia III% Security Force, is part of the Three Percenter movement, which is inspired by the unfounded claim that only three percent of colonists fought against the British in the American Revolution.
VICE joins Hill and the Georgia III% Security Force during one of their monthly gatherings to see how they prepare themselves to "defend the Constitution from all enemies foreign and domestic" and see what they'll do to protect their guns.
Watch:
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Violent militia group flag flown by Merrimack GOP in July 4 parade
https://www.nashuatelegraph.com/news/local-news/2022/07/14/violent-militia-group-flag-flown-by-merrimack-gop-in-july-4-parade/
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Names Of Election Worker Witnesses Found On Oath Keeper Suspect's 'Death List': Court Filing
https://www.huffpost.com/entry/ruby-freeman-shaye-moss-georgia-election-workers-oath-keeper-death-list_n_62e613b2e4b0d0ea9b77b127
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Judge rejects bid to delay Oath Keepers Jan. 6 trial
The first seditious conspiracy trial stemming from the 2021 Capitol riot remains on track to open Sept. 26.
https://www.politico.com/news/2022/08/02/oath-keepers-january-6-trial-00049289
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"the right of the people to keep and bear Arms, shall not be infringed.”
Looks clear to me.
Does not give people the right to break the law....but to defend themselves from those who do.
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Oath Keepers militia members charged with sedition
The leader of the far-right Oath Keepers militia group and 10 others have been arrested for seditious conspiracy.
Watch:
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3 Oath Keepers plead guilty in Capitol riot, Stewart Rhodes' attorney says it doesn't matter
https://www.cbsnews.com/dfw/video/3-oath-keepers-plead-guilty-in-capitol-riot-stewart-rhodes-attorney-says-it-doesnt-matter/
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Right-wing militias were a ready weapon for Trump on January 6th
Alex Wagner talks about the level of preparation by right-wing militia groups ahead of January 6th, and the noteworthiness of even rival factions coming together for Trump's cause.
Watch:
https://www.msnbc.com/rachel-maddow/watch/right-wing-militias-were-a-ready-weapon-for-trump-on-january-6th-143945285846
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Right-wing militias were a ready weapon for Trump on January 6th
Alex Wagner talks about the level of preparation by right-wing militia groups ahead of January 6th, and the noteworthiness of even rival factions coming together for Trump's cause.
Watch:
https://www.msnbc.com/rachel-maddow/watch/right-wing-militias-were-a-ready-weapon-for-trump-on-january-6th-143945285846
Donne said "stand back and stand by".
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Right-Wing Militias Were A Ready Weapon For Trump On January 6th
Alex Wagner talks about the level of preparation by right-wing militia groups ahead of January 6th, and the noteworthiness of even rival factions coming together for Trump's cause.
Watch:
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GOP’s links to extremism surface in congressional primary
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WASHINGTON (AP) — A congressional candidate whose compelling personal story of military valor and unfathomable loss helped him win former President Donald Trump’s support has connections to right-wing extremists, including a campaign consultant who was a member of the Proud Boys.
Republican Joe Kent, who is challenging U.S. Rep. Jaime Herrera Beutler of Washington state in the Aug. 2 primary, has also courted prominent white nationalists and posed recently for a photograph with a media personality who has previously described Adolf Hitler as a “complicated historical figure” who “many people misunderstand.”
An Associated Press review of internet postings, court records and campaign finance disclosures depict a candidate with a more complicated biography than the compelling personal story that turned the 42-year-old Kent into a favorite of conservative media.
Square-jawed with wavy black hair and sleeve tattoos, the former Green Beret served 11 combat deployments before retiring from Special Forces to join the CIA. He also endured unspeakable tragedy: His wife, Shannon, a Navy cryptologist, was killed by a suicide bomber in 2019 while fighting the Islamic State group in Syria, leaving him to raise their two young sons alone.
But taken broadly, Kent’s recent relationships and activities reinforce concerns about the GOP’s ties to extremist groups. The House committee investigating the Jan. 6 insurrection at the U.S. Capitol has drawn attention to the role such organizations, particularly the Proud Boys, played in the effort to disrupt the peaceful transfer of power after Trump’s reelection loss in 2020.
“There’s a through line,” said Dave Neiwert, an author and journalist who has covered right-wing extremism in the Pacific Northwest for decades. “Many (Republican) politicians play footsie with it. Kent is just unabashed.”
Kent’s campaign declined to make him available for an interview.
“Joe Kent’s platform of inclusive populism rejects racism and bigotry and invites all Americans to support his aggressive America First agenda of rebuilding our industries, ending illegal immigration, and stopping stupid military interventions that don’t directly support our national interest,” Matt Braynard, a Kent strategist, said in a statement.
Ahead of the final slate of primaries that unfold in August, Kent is not the only House candidate worrying some Republicans who fear an otherwise favorable political climate to regain control of the House could be threatened by candidates seen as too extreme.
In Michigan, John Gibbs, a former Trump administration official challenging Republican Rep. Peter Meijer, once spread false claims that Hillary Clinton’s 2016 campaign chairman participated in a satanic ritual that involved bodily fluids.
In New York, Carl Paladino, a former GOP candidate for governor now running for the House, praised Hitler last year as “the kind of leader we need today” and once emailed racist comments about Michelle Obama to a Buffalo newspaper for publication. And former Trump administration official Max Miller, the Republican nominee for an Ohio congressional seat, was accused of physical abuse by his ex-girlfriend, Trump White House press secretary Stephanie Grisham. Miller denies the allegations and has sued Grisham for defamation.
A representative for the National Republican Congressional Committee, the organization responsible for helping the GOP regain control of the House, declined to comment, citing a policy of not interfering in primaries. A Trump spokesman did not respond to a request for comment.
Of those soon facing elections, Kent stands out for the breadth of his ties to a deep-seated extremist fringe that has long existed in the Pacific Northwest but is often obscured by the region’s overwhelming liberal politics.
Campaign finance disclosures reveal Kent recently paid $11,375 for “consulting” over the past four months to Graham Jorgensen, who was identified as a Proud Boy in a law enforcement report and was charged with cyber stalking his ex-girlfriend in 2018. The charges were dismissed in late 2019. But a judge in Vancouver, Washington, issued an order of protection requiring Jorgensen to stay away from her, records show.
Kent’s campaign said Jorgensen was a low-level worker who hands out literature and puts up signs and denied he has any current affiliation with “outside organizations.” They declined to make Jorgensen available for an interview.
Since establishing the group in 2016, Gibson has organized demonstrations in Portland, as well as the city’s Washington state suburbs, where he and his followers have clashed with left-wing groups. Many of the demonstrations were coordinated with the Proud Boys.
The often violent rallies organized by Gibson drew anti-government activists, extremists as well as white supremacists to unite in common cause — namely fighting left-wing activists.
Photos from the events archived online by the group Rose City Antifa demonstrate how in some cases Kent’s allies have associated with people who have expressed white supremacist views. In numerous instances, Gibson as well as Jorgensen, the Proud Boy on Kent’s payroll, were recorded standing next to Jacob Von Ott, who has posted racist and antisemitic views online and expressed admiration for the founder of the American Nazi Party.
Von Ott did not respond to a request for comment sent to an email address listed to him, but he has previously denied that he’s a white supremacist.
“The danger with these groups is it can be an initial foray into this extremist space. And once you’re in this extremist space, you can become further radicalized,” said Emily Kaufman, an Anti-Defamation League researcher who tracks extremist activity in the Pacific Northwest.
Gibson regularly promotes Kent’s campaign on social media and spoke at a Kent fundraiser last year. When it was Kent’s turn to speak at the event, he lavished Gibson with praise, explaining that Gibson “defended this community when our community was under assault from antifa.”
Gibson was acquitted last week on felony riot charges after an altercation with left-wing activists at a Portland bar
Kent’s ties to extremism aren’t limited to the Pacific Northwest.
Braynard, one of Kent’s top advisers, was the architect of a Washington, D.C., rally last year that sought to build sympathy for those arrested during the insurrection by rebranding them as “political prisoners.” Kent spoke at the rally, which was poorly attended.
And his candidacy is endorsed by far-right Arizona state lawmaker Wendy Rogers, who has identified herself as a member of the Oath Keepers, a far-right militia group that played an outsize role in the storming of the U.S. Capitol. Kent publicly thanked Rogers for her endorsement and has raised doubts about the circumstances that led to the arrest of Oath Keepers over their role in the attack.
Kent has also sought support from figures associated with the white nationalist “Groyper Army” movement led by Nick Fuentes, an internet personality who has promoted white supremacist beliefs and attended the 2017 white supremacist rally in Charlottesville, Virginia, as well as the Jan. 6 insurrection at the Capitol.
Kent has acknowledged that a political consultant set up a call early in his campaign that Fuentes was part of, where expanding his campaign’s reach on social media was discussed. But he denied that there was any sort of formal arrangement and distanced himself from Fuentes in March after their affiliation became broadly known. Kent tweeted at the time that he did not want “want Fuentes’s endorsement due his focus on race/religion.”
After the rebuke, however, Kent appeared on a far-right YouTube channel where he echoed sentiments similar to those held by many white nationalists.
“I don’t think there’s anything wrong with there being a white people special interest group,” Kent said during the YouTube interview with a group called the American Populist Union. He also said the immigration situation between the U.S. and Mexico wasn’t as bad as in Europe because “their version of Mexico is Africa and the Middle East.”
In April, Kent was photographed at a fundraiser giving a thumbs-up with Greyson Arnold, a Groyper-aligned commentator who identifies as a “Christian American Nationalist.” Like Fuentes, Arnold was also at the U.S. Capitol during the insurrection.
Arnold has shared memes online that refer to Nazis as a “pure race” and has called Hitler a “complicated” and “misunderstood” historical figure. He also hosted a “White Boy Summer” celebration in Lake Havasu, Arizona, in June 2021, drawing the event’s title from a popular meme that was circulating among white nationalists and racist groups.
Arnold did not respond to an email seeking comment.
Braynard, the Kent strategist, said the candidate does not know Arnold and the campaign “does not do background checks on the thousands of people who’ve asked to take selfies with Joe.”
Tom Davis, a former Virginia congressman who led House Republicans’ campaign arm during George W. Bush’s first term, said GOP leadership in Washington, D.C., faces a difficult set of choices when deciding what to do about candidates like Kent.
“You don’t want to go too heavy on this guy because if he’s nominated you want to hold the seat,” said Davis. “The problem for Republicans is you can probably get away with this in 50 districts in the country. But this does not strike me as the kind of district where you don’t pay a price.”
https://apnews.com/article/2022-midterm-elections-donald-trump-campaigns-race-and-ethnicity-be616cae0967ca6ee9c78ac1efee8e31
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The 'Gun Dude' and a Supreme Court case that changed who can own firearms in the U.S.
https://www.npr.org/2022/08/14/1113705501/second-amendment-supreme-court-dick-heller-gun-rights
Quotes from this article:
The Second Amendment states that "A well regulated Militia, being necessary to the security of a free State, the right of the people to keep and bear Arms, shall not be infringed."
While Heller may not be a household name, the case that bears his name redefined gun ownership, as it marked the first time the Supreme Court affirmed an individual right to gun ownership that was separate from the "militia clause" in the Second Amendment.
Writing for the majority in the 5-4 decision, Justice Antonin Scalia, now deceased, said that the Second Amendment "protects an individual right to possess a firearm unconnected with service in a militia, and to use that arm for traditionally lawful purposes, such as self-defense within the home."
Prior to Heller, "you didn't have any kind of federal Second Amendment rights that were unrelated to one's membership in a militia," Miller says.
"There was pretty consistent agreement among courts, and really scholars," says Alex McCourt, director of legal research at the Center for Gun Violence Solutions at the Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health. They believed, he said, "that the Second Amendment did not confer an individual right."
McCourt, who studies firearms policy, says the 2008 decision was the first time that the Supreme Court recognized the individual right over the collective rights theory, as embraced by the older view of the militia clause that had previously prevailed.
To be sure, long before the Heller case, the NRA and other gun-rights advocates had pushed the idea that the Second Amendment conferred just such an individual right. It's a view that former Chief Justice Warren Burger, speaking in a 1991 interview, forcefully rebuffed, calling it "one of the greatest pieces of fraud, I repeat the word fraud, on the American public by special interest groups that I have ever seen in my lifetime."
Clearly, the Supreme Court in 2008, just as they have now done in 2022 with abortion rights, have legislated from the bench.
The writers of the U. S. Constitution and the first ten amendments were pretty good at communicating their ideas clearly. They didn't write:
Congress shall make no law:
. . .
The need for preachers to freely express their ideas to their congregations, Congress shall make no law respecting an establishment of religion, or prohibiting the free exercise thereof.
. . .
The need for men who are running for political office to clearly state to the voters their opinions, Congress shall make no law abridging the freedom of speech,
This would have been confusing. Did this mean that the freedom of religion only applied to preachers? Does this mean that the government could still arrest all who attended certain churches, except for the preachers?
Did this mean that only politicians could freely speak their minds? Anyone who had not previously announced their candidacy for an office would still be subject to arrest for expressing the 'wrong' opinion?
Instead they wrote:
Congress shall make no law:
. . .
respecting an establishment of religion, or prohibiting the free exercise thereof
. . .
or abridging the freedom of speech,
Their choice of words for the Second Amendment clearly is intended to limit the scope of the 'Right to Bear Arms". Just as they clearly did not intend the scope of the law for "freedom of religion" or "freedom of speech" to be limited. The Second Amendment does not just give the reason for it, but shows the limit to its scope. The Second Amendment is meant to be limited. The Right to Bear arms does not extend to everyone. It does not extend to people who have murdered people but are now free, maybe because of "temporary insanity". It does not extend to losers who are threatening schools with violence. It does not extend to everyone. It only extends to those who deserve it. To those who are members of good standing with a well regulated militia. A militia under the control of the governor or the legislature of a state.
The current Supreme Court ruling effectively just erases the phrase "A well regulated Militia" from the Second Amendment. The court just rewrote the Second Amendment they way they thought it should be written, not the way it was really written.
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For the Oath Keepers and Proud Boys, Jan. 6 Was Just the Start
https://time.com/6195133/jan-6-proud-boys-oath-keepers-growing-threat/
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"the right of the people to keep and bear Arms, shall not be infringed.”
Looks clear to me.
Does not give people the right to break the law....but to defend themselves from those who do.
You left out the part about a well regulated Militia.
A well regulated Militia, being necessary to the security of a free State, the right of the people to keep and bear Arms, shall not be infringed.
The reason for the second amendment is to prevent the federal government from disarming a state militia. So what is necessary to do this? Preventing limits on members of a state militia. But there is no need to prevent limits on all members of society. Like those who have threatened others. Or have killed others. Only on current members of a state millitia.
Congress cannot limit the possession of arms held by members of a well regulated militia. But Congress and State legislatures can limit the arms held by non-members. Limit them on the type of weapons they possess. Or even to the extreme of allowing no firearm at all. Or having no limits on what they can own, if the legislature wishes. Only members of a well regulated militia, under the control of the governor, are not subject to such limitations that the legislature feels is necessary for a state, or for the entire country.
That is why some articles do not state any limitation, like the freedom of speech limited to political candidates. Or the freedom of religion is only limited to pastors. While the second amendment does have a limitation specified.
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Oath Keepers’ lawyer arrested in connection with Jan. 6
https://apnews.com/article/capitol-siege-texas-arrests-donald-trump-conspiracy-7aaff89385aeda4b4037605f0ff152c8
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2 Maine elected officials found on far-right group's leaked membership rolls
https://wgme.com/news/local/2-maine-elected-officials-found-on-far-right-groups-leaked-membership-rolls-capitol-riots-anti-defamation-league-law-enforcement-stewart-rhodes-gorham-town-councilor-ben-hartwell-piscataquis-county-commissioner-wayne-erkkinen
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Behind the 11 Oath Keepers charged with sedition are many more who have been trained by the US military
https://theconversation.com/behind-the-11-oath-keepers-charged-with-sedition-are-many-more-who-have-been-trained-by-the-us-military-175322
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Proud Boy who came 'face-to-face' with Sen. Schumer during riot should serve 5 years behind bars, DOJ says
https://www.wusa9.com/article/news/national/capitol-riots/proud-boy-who-came-face-to-face-with-sen-schumer-during-riot-should-serve-5-years-behind-bars-doj-says-joshua-pruitt-enrique-tarrio/65-a8a22d8f-9dc7-4f50-b751-f82ac3e1cf2c
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Standing By: Right-Wing Militia Groups and the United States Election
https://acleddata.com/2020/10/21/standing-by-militias-election/
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Oath Keepers: Leaked membership list includes police and politicians
https://www.bbc.com/news/world-us-canada-62827612
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The dangerous evolution of the Oath Keepers — and leader Stewart Rhodes
https://www.nbcnews.com/think/opinion/january-6-hearings-oath-keepers-testimony-revealed-dangerous-pivot-rcna38130
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How to counter right-wing armed groups in the United States
https://www.brookings.edu/blog/order-from-chaos/2021/01/21/how-to-counter-right-wing-armed-groups-in-the-united-states/