Anti-vaccine mandate protesters tried to storm Barclays Center before Nets game

Kurt Helin
Sun, October 24, 2021


A planned anti-vaccine mandate rally was planned for in front of the Barclays Center Sunday and the Brooklyn Nets home opener, done in support of Kyrie Irving.

That protest started peacefully, according to people on-site, but got out of hand when protestors — chanting “let Kyrie play” — stormed past barricades and tried to enter the Barclays Center, according to multiple witnesses on the scene and video evidence.

The Barclays Center was soon re-opened to fans with tickets, and none of the protestors were able to storm into the building.

Irving is not vaccinated and cannot play in home games in Brooklyn because there is a vaccine mandate in New York City for many public indoor gatherings. The Nets chose to tell Irving they didn’t want a part-time player and he would not practice with the team or play in road games until he was “fully eligible.” Irving is losing his game checks for home games (although the union can appeal that decision by the team and league), which could cost him around $16 million if this situation lasts the entire season.

New York is not expected to rescind its vaccine mandate anytime soon, and likely not in time for Irving to join the Nets even for the playoffs. Unless he gets vaccinated.

Nets briefly put Barclays Center on lockdown after protest for Kyrie Irving turns ugly

Jack Baer

·Writer

Sun, October 24, 2021

Kyrie Irving was neither seen nor heard at the Brooklyn Nets' home opener on Sunday, but the effects of his decision to refuse to get vaccinated were on full display.

Ahead of the game, a large group of vaccine mandate protesters appeared outside the Barclays Center, demanding Irving be allowed to play NBA games again. Even though he is barred from only Nets home games due to New York protocols, the Nets have announced Irving will not play until the situation is resolved.

Wearing shirts reading slogans such as "Stand with Kyrie" and chanting "Let Kyrie play," the crowd soon turned aggressive and stormed past the barricades outside the arena.

Newsday's Barbara Barker reported the group included supporters of President Donald Trump and people with Black Lives Matter signs, while another source claimed to hear a reference to the Jan. 6 storming of the U.S. Capitol.

The situation was ugly enough that the Nets shut down admission into the Barclays Center while trying to keep protesters out of the building, per Barker. The lockdown was ultimately brief, with Newsday's Greg Logan reporting minutes later that arena personnel and police got the situation under control and fans with tickets were being admitted again.

The Barclays Center later released a short statement confirming the lockdown:

"Barclays Center briefly closed its doors today in order to clear protestors from the main doors on the plaza and ensure guests could safely enter the arena. Only ticketed guests were able to enter the building and the game proceeded according to schedule."

The effects of Kyrie Irving's vaccine refusal

As the situation of his vaccine refusal has escalated, Irving has become a figure around which anti-vaccine mandate voices have rallied, garnering shows of support from several conservative figureheads, including Senator U.S. Senator Ted Cruz and Donald Trump Jr.

Current New York vaccine statutes require home players to be vaccinated to get on the court, which led to Irving missing the Nets' media day and preseason games. The Nets found a loophole so he could practice, but the team eventually decided it didn't want Irving playing if he was limited to only road games. It has also held off on any talks regarding a potential $186 million extension for the star point guard.

The repercussions of Irving's refusal to get vaccinated as his team begins its season have led to a predictable uproar even as the player himself has remained relatively quiet, limiting his statements to cryptic tweets and a single Instagram Live session in which he insisted he has no plans to retire.

Irving has tried to stress that he is not anti-vaccine and merely trying to be a "voice for the voiceless," as a member of his camp put it, but it seems the people behind him have plenty of voice if Sunday's events are any judge.

Kyrie Irving's silence on Barclays Center lockdown speaks volumes

Ben Rohrbach

Mon, October 25, 2021

The parallels are uncanny. A prominent conspiracy theorist proudly lets misinformation fester, and when his supporters turn violent in the name of his cause, storming the very institution he represents, he goes silent.

When you are an NBA star whose season is ripped from ex-President Donald Trump's Jan. 6 playbook, you are doing something wrong. Brooklyn Nets guard Kyrie Irving should reconsider the company he is keeping.

In a scene reminiscent of the insurrection at the U.S. Capitol nine months earlier, protesters chanting "no vaccine mandate" and "let Kyrie play" pushed past a barricaded Barclays Center entrance before Sunday's game against the Charlotte Hornets, forcing security to lock down the arena. One was armed with a pair of baseball bats. Another sported a swastika. Most were vocally anti-vaccination. No one was hurt, thankfully.

Irving, an opponent of New York City's COVID-19 vaccination requirement to play in Brooklyn, was nowhere to be seen on Sunday, also barred from the premises and mute to his 26 million followers on social media. 

Irving claims to be "a voice for the voiceless," or at least that is what anonymous sources close to him had us believe in a story leaked to The Athletic's Shams Charania earlier this month. When Irving has lent his voice, he has spent an inordinate amount of time nonsensically circling a stance sans supporting evidence.

In light of Sunday's events, consider Irving's 25-minute anti-media rant on Instagram Live on Oct. 13. Long after he declared, "I do not talk to pawns," Irving again described the media as "puppets" to his 15.4 million Instagram followers, repeating in one form or another, "Nobody's going to hijack my voice. Nobody's going to take the power away from me that I have for speaking on these things. ... I'm real enough to stand up when I feel like I'm being put in an f'ed up position. ... I'm not going to be used as a person in this agenda."

Too late. Irving's voice was hijacked Sunday and leveraged for an anti-vaccination agenda, like it or not.

Irving should know this routine well by now, having once declared, "The Earth is flat," doubled down and urged everyone to "do your own research," which he admittedly conducted on Instagram. When a middle school teacher later detailed to NPR how Irving's misinformation spread to students, he finally apologized.

Irving has not learned that lesson. He has taken another misguided position, dismissed science and rallied support against reality. Sound familiar? Irving's "these dudes are puppets" is the new "corrupt, fake news."

"The way that they're trying to paint everything that's going on, I just want to try to stay aware that they're trying to use me as an example for some odd reason, continuing to go at this, go at that, but it's OK," Irving added on Oct. 13. "I'm gonna be OK, but the people who support me, just know, I'm rocking with you."

Only, Irving's loudest supporters have been Donald Trump Jr., U.S. Sen. Ted Cruz and the hundreds of protesters involved in Sunday's unrest. The middle three words of Cruz's Sept. 29 statement — "I stand with Kyrie Irving" — were emblazoned on signs in Sunday's crowd. They have used him as their example for obvious reasons. He is becoming their puppet, their pawn. They are the voice for his voicelessness.

Irving's Twitter posts have made no clearer his beliefs. "My mask is off. Now take yours off. No fear." "Step into your power." "I am protected by God and so are my people. We stand together." And his pinned tweet:

The only unity Irving would have found outside his workplace on Sunday was people from all walks, some reportedly sporting "Black Lives Matter" shirts and others "Make America Great Again" hats, chanting his name in staunch opposition to a vaccine that has proven overwhelmingly effective against hospitalization and death from the coronavirus — all while the proudly unvaccinated slow serious efforts to stem the disease.

In his Instagram Live diatribe, which spanned the entire spectrum from, "You can't be on both sides," to, "I'm on both sides of all this," Irving said in his closing remarks, "This is not a political thing here. And it's not about the NBA. It's not about any organization. It's really about my life and what I'm choosing to do."

Only, it has become political, largely because Trump — despite being vaccinated himself — discredited government officials and medical experts tasked with safely delivering a solution to a pandemic he denied.

Irving's choice is not personal, either, especially not as an NBA star, which Sunday made clear. Your choice not to receive a COVID-19 vaccine can impact your family, friends, coworkers and the community at large. Your choice could mean life or death for you and your neighbor. At what point does the certainty of more deaths now outweigh the possibility of adverse side effects from an FDA-approved vaccine in the future?

Irving is free to make his choice, but he should not be surprised when his inability to provide a supporting rationale beyond the stance itself threatens the very security sworn to protect him. You can imagine loops of newsreels from Jan. 6 playing front of mind for guards at Barclays Center on Sunday, all because their more influential coworker chose not to trust overwhelming scientific evidence, and nary a word from Irving.

He may not have asked for this, but with fame comes fans, and as Irving conceded earlier this month, "I'm responsible for that influence." Yet, he has been louder in his opposition to critics in the media than he has been of his misguided supporters on Sunday, and that speaks volumes about the company he is keeping.

Brooklyn Nets star Kyrie Irving dons a mask during the only preseason game he could attend this preseason. (Kevork Djansezian/Getty Images)

– – – – – – –

Ben Rohrbach is a staff writer for Yahoo Sports. Have a tip? Email him at rohrbach_ben@yahoo.com or follow him on Twitter! Follow @brohrbach

The head of NASA says life probably exists outside Earth


The head of NASA suspects that we are not alone in the universe—or multi-universes, for that matter.


Sarah Todd
Sun, October 24, 2021

NASA administrator Bill Nelson speaks against a backdrop photo of Earth

Bill Nelson, who was sworn in as NASA administrator in May, sounded remarkably open-minded about the possibility of extraterrestrial life during an interview with the University of Virginia’s Center for Politics last week.

“My personal opinion is that the universe is so big, and now, there are even theories that there might be other universes. If that’s the case, who am I to say that planet Earth is the only location of a life form that is civilized and organized like ours?” Nelson told Larry Sabato, a professor of politics at UVA. He continued: “Are there other planet Earths out there? I certainly think so, because the universe is so big.”

Are UFO sightings signs of extraterrestrial life?

Nelson, a Democrat, has advocated for space programs throughout his Congressional career, first as a Florida House representative and then as a senator. He even traveled to space himself aboard the Columbia shuttle in 1986.

During his conversation with Sabato, Nelson emphasized the search for extraterrestrial life as a part of NASA’s explorations, and said that Navy pilots have reported more than 300 sightings of unidentified flying objects since 2004. He continued:

“And they don’t know what it is, and we don’t know what it is. We hope it’s not an adversary here on Earth that has that kind of technology. But it’s something. And so, this is a mission that we’re constantly looking — what, who is out there? Who are we? How did we get here? How did we become as we are? How did we develop? How did we civilize? And are those same conditions out there in a universe that has billions of other suns in billions of other galaxies — it’s so large I can’t conceive it.”

The US government in recent years has become increasingly forthright about pilots’ encounters with UFOs, though it has been careful not to suggest that these sightings are proof of alien life. A Pentagon report, released in June, did not reach conclusions about the provenance of the sightings, keeping a number of other possible explanations—such as the idea that the UFOs are in fact advanced technologies from countries like Russia or China, or that they are simply the result of natural phenomenon messing with the military planes’ sensors—in play.

Looking for extraterrestrial life is “part of NASA’s mission”

Nelson, too, doesn’t claim to have any definitive explanations. But it’s certainly noteworthy that the leader of the US space agency is both receptive to the idea that life may exist beyond Earth and invested in the idea of NASA trying to uncover answers. “What do you think we’re doing on Mars? We’re looking for life. This is a part of NASA’s mission,” he said.

At the same time, Nelson said that the possibility of intelligent life elsewhere in the universe only underscores the importance of taking care of our home planet.

“I’ll tell you what that makes me think. I’d better be a better steward of what we have, because we’re messing it up, and we’re messing it up just the way we’re treating each other,” he said. “So I know what my mission is, to be a better steward of this planet and be a better citizen of planet Earth.”

You can watch Nelson’s complete interview in the YouTube video below, with his comments on extraterrestrial life starting around the 53:17 mark.

 

Want to hear what it sounds like on Mars? NASA's Perseverance rover gives you the chance.

Jordan Mendoza, USA TODAY

Sun, October 24, 2021, 

Less than two months after collecting its first sample of rocks from Mars, the Perseverance rover is collecting another incredible sample from the red planet: sound.

The rover, which first arrived on Mars in February, has two microphones attached to it. It has so far recorded around five hours of sound, including "Martian wind gusts, rover wheels crunching over gravel, and motors whirring as the spacecraft moves its arm," NASA says.

With the help of those microphones, NASA created an interactive experience that shows what sounds on Earth, such as ocean waves, bicycle bells and even humans speaking, would sound like on Mars. You can hear what it sounds like here. NASA suggests wearing headphones.

Many factors change the sound quality on the two planets, NASA says.

Mars is significantly colder than Earth, and the well-below-freezing temperatures mean sound takes longer to travel. The speed of sound on Earth is 760 miles per hour, while on Mars it's 540 miles per hour. The density of Mars' atmosphere is 100 times less than Earth, so sound is softer there.

Plus, Mars' atmosphere is made up of 96% carbon dioxide, which absorbs high-pitched sounds, so only low-pitched noises would travel from afar. That's why if you try to listen to the Mars version of a bicycle bell, you may hear almost nothing.

"If you were standing on Mars, you’d hear a quieter, more muffled version of what you’d hear on Earth, and you’d wait slightly longer to hear it," NASA says.

Baptiste Chide, a planetary scientist studying the audio at L’Institut de Recherche en Astrophysique et Planétologie in France, says all the differences give Mars strong bass vibrations that "you can really feel" with headphones on.

“It’s like you’re really standing there,” Chide said. "I think microphones will be an important asset to future Mars and solar system science."

Besides listening to audio on the planet, Perseverance's microphones are also being used to check the spacecraft for any maintenance needs, like any engine issues or any subtle differences in the wheels.

"We routinely listen for changes in sound patterns on our test rover here on Earth, which can indicate there’s an issue that needs attention," said Vandi Verma, Perseverance’s chief engineer for robotic operations.

Follow Jordan Mendoza on Twitter: @jordan_mendoza5.

This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: Mars sounds: NASA's Perseverance rover lets us hear Martian wind

AP-NORC/EPIC poll: Majority in US concerned about climate

By ELLEN KNICKMEYER, EMILY SWANSON and NATHAN ELLGREN


The shoreline is receding at Emerald Bay on the southwest corner of Lake Tahoe on Oct. 20, 2021 east of South Lake Tahoe, Calif. Drought fueled by climate change has dropped Lake Tahoe below its natural rim and halted flows into the Truckee River. President Joe Biden heads to a vital U.N. climate change summit at a time when a majority of Americans regard the deteriorating climate as a problem of high importance to them. That's the finding of a new poll by the Associated Press and the NORC Center for Public Affairs Research and the Energy Policy Institute at the University of Chicago. 

(AP Photo/Scott Sonner)


WASHINGTON (AP) — President Joe Biden heads to a vital U.N. climate summit at a time when a majority of Americans regard the deteriorating climate as a problem of high importance to them, an increase from just a few years ago.

About 6 out of 10 Americans also believe that the pace of global warming is speeding up, according to a new survey from the Associated Press-NORC Center for Public Affairs Research and the Energy Policy Institute at the University of Chicago.

As Biden struggles to pass significant climate legislation at home ahead of next week’s U.N. climate summit, the new AP-NORC/EPIC poll also shows that 55% of Americans want Congress to pass a bill to ensure that more of the nation’s electricity comes from clean energy, and less from climate-damaging coal and natural gas.

Only 16% of Americans oppose such a measure for electricity from cleaner energy. A similar measure initially was one of the most important parts of climate legislation that Biden has before Congress. But Biden’s proposal to reward utilities with clean energy sources and penalize those without ran into objections from a coal-state senator, Democrat Joe Manchin of West Virginia, leaving fellow Democrats scrambling to come up with other ways to slash pollution from burning fossil fuels.

For some of the Americans watching, it’s an exasperating delay in dealing with an urgent problem.

“If you follow science, the signs are here,” said Nancy Reilly, a Democrat in Missouri who’s retired after 40 years as a retail manager, and worries for her children as the climate deteriorates. “It’s already here. And what was the first thing they start watering down to get this bill through? Climate change.”

“It’s just maddening,” Reilly said. “I understand why, I do — I get the politics of it. I’m sick of the politics of it.”

After President Donald Trump pulled the United States out of the Paris climate accord, the Biden administration hoped to help negotiate major emissions cuts globally to slow the rise of temperatures. But it’s not clear whether Biden will be able to get any significant climate legislation through Congress before the U.N. summit starts Sunday.

In all, 59% of Americans said the Earth’s warming is very or extremely important to them as an issue, up from 49% in 2018. Fifty-four percent of Americans cited scientists’ voices as having a large amount of influence on their views about climate change, and nearly as many — 51% — said their views were influenced by recent extreme weather events like hurricanes, deadly heat spells, wildfires and other natural disasters around the world.

Over the last 60 years, the pollution pumped out by gasoline and diesel engines, power plants and other sources has changed the climate and warmed the Earth by 1.7 degrees Fahrenheit, making the extremes of weather more extreme.

In east Tennessee’s Smoky Mountains, leaf-peeper websites this year are advising fall foliage tourists that leaves are taking days longer than normal to turn from green to fiery orange and red. It’s not evidence of climate change as a one-off instance, but typical of the changes Americans are seeing as the Earth heats up.

“Normally you get the four seasons, fall, spring, and winter, and it goes in that way. But lately, it’s not been that,” said Jeremy Wilson, a 42-year-old who votes independent and works the grounds at a scenic chairlift park that runs people up to the top of the Smoky Mountains. “It’s been either way hotter, or way colder.”

Seventy-five percent of Americans believe that climate change is happening, while 10% believe that it is not, the poll found. Another 15% are unsure.

Among those who say it is happening, 54% say that it’s caused mostly or entirely by human activities compared to just 14% who think — incorrectly, scientists say — that it’s caused mainly by natural changes in the environment. Another 32% of Americans believe it’s a mix of human and natural factors.

And while Democrats are more likely than Republicans to say climate change is happening, majorities of both parties agree that it is. That breaks down to 89% of Democrats and and 57% of Republicans.

The poll also gauged Americans’ willingness to pay for the cost of cutting climate-wrecking pollution as well as mitigating its consequences.

Fifty-two percent said they would support a $1 a month carbon fee on their energy bill to fight climate change, but support dwindles as the fee increases.

“I would say, like 5, 10 dollars, as long as it’s really being used for what it should be,” said Krystal Chivington, a 46-year-old Republican in Delaware who credits her 17-year-old daughter for reviving her own passion for fighting climate change and pollution.

It’s not ordinary consumers who should bear the brunt of paying to stave off the worst scenarios of climate change, said Mark Sembach, a 59-year-old Montana Democrat who works in environmental remediation.

“I think it needs to fall a great deal on responsible corporations that’s — and unfortunately ... most corporations aren’t responsible,” Sembach said. “And I think there needs to be a lot of pushback as to who ultimately pays for that.”

___

The AP-NORC poll of 5,468 adults was conducted Sept. 8-24 using a combined sample of interviews from NORC’s probability-based AmeriSpeak Panel, which is designed to be representative of the U.S. population, and interviews from opt-in online panels. The margin of sampling error for all respondents is plus or minus 1.7 percentage points. The AmeriSpeak panel is recruited randomly using address-based sampling methods, and respondents later were interviewed online or by phone.

Indigenous Australians sue government over climate change


Issued on: 26/10/2021 - 

Brisbane (Australia) (AFP)

Indigenous residents of low-lying islands off northern Australia filed a landmark lawsuit Tuesday aimed at forcing the government to protect them from climate change through deeper cuts to carbon emissions.

The Torres Strait Islanders say rising sea levels represent an existential threat to their homelands and culture, putting them "on the frontline of the climate crisis".

Lawyers for traditional land owners from Boigu and Saibai -- among the worst-impacted islands -- want the Federal Court to order the government "to reduce greenhouse gas emissions to a level that will prevent Torres Strait Islanders from becoming climate refugees".

It is believed to be the first such climate change class action launched by Indigenous Australians.

The lawsuit comes on the same day Australia's conservative government unveiled a 2050 net zero target, with a light-on-detail plan that attracted criticism for relying heavily on undeveloped technologies and carbon offsets.

Fewer than 5,000 people live in the Torres Strait, also known as Zenadth Kes, a collection of about 274 islands between Australia's mainland and Papua New Guinea.

The lawsuit argues some islands are expected to become uninhabitable if global temperatures rise more than 1.5 degrees Celsius above pre-industrial levels, which the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change has warned could be breached by 2030.

Under current global commitments, the world is on track to warm 2.7 degrees Celsius by 2100, according to the United Nations.

Plaintiff Paul Kabai says worsening flooding and salt-ruined soils had left his people facing a potentially dire future TALEI ELU GRATA FUND/AFP

Plaintiff Paul Kabai, who lives on Saibai island, said worsening flooding and salt-ruined soils had left his people facing a potentially dire future.

"Becoming climate refugees means losing everything: our homes, our culture, our stories and our identity," he said.

"If you take away our homelands, we don't know who we are. We have a cultural responsibility to make sure that doesn't happen."

The lawsuit comes after eight Australian teenagers scored a major victory in May when a federal judge agreed that expanding a coal mine near Sydney would cause them climate-related harm.

Australians and people around the world are increasingly turning to the courts in an effort to prod slow-moving governments into climate action.

In 2019, a group of Torres Strait Islanders lodged a separate complaint with the United Nations accusing the authorities of violating their human rights by failing to tackle climate change.

Australia has asked for that complaint to be dismissed, but UN Human Rights Committee in Geneva has yet to officially respond.

© 2021 AFP

 

Police confirm no action will be taken on Crystal Palace fans' banner

CALLUM BOYLE

The banner was made in protest against Newcastle United's Saudi-led owners

Croydon Police have confirmed that no further action will be taken against Crystal Palace after fans protested the Saudi-led Newcastle United takeover.

A section of supporters displayed a banner during the club's game against the Magpies which took aim at the Premier League's 'Owners and Directors' test which ensures clubs are ran properly after the Saudi consortium, the Public Investment Fund were allowed to complete the takeover, despite concerns surrounding the Middle Eastern state's human rights records.

As a result, Police were contacted and made a full investigation after receiving reports of an 'offensive banner' at Selhurst Park.

In a statement on Monday afternoon, Croydon Police confirmed that "Following an assessment, officers have concluded that no offences have been committed. No further action will be taken."

Crystal Palace supporters group, the 'Holmesdale Fanatics' made a statement after the game last weekend confirming they were responsible for the banner.

The banner itself seemed to have a checklist making a mockery of the Owners and Directors test with a list containing all alleged offences that have been made by the Saudi regime which include: 'Terrorism, beheading, civil rights abuses, murder, censorship and persecution'.

Many have opposed the takeover given that the chair of the PIF - Crown Prince Mohamed Bin Salman - is subject to accusations of a number of human rights records, whilst large-profile organisations such as Amnesty International have condemned the takeover.

Meanwhile, during Newcastle's first game under the new ownership, a poster with the caption "Justice for Jamal" in reference to journalist Jamal Khashoggi who was murdered in the Saudi consulate in 2018 was seen outside St James' Park as an act of protest.

 

Animal Rebellion protesters climb Government building demanding UK go vegan

GEORGE MCKAY

They're calling for the end of government subsidies to the meat and dairy industries

Animal rights activists associated with Animal Rebellion have been photographed scaling a government building in central London.

The protesters climbed up the Defra building as part of a wave of protests conducted by them and other eco groups ahead of the climate summit in Glasgow this weekend.

The group tweeted on Tuesday morning a picture of its activists scaling the building for the Department of Environment, Food and Rural Affairs.

The group tweeted: "Animal Rebellion protestors have scaled DEFRA, demanding government support for a plant-based food system at COP26. The protestors have said that they will take action until the government defunds meat and subsidises a plant-based transition.

"Meat and dairy is one of the leading producers of greenhouse gases and causes 90% of Amazon deforestation. World leaders at cannot [sic] talk about meeting the Paris Climate targets and securing global net zero without addressing that our food system is destroying our planet."

Police and fire services are on the scene but no arrests have been made

 

UN rights experts warn US violating international law regarding Haiti migrants

M. Tyler Gillett | U. Pittsburgh School of Law, US

OCTOBER 25, 2021 06:32:56 PM

A group of UN human rights experts Monday condemned the US policy of mass expulsions of Haitian migrants and refugees, warning that collective expulsions violate international law.

Thousands of Haitian refugees have gathered in Texas since September, and the US began deporting them en masse, under the so-called “Title 42” policy put in place under former president Donald Trump. At that time two UN agencies voiced concerns over the mass deportations, warning then that the expulsions might be in contravention of international law. The US special envoy to Haiti even resigned in protest over the deportation policy. Title 42 expulsions are ostensibly based on public health concerns and do not concern themselves with immigration status.

The experts noted that “International law prohibits arbitrary or collective expulsions,” and reminded the US that a state “cannot label all migrants of a certain nationality per se threats to national security.” The experts also said that the mass deportations seem to be part of a history in the US of racialized exclusion of Black Haitian migrants and refugees at ports of entry. They added that US policy has deterred migrants from pursuing asylum claims and forced them to return to other countries where they face discrimination and violence.

The experts have sent an allegation letter to the US government, not yet available at press time, noting that the immigration policy with respect to Haitian immigrants may run afoul of international refugee law and international human rights law.

Washington Secretary of State Kim Wyman up for federal job

KNKX Public Radio | By Rachel La Corte,
Colleen Long, Eric Tucker, The Associated Press
Published October 25, 2021

Ted S. Warren

The Associated PressKim Wyman, Washington state's secretary of state, poses for a photo on Sept. 15, 2020, in Olympia. The Republican secretary of state who challenged former President Donald Trump's false claims of election fraud in 2020 is the frontrunner for a job heading the Biden administration's effort to protect future elections.

A Republican secretary of state who challenged former President Donald Trump's false claims of election fraud in 2020 is the front-runner for a job heading the Biden administration's effort to protect future elections, according to people familiar with the discussions.

Kim Wyman, 59, has led elections in Washington state for years, and she was reelected to a third term in November — the lone statewide-elected Republican on the West Coast. She is in talks to serve as the election security leader for the Department of Homeland Security's Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency, the agency responsible for safeguarding U.S. elections, the people told The Associated Press. The people had knowledge of the discussions but weren't authorized to speak publicly and spoke to AP on condition of anonymity.

Wyman would serve as the government’s liaison to the states, a job that was high profile before 2020, and will only be more so following Trump’s false claims about the 2020 election he lost to Joe Biden, and the embracing of those false claims by other members of the GOP.

Trump and his allies made — and still make — false assertions that there was rampant election fraud in 2020, despite evidence to the contrary. Former Attorney General William Barr told AP there was no sign of widespread fraud. As Trump railed over the election, leaders of the Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency stated publicly that it was the safest election in history. One was fired by Trump shortly after.

Scores of lawsuits filed by Trump and his allies over claims of possible election fraud were dismissed by the courts, including by Trump-appointed federal judges.

Still, millions of Americans believe the 2020 election was stolen from Trump. That misinformation prompted thousands to storm the U.S. Capitol on Jan. 6 in a violent but failed effort to stop the certification of Biden's win.

The discussions involving Wyman were first reported by CNN. The White House declined to comment and the Department of Homeland Security didn't immediately respond to a request for comment. Wyman did not respond to a text message Monday, and her spokeswoman said they could not comment on the details of the story.

Last October, Wyman published the book “Elections 2020: Controlling Chaos: How Foreign Interference, a Global Pandemic, and Political Polarization Threaten U.S. Democracy.”

She was a constant presence on national networks in the weeks leading up to the 2020 election, extolling the safety and security of the vote-by-mail system in her state, a process in place there for years. She disputed Trump's claims that mail-in voting was fraudulent.

In interviews with AP before the 2020 election, Wyman said she was “an elections administrator first and foremost.”

“If the president wants to rant and rave about how insecure vote by mail is or how our elections are going to be rigged, then I’m going to talk about the security measures that Washington state put in place,” she told AP in September 2020. “And I’m going to spend my time talking about the facts, and no, I’m not going to get mired down in some sort of political debate and posturing.”

Before the state’s 12 members of the Electoral College cast their votes for Biden in Olympia, Washington, in December, Wyman got emotional while talking to them about the vote they were about to take.

“While some people continue to question the outcome of this election, average citizens from all walks of life will step up today to exercise their responsibility to perform their constitutional duty to the best of their ability,” she said. “This is an important ceremony. This is the American way of governance. This is democracy in action.”

Wyman has never shied away from the fact that she’s a Republican, but has said she believes she’s approached the job in a nonpartisan way.

“It’s how you do the work every day, and my job is to inspire confidence in every voter no matter if they are a staunch Democrat or a hardcore Republican,” she said last year.

La Corte reported from Olympia.