Trump, Rudy Giuliani and Don Jr. may be charged over Capitol siege, DC AG says

By Ebony Bowden

January 8, 2021 | 

WASHINGTON — President Trump, son Donald Trump Jr. and Rudy Giuliani may all be investigated and charged for their potential roles in inciting a violent mob that stormed the US Capitol, Washington, DC’s top prosecutor hinted Friday.

In an interview with “Good Morning America,” DC Attorney General Karl Racine, whose office is investigating dozens of rioters, laid the blame at the feet of the president for his fiery speech to supporters before many of them invaded Congress.

“I think the question is, how far up does it go? Clearly the Capitol was ground central in all of this mob’s behavior,” Racine said.

“Donald Trump Jr., Giuliani, even the president of the United States, were calling on their supporters and hate groups to go to the Capitol and in the words of Rudy Giuliani ‘exercise combat justice,'” he went on.Enlarge ImagePresident Trump greets the crowd at the “Stop The Steal” Rally on Wednesday.Tasos Katopodis/Getty Images

“We’re going to investigate not only the mobsters but also those who invited the violence.”Rudy Giuliani speaks in front of Trump supporters at a rally in Washington on Wednesday.Jim Bourg/Reuters

The Department of Justice has not ruled out bringing charges against Trump, who will become a private citizen when he leaves office on Jan. 20.

In a call with reporters Thursday, Michael Sherwin, the US attorney for the District of Columbia, said his office would look at anyone involved in the riot who broke the law.

“We are looking at all actors here. Was there a command and control? Were there others that maybe assisted or facilitated or obviously played some ancillary role in this?” Sherwin said.Donald Trump Jr. speaks to Trump supporters attending a rally protesting the 2020 election results in Washington on Wednesday.Bryan Smith/ZUMA Wire

“Anyone that had a role, and the evidence fits the elements of a crime, they’re going to be charged,” he said.

When asked if that included the commander-in-chief, Sherwin responded: “I don’t want to sound like a broken record. We’re looking at all actors here.”

Five people, including a US Capitol Police officer, died in the violent riots when thousands of the president’s supporters invaded Congress as lawmakers and Vice President Mike Pence were gathered inside to confirm Joe Biden’s Electoral College victory.


The president, Giuliani, Don Jr. and other Trump surrogates egged on supporters at a “Save America March” outside the White House before the riots, telling them the election had been stolen and to never accept the results. Giuliani even called for a “trial by combat” over the results.

The violent episode has caused an enormous fallout in the Trump administration, with several cabinet members resigning in the wake of the Capitol violence and calls mounting for Trump to be removed via the 25th Amendment and/or a second impeachment.

TRUMP KILLS KOP

Capitol police officer dies of wounds after clashes with Trump mob
BLUE LIVES DON'T MATTER
Issued on: 08/01/2021 

A member of the Capitol police covers his face as pro-Trump protesters storm the US Capitol to contest the certification of the 2020 presidential election results by Congress, at the US Capitol Building in Washington, DC, on January 6, 2021. © Ahmed Gaber, Reuters

Text by:FRANCE 24Follow

A US Capitol Police officer has died of injuries sustained during clashes with a mob of President Donald Trump’s supporters who overran a session of Congress, police said late Thursday.

Officer Brian D. Sicknick died Thursday due to injuries sustained while on-duty, physically engaging with protesters at the US Capitol, a statement said.

It was the first law enforcement death stemming from Wednesday's violence at the Capitol which saw flag-waving crowds overwhelm police and break into the legislature as Congress was tallying the Electoral College votes to confirm Democrat Joe Biden won the election.

Sicknick, a 12-year veteran of the force, was “responding to the riots on Wednesday, January 6, 2021, at the US Capitol and was injured while physically engaging with protesters", Capitol Police said in a statement.

“He returned to his division office and collapsed. He was taken to a local hospital where he succumbed to his injuries” on Thursday night, it said.

Democratic leaders of the House Appropriations Committee said the “tragic loss” of a Capitol police officer “should remind all of us of the bravery of the law enforcement officers who protected us, our colleagues, Congressional staff, the press corps and other essential workers″ during the hours-long takeover of the Capitol by pro-Trump protesters.

Four protesters died in the violence, including a woman who was shot by police. Three other deaths were reported on the Capitol grounds, but the circumstances remained unclear.

Sicknick's death will be investigated by the Metropolitan Police Department’s Homicide Branch, the USCP, and federal law enforcement.

‘A failure of leadership at the top’

The rioting and loss of control has raised serious questions over security at the Capitol for future events. Despite plenty of warnings of a possible insurrection and ample resources and time to prepare, the Capitol Police planned only for a free speech demonstration. 

“This was a failure of imagination, a failure of leadership,” said Houston Police Chief Art Acevedo, whose department responded to several large protests last year following the death of George Floyd. “The Capitol Police must do better and I don’t see how we can get around that.” 

Acevedo said he has attended events on the Capitol grounds to honour slain police officers that had higher fences and a stronger security presence than what he saw on video Wednesday. 

Army Secretary Ryan McCarthy said that as the rioting was under way, it became clear that the Capitol Police were overrun. But he said there was no contingency planning done in advance for what forces could do in case of a problem at the Capitol because Defence Department help was turned down. “They’ve got to ask us, the request has to come to us,” said McCarthy.

US Capitol Police Chief Steven Sund, under pressure from Senator Chuck Schumer, House Speaker Nancy Pelosi and other congressional leaders, was forced to resign. Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell asked for and received the resignation of the Sergeant at Arms of the Senate, Michael Stenger, effective immediately. Paul Irving, the longtime Sergeant at Arms of the House, also resigned.

“There was a failure of leadership at the top,” Pelosi said.

The US Capitol had been closed to the public since March because of the Covid-19 pandemic, which has now killed more than 360,000 people in the US. But normally, the building is open to the public and lawmakers pride themselves on their availability to their constituents. 

It is not clear how many officers were on-duty Wednesday, but the complex is policed by a total of 2,300 officers for 16 acres of ground who protect the 435 House representatives, 100 US senators and their staff. By comparison, the city of Minneapolis has about 840 uniformed officers policing a population of 425,000 in a 6,000-acre area. 

There were signs for weeks that violence could strike on January 6. On far-right message boards and in pro-Trump circles, plans were being made.

The leader of the far-right extremist group Proud Boys was arrested coming into the nation’s capital this week on a weapons charge for carrying empty high-capacity magazines emblazoned with their logo. He admitted to police that he had made statements about rioting in Washington, local officials said.

Planning failures 

Both Acevedo and Ed Davis, a former Boston police commissioner who led the department during the 2013 Boston Marathon bombing, said they did not fault the responses of clearly overmatched front-line officers, but the planning and leadership before the riot. 

“Was there a structural feeling that well, these are a bunch of conservatives, they’re not going to do anything like this? Quite possibly," Davis said. “That’s where the racial component to this comes into play in my mind. Was there a lack of urgency or a sense that this could never happen with this crowd? Is that possible? Absolutely.” 

Trump and his allies were perhaps the biggest megaphones, encouraging protesters to turn out in force and support his false claim that the election had been stolen from him. He egged them on during a rally shortly before they marched to the Capitol and rioted. His personal attorney Rudy Giuliani, a former New York mayor known for his tough-on-crime stance, called for “trial by combat”.

McCarthy said law enforcement's intelligence estimates of the potential crowd size in the run-up to the protests “were all over the board”, from a low of 2,000 to as many as 80,000.


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The Capitol Police had set up no hard perimeter around the Capitol. Officers were focused on one side where lawmakers were entering to vote to certify Biden’s win.

Barricades were set up on the plaza in front of the building, but police retreated from the line and a mob of people broke through. Lawmakers, at first unaware of the security breach, continued their debate. Soon they were cowering under chairs. Eventually they were escorted from the House and Senate. Journalists were left alone in rooms for hours as the mob attempted to break into barricaded rooms.

Sund, the Capitol Police chief, said he had expected a display of “First Amendment activities” that instead turned into a “violent attack”. But Gus Papathanasiou, head of the Capitol Police union, said planning failures left officers exposed without backup or equipment against surging crowds of rioters. 

“We were lucky that more of those who breached the Capitol did not have firearms or explosives and did not have a more malign intent," Papathanasiou said in a statement. "Tragic as the deaths are that resulted from the attack, we are fortunate the casualty toll was not higher.”

(FRANCE 24 with AFP and AP)

How US Police 'Showed Restraint' For MAGA Mob – After Violent Attacks On Black Lives Matter

A mob loyal to Donald Trump stormed the seat of US democracy, yet more arrests were made in peaceful anti-racist protests over the summer.

US law enforcement has been criticised for its “underwhelming” response to violent pro-Trump rioters’ insurrection on Capitol Hill in Washington, DC.

As the stunning events unfolded on Wednesday evening, commentators drew comparisons between the police response to the insurrection and the brutal attacks on Black Lives Matter protesters last summer.

The Capitol – home to the Senate, Houses of Representatives and the Supreme Court – came under siege by a mob of hundreds, who briefly forced legislators to take cover as they tried to stop president-elect Joe Biden replacing Donald Trump in the White House.

The nation’s elected representatives scrambled to crouch under desks and don gas masks while police tried to barricade the building. They were among the most astonishing scenes ever to unfold in a seat of American political power.

The riots came after Trump’s presidency emboldened white supremacists such as The Proud Boys – a violent neo-fascist, Trump-supporting street gang.

Mutale Nkonde, author of upcoming book Automated Anti Blackness, pointed out the stark difference in policing approach to the Capitol coup versus the response to George Floyd’s killing.

SCREENSHOT

Nkonde, who has previously served as an artificial intelligence policy adviser for US Congress, told HuffPost UK: “The Capitol police showed respect and restraint for violent anti-democratic protestors and, on the other hand, showed violent resistance to peaceful Black Lives Matter protests. This is an example of a culture of anti-Black racism in policing.

“White women were complicit in this, yet their involvement has been downplayed not just by the Proud Boys but the president, who has not issued statements of regrets. [Meanwhile] Breonna Taylor was blamed for her own death by police.

On Wednesday, a judge banned a Proud Boys leader – the only one of colour –from Washington after he was accused of vandalising a Black Lives Matter banner at a historic Black church, and found with high-capacity firearm magazines when he was arrested.

The order bans Henry “Enrique” Tarrio, 36, from entering the District of Columbia, with very limited exceptions to meet with his attorney or appear in court.

Nkonde said this isolated approach to a singular Proud Boy of colour is telling.

“The significant thing about him is Enriche is runs a group called Latinos for Trump and would be racialised as Black in the American context, whether he identifies as such. While one could argue he was arrested because of a specific charge, he was the only Proud Boy who banned from the city before the protest before the January 6 coup, which set the stage for the differential police response to Black and white protesters since the death of George Floyd.”

PACIFIC PRESS VIA GETTY IMAGES

She added: “The US police forces across the country are petri-dishes for white supremacy and they need to be defunded. We need to identify their key functions and rebuild public safety units that serve and protect all Americans.”

Some 52 arrests were made during Wednesday’s riots at the Capitol. Four people died – three from medical emergencies and one, a white woman, was shot dead.

Washington’s mayor Muriel Bowser instituted an evening curfew in an attempt to contain the violence. 

In a late night news conference, metropolitan police department chief Robert J Contee said 47 of the 52 arrests were related to violations of Bowser’s 6pm curfew, with 26 involving people arrested on Capitol grounds.

JONATHAN BACHMAN / REUTERS

A demonstrator protesting the shooting death of Alton Sterling is detained by law enforcement near the headquarters of the Baton Rouge Police Department in Baton Rouge, Louisiana, in July 2016

Several others were arrested on charges related to carrying unlicensed or prohibited firearms. In addition, Contee said, two pipe bombs were recovered from the headquarters of the Republican and Democratic national committees, as well as a cooler from a vehicle on US Capitol grounds that contained Molotov cocktails.

The rioters were egged on by Trump, who has spent weeks falsely attacking the integrity of the election and had urged his supporters to come to Washington to protest Congress’ formal approval of Biden’s victory.

The protests interrupted those proceedings for nearly seven hours.

While the number of people arrested is expected to grow, the initial number pales in comparison to the amount of Black Lives Matter protesters arrested following the police killing of Floyd on May 25, 2020.

Peaceful demonstrations swept across about 140 cities in all 50 states and, by June 4, more than 10,000 people had been arrested, according to an Associated Press tally.

The world looked on as US police forces deployed the use of pepper spray, rubber bullets, teargas and batons on protesters – which included both members of the media and participants. Several cities also implemented curfews in a bid to curb unrest.

On June 1 alone, more than five times the number of people were arrested than on the day the Capitol was stormed, with 289 people detained.

Derrick Johnson, president of the national NAACP, said: “When Black folks are protesting and progressives are protesting peacefully they were tear-gassed, they were arrested, they were shot with rubber bullets. They were shot with real bullets. We watched it take place all summer long when people were peacefully demonstrating.”

By contrast, one officer could be seen posing for a selfie with one of the pro-Trump rioters.

In snap polling conducted on January 6, as the events in the US Capitol unfolded, Ipsos found a large majority of Americans opposed the protesters who broke into the building, while half saw it as an attempted coup.

More than two-thirds (70%) opposed the protests, with just under one in five (19%) supporting them. A similar number (74%) said the protesters who broke into the Capitol should be arrested.

Trump initially tweeted to ask his supporters to “remain peaceful” before posting a video asking them to “go home”.

But he also used the video to claim – baselessly – that the election was “fraudulent” and that he felt supporters’ “pain”. “We love you. You’re very special,” he added.

Politicians are vowing an investigation into how police handled Wednesday’s violent breach at the Capitol, questioning whether a lack of preparedness allowed the mob to occupy and vandalise the building.

Democratic representative Val Demings, a former police chief, said it was “painfully obvious” that Capitol police “were not prepared for the event.

“I certainly thought that we would have had a stronger show of force, that there would have been steps taken in the very beginning to make sure that there was a designated area for the protesters in a safe distance from the Capitol.” 

“Had it been people who look like me – had it been the same amount of people, but had they been Black and brown – we wouldn’t have made it up those steps,” Congresswoman Cori Bush, representative of Missouri, told MSNBC. 

“We wouldn’t have made it to be able to get into the door and bust windows, go put our feet up on desks of Congress members. We would’ve been shot, tear-gassed, rubber bullets. [...] That would’ve happened before we made it there.

″We need to call it what it is: it’s white supremacy, it was white privilege and it was the call of our president.”

Representative Marcia Fudge, a Democrat from Ohio, said it was “no question [that] there is a double standard” between how police treated Black Lives Matters protesters last summer and the pro-Trump supporters this week.

Dr Aaron Winter, senior lecturer in criminology at the University of East London, is an expert on the American far right, white supremacy and terrorism. 

He pointed out there was a “major difference” in the police and wider state security responses to the storming of the Capitol by white far-right Trump supporters and the Black Lived Matter protests earlier in 2020.

“I believe that racism, as well as politics, play a significant role. What was so shocking about the events at the Capitol was not just the protests themselves, which were widely known and warned about, but the ease to which they stormed the normally highly securitised Capitol building,” he told HuffPost UK.

“These scenes stand in marked contrast with the heavy police and security presence at BLM protests, and harsh treatment and suppression of protestors. The wider political dimension became clear when Trump spoke out against BLM and issued threats against protestors. The links between the two cases in this respect are unsettling.”

PROBAL RASHID VIA GETTY IMAGES

He added: “The relationship between the far right, state and mainstream needs to be challenged and dismantled. The Capitol siege may be an indication that with Trump’s loss, the links are being severed, and this was a mobilisation against that – but that remains to be seen and still leaves the systemic and institutional racism in policing, the criminal justice system and wider society to be dealt with.”

Without drawing the same comparison, political figures outside the US have condemned the riots.

UK home secretary Priti Patel blamed Trump’s incendiary comments for directly provoking violence from a mob loyal to the president.

Patel urged the Republican to condemn their actions and said the statement in which he said “we love you” to the rioters and repeated his unevidenced claims of electoral fraud did “very little to de-escalate the situation”.

Prime minister Boris Johnson called for a “peaceful and orderly transfer of power” between Trump and Biden.

TRUMP'S INSURECCTION 

US riot: Employees fired after being spotted in siege at Capitol Hill

8 Jan, 2021 
By: Sarah Sharples

Rioters identified participating in the breach of the United States Capitol Building are being fired by their employers.

From lawyers to real estate agents, companies around the US have been quick to remove staff involved in the siege.

After documenting his experience on Instagram of being tear-gassed outside the Capitol, North Texas lawyer Paul Davis found himself jobless. In the footage, he demanded an audit of the election, with riot police seen behind him.

His employer, Goosehead Insurance, announced Davis was no longer employed by the company.

Public Facebook posts from realtor Libby Andrews showed her smiling happily on the Capitol steps surrounded by fellow rioters and drinking a glass of champagne later that day to celebrate the storming.

Hours later her employer, @properties, announced on Facebook that it had had a "tremendous amount of outreach regarding the actions of our agent" and she had been terminated immediately. It added that the company does not "condone violence, destruction or illegal activities".

Libby Andrews of [at]Realty was terminated from their position as agent today. Scroll through for a pic of the champagne they used to celebrate "storming the capital". pic.twitter.com/5yMxywRafc— Spooky Itch (@JMYaLes) January 7, 2021

A man captured in images wearing a Navistar company badge inside the Capitol was identified and dismissed by the Maryland company.

"While we support all employee's rights to peaceful, lawful exercise of free speech, any employee demonstrating dangerous conduct that endangers the health and safety of others will no longer have an employment opportunity with Navistar Direct Marketing," the company said in a statement.

Some rioters saw the writing on the wall and handed in their resignations, such as former Republican state lawmaker Rick Saccone.

He worked as a professor at Pennsylvania's Saint Village College for more than two decades teaching international relations and global terrorism, but a video he posted to social media showed him wearing a Trump hat, among the crowd gathered outside the Capitol.

In a now-deleted social media post, he said: "We are storming the Capitol. Our vanguard has broken through the barricades. We will save this nation. Are u with me?"

His employee confirmed that Saccone has resigned and hit out at what had happened in Washington.

"We teach our students the importance of the sanctity of human life, the rule of law, civil discourse, free speech and civil engagement," Saint Village spokesman Mike Hustava told the Pittsburgh Post Gazette.

"We strongly condemn the extreme actions of those in our nation's capital who engaged in violent and lawless acts against the people, institutions and processes of our democracy."

He added that the college believes all individuals have the right to an opinion, but there will be tolerance when beliefs and opinions devolve into illegal and violent activities.

An online petition with more than 10,000 signatures has demanded the resignation of West Virginian lawmaker and Republican Derrick Evans, who was sworn in for his first term last month. He deleted a live-streamed video on his social media showing him storming the Capitol while wearing a helmet and chanting Trump's name. Other politicians called for an investigation into his actions and for his access to the Statehouse to be removed.

Even emergency service personnel have come under the spotlight after the protest turned violent.

A firefighter has been placed on leave and an investigation launched by the Sandford Fire Department in Florida after he was accused of being part of the mob, with a photo appearing to show him inside the Capitol, a spokesperson said.

"At this time, we are following the investigative process," a spokesperson told WFTV. "The administrative investigation will look into all aspects of the nature of the photograph and will address any city policy and/or law violations that could possibly arise throughout the investigation."

Trump supporters may now be regretting their participation in the siege. Photo / AP

A Texas jail lieutenant is also under investigation after she posted pictures from the Capitol grounds. No illegal activity was committed by the woman in the pictures, but officials are scrutinising whether any laws were broken or if she remained on the ground when officers were attacked.

"If she just stood by while first responders were assaulted, it would be more than just troubling, it would be downright infuriating," Sheriff Javier Salazar from Bexar County in Texas told the San Antonio Express-News. "It makes you mad ... if someone that wears a uniform just stood there, watched and took pictures."

Derrick Evans: West Virginia GOP state lawmaker who allegedly stormed US Capitol has resigned

Derrick Evans, the West Virginia state lawmaker who was allegedly among the rioters who stormed the US Capitol on Wednesday, resigned Saturday.

© Perry Bennett/West Virginia Legislature/AP West Virginia House of Delegates member Derrick Evans, left, is given the oath of office Dec. 14, 2020, in the House chamber at the state Capitol in Charleston, W.Va. Evans recorded video of himself and fellow supporters of President Donald Trump storming the U.S. Capitol in Washington, D.C., on Wednesday, Jan. 6, 2021 prompting calls for his resignation and thousands of signatures on an online petition advocating his removal. (Perry Bennett/West Virginia Legislature via AP)

"I hereby resign as a member of the West Virginia House of Delegates, effective immediately," he wrote in a brief letter addressed to West Virginia Gov. Jim Justice.

"I take full responsibility for my actions, and deeply regret any hurt, pain or embarrassment I may have caused my family, friends, constituents and fellow West Virginians," Evans said in a statement Saturday.

Evans has been charged with one count of knowingly entering or remaining in any restricted building or grounds without lawful authority; and one count of violent entry and disorderly conduct on Capitol Grounds. A federal magistrate judge in West Virginia released him on his personal recognizance after he appeared in court Friday afternoon, according to court records.

Evans, a supporter of Trump, recorded a Facebook Live video in which he can be heard shouting, "We're in! We're in, baby!" while moving among a crowd of rioters as he walked through a doorway of the Capitol.

He has denied taking part in the destruction and violence and has since deleted the clip, but not before it was shared on social media and aired by CNN affiliate WCHS. In another video posted to his Facebook page Wednesday morning, Evans laughs as he predicts a riot.

Evans said later Wednesday that he had filmed the event only as an "independent member of the media to film history," though it does not appear he has any experience working as one.

His lawyer, John Bryan, previously told CNN in a statement Thursday that his client "had no choice but to enter" the Capitol due to the size of the crowd he was in, and that "it wasn't apparent to Mr. Evans that he wasn't allowed to follow the crowd into this public area of the Capitol, inside which members of the public were already located."

The chair of the West Virginia GOP on Saturday said Evans "made the right decision" to resign.

"The actions of Derrick Evan were unwise and unbecoming of an elected official," Chairwoman Melody Potter said in a statement.

Speaking during a Friday briefing, Justice said of Evans' involvement, "You know me, I don't sugarcoat things and I don't try to give you a political answer. I think it's terrible."

"I think it's a scar on West Virginia," the Republican governor said. "He can come up with any excuse in the world, but being there and rushing and entering the Capitol of the United States of America. I mean, how in the world can we possibly, possibly think that's anything but bad stuff?"

US riots: Further arrests as more brutality revealed
9 Jan, 2021

supporters of President Donald Trump are confronted by U.S. Capitol Police

 officers outside the Senate Chamber inside the Capitol in Washington. Photo / AP
AP

Police arrested more Capitol rioters on Saturday, including a man who carried off the House speaker's lectern, as more graphic details of the insurrection emerged, revealing the violence and brutality of the mob that stormed a seat of American political power.

A bloodied officer was crushed in a doorway screaming in Wednesday's siege, which forced lawmakers to go into hiding for hours and halt their voting to affirm President-elect Joe Biden's victory.

Another officer tumbled over a railing into the crowd below after being body-slammed from behind. Members of the media were cursed, shoved and punched.

A vast number of photos and videos captured the riot, which left five people dead. Many of the images were taken by the rioters themselves, few of whom wore masks that would have lowered not only their chances of contracting the coronavirus, but their chances of being identified. Some took pains to stand out.

Jacob Anthony Chansley, an Arizona man seen in photos and video of the mob with a painted face and wearing a costume that included a horned, fur hat, was taken into custody Saturday and charged with counts that include violent entry and disorderly conduct on Capitol grounds.

Chansley, more commonly known as Jake Angeli, will remain in custody in Arizona pending a detention hearing that will be scheduled during an initial court appearance early in the coming week, Assistant US Attorney Esther Winne told the Associated Press by email. Chansley did not immediately respond to messages left via email and telephone.

Chansley, who had become a staple in his costume at pro-Trump protests across the country, is now among dozens of people arrested in the wake of the Capitol invasion by a large mob of Trump supporters enraged over his election loss.

The rioters took over the House and Senate chambers, smashed windows and waved Trump, American and Confederate flags.

A Florida man accused of making off with Pelosi's lectern during the chaos was arrested Friday night on a federal warrant and was being held Saturday without bail in Pinellas County, Florida.

Jail records do not show if Adam Johnson, 36, of Parrish, Florida, has an attorney.
Related articles

Johnson was charged Saturday with theft, violent entry and disorderly conduct on Capitol grounds.

The married father of five was quickly identified on social media by local residents as the man in a photo smiling as he walked through the Capitol rotunda carrying Pelosi's lectern, the Bradenton Herald reported.

Johnson posted on social media that he was in Washington, D.C., during Wednesday's riots and included disparaging comments about the Black Lives Matter movement, according to the Bradenton Herald. Those posts were later deleted or taken down.

During Wednesday's violence, Capitol Police Officer Brian Sicknick was wounded in a confrontation with attackers and was reportedly struck by a fire extinguisher. He died Thursday night. Another officer was crushed in a doorway, but it's unclear what happened to that officer, whose plight was captured on camera and shared by the progressive organisation Status Coup. Members of media organisations, including the AP and the New York Times, were also attacked.

U.S. Capitol Police Officer Brian Sicknick. Photo / Supplied

By Saturday, prosecutors had filed 17 cases in federal district court and 40 others in the District of Columbia Superior Court for a variety of offenses ranging from assaulting police officers to entering restricted areas of the US Capitol, stealing federal property and threatening lawmakers.

Prosecutors said additional cases remained under seal, dozens of other people were being sought by federal agents, and the US attorney in Washington vowed Friday that "all options were on the table" for charges, including possibly sedition.

Other notable arrests in the Capitol invasion include:

• Doug Jensen, an Iowa man, was jailed early Saturday on federal charges, including trespassing and disorderly conduct counts, for his alleged role in the Capitol riot. Jensen, 41, of Des Moines, was being held without bond at the Polk County Jail and county sheriff's Sgt. Ryan Evans said he didn't know if Jensen had an attorney. Video posted online during the storming of the Capitol showed a man who appears to be Jensen, who is white, pursuing a Black officer up an interior flight of stairs as a mob of people trails several steps behind. At several points, the officer says "get back," to no avail.

• Richard Barnett, an Arkansas man who was shown in a widely seen photo sitting in House Speaker Nancy Pelosi's office with his boots on a desk after the storming of the Capitol, was arrested Friday by the FBI. Barnett, 60, turned himself in to FBI agents at the Benton County Sheriff's Office in Bentonville, Arkansas. He is jailed in the Washington County Detention Center in nearby Fayetteville, Arkansas, without bond pending an initial court appearance, FBI Little Rock spokesman Connor Hagan said. No attorney is listed in online jail records for the Gravette, Arkansas, man.

• Derrick Evans, a West Virginia state lawmaker who posted videos online showing himself pushing his way inside the Capitol, was arrested Friday by the FBI at his home and charged with entering restricted federal property. Evans, who faced bipartisan calls for him to step down, submitted a letter of resignation Saturday to West Virginia Gov. Jim Justice and apologised for his actions. Evans faces charges that he entered a restricted area of the US Capitol after he livestreamed himself rushing into the building with a horde of rampaging Trump supporters. In the videos, Evans is seen fist-bumping a police officer and then milling around the rotunda as he shouted, "Our house!"

'

MAGA MOB KIA UPDATED

US riot: woman killed in US Capitol siege was a 

pro-Trumper sucked in by QAnon conspiracy theory

CRUSHED UNDERFOOT AT TRUMP'S INSURRECTION

9 Jan, 2021 

One of the people who died during this week's horrific riot on the US Capitol was a conspiracy theorist trampled to death by fellow pro-Trump rioters.

Roseanne Boyland travelled from Georgia to attend a rally held by Donald Trump to coincide with the confirmation of the electoral college vote in the Congress on Wednesday, local time.

Boyland's devastated family have revealed the 34-year-old "spiralled" into the depths of the QAnon theory, which peddles the belief that a global gang of high-profile paedophiles wants to topple Trump.

Roseanne Boyland is 34 and travelled from Georgia to attend a rally. Photo / Twitter

Roseanne Boyland pictured carrying a Don't Tread On Me flag. Photo / Twitter

Boyland's friend, Justin Winchell, who was with her, recalled her final moments as protesters began falling over one another

"I put my arm underneath her and was pulling her out and then another guy fell on top of her, and another guy was just walking [on top of her]," Winchell told the news network CBS46.

"There were people stacked two, three deep… people just crushed."

"It cost her her life," her sister, Lonna Cave, said.

Cave said her sister had sworn to her family that she wasn't going to get caught up in anything violent.

She pleaded with Boyland not to make the trip to Washington.

"She promised me, 'I'm going to stand on the side lines. I'm just going to show my support,'" she said.

The sisters fought about politics and QAnon, which contends e-retailer Wayfair is part of a secret cabal of child-sex traffickers. She glommed on to other conspiracy theories.

"It just spiralled," said Cave, 39.

Pro-Trump protesters gather in front of the US Capitol Building on January 6 before a mob stormed the Capitol, breaking windows and clashing with police officers. Photo / Getty Images

Boyland was a staunch Trump supporter, posting photos and videos of the president and posting wild allegations, including one that the pandemic was just a way to steal the November election.

Her last Twitter post was on Wednesday, before Trump urged his supporters to march to the Capitol, where lawmakers were debating the Electoral College outcome.

She retweeted a picture of thousands surrounding the Washington Monument.

The tragic revelation comes as Trump's opponents in Congress move swiftly to impeach him, but there's one huge obstacle they will not be able to overcome in time.

This all comes in the wake of Twitter's decision to permanently suspend Trump from its platform yesterday. That choice has already caused plenty of fallout.

Four rioters were killed, including one shot by authorities while trying to breach a door.

A Capitol police officer suffered head injuries and died in hospital a day later.

'It just spiralled' - family of Trump supporter who died in Capitol siege believe US President incited riot

Rosanne Boyland was one of three people who died of medical emergencies.

This photo provided by Justin Cave shows Rosanne Boyland. Boyland, from Kennesaw, Ga., was one of three people who died of medical emergencies during the violence inside and outside the Capitol in Washington on Wednesday, Jan. 6, 2021. A friend said Boyland was pinned to the ground and trampled during a violent clash between rioters and police. (Justin Cave via AP)


Associated Press Reporters

January 09 2021 

One of the Trump supporters who died during Wednesday’s siege at the US Capitol was a recovering drug addict who wanted to become a sobriety counsellor, but had also started following the widely discredited QAnon conspiracy theory that has circulated online, her family has said.

Rosanne Boyland, 34, from Georgia, was one of three people who died of medical emergencies when a pro-Trump mob, egged on by the outgoing president, stormed the Capitol as Congress was certifying Joe Biden’s victory. A fourth person was shot dead by police and an officer was also killed.

Capitol police have not released details about how Ms Boyland died.

“It just spiralled,” Ms Boyland’s sister, Lonna Cave, said outside her home in Atlanta.

She said the family has heard conflicting accounts. A friend who was with her said Ms Boyland was pinned to the ground and trampled during a violent clash between rioters and police, but her sister said a police detective told the family she had collapsed while standing to the side in the Capitol Rotunda.

Ms Cave said her sister had no intention of committing violence when she travelled to Washington, but the family had begged her not to go.

“She promised me, ‘I’m going to stand on the sidelines. I’m just going to show my support’,” Ms Cave told the Associated Press.

Ms Boyland had been arrested multiple times on drug offences, but had been sober for several years and found new purpose in politics, according to a friend, Nicholas Stamathis.

“She got clean and sober and stopped blaming other people for her problems and got real conservative,” he said.

She attended meetings of an addiction group in Atlanta and picked up her young nieces every day from school, her sister said.

The deadly insurrection led Ms Boyland’s brother-in-law, Justin Cave, to call for Donald Trump’s removal from office.

“My own personal belief is that I believe that the president’s words and rhetoric incited a riot (Wednesday) that killed four of his biggest fans,” said Mr Cave.

The sisters also clashed over Ms Boyland’s political views and the QAnon myth, which includes wild allegations of a child sex ring. Ms Boyland had begun following the conspiracy theory over the past six months, Ms Cave said.

Ms Boyland explored its baseless accusations that online furniture retailer Wayfair was part of the fictional ring, her sister said, and her faith in conspiracies spiralled from there.

“She would text me some things, and I would be like, ‘Let me fact-check that’. And I’d sit there and I’d be like, ‘Well, I don’t think that’s actually right’. We got in fights about it, arguments.”

Ms Boyland’s Facebook page featured photos and videos praising Mr Trump and promoting fantasies, including one theory that a shadowy group was using coronavirus to steal elections.

While they had not seen each other in years, Mr Stamathis said they chatted over Facebook Messenger regularly. A week or two ago, they had traded memes “of liberals losing their mind” online.

Another friend, Justin Winchell, said Ms Boyland was pinned to the ground when bodies of police and protesters pushed against each other. People began falling and then trampling one another, he told WGCL-TV in Atlanta.

“I put my arm underneath her and was pulling her out and then another guy fell on top of her, and another guy was just walking (on top of her),” he said. “There were people stacked two to three-deep… people just crushed.

The two others who died of medical emergencies were Kevin Greeson, 55, of Alabama, and Benjamin Philips, 50, of Pennsylvania.

Ashli Babbitt, 35, of San Diego, was shot dead by police as she tried to climb through the broken window of a barricaded doorway inside the Capitol.

Capitol Police Officer Brian D Sicknick was hit on the head with a fire extinguisher, according to law enforcement officials. He died in hospital.

Ms Boyland’s family has received multiple threats since her death. They blame Mr Trump for the violence, believing she got caught up in the president’s lies about the election.

“It cost her her life,” Ms Cave said.

'Nothing will stop us': Woman fatally shot during riot ex Air Force staffer
6 Jan, 2021

A woman who was shot during the Washington riots has died from her injuries.

The grim news of the woman's death was confirmed by US media and Washington DC police this morning, although it has not yet been confirmed who fired the fatal shot.

However, an eyewitness interviewed by CNN claimed the woman may have been hit by an individual guarding the inside of the House Chamber.

The Trump supporter was shot dead inside the Capitol building. Photo / Twitter

The victim has been identified as air force vet and Californian Trump supporter Ashli Babbitt, with her husband confirming the news with KUSI-TV.

Just a day before her death, Babbitt took to Twitter to vow that "nothing will stop us".

"They can try and try and try but the storm is here and it is descending upon DC in less than 24 hours ... dark to light," she posted.

Nothing will stop us....they can try and try and try but the storm is here and it is descending upon DC in less than 24 hours....dark to light!— CommonAshSense (@Ashli_Babbitt) January 5, 2021

Babbit also retweeted on Wednesday morning (US time) a "MUST BE DONE LIST before Congress meets today".

It included, "Mike Pence must resign & thereafter be charged with TREASON" and "Chief Justice John Roberts must RESIGN".

A confronting video of the moment Babbitt was shot began circulating online soon after the incident, which captured the sound of a gunshot before revealing the woman lying on the floor as blood poured from her mouth

Onlookers were heard screaming "Where's she hit?" as they rushed to assist her, and she was later taken from the building in a stretcher.

Babbitt was pictured on camera draped in a red, white and blue flag.

Onlookers rushed to the injured woman's aid. Photo / Twitter

The chaos arose after MAGA protesters stormed the Capitol in an attempt to overthrow democracy in the dying days of Donald Trump's presidency this morning.

The outgoing President's supporters have not only taken to the streets, but have also breached the US Capitol building after breaking through barriers, withstanding tear gas and engaging in an armed standoff with police in a stunning refusal to accept Trump's election loss.

A number of police officers have also reportedly been injured during clashes with demonstrators.

The emergency kicked off while congress was in session to count and certify the Electoral College votes following the November 3 election, with MAGA supporters attempting to disrupt the proceedings and overturn Democrat Joe Biden's victory by storming the House Floor.

The joint session has since been halted, with a protester breaching the Senate floor and taking the Speaker's chair.

A woman has been shot in Washington DC. Photo / Twitter

Audibly shaken media commentators have likened the situation to that of a "third world country"or "civil war", with CNN anchors this morning describing the chaos as a full-blown "rebellion" and "insurrection" in Washington DC and claiming Americans were "witnessing an attempt at sedition" on their television screens.

"This is just Bedlam … this is Trump's rebellion," one said, adding the situation was "very, very tense" and "out of control"

Reporters said they had not seen anything like the unfolding crisis since the Vietnam War, labelling the situation "unprecedented" and claiming it was "not a peaceful protest".

Ashli Babbitt, rioter fatally shot in DC, was ‘bananas’ over Trump: grandfather

By Joshua Rhett Miller
January 8, 2021 | 


Share: Ashli Babbitt, killed in Capitol, criticized politicians for ‘refusing to choose America’

The Air Force veteran who was fatally shot as she stormed the Capitol was an “excellent patriot” who was a fanatic follower of President Trump, her grandfather said.

Ashli Babbitt, 35, of San Diego, was among five people who died after Wednesday’s breach of the building following a rally held earlier outside the White House by Trump, whom she strongly supported since first announcing his White House bid.

“Ever since he was running for election, back in 2015, she’s been bananas over Trump,” Babbitt’s grandfather, Tony Mazziott, told “Good Morning America” in an interview. “She thinks he’s the final coming of the Lord, I guess.”

A day before she was killed by an unidentified Capitol Police officer, the married Babbitt tweeted that “nothing will stop us” while vowing that a “storm” would descend upon Washington within 24 hours.

Babbitt — who served 12 years in the Air Force, Air Force Reserves and Air National Guard — was a “loving person” who regularly attended rallies for Trump, her grandfather said.

SEE ALSO

Ashli Babbitt, protester killed at Capitol, was Air Force vet from California

“She served time in the military and she’s passionate about everything, particularly Donald Trump, for some reason,” Mazziott continued.

Babbitt was also deployed three times during her military service, including tours in Afghanistan and Iraq, according to the report.

Mazziott told KGTV Babbitt was his only granddaughter and lived with him for several years as a child.

“We supported her passion, what can I say?” Mazziott told the station. “Didn’t argue with her because you’d never win.”

Babbitt’s husband, meanwhile, told KSWB he reached out to his wife about 30 minutes before she was shot, but never heard back. She was later pronounced dead at a hospital.

Babbitt -- who served 12 years in the Air Force, Air Force Reserves and Air National Guard -- was a "loving person" who regularly attending rallies for Trump, her grandfather said.
Maryland MVA/Courtesy of the Calvert County Sheriff’s Office via AP

“She loved her country and she was doing what she thought was right to support her country, joining up with like-minded people that also love their president and their country,” Aaron Babbitt told the station. “She was voicing her opinion and she got killed for it.”

A GOP lawmaker who witnessed the shooting said Thursday that Babbitt was shot as she tried to breach the House chambers. The officer who shot her “didn’t have a choice” but to open fire, Rep. Markwayne Mullin (R-Okla.) told “GMA” Thursday.

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Melody Black, from Minnesota, becomes emotional as she visits a

 memorial setup near the Capitol for Ashli Babbitt.