Russia says Myanmar sanctions could lead to civil war, but EU plans more

(Reuters) - Russia said on Tuesday the West risked triggering civil war in Myanmar by imposing sanctions on the military junta that has seized power in a coup, but France said the European Union will step up restrictions on the generals.

The Kremlin’s show of support was a boost to the junta that overthrew Aun San Suu Kyi’s elected civilian government on Feb. 1. But it still faces a sustained campaign of pro-democracy demonstrations and civil disobedience across the country, and condemnation and more sanctions from the West.

In Myanmar’s main city Yangon on Tuesday, protesters sprayed red paint on roads, symbolising the blood shed in a crackdown by the security forces.

“The blood has not dried,” said one message in red.

About 570 people, including dozens of children, have been shot dead by troops and police in almost daily unrest since the coup, and security forces have arrested close to 3,500 people, advocacy group the Association for Political Prisoners (AAPP) said.

Among those detained are Suu Kyi, Myanmar’s most popular politician, and members of her National League for Democracy, which trounced military-backed candidates in a November election.

However, Russia said on Tuesday that sanctions against the authorities were futile and extremely dangerous.

“In fact, such a line contributes to pitting the sides against each other and, ultimately, pushes the people of Myanmar towards a full-scale civil conflict,” the Russian Foreign Ministry said, quoted by the Interfax news agency.

Russia is a major arms supplier to Myanmar and its deputy defence minister met coup leader General Min Aung Hlaing in the capital Naypyitaw last month, drawing criticism from rights activists who accused Moscow of legitimising the junta.

The European Union was preparing to impose collective sanctions on the Myanmar military targeting its business interests, French Foreign Minister Jean-Yves Le Drian said in Paris.

“We are going to add economic sanctions at the level of the 27 (EU countries)...against the economic entities linked to the army so that they (sanctions) can be applied very quickly,” Le Drian told lawmakers.

Indonesia says UK backs ASEAN push for Myanmar crisis resolution

The EU last month imposed sanctions on a number of figures linked to the coup and the subsequent repression, while the United States has also taken measures against individuals and military-run businesses, which cover a wide span of Myanmar’s economic life.

A protest scheduled for Wednesday has called for the burning of Chinese-made goods. Many protesters are opposed to China, a major investor in Myanmar, because it is seen as supporting the junta.

NEXT GENERATION

Anger has swept Myanmar in the past two months over the coup that brought an abrupt end to a brief era of democratic and economic reform and international integration that followed the military’s oppressive 1962-2011 rule.

Suu Kyi and her party had pledged to change the constitution to reduce the military’s political clout.

The junta says it acted because the November election was fraudulent - an assertion dismissed by the election commission and international observers - and says it will hold a new election.

Western countries have backed the protesters’ calls for Suu Kyi and her government to be reinstated.

The ability to organise protests has been hampered by the military’s restriction of broadband wireless internet and mobile data services that had been the main channel for spreading word of what was happening in the country.

Those able to access social media on Tuesday shared pictures of striking workers marching for a second day in the city of Mandalay, some wearing gas masks and giving the three-finger salute that has become a symbol of resistance to army rule.

Authorities have issued arrest warrants for dozens of celebrities, models and influencers, and on Tuesday a popular comedian was arrested in Yangon, the Mizzima news site reported.

Villagers attend a protest against the military coup, in Launglon township, Myanmar April 4, 2021 in this picture obtained from social media. Dawei Watch/via REUTERS

Sithu Aung Myint, a prominent journalist, was on the wanted list. Writing on Facebook, he said he was proud to be considered a threat.

“When the coup council who have been committing crimes announces you as a lawbreaker together with the whole country, you will be more than happy because you are recognised as a hero in this revolution,” he wrote.

“Your next generation will be proud of you.”


Reporting by Reuters Staff; Writing by Angus MacSwan, Editing by Philippa Fletcher

Healing horses help people deal with trauma during pandemic

CBC/Radio-Canada 2021-04-06

© Natalie Axten Chantel White is a certified equine gestalt coach and has been helping people deal with past trauma for eight years.

The pandemic has left many struggling with their mental health and to deal with it some are turning to an unusual therapy.

Chantel White, a certified equine gestalt coach, helps people focus on healing from past trauma, especially abuse and sexual abuse, with help from horses.

"Horses are very intuitive beings," White told CBC's Edmonton AM on Monday.

"They're very, very aware of what's happening around them and are very aware of what's happening within people so they pick up a lot on incongruence."

Even when people tell themselves they are fine, when in reality they are not, a horse would pick up on it and help them deal with it, she said.

Her clients don't ride the horses, rather they interact with the animal through sessions. At her practice, Equine Reflection, in east Edmonton, she runs individual and groups sessions.

One of the group sessions involves a three-day intensive program where people work together to heal in the presence of horses.

"Groups are really helpful because people can really resonate with what's happened to another person," she said.

She said she saw an increase in the number of people reaching out for help in the middle of the pandemic, especially around September, October and November.

"They are just really feeling the effects of not having any support, especially even being out with their traditional community and friends" she said.

White's programs are designed for women and teens to help them deal with past assault or sexual assault.

Her horses pick up on feelings and help her clients through them, she said.

As an example, White was in discussion with a client who could not speak about their trauma when one of her horses came over, picked up a cushion from a nearby chair, threw it on the ground and repeatedly struck it with its shoulder.

When White made her client face what the horse was doing, the client began crying, recalling how they had been raped.

White has been offering therapy for eight years, although her relationship with horses goes past that.

"I was one of those people that just was born loving horses. I always enjoyed being around them — got into training them and showing them — that it felt like there was something more for me," she said.

There is something about horses that have always made her feel better, White said.

"People say that all the time. They just instantly feel better when they're around them."

PUTIN'S JUDAS GOAT
Russian prosecutors move to liquidate Navalny’s ‘extremist’ movement

Andrew Roth in Moscow 3 days ago


The Moscow prosecutor’s office has announced that it will seek to designate Alexander Navalny’s Anti-Corruption Foundation and his regional political headquarters as “extremist groups”, moving to effectively liquidate the jailed opposition leader’s political organisation in Russia.

It is the most sweeping assault yet on supporters of Navalny, and comes after his two-and-a-half-year sentence on embezzlement charges and the arrest of his top aides on various charges following large protests in January and February.

In a statement released on Friday evening, the law enforcement body said it was seeking the designation usually reserved for violent organisations such as al-Qaida or Aum Shinrikyo, because it believed Navalny’s organisations were “creating conditions for changing the foundations of the constitutional order, including through the scenario of a ‘coloured revolution’”.

© Photograph: Kirill Kudryavtsev/AFP/Getty Images 

The decision effectively severs Navalny from his supporters in the regions and his financial donors.

Coloured revolutions were pro-democracy uprisings in former Soviet republics in the mid-2000s now seen in Russia as western-backed coups. Navalny’s organisations have strongly criticised Vladimir Putin and his government, but have not called for any kind of armed rebellion to overthrow the Kremlin.

The decision effectively severs Navalny from his supporters in the regions and even from his financial donors, many of whom could be liable for financing an extremist group if they continued to provide funds.

“They’ve decided to steamroll the Anti-Corruption Foundation and the headquarters,” wrote the head of the Anti-Corruption Foundation, Ivan Zhdanov. “We won’t surrender.”

The prosecutor’s office said that it had applied for a court ruling to recognise both organisations as extremist, which, if granted and upheld on appeal, would allow the government to fine and imprison members of the pro-Navalny groups.

On Friday, a former camera operator for Navalny was sentenced to two years in prison on extremism charges for writing two strongly worded tweets that said top Kremlin officials “didn’t deserve to live”. The tweets came after a regional journalist lit herself on fire in an act of protest and died.

In the statement, the prosecutor’s office also claimed that Navalny’s organisation was acting in place of international organisations in Russia whose activities had been deemed “undesirable”. The statement effectively calls Navalny’s movement a front for western interests.

Navalny’s political movement has evolved over the last decade from a lone gadfly blogger with a LiveJournal to a guerrilla newsroom, an opposition research centre and a campaign strategy headquarters seeking to unseat the United Russia party by channelling votes to its most likely opponents.

The Anti-Corruption Foundation has angered Russia’s elites by publishing investigations into their expensive watches, yachting trips, lovers’ trysts, inflated procurements and other aspects of the government corruption that Navalny says has characterised the Putin era.

Related: Putin residence has cryo chamber and stables, Navalny team alleges

On Friday, it published its latest investigation into a lavish residence allegedly used by Putin, which is reportedly fitted out with a luxury spa complex with cryo chambers and a float pool, and which it claimed was rented from a close ally of Putin’s using taxpayers’ money.

The continuing investigations have proven that Navalny can be dangerous to the Kremlin even while he remains on hunger strike in a Russian prison. He was arrested upon returning to the country in January following treatment for a poisoning attempt on his life that he, in a joint investigation with Bellingcat, traced back to the Russian FSB.

US looking into reports of Ethiopian military executing unarmed men after CNN investigation

By Ivana Kottasová, CNN 

 2021-04-06

The US State Department said Monday it was looking into reports of extrajudicial executions committed by the Ethiopian army following a CNN investigation.

© Tigrai Media House Footage obtained by CNN shows soldiers rounding up dozens of young men on a clifftop and checking if they're armed.

A CNN report published on Thursday found that Ethiopian soldiers had executed unarmed men in the country's war-torn Tigray region.


The investigation, carried out with Amnesty International, verified footage of soldiers killing a group of at least 11 men before disposing of their bodies near the Tigrayan town of Mahibere Dego. A BBC investigation, also published Thursday, corroborated the same massacre.

Asked about the reports that Ethiopian forces were responsible for the massacre, State Department spokesman Ned Price said: "We are gravely concerned by reported human rights violations, abuses, and atrocities in the Tigray region of Ethiopia. We strongly condemn the killings, the forced removals, the sexual assaults, the other human rights abuses that multiple organizations have reported."

"We are, of course, looking into these reports. We have taken close note of them and we'll continue to pay close attention," Price added.

Ethiopia is facing a raft of intense scrutiny over human rights violations that may amount to war crimes in Tigray. Thousands of civilians are believed to have been killed since November, when Ethiopian Prime Minister Abiy Ahmed launched a major military operation against the region's ruling party, the Tigray People's Liberation Front (TPLF), sending in national troops and militia fighters from Ethiopia's Amhara region.

CNN has previously compiled extensive eyewitness testimony that soldiers from neighboring Eritrea had crossed into Tigray during the conflict and had perpetrated massacres, extrajudicial killings, sexual violence and other abuses.

Price said the US had taken note of the announcement by the Ethiopian foreign ministry last month that Eritrean forces have begun to leave the country.

"The immediate and complete withdrawal of Eritrean troops from Tigray will be an important step forward in de-escalating the conflict and restoring peace and regional stability," he said. He did not comment on whether the US has confirmed the withdrawal has started.

"We are encouraged by the prime minister's announcement that the government of the State of Eritrea has agreed to withdraw its forces from Ethiopia," Price added. Last month, Eritrea's embassy of the UK and Ireland denied allegations of wrongdoing by Eritrean soldiers and denied they were in Ethiopia.

Abiy's office dismissed the evidence from CNN's report, saying Friday that "social media posts and claims cannot be taken as evidence."

"The Ethiopian government has indicated its open will for independent investigations to be undertaken in the Tigray region," the statement added.

EU ‘reflecting’ on conflict of interest rules after BlackRock controversy

Jasper Jolly 

THE GUARDIAN

4/19/2021

The EU is considering introducing new conflict of interest rules after it was criticised for hiring BlackRock, a major manager of oil company and financial shares, to work on new environmental rules for banks.© Provided by The Guardian Photograph: Lucas Jackson/Reuters

The European ombudsman found in November found that the European commission, the EU’s executive arm, had not properly considered conflicts of interest when awarding the contract to BlackRock, the world’s biggest investor.

The ombudsman, Emily O’Reilly, also said the commission should strengthen its conflict of interest rules.

Related: EU 'did not properly consider conflicts of interest' over BlackRock contract

The commission said it was “reflecting on possible clarifications relevant to the procedure to follow when a professional conflicting interest may be at stake in a procurement procedure”, according to its response to the ombudsman, published on Monday

.

© Photograph: Lucas Jackson/Reuters BlackRock holds shares in oil companies and banks worth billions of dollars.

It said it would include updates to its financial regulation on conflicts of interest in a public consultation.

The campaign group Urgewald raised concerns about BlackRock’s alleged conflict of interest, first reported by the Guardian in April 2020. While BlackRock has taken steps in recent years to tighten its policies on the active allocation of money, its role as the world’s biggest provider of passive investments means it holds shares worth billions of dollars in oil companies and banks.

Katrin Ganswindt, a finance campaigner at Urgewald, said: “It is good that the EU commission is considering providing clearer guidelines on possible conflict of interest. This should be a given.

“In the case of BlackRock, the world’s largest investor in fossil fuels, it is unfortunately already too late. The fact that the asset manager is also a leading shareholder in the banks for which it is advising environmental social and governance regulation, shows how we would have needed these guidelines before BlackRock was awarded the tender.”

Rasmus Andresen, an MEP with the Greens/European Free Alliance group, said he welcomed the commission’s response, but added “everything depends on the details and the implementation of this revision”. Andresen was among a group of MEPs who wrote to the commission with concerns over the contract.

“The only question of importance is if the financial regulation at the end will prevent BlackRock and others from getting a leading advising role on policy they have a financial interest in,” Andresen told the Guardian. “The commission should come up with a concrete proposal and formulate the revision in close cooperation with the European parliament as budgetary authority.”

BlackRock declined to comment. It has previously said its bid for the banking rules work was accepted because the commission found it offered the best quality for the lowest price

ROARING TWENTIES SPECULATION REDUX

The NFT bubble might be bursting already

By Paul R. La Monica,

 CNN Business 2021-04-05

Non-fungible tokens, or NFTs, are all the rage. But their popularity may have already peaked. Prices of NFTs, the digital certificates that have taken the art and collectibles world by storm this year, have plunged about 70% from their high point in February

.



The average price for an NFT on April 5 was about $1,256 -- down from more than $4.000 in late February, according to market research site NonFungible.com. Data from The Block, another crypto research firm, shows a similarly large decline for both prices and NFT sales as well.

NFTs have been an investing and pop culture mania for the past few weeks, leading some to wonder if the frenzy is a market bubble fueled by the wealthy and younger traders flush with stimulus money.

A JPEG file by the digital artist Beeple recently sold for $69 million at Christie's. NFTs have helped boost the price of sports trading cards. Rock group Kings of Leon released their most recent album as an NFT.

There was even a recent "Saturday Night Live" skit about NFTs. And several CNN Business staffers have also wrote about how they've dabbled in the NFT market with the purchase of cartoon cats.

The NFT craze has helped boost the value of ethereum, the cryptocurrency whose blockchain network is used for a large number of NFT transactions. Ethereum prices are up more than 180% so far this year, a surge that exceeds the spike in bitcoin's price.

Shares of collectibles companies, such as figurine maker Funko and Hall of Fame Resort & Entertainment (which owns an NFL themed village in Canton, Ohio) have also soared thanks to partnerships to develop non-fungible tokens. Funko announced last week that it was buying a majority stake in TokenWave, LLC, the developer of the TokenHead app and website that tracks NFTs. Hall of Fame Resort & Entertainment inked a partnership late last month with marketing firm Dolphin Entertainment to develop football NFTs,

Proponents of NFTs point out that each token is unique and can't be replicated, which creates a scarcity value that is good for both the artists that make them as well as collectors.

Funko CEO Brian Mariotti noted that in the release about the TokenWave deal, saying that the investment in NFTs marries the digital and physical collectibles business.

"The NFT world is all about content," Mariotti said.

That may be true, but the sharp, sudden rise in the value of NFTs and more recent pullback is reminding some of other similar historic market bubbles, such as tulip mania in the 1600s, the dot com/tech crash of 2000 and bank stocks and housing prices in 2008.

NFTs may be here to stay, but they just may not be worth the staggering sums of money that some people have shelled out for them in the past few weeks.

Even Beeple, aka Michael Joseph Winkelmann, joked with CNN's Julia Chatterley in March that he might be the biggest winner of what could turn out to be an NFT bubble.

BEFORE QANON

Picard season 2 to feature return of notorious Star Trek villain Q

Watch your six, Picard: Q is staging his return.

© CBS Photo Archive/Getty Images John De Lancie as Q on 'Star Trek: The Next Generation.'

Paramount+ revealed Monday that John de Lancie will appear in season two of Star Trek: Picard as Q, a significant adversary to Jean-Luc Picard (Patrick Stewart). The news was announced at Monday's First Contact Day virtual session, which included a surprise appearance by de Lancie himself.

A teaser of the new season was also shared during the panels (which will be available to view on-demand on Paramount+'s YouTube Channel and on Paramount+). In it, Stewart voices Jean-Luc Picard as the camera moves through his palatial French chateau before focusing on a Queen of Hearts card that's lying on a table. The card then burns up – leaving behind the letter Q.

"Time offers so many opportunities, but never second chances," says Picard. Then, Q can be heard saying, "The trial never ends." Watch the teaser below.

For those who aren't familiar with Q, the villainous character first appeared in Star Trek: Next Generation, followed by Deep Space Nine, Voyager, and Lower Decks. Q can alter reality, among other dastardly deeds.

© Provided by Entertainment Weekly CBS Photo Archive/Getty Images John de Lancie, left, and Patrick Stewart on 'Star Trek: The Next Generation.'

Other actors set to join season two of Picard are Alison Pill, Isa Briones, Evan Evagora, Michelle Hurd, Santiago Cabrera, Jeri Ryan, Orla Brady, and Brent Spiner. Production on season 2 has already begun, with a premiere set for 2022 on Paramount+.

ENTERTAINMENT WEEKLY
2021-04-05

JOE WALSH AND HIS GANG

 

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AUSTRALIA
Sexual harassment an 'open secret' in Victoria's legal profession, report finds

By Tom Maddocks
4/18/2021

Helen Szoke's report found everyday sexism was accepted as part of the job.

(ABC News: Emma Machan)


Sexual harassment in Victoria's legal profession is an '"open secret" and the silence surrounding the behaviour is perpetuated by power inequalities in the court setting, a new report has found.

Key points:
The report by Helen Szoke found sexual harassment was frequently perpetrated by barristers
There were significant obstacles in reporting harassment in the courts
Almost two-thirds of women experienced sexual harassment in the workplace

The review was commissioned in the wake of sexual harassment allegations made against now-retired High Court judge Dyson Heydon and initiated by former Victorian attorney-general Jill Hennessy and Supreme Court Chief Justice Anne Ferguson.

"Many women and some men told their stories of the 'open secret' of sexual harassment," said Helen Szoke, who led the review.

"Women also spoke of the everyday sexism and a culture that often sees women and junior staff 'less than'.

"Sexually suggestive comments or jokes, intrusive questions about their private life and unwelcome comments on their physical appearance were accepted as part of the job."

The report referred to a 2019 survey of legal professionals that found almost two-thirds of women had experienced sexual harassment in the workplace.

Dr Szoke said the review found that sexual harassment was frequently reported as being perpetrated and experienced by barristers and that there were significant obstacles preventing victim-survivors from reporting sexual harassment in the courts.

"The review was told that sexual harassment and the silence surrounding these behaviours is perpetuated by the power inequalities in the court setting and a legal profession requiring patronage and a network to progress," she said.

Dr Szoke found the power imbalance made it difficult for victims to report sexual harassment.(ABC News: Justine Longmore)

The review made 20 recommendations including:

Implement a sexual harassment policy that covers all staff and contractors

Change the appointment process for judicial officers to require that they are of good character

Adopt victim-survivor centred responses to gender-related misconduct

Develop an awareness-raising campaign for the courts, VCAT and the wider legal profession

Provide targeted sexual harassment training to staff

Conduct an annual survey to track progress on sexual harassment incidents

To give the Judicial Commission more power to investigate allegations

To establish a formal internal complaint mechanism that can be anonymous

Min's experience with 'flirt'

The review found there were serious instances of sexual harassment with significant impacts on its victim-survivors.

Dozens of people shared their experience, mostly anonymously, with a selection published in the report.

"A judicial officer that I'd seen asking my colleague out for lunch came up to my desk and started licking his lips and said to me, 'Oh, have they told you how much of a flirt I am'," said Min, who did not want her surname used.

"I'd never really experienced anything like that before, but I spoke with a senior judicial officer about it, who basically said, 'Look, I understand this has happened. Do you want me to take it further?'"

"And because I was very new to the job at the court at the time, even actually going to the senior judicial officer and reporting it was quite stressful.

"I thought, 'No, I don't want to take it further

"Unfortunately, I continued to experience similar incidents at the court, often from judicial officers — sexual innuendo or being called 'gorgeous'."
Zero tolerance for sexual harassment

The review was told the court hierarchy and resulting power imbalance existed in all realms of the professional working life of court staff.

"I can't think of any other power imbalance that is that uneven," said one participant in the review.

"Any other industry you work in, they … have some sort of governing body — for example, in the law firms, if it got bad enough, HR could get involved and something could happen.


"There is literally nothing you can do in the courts."

Chief Justice Anne Ferguson said the courts must and will do more to prevent sexual harassment.(Supplied: Supreme Court Of Victoria)

"I want to make it clear we will not put up with any form of wrongful conduct in our courts or VCAT," Justice Ferguson said.

"There will be zero tolerance for sexual harassment.

"I want to acknowledge the harm that has occurred in our workplaces – the Courts and VCAT.

"It is clear that our responses to date have not been good enough and we must – and we will – do more."

Justice Ferguson said the courts and VCAT supported all of the recommendations and work had already started to make the changes.

Attorney-General Jaclyn Symes said the report was shocking.

"Probably the most chilling component of it is those that are exposed to sexual harassment … find it impacts their soul and if they do report it they're concerned it will impact their career," Ms Symes said.

"We will not stand for this behaviour anymore and this is our opportunity to ensure that people are protected in their workplaces."

Ms Symes said they would implement all four of the recommendations relating to the government.

Trump supporters claim to be journalists,

 as they fight criminal charges related to Capitol riot

4/18/2021

Hundreds of people face charges for participating in the US Capitol riot.

(Reuters: Leah Millis)


It was supposed to be another routine day in American democracy, but January 6, 2021 went down in history as anything but.

Key points:

 

At least eight people charged in the riots claim they were acting as journalists

 

Many of those who marched livestreamed and posted to social media

 

Experts say it will be hard to prove without proper accreditation

On that day, five people were killed, with scores more injured, as hordes of rioters broke into the US Capitol to overturn congressional certification of what former President Donald Trump falsely claimed was a "stolen" election.

Now, some of the very same people who were in those crowds claim they were there as journalists, and not rioters, as they attempt to fend off criminal charges.

How did protesters get into the heavily-guarded Capitol building?


Rioters made it into the House Chambers, where US politicians had to be evacuated, and also into the offices of some officials.Read more

At least eight people charged in the January 6 riot have identified themselves as a journalist or a documentary filmmaker, including three people arrested this month, according to an Associated Press review of court records in nearly 400 federal cases.

In the US, free speech is constitutionally protected by the First Amendment, but it is unclear if this will bolster the legal defences of those charged with participation in what authorities say was an attempted insurrection.

Shawn Witzemann, a plumber from New Mexico who attended the riot, told a local news station he does "everything that a journalist is" following his arrest earlier this month.

"I seek truth. I speak to sources. I document. I provide commentary," he claimed.
Journalism definition isn't broad when tested in court
Space to play or pause, M to mute, left and right arrows to seek, up and down arrows for volume.

WATCH
Duration: 1 minute 24 seconds1m 24s
Trump supporters claim to be journalists, as they fight criminal charges related to Capitol riot - ABC News

The day swelled from a protest outside the Capitol to a break-in.

While the internet has given more people a platform to use their voice, the definition of a "journalist" is not that broad when put into practice in court, said Lucy Dalglish, dean of the University of Maryland's Philip Merrill College of Journalism.

She said it is an easy case to make that Capitol riot defendants were not journalists because they would have had official media accreditation to work in the building on that day.

Dr Dalglish, who used to practice media law as an attorney, added that any defendant captured on video encouraging rioters could not credibly claim to be a journalist.

"You are, at that point, an activist with a cellphone, and there were a lot of activists with copyrighted videos who sold them to news organisations," Dr Dalglish said.

"That doesn't make them journalists."

Mr Witzemann was one of the thousands who moved through the Capitol after it was breached by pro-Trump supporters.

While he claims he was inside the Capitol during the riot as a journalist to livestream video of the protests, he faces charges relating to riot participation.

It remains unclear if he had official media accreditation on the day.

The plumber also hosts talkback-style videos on YouTube on a page called the 'Armenian Council for Truth in Journalism' — a title Mr Witzemann's lawyer says is satirical.

The show, which has around 300 subscribers, bills itself as a home for "irreverent and thought-provoking commentary and analysis, on an eclectic range of subjects".

One recent episode is titled, 'Economic Non-recovery, Justifiable Homicide, and How To Riot Properly In The Age of the Troll'.

He did not respond to interview requests from the AP on social media or via email.
Far-right extremists among self-proclaimed journalists

US authorities have since confirmed that the riots drew together various far-right groups.(Getty: Lev Radin)

Some of the defendants identifying as journalists are tied to an extremist group or movement by US federal authorities.

This includes Nicholas DeCarlo, who told the Los Angeles Times he was not a rioter, but a journalist.

But according to the FBI, Mr DeCarlo is a self-identified member of the Proud Boys, a far-right extremist group, and a content producer for an online forum called 'Murder the Media News'.

Prosecutors allege Mr DeCarlo scrawled the phrase, 'Murder The Media' on a door in the Capitol.

WATCH
Duration: 1 minute 42 seconds
Trump supporters claim to be journalists, as they fight criminal charges related to Capitol riot - ABC News

Mr DeCarlo is accused of scrawling this phrase on Capitol doors.

When authorities later searched his home, they found a framed photo of Mr DeCarlo and another alleged rioter posing in front of the door with a thumbs-up.

Another defendant with far-right links citing the journalism defence is Samuel Montoya, a video editor for the far-right conspiracy website, Infowars.

He was arrested Tuesday in Texas on charges including impeding passage through the Capitol grounds.

On the day of the riot, he recorded and narrated a video while walking through the building, occasionally referring to himself as a journalist while wearing a red 'Make America Great Again' hat.

"We're gonna do whatever it takes to MAGA," he said, according to the FBI.

But some experts say it's unlikely that any of these self-proclaimed journalists can mount a viable legal defence on free speech grounds, if it is proven they broke the law on the day of the riot — especially if prosecutors can argue they acted like rioters instead of impartial observers.

Even credentialed reporters and news photographers are not immune from prosecution if they break a law on the job, said Jane Kirtley, who teaches media ethics and law at the University of Minnesota.


"It's not a get-out-of-jail-free card," Dr Kirtley said.

ABC/AP
4/18/2021