Forgetful Capitol Rioters Called Pelosi's Office Looking For The 'Lost And Found'
Criminal geniuses they're not.
In yet another unbelievable yet extremely believable and on brand development, re: the January 6 Capital Riots, it turns out that after the dust had settled, many of the rioters went back to their respective hotel rooms and called Nancy Pelosi's office, demanding to speak to the manager about where the "Lost and Found" was. Because they left their stuff there while they were illegally invading the Capitol building, and they wanted it back.
Naturally, the police were more than happy to take down their info and "get back to them later."
"The officers quickly got on the phone and said, yeah, just give us your name, your address, your social, you know, and we'll tie up those loose ends," Maryland Democratic Rep. Jamie Raskin said in an interview with Insider. "But what's so fascinating to me about that there really were people who felt as if they had been summoned to Washington by the president."
Of course they did — he's the one who told them to march down there in the first place. And more than that, these people have been told, for decades, by those they trust the most, that it is not just their right but their obligation to overthrow the government when the government doesn't do what they say, as well as Nancy Pelosi's office's obligation to hang on to their missing scrunchie until they can swing back around to get it tomorrow afternoon.
They are, after all "We the People."
Via Insider:
Raskin added that the "lost and found" episode also demonstrates a challenge facing the House select committee investigating January 6, where Raskin is one of the Democratic members.
"And when they were told that they were trespassing and invading the Capitol, they said the president invited them to be there," he said. "They didn't have any kind of subtle understanding of the separation of powers. They just thought that the number one person in the US government had invited them to be there, and therefore they had a right.
"It underscores the central role that Donald Trump played in it," Raskin continued. "But it does create a problem for assigning guilt at different levels of conduct."
I don't know that it was exactly that.
There were some very clear signs that these people were not welcome, number one being the number of windows they had to break in order to get in. Number two would be the police and the barricaded doors. They also did not behave like esteemed, invited guests of the President of the United States. They smeared their feces on the walls, broke into people's offices, tried to steal podiums, broke a ton of shit and caused $30 million in damages to the Capitol Building.
What it was, I believe, is that they truly thought that what they were doing was going to be successful. Trump told them they had a shot, that all they had to do was convince Mike Pence to refuse to certify the election and he would be President again and they'd all be "the happiest people."
I hope Mike is going to do the right thing. I hope so. I hope so because if Mike Pence does the right thing, we win the election.[...] States want to re-vote, the states got defrauded. They were given false information, they voted on it. Now they want to recertify; they want it back. All Vice President Pence has to do is send it back to the states to recertify, and we become president, and you are the happiest people.
They didn't act like people who thought they were going to get in trouble because they didn't think they would get in trouble, because they really, really thought they were going to win. Many of them also believed that even if things didn't work out the way they wanted them to on that day, that "something" would happen and Trump would be reinstated as President in the near future anyway. Their leaders told them this. None of it worked out the way they hoped or believed it would, but it doesn't make them any less culpable than anyone else who thought they were going to get away with a crime of some kind.
Calling Nancy Pelosi's office for the Lost and Found, however, does make them a little more inept.
[Insider]
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HEY! Merrick Garland Charges Oath Keepers With Seditious Conspiracy To Overthrow The Government In Capitol Riot!
NOW THAT'S WHAT I CALL AN INDICTMENT.
The Justice Department came out swinging this afternoon, leveling an indictment for seditious conspiracy against 11 members of the Oath Keepers, including head Oaf Stewart Rhodes. According to the DOJ, the defendants conspired to "oppose by force the lawful transfer of presidential power." So, not so much with that bullshit they were flogging about descending on DC to be Roger Stone's body guards.
The indictment alleges that the defendants assembled an "arsenal" of guns, which they stored at a Comfort Inn in Arlington guarded by a "Quick Reaction Force" of militia members, ready to rush into the Capitol if their plot to overthrow the government looked like it might work. Because of DC's strict gun laws, they only brought in the legal stuff, "including knives, batons, camouflaged combat uniforms, tactical vests with plates, helmets, eye protection and radio equipment."
They then marched on Capitol in a stack formation, which is kinda strong evidence that somebody conspired with somebody to do something. Plus there's the whole business of them wearing damn uniforms.
At approximately 2:30 p.m., as detailed in the indictment, [Joseph] Hackett, [Kenneth] Harrelson, [Kelly] Meggs, [David] Moerschel and [Jessica] Watkins, and other Oath Keepers and affiliates – many wearing paramilitary clothing and patches with the Oath Keepers name, logo, and insignia – marched in a “stack” formation up the east steps of the Capitol, joined a mob, and made their way into the Capitol. Later, another group of Oath Keepers and associates, including [Joshua] James, [Roberto] Minuta, and [Brian] Ulrich, formed a second “stack” and breached the Capitol grounds, marching from the west side to the east side of the Capitol building and up the east stairs and into the building.
While certain Oath Keepers members and affiliates breached the Capitol grounds and building, others remained stationed just outside of the city in quick reaction force (QRF) teams. According to the indictment, the QRF teams were prepared to rapidly transport firearms and other weapons into Washington, D.C., in support of operations aimed at using force to stop the lawful transfer of presidential power. The indictment alleges that the teams were coordinated, in part, by [Thomas] Caldwell and [Edward] Vallejo.
The government has got its hands on a mountain of Signal messages — presumably from one of the witnesses who flipped, not because they broke the encryption — replete with references to "civil war" and "unconventional warfare" and the upcoming "bloody fight" and a "bloody, massively bloody revolution."
Luckily Rhodes went to Yale Law School, so he knew that the way to defeat government snoopers was to attach a photo of his handwritten instructions with "messages in cursive to eliminate digital reads." Which is funny, like the indictment's reference to conspirators bobbing and weaving through DC traffic in golf carts trying to get to the Capitol. But not really FUNNY HAHA, because these people had a fuckton of guns and ammo, and they planned to bring it in over the Potomac and in cars, and they intended to kill a whole lot of people.
As for the whole "sedition" thing, they very clearly intended to overthrow the government. That dumb fucking idiot Rhodes didn't even use cursive when he messaged the entire "Leadership Channel" that "Pence is doing nothing. As I predicted."
"All I see Trump doing is complaining. I see no intent by him to do anything," he moaned over the president's failure to send in the army to do a coup. "So patriots are taking it into their own hands. They've had enough."
And even after getting their asses unceremoniously handed to them on January 6, Rhodes spent thousands more on weaponry, vowing that there would be a "civil war" on January 20 if Biden was inaugurated.
But now he is in jail, along with the rest of his treasonous piece of shit buddies.
OTOH, half the country thinks the election was stolen and maybe those tourist protesters had a point, so perhaps we shouldn't be so hasty about declaring victory just yet.
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Hmmm Why Would Republicans Be HOLY SH*TBALLS SO MAD About New DOJ Domestic Terrorism Unit?
It can't be terrorism if the people are white!
This morning, the Justice Department announced the creation of a new Domestic Terrorism Unit housed in the National Security Division. Testifying before the Senate Judiciary Committee, Assistant Attorney General Matthew Olsen described the new program with lawyers dedicated specifically to countering our own homegrown radicals.
"We face an elevated threat from domestic violent extremists — that is, individuals in the United States who seek to commit violent criminal acts in furtherance of domestic social or political goals," Olsen said. "Domestic violent extremists are often motivated by a mix of ideologies and personal grievances. We have seen a growing threat from those who are motivated by racial animus, as well as those who ascribe to extremist anti-government and anti-authority ideologies."
“This group of dedicated attorneys will focus on the domestic terrorism threat, helping to ensure that these cases are handled properly and effectively coordinated across the Department of Justice and across the country,” Olsen added later.
What a difference a president makes! On the heels of the anniversary of the Capitol Riot, the country is no longer led by someone who tells the Proud Boys to "stand back and stand by." And the Justice Department isn't helmed by someone who fantasizes about planeloads of Antifa supersoldiers flying around the country in formation ready to fuck shit up.
Of course we're still stuck with the GOP, who are sure that the real problem is Black Lives Matter protestors burning down America. Senator Chuck Grassley of Iowa opened the hearing by shouting inanities about seeing Joe Biden in the closet with looters making babies and one of the babies looked at him.
"Last summer, President Biden released a domestic terrorism strategy that made no mention of the 2020 riots, though they comprise about a fifth to a quarter of the FBI’s current domestic terrorism cases," he ranted. "There was almost no mention of leftwing terrorism at all. Further, the president’s strategy suggested that partisan policies of gun control and teaching critical race theory were part of the solution."
He appeared to be trying to prove that President Joe Biden and his fellow Democrats aren't taking seriously the threat of violent protests and/or crime in general by citing the thousands of arrests by local and federal law enforcement agencies, hundreds of domestic terrorism investigations undertaken by the FBI, and anti-crime initiatives by mayors in New York, Chicago, and San Francisco. It's a wonder they have time, what with their mandatory daily critical race theory training!
Grassley also suggested that Democrats were to blame for leaving the Capitol unguarded, because Mayor Muriel Bowser rejected the Trump administration's generous offer to do for DC what they did for Portland, i.e. make a bad situation worse by teargassing mothers and snatching people up off the street without probable cause.
Funny, we heard that the Trump administration was in charge of both the DOJ and Defense Department in January of 2021, and the civilian leadership was so worried that Trump would deploy the army in a desperate attempt to stay in power that they refused to let troops anywhere near the Capitol for several hours. So perhaps Mr. Grassley shouldn't quibble about who at the White House coordinated with which mob of domestic terrorists seeking to overthrow the government.
Set your watch for 10 minutes from now, when Ted Cruz and Josh Hawley will claim that the new domestic terrorism squad is arresting parents at school board meetings for the crime of "freedom."
In summary and in conclusion, GOOD. It's about bloody time the government started treating these violent lunatics like the domestic terrorists that they are.
[CNN / WaPo / Grassley Speech]
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Gateway Pundit Says It's Cool To Assault Cops If They Are Bad Cops
Thin blue line and whatnot.
Picture it: A police officer assaults and/or kills an unarmed Black person. Picturing this will require little effort given the frequency with which this occurs. In the discussion following this incident, someone on the Left suggests that, in the event that a police officer is assaulting and/or in the midst of killing someone, it is acceptable to assault said officer to get them to stop.
I think we can safely say that a whole lot of people would be straight-up apoplectic, given the way the Great Nazi Punching Discourse of 2017 played out. The Right, naturally, would get all teary-eyed about everything, and moderate Democrats would be scrambling across CNN and MSNBC for their Sister Souljah moments.
Well, on Monday, someone said just that. Although you probably didn't hear about it, because that person was ... Jim Hoft, the Stupidest Man On The Internet.
On Monday, in an essay seventeen times longer than anything else that has ever been published on Gateway Pundit, Hoft decried both Ted Cruz and Tucker Carlson, because last week, when Carlson was slapping Cruz about for calling the January 6 insurrectionists domestic terrorists, one thing they could agree on is that it's never acceptable to assault a cop. This led Hoft to ask the question: "Dear Ted Cruz and Tucker Carlson, If Police Are Beating an Unconscious Woman with a Baton Until It Breaks Does an Honorable Man Turn Away?"
Now, in most circumstances, we can be sure that Hoft would agree that he would, given the site's endless compassion for murderous police officers like Derek Chauvin and Darren Wilson. Hoft himself was particularly critical of Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez for suggesting that the guilty verdict in Chauvin's case was not real justice, because "justice is George Floyd going home tonight to be with his family. Justice is Adam Toledo getting tucked in tonight by his mother. Justice is when you’re pulled over, there not being a gun in the interaction because you have a headlight out.”
What a wacky thing to say! Alas, when it comes to January 6 participants, Hoft is singing another tune entirely.
Via Gateway Pundit:
Political prisoner Jake Lang is serving time in Washington DC for his actions on January 6.
Jake Lang, a Jewish Trump supporter, has been held without trial and abused in the DC Gitmo for over 330 days.
Jake Lang was trampled when Capitol Police attacked and then without warning pushed Trump supporters down the stairs outside the US Capitol in Washington DC.
Jake was buried under several people when the Capitol police continued to push protesters on top of him. He was next to Rosanne Boyland who was killed by police when they trampled her and pushed Trump protesters on top of her. Jake saw Rosanne die. He saw it in her eyes. He also saw Philip Anderson’s limp body who was laying next to Rosanne Boyland. This was all while DC Police continued to beat, push and pepper spray the protesters on the ground.
That’s when Jake Lang decided to take action.
Jake, who is a former wrestler, was able to save himself and then he saved Philip Anderson who he pulled to safety.
You may recall that for years and years conservatives have insisted that Black people have nothing to fear from the police, because they won't kill them or hurt them as long as they comply with police orders. Strange how they failed to follow their own advice here.
Hoft also complains that there is video of police officers "viciously beating seniors and women" in the tunnels underneath the Capitol, as he apparently has suddenly developed an aversion to police brutality. The fact that he and others have taken to calling the DC jail where about 40 insurrectionists are being held "DC Gitmo" is also fascinating given the Right's historic great love of Actual Gitmo.
One of the stranger things about post-January 6 America is the way it has suddenly made wingnuts care about issues like cash bail, pretrial detention and police brutality, at least insofar as they apply to Trump supporters. While I firmly believe that we do not, under any circumstances, have to give it to Marjorie Taylor Greene, it is unfortunately worth noting that authorities were perfectly happy ignoring those complaining about the conditions in the DC jail where many of the insurrectionists were being kept until she came along and complained herself. And those people are being kept in the "nice" area.
Greene complained, the mostly white insurrectionists and their lawyers complained, and all of a sudden the US Marshals were on the case. So weird how that happens.
Within days, the U.S. Marshals Service, which oversees federal detainees, opened an inquiry into the jail and soon determined, among other things, that there were sewage and water leaks inside and that corrections officers often antagonized their charges, sometimes withholding food and water for “punitive reasons.” [...]
After a report by the marshals was released, complaints by the riot inmates, if anything, got louder. In late October, a “cry for help” by one of the defendants, Nathan DeGrave, was released on Twitter. It referred to the D.C. jail as “Gitmo” and accused jail officials of subjecting the “Jan 6ers” to “psychological and mental abuse.”
One week later, Greene went to the jail and met with the defendants, later noting that they gather every night before retiring to bed to sing the national anthem. After her inspection, Ms. Greene appeared on a podcast hosted by the former Trump adviser Stephen K. Bannon and declared that conditions in the jail were far worse than those facing homeless people or terrorists.
Well then perhaps Republicans should not have voted for "tough on crime" politicians and whined that prisons are "not supposed to be pleasant" for the last however many decades. Alas, as with both Penthouse letters and most terrible Republican policies, they never thought it would happen to them.
This is far from the first time that the things Republicans have been very upset about are caused by things and people they vote for. Conservatives are regularly furious about the imaginary legions of people getting unfairly fired from their jobs for their political opinions, a problem that could easily be solved by getting rid of at-will employment. Right now, many are decrying COVID vaccines as a nefarious moneymaking ploy by "Big Pharma," and suggesting they just can't trust pharmaceutical companies because they only care about making obscene amounts of money, which Republicans have made it possible for them to do, because price controls would "stifle innovation."
They assumed that these things, like police brutality, would only ever work for them and never against them, or that they would at least hurt the right people enough to make it worth it. Guess it didn't this time.
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