I know it is early days, yet, but I hope that investigators are looking into the funding and logistics sides of this. Money came from somewhere to transport, house, and feed the terrorists, and pointing a mob in the same direction takes coordination, as much as it takes a ringleader.
posted by They sucked his brains out! at 11:23 AM on January 15, 2021 [8 favorites]

The top federal prosecutor in Washington, D.C. said on Friday there is no “direct evidence” to suggest that rioters who stormed the U.S. Capitol had formed “kill capture teams.”

The comments by Acting U.S. Attorney Michael Sherwin appeared to be an effort to walk back claims that federal prosecutors in Arizona had made in a court filing late on Thursday, in which they claimed there was evidence that rioters intended “to capture and assassinate elected officials”.
posted by RobotVoodooPower at 11:26 AM on January 15, 2021 [2 favorites]

Perhaps less of a walkback and more of a clarification? You can have an intent to kill without having specifically organized an assassination squad.
posted by Not A Thing at 12:07 PM on January 15, 2021 [5 favorites]

pointing a mob in the same direction takes coordination, as much as it takes a ringleader

I keep going back to the exchange in Sneakers where Robert Redford says "Organized crime?" and Ben Kingsley responds, "Don't kid yourself. It's not that organized."

There may be a subset of the crowd that was organized, but it's hard to discern amidst so many others that came screaming up the hill and then knew fuck all what to do except mill about and steal shit.
posted by AlonzoMosleyFBI at 12:13 PM on January 15, 2021 [23 favorites]

The president was wielding the crowd to successfully disrupt the certification of electoral college votes. It may have been chaotic and disorganized but it definitely acted in accordance with his objective.
posted by simra at 12:26 PM on January 15, 2021 [17 favorites]

There may be a subset of the crowd that was organized, but it's hard to discern amidst so many others that came screaming up the hill and then knew fuck all what to do except mill about and steal shit.

I guess we were all guilty, in a way. We all shot him, we all skinned him, and we all got a complimentary bumper sticker that said, "I helped skin Bob."
posted by supercrayon at 12:33 PM on January 15, 2021 [9 favorites]

Related content:
Mapped: All The Inauguration Road, Transit, And Other Closures We Know About (which shows the green zone referenced in the OP's post title)

What It Feels Like To Live Under D.C.'s State Of Emergency

People Experiencing Homelessness Are Being ‘Forced To Adapt’ To Inauguration Security

The National Mall Will Temporarily Close To The Public For Inauguration

I have also read about local animal shelters putting even more animals into foster homes so staff and volunteers don't have to come in on Jan 20.
posted by wicked_sassy at 12:52 PM on January 15, 2021 [4 favorites]

Coup accomplice and crappy pillow salesman spotted outside the West Wing, either sniffing for a pardon or organizing another go at it.
posted by RobotVoodooPower at 12:57 PM on January 15, 2021 [1 favorite]

My father is supposed to get the first vaccine dose tomorrow, and all I can say is that if those fucker's mess it up, I am personally going to drive to D.C. and punch some Nazis. I really wish those assholes would fuck up their own towns and leave mine the fuck alone.
posted by ArbitraryAndCapricious at 1:30 PM on January 15, 2021 [10 favorites]

Oh what a surprise not.
Billionaires backed Republicans who sought to reverse US election results
Guardian analysis shows Club for Growth has spent $20m supporting 42 rightwing lawmakers who voted to invalidate Biden victory
posted by adamvasco at 1:35 PM on January 15, 2021 [21 favorites]

Oh yeah, My Pillow guy showed off his notes if you'd like to read.
posted by RobotVoodooPower at 1:36 PM on January 15, 2021 [12 favorites]

Those notes are terrifying.
posted by Buy Sockpuppet Bonds! at 1:47 PM on January 15, 2021 [2 favorites]

"The MyPillow guy was advising Donald Trump to declare martial law in response to an attack Donald Trump expressly requested" is one of those sentences you didn't expect to write four years ago, if only for the MyPillow guy part.
posted by mightygodking at 1:55 PM on January 15, 2021 [17 favorites]

Yeah, I'm no legal expert but I think this is illegal.
posted by RobotVoodooPower at 1:57 PM on January 15, 2021 [1 favorite]

Wow, those pillows clearly breed nightmares and populate the un/conscious with evil.
posted by riverlife at 2:44 PM on January 15, 2021 [2 favorites]

If you've ever invaded the Capitol building of the United States of America with a powered-on cell phone in your pocket the whole time.....don't worry about what's in the vaccine.
posted by nevercalm at 2:46 PM on January 15, 2021 [28 favorites]

"Wow: Judge Fine finds during the bail hearing that Jacob Chansley, the Qanon Shaman, was, as the govt claimed, "an active participant in a violent insurrection to overthrow the US government." -- Alan Feuer, NYT
posted by valkane at 2:50 PM on January 15, 2021 [25 favorites]

One wonders if the My Pillow guy tipped the scales on that bail hearing somehow.
posted by RobotVoodooPower at 3:05 PM on January 15, 2021 [1 favorite]

Ralph Northam @GovernorVA
America can and must do better than the horrific scenes that unfolded at the U.S. Capitol last week. I pray that we all can summon the better angels of our nature in this new year.

/very strong speech from the Governor of Virginia.
posted by bluesky43 at 3:06 PM on January 15, 2021 [1 favorite]

The pillow guy is advising Trump to declare martial law. huh. This timeline could not get any more bizarre and then it does.
posted by bluesky43 at 3:09 PM on January 15, 2021 [2 favorites]

NYT. Former staff members for Claire McCaskill, a Democrat who lost re-election in 2018 to Senator Josh Hawley, have started a super PAC to defeat Mr. Hawley the next time he runs for office — part of a broad backlash against him for leading the effort last week to overturn the results of the presidential election.

“Senators swear an oath to the Constitution and loyalty to this country, not aid and abet an attempted coup against both,” the super PAC’s first ad, posted on Friday, says. The group is called Just Oust Seditious Hacks, a backronym for JOSH.
posted by bluesky43 at 3:15 PM on January 15, 2021 [38 favorites]

What I meant was, the prosecution seemed very wishy-washy about using the "I" word until about 45 minutes ago. Seems hard to ignore when the word is contained in a memo that an ally delivers to the White House.
posted by RobotVoodooPower at 3:18 PM on January 15, 2021

Maybe the Impeachment Managers can call My Pillow Guy as a witness during the trial.
posted by 1970s Antihero at 3:24 PM on January 15, 2021 [2 favorites]

The group is called Just Oust Seditious Hacks, a backronym for JOSH.

Could also have framed it as the choice presented to voters: “Justice Or Senator Hawley?” Can’t have both.
posted by nickmark at 4:21 PM on January 15, 2021 [15 favorites]

"Breaking NYT: Prosecutors in Georgia appear increasingly likely to open a criminal investigation of Trump over his attempts to overturn the results of the state's 2020 election, an inquiry into offenses that would be beyond his federal pardon power." -- Kyle Griffin, MSNBC
posted by valkane at 4:42 PM on January 15, 2021 [38 favorites]

Women on Bumble luring men to send them riot pics then sending those to FBI is the best pandemic dating story yet.
Bumble removed its political filter after people said they used it to lure conservatives who were at the Capitol riot into sending incriminating evidence.
posted by adamvasco at 4:49 PM on January 15, 2021 [28 favorites]

I sincerely wish all of these things made a difference. They won't. We're better than this. I am sad.
posted by halfbuckaroo at 5:39 PM on January 15, 2021

I know someone who lives in the Green Zone, and someone else not far from the mall in SW DC. I know people who haven't been able to get deliveries of essentials, and people who haven't left their apartments in weeks. I just fueled up the car (the battery of which keeps dying because we never drive) just in case. With any luck at all we won't have to use this thread much. But I'm not taking it for granted, and I don't think any of my neighbors are either.
posted by aspersioncast at 6:23 PM on January 15, 2021 [5 favorites]

Are the "Cristians" going to the Inauguration?
Trump's Christian supporters and the march on the Capitol.
posted by adamvasco at 6:29 PM on January 15, 2021 [1 favorite]

President Trump has secret emergency powers. This isn't some made up thing; it's been documented by several media outlets. And he's got 15,000 National Guard troops throughout Washington, DC under his command. (National Guard troops in DC are under the command of the President, not the Mayor.)

Sleep tight, everyone!
posted by rednikki at 7:04 PM on January 15, 2021 [3 favorites]

Bumble removed its political filter

Despite the "misuse" it is currently being put to this seems like a real misstep. Haven't dated in 25 years but right after orientation I can't imagine a better first pass filter than political association.
posted by Mitheral at 7:49 PM on January 15, 2021 [27 favorites]

I own three My Pillows. Kmart was closing and they were 75% off. Please don't send me to a reeducation camp.

(full disclosure: they're overstuffed and hard on the neck)
posted by dances_with_sneetches at 8:09 PM on January 15, 2021 [3 favorites]

dances_with_sneetches, I have not heard of lefties destroying mypillows in the same way the performatively unwoke right did to their sports jerseys and coffee makers in recent years.
posted by ActingTheGoat at 8:53 PM on January 15, 2021 [14 favorites]

Two random people pretended to be OAN reporters covering Trump's rally on the 6th ... then covering the ensuing riots.

"Even as we tried to get out of The Capitol as quickly as possible, people kept stopping us. ... Oh, please, take my footage of us committing federal crimes, because we believe that you are the best people to handle the truth."
posted by CrunchyFrog at 8:54 PM on January 15, 2021 [26 favorites]

The pillow guy is advising Trump to declare martial law.

Not just martial law - it also looks like he wants to blame "China/Iran", which is definitely not likely to have any consequences.
posted by trig at 9:01 PM on January 15, 2021

Sleep tight, everyone!

However things go, next week, it is clear that some Constitutional changes are needed to limit executive power, so that a Trump-like creature can never again wield power at this level.
posted by They sucked his brains out! at 9:48 PM on January 15, 2021 [9 favorites]

The pillow guy is advising Trump to declare martial law. huh. This timeline could not get any more bizarre and then it does.
posted by bluesky43

And there is still 5 days to go, and Donnie's desperation and lust for vengeance is rising exponentially.
posted by Pouteria at 9:53 PM on January 15, 2021 [1 favorite]

You know, with all the Kool Aid they've drunk, I expect the Kool-Aid pitcher guy to break through the White House wall (probably carrying sedition battle plans).
posted by dances_with_sneetches at 9:59 PM on January 15, 2021 [8 favorites]

Two random people pretended to be OAN reporters

That video is worth watching. A part of our country has joined a right-wing cult that is truly, deeply rotted by disinformation. I'm not sure where we go from here, but I hope accountability is a part of the solution.
posted by They sucked his brains out! at 4:06 AM on January 16, 2021 [9 favorites]

Terrifying scope of Capitol attack becoming clearer as Washington locks down for Biden's inauguration -- CNN

"As rioters broke into the Capitol building and some chanted "hang Mike Pence," the seditious mob ripped through the "thin blue line" many claim to revere, kicking and beating police with their own batons, spraying them with chemical irritants, threatening to kill them. One policeman and four others died that day.

"Once inside the building, the Washington Post reports the insurrectionists came within minutes of reaching the vice president, who was whisked to safety with his wife and daughter. Some had driven to the Capitol days earlier, one had filled their vehicles with guns, ammunition, crossbows, machetes and, in one case, a note listing a congressman by name."
posted by valkane at 7:48 AM on January 16, 2021 [7 favorites]

How Anti-Abortion Terrorism Fueled The MAGA Attack On The Capitol - Refinery 29

"One of the people there was John Brockhoeft, who posted online about his presence at the Capitol. Brockhoeft isn’t just any Trump supporter. He’s also a convicted anti-abortion terrorist.

"His presence wasn’t a coincidence, but an example of the long-standing crossover between anti-abortion and white supremacist terrorist movements, and how America’s complacency around both has helped pave the way for this moment of terrifying insurrection.

"There were other anti-abortion activists who were involved in the attack, according to a NARAL report. One of them was Abby Johnson, a former Planned Parenthood clinic director turned anti-choice extremist, who was present during Trump’s speech inciting the riot. Another was Taylor Hansen, an anti-choice activist connected to a group called Baby Lives Matter, who posted violent videos to Twitter during the riots."
posted by valkane at 7:54 AM on January 16, 2021 [9 favorites]

A student at the high school where I teach told me just yesterday that a local church is organizing a pro-life caravan down to DC this weekend. They are offering 12 hours of community service, which is a graduation requirement at the school (you need 60 hours) so a lot of students at school are going just for the hours and the free trip to DC.

Derail bc I don't think my high school students are planning an armed protest. This seems like a weird time to be organizing a pro-life protest in DC tho.
posted by subdee at 8:29 AM on January 16, 2021 [12 favorites]

That's seriously gross and also dangerous. Are there any students of color involved in this church? (Is that a stupid question?) If so, do they have a plan to protect them from organized, armed white supremacists?

Why is your high-school offering community service hours for this?
posted by ArbitraryAndCapricious at 8:32 AM on January 16, 2021 [26 favorites]

MeinPillow video from Parler, after the occupation of the Capitol.
[via Twitter, @independentobserver]

It's conceivably difficult for a public high school to pick and choose between outside church-sponsored activities on arguably political lines, if it's going to award credit for any of them.

Here you'd think they'd just nix it on safety grounds.
posted by snuffleupagus at 8:40 AM on January 16, 2021 [1 favorite]

I just realized that the Phase 2 attack on the Capitol is going to involve pillow fights. The Pillow man is going to make a fortune.
posted by dances_with_sneetches at 8:48 AM on January 16, 2021 [2 favorites]

January 22, 1973 is the day Roe v Wade was decided. They have demonstrations every year.
posted by InfidelZombie at 8:50 AM on January 16, 2021 [6 favorites]

That's next weekend, though. If it's next weekend, then hopefully they'll call it off if things go badly before then. If it's this weekend, that seems like an extremely terrible idea.
posted by ArbitraryAndCapricious at 8:53 AM on January 16, 2021 [2 favorites]

If I were a parent at that school I would have called the press by now.
posted by glasseyes at 9:10 AM on January 16, 2021 [4 favorites]

"As Sheryl Sandberg sought to downplay Facebook's culpability in the insurrection this week, a video full of bullshit claims that Antifa was responsible for the violence was viewed 5 million times before Facebook did anything about it." -- Donie O'Sullivan, CNN
posted by valkane at 10:02 AM on January 16, 2021 [12 favorites]

as seen the replies to O'Sullivan's post above, from Buzzfeed News:

Facebook Has Been Showing Military Gear Ads Next To Insurrection Posts
Earlier this week, Facebook employees warned that military product ads were being advertised against news about DC riots. The company did not act.
posted by snuffleupagus at 10:47 AM on January 16, 2021 [17 favorites]

@jimsciutto: "US Capitol Police arrested a Virginia man as he attempted to pass through a police checkpoint in downtown Washington Friday with fake inaugural credentials, a loaded handgun & over 500 rounds of ammunition, CNN reporting."
posted by snuffleupagus at 11:07 AM on January 16, 2021 [15 favorites]

We're better than this. I am sad.

LOL no, we're not. Sorry. Over 74 million people voted for him in 2020. Give or take around 8 million, that's about half the country. We are not better than this. BLM has shown us that. White supremacists have shown us that. The fact that women still don't make the same amount of money as men for the same jobs in the US shows us that. Infant mortality, poverty, homelessness...all of those are still occurring in the US every day.

We're not better. We're just not.
posted by cooker girl at 11:12 AM on January 16, 2021 [48 favorites]

Facebook is now temporarily taking down the tactical gear ads after employees complained and officials got involved.
posted by snuffleupagus at 11:23 AM on January 16, 2021 [7 favorites]

"Scoop: The communications director for Rep. Lauren Boebert of Colorado, a firebrand Republican freshman who boasts about carrying a gun to work, has quit after less than two weeks on the job." -- Axios
posted by valkane at 11:52 AM on January 16, 2021 [20 favorites]

An awful lot of resignations around those committing sedition. I wonder what they know.
posted by They sucked his brains out! at 12:22 PM on January 16, 2021 [7 favorites]

that's about half the country

I mean I feel you, but would emphasize that that's about half the voters. There's around 80 million children in this country for one thing, and a whole lot of disenfranchised adults. I'm not sure how much we can infer about their opinions from those of the people who actually vote, although I'd be curious to see how much it's been studied.
posted by aspersioncast at 12:54 PM on January 16, 2021 [7 favorites]

Yes, sorry, half the voters.
posted by cooker girl at 1:08 PM on January 16, 2021 [4 favorites]

Are there any students of color involved in this church?

They're all students of color. It's a 100% minority high school. I don't think the school is associated with this? I can't imagine the administration would approve, anyway, if only on COVID grounds. I just heard about it from the one student yesterday. It doesn't seem very safe, no.
posted by subdee at 2:28 PM on January 16, 2021 [1 favorite]

"Palm Beach County is looking for a way to end its lease with Trump's West Palm Beach golf course." -- Kyle Griffin
posted by valkane at 6:02 PM on January 16, 2021 [10 favorites]

"Giuliani is helping Trump with his impeachment defense. Giuliani claims Trump didn't incite the crowd to violence. Then Giuliani explained his definition of incitement, and it is a precise description of what Trump did on January 6" -- Judd Legum

"Basically, if [incitement] is going to happen, it's got to happen right away," he said. "You'd have to have people running out, you'd have to have people running out of that frozen speech, right up to the Capitol. And that's basically, incitement," Giuliani said." -- ABC News
posted by valkane at 7:20 PM on January 16, 2021 [14 favorites]

The 25,000 National Guard troops called up to serve as extra security for the Inauguration are not DC National Guard, so they are not under the "control" of Trump. They are under the command of the Secret Service, who is the lead agency for Inauguration security. Also, there would normally be 10,000 National Guard called up for a regular Inauguration, so this is a lot more, but the concept of using them for security is not at all unusual.

Similarly, the fence surrounding the Capitol, Mall, Pennsylvania Ave, and the White House is the exact same fence erected for all recent Inaugurations. The only real difference is how early the restricted area was put into effect.
posted by jindc at 7:44 PM on January 16, 2021 [11 favorites]

After White House Meeting with Trump, Mike Lindell Calls for Military Coup on Facebook -- The Bulwark
posted by valkane at 9:56 PM on January 16, 2021 [7 favorites]

"Giuliani tells me he's working on Trump's impeachment defense and tells me he'd argue his voter fraud claims in the Senate trial:

"If you can prove that it's true," he says of Trump's speech before the riot, "they are no longer fighting words." -- Jonathan Karl, ABC
posted by valkane at 10:43 PM on January 16, 2021

I am increasingly sure this is all being wildly overblown. Not the 6th attack, which was deadly serious, but this deploying the guard stuff.

We put 600 guardsmen in Olympia, as did Minnesota and a number of other states. About 50 people (most of which were anti maskers and not armed) showed up in Olympia and this terrifying gathering took place in Minnesota.

I fully understand why people are freaking out about things after the 6th, but living in a place rife with Militia types and sympathetic population centers, I gotta tell you I don't think there is much of a chance for some kind of national uprising. The groups don't really agree on a lot of things, all of their large reach platforms are gone, and the 6th was a complete disaster for the morale of the median GOPer.

I understand part of this is a "show of force" thing, but the capitol mob was practically every hardcore Trump group in America in one spot on the day of the certification. That was lightening in a bottle for all of these people, not something that's going to be replicated nationally, especially since the arrest spree, and widespread condemnation from even the most right-wing electeds.
posted by lattiboy at 10:46 PM on January 16, 2021 [4 favorites]

"NEW: Giuliani tells @jonkarl he’s currently working on Trump’s impeachment defense and will push for a dismissal

Giuliani also doesn’t rule out Trump testifying and says a self-pardon would be “justified” -- Will Steakin, ABC
posted by valkane at 11:23 PM on January 16, 2021 [1 favorite]

"Under pressure from Trump White House, Acting Secretary of Defense has ordered NSA to “immediately” install Republican party ex-operative (and Devin Nunes ex-aide) as NSA general counsel, reports Washington Post.
With less than four days to go of Trump’s Presidency? Why?" -- Michael Beschloss
posted by valkane at 11:36 PM on January 16, 2021 [3 favorites]

My uneasiness meter just climbed a notch. Is this the MyPillow phase?
posted by bz at 1:04 AM on January 17, 2021 [2 favorites]

I fully understand why people are freaking out about things after the 6th, but living in a place rife with Militia types and sympathetic population centers, I gotta tell you I don't think there is much of a chance for some kind of national uprising.

I dunno that anyone's expecting a serious national uprising, it's that the riot on the 6th demonstrated that it only takes a few determined people to do a lot of damage. I have no particular reverence for the Ohio Statehouse building and actively dislike the Republican members of the state executive and legislature, but I don't wanna see it destroyed or any of them dead.

I mean, arguably, the point of American-style "we the people" democracy is that our government is supposed to be open and available. Most of our government buildings were built for grandeur rather than security, or are just regular old office buildings, most politicians have little to no personal security around them most of the time. If it takes a temporary overwhelming display of force to keep a couple of whackjobs from pulling off some destructive bullshit towards people or property I think I can live with that.
posted by soundguy99 at 4:29 AM on January 17, 2021 [13 favorites]

Under pressure from Trump White House, Acting Secretary of Defense has ordered NSA to “immediately” install Republican party ex-operative (and Devin Nunes ex-aide) as NSA general counsel, reports Washington Post.
With less than four days to go of Trump’s Presidency? Why?

Deep breaths, everyone. Ellis was named to this position back in mid November, but hasn't actually started the job yet. The current fuss is because Trump ordered him to be officially invested by 6 pm Saturday. That didn't happen. (AFAICT because there's still bureaucratic hoops to jump through even for an appointed position, and those aren't complete.) So now nobody really knows what his status is.

Lawfare Blog seems to be of the opinion that this is an attempt to hamstring the Biden administration by installing Ellis in a position it might be hard to remove him from.
posted by soundguy99 at 4:42 AM on January 17, 2021 [7 favorites]

I am increasingly sure this is all being wildly overblown.

Whereas, based on presumably much of the same information, I'm not. I'm hoping it's overblown, and I think it's quite possible, but I have no confidence about it. It's pretty rattling to have this many soldiers in town, regardless.
posted by aspersioncast at 6:16 AM on January 17, 2021 [2 favorites]

in a position it might be hard to remove him from

Like the presidency itself, it seems.
posted by They sucked his brains out! at 8:36 AM on January 17, 2021

I am increasingly sure this is all being wildly overblown.

I hope you're right, but better to take the threat seriously than to be caught flat-footed again. The stakes are too high to muck around.
posted by merriment at 8:37 AM on January 17, 2021 [11 favorites]

I'm feeling reasonably hopeful that nothing really terrible will happen in D.C. this week. But I'm also resigned to the fact that we're going to have to spend the foreseeable future in this state of hypervigilance, in which we'll constantly expend emotional and actual resources planning for threats from our fellow-citizens that may or may not come to pass. And I'm sure we'll deal with it, but it's kind of depressing.
posted by ArbitraryAndCapricious at 9:03 AM on January 17, 2021 [12 favorites]

I am increasingly sure this is all being wildly overblown.

I hope you're right, but better to take the threat seriously than to be caught flat-footed again. The stakes are too high to muck around.

There's a dynamic between the drumbeat of riot arrests and all the security hyperreaction that is helping convince a large segment of the Trumpists that any action they might get involved with now is a likely FBI sting.

So I'm fine with all that, so long as it's understood it's going to do nothing to abate the stochastic responses we can expect post-inauguration.
posted by snuffleupagus at 9:11 AM on January 17, 2021 [7 favorites]

Historians having to tape together records that Trump tore up (The Guardian)

Trump has been cavalier about the law requiring that records be preserved. ... In the Trump White House “not only has record-keeping not been a priority, but we have multiple examples of it seeking to conceal or destroy that record” ... The act states that a president cannot destroy records until he seeks the advice of the national archivist and notifies Congress. But the law does not require him to heed the archivist’s advice. It does not prevent the president from going ahead and destroying records.

Is violation of this law something he can be charged with after his term ends? What's the penalty for breaking this law?
posted by ErisLordFreedom at 11:29 AM on January 17, 2021

Yale Law's Media Freedom & Info Access Clinic:
Trump and the Toothless Presidential Records Act

Feb. 2020 opinion from the D.C. District Court:
On August 9, 2019, defendants moved to dismiss the complaint for lack of jurisdiction and for failure to state a claim. Since the Court is bound by Circuit precedent to find that it lacks authority to oversee the President’s day-to-day compliance with the statutory provisions involved in this case, the motion to dismiss will be granted. Thus, this opinion will not address, and should not be interpreted to endorse, the challenged practices; nor does it include any finding that the Executive Office is in compliance with its obligations.
posted by snuffleupagus at 11:33 AM on January 17, 2021 [1 favorite]

In Michigan, which has arguably the most active and violent militia movement in an American blue state, about 10 dudes showed up, made a statement and left.
posted by lattiboy at 11:44 AM on January 17, 2021 [6 favorites]

Two guys with guns showed up at the Georgia Capitol. Way outnumbered by press.
posted by hydropsyche at 1:37 PM on January 17, 2021 [4 favorites]

March for Life is asking supporters not to come to D.C. this year. I guess the anti-abortion fanatics get a tiny bit of credit for not being supreme assholes. But not too much credit, because they could have announced that months ago.
posted by ArbitraryAndCapricious at 2:28 PM on January 17, 2021 [6 favorites]

FBI vetting Guard troops in DC amid fears of insider attack

I hate to say this, but I think it's wise that Harris should attend from a secure location.
posted by RobotVoodooPower at 7:07 PM on January 17, 2021 [13 favorites]

I hate to say this, but I think it's wise that Harris should attend from a secure location.

The last time that a Democrat won a close presidential election with accusations of election fraud being made against him was in 1960, so, yeah, agreed.
posted by clawsoon at 7:22 PM on January 17, 2021 [3 favorites]

Will Trump Burn The Evidence?

Governments that commit atrocities against their own citizens regularly destroy their own archives. After the end of apartheid, South Africa’s new government organized a Truth and Reconciliation Commission because, as its report stated, “the former government deliberately and systematically destroyed a huge body of state records and documentation in an attempt to remove incriminating evidence and thereby sanitise the history of oppressive rule.” Unfortunately, the records of the commission have fared little better: the archive was restricted and shipped to the National Archives in Pretoria, where it remains to this day, largely uncatalogued and unprocessed; for ordinary South Africans, it’s almost entirely unusable. In the aftermath of the Trump Administration, the most elusive records won’t be those in the White House. If they exist, they’ll be far away, in and around detention centers, and will involve the least powerful: the families separated at the border, whose suffering federal officials inflicted, and proved so brutally indifferent to that they have lost track of what children belong to which parents, and how to find them.
posted by They sucked his brains out! at 9:02 PM on January 17, 2021 [2 favorites]

I've had that thought about Harris too, but I'm also not happy with the idea of telling the first female or black VP that she can't attend her own inauguration. I really would like either her or Nancy Pelosi to be elsewhere than the main ceremony, though.
posted by tavella at 9:25 PM on January 17, 2021 [6 favorites]

I'm a little heartened to see that the swift and strong backlash over the events of the 6th, including the Parler data grab, seem to have had an effect on the insurrectionists. Combine with the usual baseline of paranoia and you get this:

From Arieh Kovler, yesterday morning:

"The overwhelming consensus in pro-Trump spaces is that the supposed marches today are FBI/CIA/Antifa false flag events or honeypots designed to draw them out.

Before the Jan 6 rally, MAGA spaces online were full of people saying they were going, planning their routes, making banners, wishing they could join. For today, it's the opposite. The message in Trumpworld is "stay home"."

If they're going to spend the next month questioning every move they make, that's perfectly fine with me. Let's extend it for, oh, 8 years at minimum.
posted by JoeZydeco at 8:29 AM on January 18, 2021 [12 favorites]

given that the FBI are on the record about going after every single person that entered the Capitol building on the 6th (and they have mountains of photo and video evidence to guide them), I imagine that that particular crowd are more or less neutralized. The next trouble will come from elsewhere. Seventy odd million people voted for Trump. Twenty-some percent of Americans still support him. Even the most optimistic breakdown of the odds suggests that there are plenty of people out there nursing a bad combination of grievance, mental illness, access to weaponry and no previous criminal record.

It's the next Timothy McVeigh that I'm worried about now, not some incoherent mob.

Thank you and enjoy your day.
posted by philip-random at 8:46 AM on January 18, 2021 [10 favorites]

Aaron Rupar:

"We saw congress[woman] Boebert taking a group of people for a tour sometime after the 3rd and before the 6th." -- Rep. Steve Cohen says he and a colleague saw Rep. Boebert giving people a tour of the Capitol in the days leading up to the riot

posted by Glegrinof the Pig-Man at 9:30 AM on January 18, 2021 [9 favorites]

I wonder if cell phone and photographic evidence will directly connect Boebert's visitors -- and her -- to the terrorist conspiracy. Her behavior during the attack remains highly suspicious and this may explain why her communications director left.

Her potential involvement may even partially explain McConnell's decision to delay the impeachment trial, to minimize the damage to his party, as much as it may be about tying up the Senate and delaying the clean-up work that Biden needs to do.
posted by They sucked his brains out! at 9:49 AM on January 18, 2021 [12 favorites]

CNN: Lockdown lifted at US Capitol Building after brief security scare

Turns out it was a fire in a homeless camp under a nearby freeway. The smoke was close enough to look like it was coming from the Capitol.

Around the same time automated calls started going out indicating that the Continuity of Government Readiness Condition level was going to level 2 ("prepare for relocation with four hour notice"), but there seems to be no confirmation about any of this.
posted by JoeZydeco at 9:50 AM on January 18, 2021 [2 favorites]

Umbrella Technologies CEO Thomas Carnevale explains how law enforcement will likely leverage technology to ID the Capitol Hill attackers....

The video surveillance systems located throughout the Capitol building do not use cheap residential security cameras. The equipment that monitors the high traffic and priority spaces is top-of-the-line. The consumer equivalents of these security cameras offer 4K HD video resolution capable of identifying individuals with a level of detail, efficiency and accuracy that was unthinkable a few years ago. There isn’t a fuzzy picture that needs to be “enhanced, enhanced, enhanced”; this is likely a security camera feed with HD resolution.

Daily Kos link (scroll down) but can’t click through to the original article.
posted by TWinbrook8 at 10:27 AM on January 18, 2021 [1 favorite]

Mike "MyPillow" Lindell gets notice from Dominion Voting Systems' lawyers.
posted by JoeZydeco at 1:38 PM on January 18, 2021 [20 favorites]

As much as it revolts me to give gun nut barbie any benefit of the doubt, she is a new rep, so it would not be particularly weird for her to be taking friends and family around the Capitol. The other congresspeople are right to be wary about her, though, given her attempts to signal to the rioters where Pelosi was, and it needs to be investigated.
posted by tavella at 5:25 PM on January 18, 2021 [2 favorites]

Yeah just your daily reminder that amongst the more recent horrors we've all been dealing with as a nation, there's homeless camps mere blocks from the Capitol. This is America.
posted by aspersioncast at 8:51 PM on January 18, 2021 [16 favorites]

it would not be particularly weird for her to be taking friends and family around the Capitol.

Agree, but it's going to be awfully uncomfortable if some of the same cell phones were in the Capitol during her tour and during the insurrection. Which also doesn't necessarily mean anything, it's still possible she was used unwittingly. Starts looking a little suspicious, though. At the very least she learned she needs to think about everything she does. She's not a nobody anymore, and her every action is going to be looked at by someone. There's no "off the clock."
posted by ctmf at 9:30 PM on January 18, 2021 [1 favorite]

...it would not be particularly weird for her to be taking friends and family around the Capitol.

I believe the weird part was that tours had been suspended since March due to Coronavirus restrictions, so it was notable that there were groups in the Capitol in the days leading up to Jan. 6. Boebert did, in fact, claim that she was just taking family through. I suppose we'll find out eventually.
posted by merriment at 7:00 AM on January 19, 2021 [7 favorites]

Boebert did, in fact, claim that she was just taking family through.

So what I'm going to assume then is that potentially she has family that participated in the coup attempt.
posted by Lentrohamsanin at 8:17 AM on January 19, 2021 [13 favorites]

Funny you should mention that, Lentrohamsanin! This is pretty much conspiracy theory level speculation, buuuuut...
posted by merriment at 9:12 AM on January 19, 2021 [1 favorite]

My Pillow guy doubling down on Dominion:

Lindell tells me over the phone: "I want Dominion to put up their lawsuit because we have 100% evidence that China and other countries used their machines to steal the election."

posted by TWinbrook8 at 9:17 AM on January 19, 2021 [2 favorites]

Oh, wow, the last two paragraphs of this Lindell article:

In his email to NBC News, Lindell said: "All the evidence against Dominion is before the Supreme Court. ... China and others used the machines to corrupt our election! Here is one page of the proof."

The email did not include an attachment. When asked if he had mistakenly omitted it, Lindell sent another email with an empty attachment and a third with screenshots of illegible text.

posted by nobody at 9:28 AM on January 19, 2021 [28 favorites]

I guess there's an alternate read on this in which Lindell does have real proof, but he's stuck in a Twilight Zone scenario in which he's inexplicably kept from sharing it in legible form. Poor modern-technology Cassandra.
posted by nobody at 9:31 AM on January 19, 2021 [21 favorites]

In the mail over the weekend I got a really nice letter from the Inaugural Committee (presumably because I donated to President-elect Biden's campaign). Just a simple attractive card that looks like an invite (though its not - it's just an announcement card with a nice embossed seal) and a separate slip of paper with instructions on how to watch remotely / on social media. No requests for money, or anything over the top - just a request to do acts of service in the local community for MLK day / National Day of Service. The normality, simple well laid out information, and just plain competence of the message screamed volumes.
posted by inflatablekiwi at 10:42 AM on January 19, 2021 [14 favorites]

GOP Rep. Lauren Boebert gave Capitol tour to ‘large’ group before the riots, Democratic lawmaker says

Now, two Democratic lawmakers say they personally saw one Republican — Rep. Lauren Boebert of Colorado — with a “large” group in a tunnel connected to the Capitol days before the attempted insurrection that left four rioters and one police officer dead.

Rep. Steve Cohen (D-Tenn.) said on Monday that he and Rep. John Yarmuth (D-Ky.) had both seen Boebert in the tunnel outside the Cannon House Office Building with a group sometime in the three days before the riots. He said he didn’t know who was in the group or if anyone with Boebert later participated in the attack.

“Congressman [John] Yarmuth refreshed my recollection yesterday,” Cohen told Jim Sciutto on “CNN Newsroom.” “We saw Boebert taking a group of people for a tour sometime after the 3rd and before the 6th. … Now whether these people were people that were involved in the insurrection or not, I do not know.”
posted by They sucked his brains out! at 11:20 AM on January 19, 2021 [11 favorites]

Sounds like we should get this Boebert person locked down until we can figure out what's going on.
posted by Meatbomb at 12:22 PM on January 19, 2021 [14 favorites]

2 National Guard members removed from Biden inauguration security after ties found to militia group

Now up to 12.
posted by clawsoon at 1:15 PM on January 19, 2021 [12 favorites]

So Lindell's defense could actually work if he plays his cards right. Depends if the standard is actual malice or not. If he knew or should have known he was wrong, he's in trouble. But he didn't know he was wrong because Rudy gave him all these affadavits! A legal professional! And Lindell is exceptionally stupid, so the "should have known" part doesn't apply either. /s
posted by ctmf at 3:34 PM on January 19, 2021

Another unsurprising arrest:

“Straight Pride” organizer arrested in connection to MAGA riots
posted by clawsoon at 3:42 PM on January 19, 2021 [13 favorites]

Josh Hawley is giving Ted Cruz a run for Biggest Asshole in the Senate. Today he put a hold on Biden's nominee for Secretary of Homeland Security in a pissing match over Trump's border wall.

In a normal transition, many of the top cabinet appointments have their hearings weeks before the inauguration so that they can be voted on immediately when the new president takes office. McConnell has waited until the day before to even begin the process.

I hope Schumer shows he means business when he takes over and handles the nominations with haste, rolling right over the Republicans.
posted by JackFlash at 4:54 PM on January 19, 2021 [12 favorites]

‘I’ll kill them all’: Polk County deputy arrested for threatening feds at U.S. Capitol released on bond

Judd said Heneen was sending messages to a fellow deputy where he wrote things like “f*** the feds,” “Shoot the feds,” “I’ll f****** kill them all,” “take the fight to them,” and “Need to have the streets of D.C. red run with the blood of the tyrants.” ...

“The good news is, one of our deputies did the right thing,” Judd said. “Gave information of a written threat by one of his colleagues.”

posted by clawsoon at 6:54 AM on January 20, 2021 [7 favorites]

> So Lindell's defense could actually work if he plays his cards right. Depends if the standard is actual malice or not. If he knew or should have known he was wrong, he's in trouble. But he didn't know he was wrong because Rudy gave him all these affadavits! A legal professional! And Lindell is exceptionally stupid, so the "should have known" part doesn't apply either. /s

Regardless, he has been judged, and found unworthy:

(email address redacted)
Subject: Adult site pulls the plug on MyPillow; models can no longer have pillow fights with product Inbox

Hi — I wanted to reach out following news that several major retailers including Bed Bath & Beyond and Kohl's are removing MyPillow products from their stores following recent comments from MyPillow CEO Mike Lindell.

Following in the footsteps of this, IsMyGirl — a premium platform for adult models to monetize their sexy content — is no longer allowing models to use MyPillow products in their XXX videos, including dry humping them and using them in sexy pillow fights.

IsMyGirl's CEO Evan Seinfeld issued the following statement — "Models on IsMyGirl are often requested to create personalized video clips for users. Essentially, the user serves as the director. It's quite popular for a user to request a model to dry hump a pillow or have a sexy pillow fight. Given what's going on in the news with MyPillow CEO Mike Lindell, we ...

via imgur
posted by sebastienbailard at 7:27 AM on January 20, 2021 [6 favorites]

I haven't seen the porn industry give such a crushing blow to a product since Betamax. This is indeed a strange universe.
posted by They sucked his brains out! at 12:28 PM on January 20, 2021 [3 favorites]

Way to dry-hump your way into the news, porn site. Give your marketing team a bonus. *eyebrow waggle*
posted by amanda at 7:17 AM on January 21, 2021