Sedition in Progress: U.S. Senate in Lockdown [UPDATE-9]

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[NB: Updates will appear at the bottom of this post. /~Rayne]

Trump-supporting protesters breached the U.S. Capitol building where the joint session of Congress had been underway.

The Senate has been gaveled out and members of Congress evacuated along with VP Mike Pence.

The protesters have now halted and delayed the execution of Article II Section 1 of the Constitution, during which Congress turns over to the President of the Senate — the Vice President of the United States — the certified results of the elections in each of their states for ceremonial acknowledgment of the presidential election’s results.

In short, Trump supporters are engaged in rebellion, insurrection, and seditious conspiracy inside the U.S. Capitol building.

This coup attempt isn’t over.

 

UPDATE-1 — 2:53 PM ET —

Secret Service whisking Pence off the chamber floor here:

Press were asked to secure doors. What the hell does that say about security?

Trump incited this and he’s encouraging it with neglect. There’s no sign Trump has done anything to call up additional security personnel like former AG Bill Barr did this summer to protect Trump during his ridiculous photo op.

 

UPDATE-2 — 3:01 PM ET —

The joint session was still in debate as the video above shows. The session was gaveled out about 2:15 PM ET.

And then Trump tweeted this:

When Congress reconvenes it should immediately move to impeach and then remove Trump from office.

He has failed to uphold his oath of office by obstructing the Constitutional duties of Congress and its President Pro Tempore, by inciting rebellion, insurrection, and sedition.

 

UPDATE-3 — 3:37 PM ET —

Weapons were drawn.

There’s a report of a person shot.

And Ivanka is doing her performative head-patting. (click on date+time in Acosta’s tweet to open)

Put a leash on your demented and lawless father, sweetheart. Anything less is just idle chatter.

Spencer Ackerman’s not getting any response to questions about law enforcement response.

Sure would be nice to know if former AG Bill Barr knew this was coming and quit when he did because of it.

Basically Trump quit without giving notice.

Just finish the job, Congress — impeach and remove his ass.

 

UPDATE-4 — 3:57 PM ET —

Trump has allegedly ordered up the National Guard to respond to the violence in the Capitol. But it’s still pretty rocky inside.

What an absolute disgrace, utterly embarrassing. This is a BBC reporter from India sharing this on Twitter.

 

UPDATE-5 — 4:20 PM ET —

Quite a few people are making similar observations about the response to protesters breaching the capitol building.

Gee, what could possibly be the difference? Whatever it is, it’s visible from abroad.

Yup. The violence we saw this summer was police-driven, not BLM.

 

UPDATE-6 — 4:30 PM ET —

This is some weapons-grade stupid, both the PC left up unsecured, and the idiot intruding in the office taking pictures of this intrusion. (click to open image)

 

UPDATE-7 — 4:46 PM ET —

So Popehat asked…

And lo, there were uninvited Confederates in the White House.


UPDATE-8 — 5:40 PM ET —

There. Are. Bullet. Holes.

Jesus Christ.

At least the FBI SWAT team is now in the building, though specific location details aren’t being shared.

I guess we’re back to watching for the joint session to re-gavel into order though it will only happen after the building has been cleared. There have been claims members of the mob will continue hide out and remain in the building as long as possible.

 

UPDATE-9 — 6:08 PM ET —

From Yahoo News:

By the time the president strengthened his calls for cooperation with the police, his protesters, many of whom were armed and had not passed through a metal detector, had already broken through a police barricade and entered the Capitol’s Statuary Hall. An improvised explosive device was found on the Capitol grounds, NBC News reported, and at least two IED’s were discovered on the 300 and 400 block of Canal St., according to a law enforcement document obtained by Yahoo News.

In his statement to the public this afternoon, Joe Biden said today’s events “borders on sedition.”

What Trump did with his continuing incitement, including his most recent statement to his supporters, was sedition. No toeing the border. He incited rebellion and insurrection to delay and obstruct Constitutional duties of Congress.

As a result of this lawlessness, someone has died.

Congress, impeach and remove Trump before he can do any more damage. Again, he’s literally not doing his job.

Why did Pence have to give the order after having been whisked off the Senate floor??

Updates will be appended here at the bottom of this post.

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345 replies
    • J R in WV says:

      So.

      bmaz has landed with both feet upon anyone daring to use the word “treason” with respect to any of Trump’s or his minion’s activities. And I understand his viewpoint with regard to the constitutional definition.

      I would ask him, now, respectfully, are we there yet? I think we are.

      Trump must be impeached and convicted tonight, after the electoral vote is received and certified by the joint session of congress. It should happen immediately, the evidence has been experienced by the members of congress, and so the impeachment and trial should only take 30 minutes. Everyone holding office within the White House and on the Federal payroll should be included in that verdict in a footnote. Banned from future federal office as well, all of them, and stripped of their pension, if any.

      Then indict them for their sedition and treason.

      • Ravenclaw says:

        Sedition is not the same thing as treason, as far as I know (but blaze will tell you I know little of such things). This looks a lot like sedition to me.

      • Rugger9 says:

        This is sedition, not treason since neither a foreign adversary nor a declared domestic enemy is involved as far as we know.

        However, sedition and felony rioting (and perhaps the death can be prosecuted as well since it was a likely outcome of the activity) can lead to substantial jail time in decades.

    • Bellringer says:

      In December, Dr. Wheeler wrote an article titled “Boiling Frog Journalism…”. That metaphor has remained with me. From outside, I don’t think I can add much to the reactions already expressed, except, perhaps, bewilderment. But questions keep coming to mind. In terms of respecting the results of your elections, will members of Congress be prepared to turn down the heat? We will have to wait and see, perhaps they will. Will Trump supporters? Having seen the smiling faces and high fives of two demonstrators as they left, and images from within the Capitol, I wonder. They, and others, looked as though they had simply had a good day out.
      To my amazement, Congress and gun owners have not in the past turned down the heat following a succession of mass shootings.
      Will this be different, or will the frog continue to be heated up?
      It has been a sad day.

    • Chris.EL says:

      Was just looking at Steve Vladeck’s Twitter, saw this:

      ”Matt Glassman
      @nbcmatt · 26m
      [Jan. 6, 2021~5:55 pm eastern time]
      The woman shot at The Capitol this afternoon has died, @nbcwashington has confirmed.”
      ~~~~~~~~
      Saw another re-tweet of Trump’s Twitter usage and it occurred to me that Trump’s use of Twitter is aiding the sedition effort.

      Twitter should delete the seditionists’ accounts — besides, it’s “Trump Media.”

    • BraveNewWorld says:

      Out of curiosity do you have to actually name, names in a pardon or can Trump just pardon the whole crowd at once?

  2. madwand says:

    You’re exactly right, not over. Trump is going for the brass ring. It’s difficult to see where this ends without intervention. Shots possibly fired and House doors being bashed in. Full blown coup if you ask me.

    • TooLoose LeTruck says:

      I believe even Erick Erickson (Son of Erick) has been calling for Trump’s impeachment…

      Nice to see Trump self-immolate here…

      Hopefully this performance will make his entire family politically radioactive for decades to come…

      Along w/ individuals like Cruz…

      Hawley…

      (fill in the blank w/ the dolt of your choice)…

      • Chris.EL says:

        From Twitter
        …”BigVoterDumpHat@Popehat
        [~12:15 pm California time,] 1/6/2021
        “Question: can an enemy force defeated a century and a half ago and dissolved be an enemy for purposes of the treason statute?”

        Wow-wee — what a great question!!!!

  4. Fran of the North says:

    The gravity of the events of the last hour are so overwhelming that it is difficult to avoid trite pablum.

    May the Union, flawed as she may be, stand strong amidst this seditious storm.

  5. harpie says:

    TODAY in Washington DC

    1] 2:20 PM · Jan 6, 2021 [via Charles Pierce] https://twitter.com/jazmineulloa/status/1346899454536912897 [Boston Globe]

    Capitol is on lockdown as protesters storm front entrance of the Capitol. They are banging on the door. They have broken the glass window. [VIDEO]

    2] 2:23 PM · Jan 6, 2021

    A dense group of protestors has shattered the windows of the Capitol. We can hear roaring chants of “USA” outside. [VIDEO]

    3] 2:24 PM · Jan 6, 2021 [The President of the United States]
    https://twitter.com/realDonaldTrump/status/1346900434540240897

    Mike Pence didn’t have the courage to do what should have been done to protect our Country and our Constitution, giving States a chance to certify a corrected set of facts, not the fraudulent or inaccurate ones which they were asked to previously certify. USA demands the truth!
    [Twitter: This claim about election fraud is disputed]

    • harpie says:

      Something to add to this little timeline:

      4] 2:24 PM · Jan 6, 2021
      Ted Cruz sends a fundraising text:

      [Ted Cruz]: I’m leading the fight to reject electors from key states unless there is an emergency audit of the election results. Will you stand with me? [Link]

      See:
      https://twitter.com/jaketapper/status/1346970322315202562
      7:02 PM · Jan 6, 2021

      A friend of mine received this at 2:34 after the rioting had started [screenshot]

      • P J Evans says:

        He and Hawley really should be expelled for their part in this. They’ve been talking it up for weeks, and were fine with objecting to the counting.

        I’d be happy if they get censured and lose their seniority, though.

        • harpie says:

          You’re a better person than I am, PJ!

          Also, I MISTATED the time of Cruz’s fundraising text.
          It was sent at 2:34 PM [NOT 2:24PM]

  6. Duke says:

    Just like Trumps education this is nothing original and but a replay of some famous fire…..Chicago? San Fran?

    History is repeating itself. That political party is so predictable. Hope some fucking Democratic political official need to wake the fuck up!

  9. MB says:

    Erik Erickson (staunch conservative) has now called for Don Trumpleone (sorry, got that moniker from Michael Moore) to be impeached immediately.

    • Nehoa says:

      Never thought I would endorse an Erik Erickson proposal. But I would add, “and convict. And don’t forget to bar him from future public office.”

  12. Molly Pitcher says:

    From a senior reporter for the BBC:

    Nick Bryant
    @NickBryantNY
    ·
    38m
    Were this a different country on a different continent, we would be talking of a failed state.

    • timbo says:

      Not yet. However it really depends on whether or not the incoming Congress actually follows up on this breach of their own security.

  14. MB says:

    PBS now reporting somebody inside the Capitol was shot – confirmed by Kevin McCarthy. Assuming it was a protester, not dead, given CPR.

  16. BobCon says:

    I’ve said it before, but Pelosi needs new rules for the House Ethics Committee because the Q*n*n caucus of the House GOP is going to be inciting this stuff all session.

    They will be bringing nutjobs onto the House floor to disrupt procedings and hiring nuts for their staffs to disrupt regular business.

    She has to be prepared to push for expulsion for rules violations, and she has to be prepared to act quickly, not in the leisurely way Ethics procedings have historically moved.

    Schumer had better be prepared too. It’s not just going to be outside agitators.

  19. harpie says:

    Georgia [Republican] election official Gabriel Stirling:

    https://twitter.com/GabrielSterling/status/1346910444242391043
    3:04 PM · Jan 6, 2021

    Anyone elected to the House or Senate who is challenging the results of the Presidential election in Congress are part of this attempted coup inspired by the President and they should resign. This is an insurrection…

    https://twitter.com/GabrielSterling/status/1346914316583362562
    3:15 PM · Jan 6, 2021

    I said several weeks ago that the words and actions of the President were going to get someone shot, hurt, or killed. Shots were just fired in the US Capitol. Let that sink in for a moment.

    This is the US Capitol right now. This is what the words and actions of President Trump have yielded. [PHOTO]

  20. MB says:

    My personal prediction has been that chaos would begin after sunset on the streets of DC tonight. Never would have dreamed it would actually take place in broad daylight at the Capitol.

    Season 4 of The World’s Greatest Reality Show – Final Episode – streaming live everywhere. If you can’t take your marbles and go home, then burn down the place where the marbles are currently located. This is what happens when a barely-controlled psychopath is given power. Oopsie.

  21. OldTulsaDude says:

    This is nothing more than a Manson-like cult following the orders on their leader to kill the republic.

    • Rayne says:

      That’s Michael Flynn’s playbook. It would be an unlawful declaration because there is no clear and present danger except for Trump himself and his supporters.

      • Earthworm says:

        Do we have such a thing in the US as — heh — protective custody? FBI rounding up Gen Flynn and other playmakers?

      • readerOfTeaLeaves says:

        Something’s not quite adding up.
        As Katie Phang’s tweet points out, “Why is Pence the one giving orders?”

        Anyone watching recent video of Trump, or his mugging in Georgia within the past two days, ought to be deeply alarmed.

        And for McConnell to be more forceful than he’s been in a decade…? And even Lindsay Graham was making nice…? That is not typical behavior for either man, and I doubt it was prompted by the Georgia election results. It must be something darker.

        It really seems that Trump is completely bonkers and needs to be removed ASAP. (I’d love to be wrong.) And although Jared, Ivanka, and the rest of the enablers are sure to ‘push back’– things are way out of kilter at this point.

        I had texts from overseas along the lines of ‘wtf is going on in US?!!’ Putin and Xi must be absolutely gloating, and for the GOP to turn a blind eye to this kind of chaos is crazy. This chaos is *not* good for US business interests, and plays right into the propaganda interests of those who want to screw America.

        OTOH, the business press is reporting that it looks like Cruz and Hawley screwed themselves with business leaders. So that’s the upside…

        • Mitch Neher says:

          Sorry. I’m not sure how I did it, but I misunderestimated the Acting Secretary of Defense, What’s-His-Name.

          OTOH, Acting-Secretary What’s-His-Name will probably never admit that he disobeyed an illegal order from Trump in favor of taking legal orders from double-secret-probationary president Pence.

  23. Molly Pitcher says:

    Hypocritical House Minority Leader Rep. Kevin McCarthy is on CBS claiming to have spoken to the President demanding that he go on television and order his supporters to stop. That “this is not what we are about “. He is disclaiming any responsibility for contributing to the situation.

    • blueedredcounty says:

      Ummm, no Kevin, you are one of the biggest enablers of this mess, and I agree with every person that has called every Republican that signed onto this sham protest in the House or Senate to be charged with supporting this sedition and violence.

      Your hands are as bloody as Trump’s.

    • cavenewt says:

      CNN had a report that Trump only did the be-peaceful tweet and the short video because his aids were horrified and insisted he do something. Advisors are furious that he is focused on Pence rather than events. “If we could throw him to the angry mob, we’d throw him to the angry mob now,” the adviser said.

  24. graham firchlis says:

    Well past argument over intent. This is sedition, without question.

    Violent protestors encouraged and supported by Trump have seized control over the Senate chamber, forced both House and Senate to suspend lawful business and are holding lawmakers hostage. Sedition, without question.

    Huge fail by Capitol Police, but now masses of LEO personnel are arriving and arrests are being made. Prosecution must follow, all the way to Trump.

    (I’d like to call these people terrorists and traitors, but maybe that’s still felt to be too harsh.)

    • Mitch Neher says:

      Treason against the United States shall consist of levying war against them . . .

      What I saw on the tv was awfully close to the mark of levying war against the United States.

      Thank heavens for D.C. gun control laws.

  25. Raven Eye says:

    Watching BBC live-steaming on my phone. This how the World sees us.

    The are talking about the curfew, and the protestors (rioters?) sound like they will ignore it.

    • Peterr says:

      Someone might want to hand Pence a phone, plugging him into a conference call to all members of the cabinet to talk about the 25th amendment.

        • vvv says:

          I’m am hoping we can add Cruz – who was speaking as it started – and Hawley – who was greeting the protestors before they became rioters – to that list.

        • BobCon says:

          It’s for incapacitation, not malignancy, and it would be a clear violation of the Constitution at a time when we need to honor it.

          To be clear, I could see myself being convinced about thowing his tail in jail. I’ve never bought the line that a president is exempt, and there’s no explicit wording in the Constitution about that. I don’t even think the founders would have bought a blanket exemption.

        • P J Evans says:

          They didn’t foresee a president inciting insurrection, either. Especially from one who’s afraid to leave office because his crimes are going to catch up to him (especially since he’s just made them much, much worse!)

  27. GKJames says:

    Capitol Police — always ready to swarm the unknowing photographer-tourist setting up a tripod — wasn’t prepared for this?

    • TooLoose LeTruck says:

      I’ve been wondering the same thing…

      How could DC security be so unprepared?

      Trump’s been calling for this for weeks now…

      How many chat boards has this been talked up on?

      Was it not obvious the number of fools who were heading to DC for this moment?

      • GKJames says:

        Is there a doubt that the outcome would have been different had it been, say, African-Americans or Muslims?

        • TooLoose LeTruck says:

          I don’t even want to think about that…

          Talk about blood baths… and televised, to boot.

      • BobCon says:

        DC is a giant mess of exclusive jurisdictions and the Capitol police are separate from city and federal departments. Intelligence sharing is mixed in the best of times, and I wouldn’t be surprised if Barr and DoJ cut the Capitol cops out of the loop a while ago.

        But since the US Park Police has jurisdiction over the National Mall which is the staging area for a lot of the Republican mob, they share a lot of the blame. They’re under the authority of the Secretary of Interior, not DOJ, but I have to assume there is a joint command with DOJ.

        DC local police have long been an embarassment when it comes to where and when they take control, but mayors typically have been reluctant to gain control. But the politics are no excuse, especially now, and it’s idiotic that Bowser hasn’t been on top of this.

        • Peterr says:

          Bowser is just about the least culpable person here. She’s the absolute lowest rung on the hierarchical ladder when it comes to security in DC. You’ve got the US Secret Service, Capitol Police, Park Service Police, FBI, DHS, US Marshals Service, National Guard, US military . . . and, oh yeah, the DC metropolitan police.

        • Raven Eye says:

          Smithsonian Police, National Gallery, USCG Helicopters overhead on Title 10 orders, there used to be a separate DC Library Police, National Cathedral, Amtrak, Mint, Bureau of Printing and Engraving, GPO, FPS, Secret Service Uniform, Supreme Court, Pentagon, Postal Service…

          …And the list goes on and on.

        • BobCon says:

          DC police are under legal authority of Bowser, they’re the largest single unit in the city, and have jurisdiction over streets and sidewalks surrounding the Capitol and office buildings. If Bowser had true control over the DCPD she could absolutely have been in the mix with the permission of Pelosi.And the DCPD has a lot of officers specifically outfitted for this kind of thing, ostensibly under direct control of the city government, not the feds.

          We’re not talking about the US Supreme Court’s police force. It’s bigger than the forces for Dallas, Phoenix, and Miami. And that is despite a huge drop in crime over the past 25 years.

          But the DCPD under Bowser isn’t much better than the NYPD under de Blasio. Their crowd control units have been a disaster for years, with all kinds of settlements over absurd clampdowns of peaceful liberal protests, with mass arrests including journalists and tourists, costing the city millions.

          But unlike NYC, DC cops are much less of a force in local politics, and Bowser’s failure to exert control over the department is an embarassment. If she tried to deploy them, they would barely lift a finger.

        • timbo says:

          DC police and other emergency services are in the hole for approximately $100 million over the past two years of overtime and other protest related expenses. The Trump administration has refused to pay these bills.

        • Peterr says:

          The key words here in your comment are these: “. . . with the permission of Pelosi.”

          DC Metro Police cannot act inside federal buildings without someone else’s permission. In the case of the Capitol, it may require two people – the Speaker and the Majority Leader (or President Pro Tem) of the Senate.

          I’m not saying anything about Bowser’s control of the DC Metro Police and their actions on the streets of DC. But the fact that they are the largest force in the neighborhood does not give them power. It just means that when others like the Capitol Police or the Park Police decide that a security job needs lots of bodies, then they are invited into the situation.

          These folks had a demonstration on the Ellipse – that’s federal property and out of Bowser’s jurisdiction. They took their demonstration to the Mall and the grounds of the Capitol — again, federal property and outside of Bowser’s jurisdiction. Yes, the protesters had to cross Constitution Avenue to get from one to the other, but they had done nothing wrong (that I’ve seen reporting about) until they got to the Capitol.

          Bowser may not be great, but there are a ton of other people who have a helluva lot more responsibility here than she does.

      • Krisy Gosney says:

        My thought is that the SS and Capitol security are sympathetic to the white male Trump fanatic.

    • BobCon says:

      Both Sergeants at Arms need to resign or be fired, unless they have evidence they warned this was coming and were rebuffed.

  28. FactsMatter says:

    Where is all the law enforcement? This is outrageous. All these anachist’s must be removed in any way needed, now. Trump also needs to be removed from office as soon as this is handled. Trump created this treasonist insurrection. He needs to be held accountable.

    • Robin Hood says:

      Mark LeibovichChief National Correspondent
      The Capitol seems to be under the control of a man in a viking hat.

  30. ducktree says:

    Meanwhile, Rafael “Ted” Cruz and Josh Hawley weep copiously that their sterling performances ended up on the cutting room floor.

    That’s show biz, folks!

      • TooLoose LeTruck says:

        I watched Cruz’s initial statement this morning when he objected to Arizona’s electoral votes being accepted…

        Had to fight to not punch my computer…

        Hopefully this will taint Cruz politically for the rest of his life…

        • readerOfTeaLeaves says:

          Business news is reporting that people are righteously angry, waking up to who they have been giving money to. It’s probably not the best time to be a GOP fundraiser, and I’m guessing the LincolnProject will hoover up more money to hose Hawley and Cruz.

          Also, note Romney’s conduct. His business pedigree is long and he seems to fully grasp how terrible this is for the nation’s reputation (which includes business). He’s a pretty good barometer.

          Hawley and Cruz are now bad ROI.
          Karma, baby…!

    • P J Evans says:

      I’ll let them back into the Senate. After they take an oath of allegiance to the Constitution. And have their seniority removed. Let them – and their fellow conspirators in trying to overthrow the election – be junior to Warnock and Ossoff.

  31. RJA says:

    I’m so upset right now. I’ve been a lurker here on emptywheel.net for 4 years now, and this is my first comment. I say I can’t believe this is happening, but I can, and that’s what’s truly upsetting to me.

  32. AgainHead says:

    Love the tweet about Trump “calling up the Natl. Guard”… except that Pelosi / legislature are responsible for Capitol Police matters, and she was the one who made the call. As usual, Trump trying to take credit for others’ actions.

    Meanwhile, the things he easily could do (publicly denigrating the protestors’ actions, demanding they stop) aren’t happening — no surprise there, given he and his incited them, encouraged violence, etc. No point in waiting till the 20th, Trump’s presidency (Presidency?) needs to end today, and given Pence’s demonstrated complicity, Pelosi’s the proper person to take the oath.

    • Peterr says:

      Pelosi and the DC Mayor can ask for the NG to be called out, but they can’t direct the NG to act. That requires a DOD signoff.

      (The lines of authority and responsibility in and around DC are truly byzantine, especially around policing and security – DC police, Capitol Police, Park Service police, FBI, DHS, NG, US military, . . .)

    • Chris.EL says:

      It is apparent Trump got what he wanted out of this: he bumped ceremonial, peaceful United States of America congressional business off the news and put himself front and center.

      TRUMP IS NOW F—ING TOAST FOR ALL TIME.

      CITIZENS OF THE U.S. WON’T FORGET THIS.

    • cavenewt says:

      Last I heard there have been two, one outside the RNC and one somewhere else, maybe the DNC.

      Wingnut tweeters, of course, blaming Antifa.

  34. quebecois says:

    Up here, in a saner city, my friends are so sad for your country.

    The election yesterday, and my very painful spine induced a ton of stress, pain has never been this bad.

    No time like now to go for the Twenty-fifth Amendment to the United States Constitution.

    What a bloody shitshow.

    • readerOfTeaLeaves says:

      Well, the Georgia election was astonishing.
      I wish that a hot tub would help reduce your pain.

      As a Yank, I’m feeling especially indignant about today, but remind myself that often before profound changes, things can get pretty dreadful.

  35. P J Evans says:

    They used tear gas and rubber bullets against people who weren’t trying to get into government buildings, but can’t do that against those actually attacking the Capitol and government offices?

    Can we now use the t-word about those in government who are encouraging this? (I want Cruz and Hawley expelled from the Senate, and Gohmert, Jordan and McCarthy from the House. They’ve violated their oaths to the point where they cannot possibly be trusted any more.)

        • earlofhuntingdon says:

          The alleged conduct seems to involve multiple criminal violations, but it’s not treason.

          Any word yet on the woman who was shot and killed inside the Capitol today?

        • Fran of the North says:

          Just ran across a video interview with a young man who alleges to have been with her when she was shot- shows blood on his hand to corroborate his story.

          She was in front of him as they entered the Capitol. He was following when she was shot. It’s not clear, but it appears he spent more time inside after that incident until he was forcibly removed by Capitol security.

          Other posters state that she was underage.

        • Ginevra diBenci says:

          She was 35, from California, a veteran of Afghanistan and Iraq and a Q-believing Trump supporter. Last night rumors were running wild on RW internet that a teenager had become the first martyr for Trump–or alternatively that “evil George Soros” had paid “antifaBLM” to stage the riots and make Trump look bad.

        • Chris.EL says:

          Saw the zip ties on a pro-Trump dude in the photos from unrest in Portland, Oregon this summer and thought what the FF—-K!!!!

          Who do these guys think they are???

          Well then dudes of like minds thought it would be a good idea to kidnap Michigan’s governor, etc.

          Not only do we have Covid-19 but contagious idiocy; kraken–itis.

    • LeeNLP says:

      My thought: The law as it is written is no less important now than ever. The Framers made it almost impossible to convict someone of treason. But it sounds like there are a number of relevant statutes. From what I’ve heard, the phrase “domestic terrorist” sounds relevant. But IANAL…

  36. TooLoose LeTruck says:

    Wow…

    Just hearing Trump’s ‘statement’ (read out loud on PBS) about standing down in DC…

    I’d call it a joke, but it’s not funny…

    He’s still doubling down on a fixed election…

    “You all need to go home now… but yes, the election as stolen from us!”

  37. Molly Pitcher says:

    Having just seen Trump’s little statement to his supporters, I think the 25th Amendment initiation is called for.

    • P J Evans says:

      And impeach the @#$^%&I^&*!!! as soon as Congress can meet safely. Also expulsions or censure of members who encouraged this with talk of “stolen election” and “voting fraud”.

        • Rayne says:

          It’s the right thing to do but sharing this over Twitter undermines her effort. There are times when Omar’s reflexivity about Trump hurts her effectiveness.

          Imagine getting *any* of the GOP senators to go along with removal if it means they vote for articles Omar wrote AND their base knows this.

          So shortsighted.

        • Rayne says:

          I get that they’re under a lot of pressure, but Omar should know better. If she wanted this to succeed she should have found the most centrist rep she can work with to be the front and avoided tweeting this.

        • skua says:

          There might just be a Repub Congressperson or two who would seize an opportunity to put a stakte through DJT.

        • P J Evans says:

          Some of them are busy trying to walk back their words of the last couple of weeks. Marshall, of KS, isn’t, though.

        • Molly Pitcher says:

          Unfortunately, this is why I have been saying that The Squad needs to marinate in politics a bit longer before taking leadership reins. ‘Discretion is the better part of valor’.

        • bmaz says:

          No, it is almost certainly going nowhere, but there is a lot more discussion and support for such a movement reported by the cable and print news media than I would have suspected.

          It really is a rats leaving the ship scenario.

  38. PeterS says:

    “House Minority Leader Kevin McCarthy condemned pro-Trump protesters who broke into the U.S. Capitol building Wednesday as Congress began to formally count the Electoral College votes”

    Pathetic.

    “I never thought leopards would eat MY face,” sobs woman who voted for the Leopards Eating People’s Faces Party

  39. Molly Pitcher says:

    John Brennan just used the specific term “insurrection and sedition” regarding the behavior of members of Congress which has led to the current situation.

    • timbo says:

      Seems pretty accurate. Hopefully the new Congress will investigate the F out of the seditious. There’s been felony violations of Federal law today and it appears a conspiracy to do so.

  40. Rattlemullet says:

    Well, ladies and gentlemen, can we affirm it’s is sedition? Trump, 140 Congress members and 11 senators be charged or has the written text of the law been overwhelmed with verbiage that it is debatable. SC decision have become so verbose In the last 2 decades that legal interpretation has become impossible. I read once that a Scalia’s decision generally ran in excess of thousands of words, leaving enforcement to AG’s virtually impossible. Clearly this is an act of a violent overthrow of the government. Do we become complicit like mist of the time if your are white you do not suffer the same as blacks for the same act. Where’s the tear gas, where are the security forces to protect and defend? I guess this will be another wildlife refuge take over where all white boys get off scott free and the seditious republican claim it politics as usual and both side do it.

  41. earlofhuntingdon says:

    Kevin McCarthy and Mitch McConnell are themselves obligated to speak to the country directly and demand that these rioters stand down, stop committing crimes – this is way beyond First Amendment protected speech – and take the consequences for them. Waiting for the lover of chaos in the White House to do this or any other part of his job is waiting for Godot. They know this, and simply want to have their cake and eat it alone in their bubbles, inviolate.

    Not just Trump and these destructive politicians, but the acting Wormtongues at the DoD and elsewhere need to be shunned and become unemployable. Let’s start with the acting SecDef, who refused to allow the DC National Guard to do its job and protect the Capitol and everyone in it trying to do their jobs, and, of course, Kash Patel.

    And, pray tell, how many top Goopers in and outside the White House knew this was coming and invited it? Paging Josh Hawley….

      • Rayne says:

        Well I would have thought a multi-bankrupt, thrice-married reality TV star with a history of discriminatory housing wouldn’t have been able to run for president but here we are.

        IMO, Hawley and Cotton are the two most dangerous potential future candidates because they are too appealing to the Trumpist white supremacist base.

        • BobCon says:

          He’ll need a financial backer. I wouldn’t rule out a Mercer type throwing money at a nutty right winger when primaries heat up, but it’s going to be hard for him to convince one of them to back him over someone with less baggage. I truly hope beginning tonight all of his corporate donors start dropping him and Cruz and the House GOP ringleaders.

  42. TooLoose LeTruck says:

    Whoa…

    More calls for the 25th amendment…

    National Association of Manufacturers publicly calling on Pence to initiate the process of removing Trump from office via the 25th…

    National Guard, police from Maryland and Virginia headed into DC now…

  43. Duke says:

    Pardons are coming and util Trump is removed his signature has more power to move the coup forward.

    This is organized and not ending soon. The South will rise again is a phrase I heard for four generations and current events were waiting to happen because racism is the original virus and it spread right under everyone’s cowardice cloaked in pragmatic “looking forward”.

    These are the people which deserve death penalties. 0 remorse until reckoning and then it spite.

    • timbo says:

      The “South” is headed south. But first, they need to have another convulsion and this is it. And, yep, wouldn’t surprise me if Twitler pardons everyone involved in to days riot and occupation of the Capitol Building.

  44. I Never Lie and am Always Right says:

    The fact that Trump has the Pardon power is a major, major problem. He can easily pardon everyone who invaded the Capitol today and, left to his own devices, he will undoubtedly do so. Hence the need to remove him now, immediately.

  45. earlofhuntingdon says:

    Trump – and his pet acting SecDef – reportedly refused permission for DC to use its National Guard to protect the Capitol.

    The press needs to rethink using Leon Panetta. He repeatedly misspoke about the Senate’s work today. The job of the Senate is not to “elect” the president or “certify” votes. It is to acknowledge receipt of verified and certified vote counts received from various states and territories and accept the tally, which elects Joe Biden as the 46th president.

    Nor do we need a permanent perimeter around the Capitol, “to keep this from happening again.” We need to elect and appoint officials who comply with their obligations and do not foment, aid, and abet this sort of violent, mob behavior for their private amusement or to make sure their successor cannot effectively govern.

    • P J Evans says:

      I read elseweb that the DC Guard was called up by Pence and Pelosi. Pence probably was involved because he’s more sane.

      • P J Evans says:

        Apparently the senior WH staff – what’s left of it – argued Trmp into allowing the call up.

  47. Duke says:

    Police personnel will be found intimately involved in the movement. Particularly, police union folks across the THESE disintegrated States.

  49. John Langston says:

    Just lousey security. Everyone new this was going to happen.

    The first and best defense should’ve been sprinklers and water hoses (and I don’t even mean fire hoses but that would be an option). Just the water coupled with the weather would’ve dispersed 90% of them. The others could’ve been scooped up and jailed. All effective and relatively non violent. And no breach. They call this professional security?

    Sometimes I think I live in the stupid universe rather than bizzaro world.

    • AgainHead says:

      Much about Police response thus far is extremely suspect. Their actions in defense of and clearing the Capitol grounds were and are obviously and VASTLY less aggressive compared to how they handle nigh-all other protest situations.

    • timbo says:

      Twitler’s regime has refused to reimburse the MetroPo for the past two years of emergency overtime services. That amounts to $100 million of overtime, etc. I’m guessing that ever jurisdiction in the DC Metro area was hoping this would not be a crisis day because they do not have the budget for this.

  50. TooLoose LeTruck says:

    Some clown whose name I didn’t catch just played the ‘both sides are responsible for this!’ card on PBS…

    “the left! the left! the left!”

    Thank god the Antifa types had the good sense to stay home today…

    • vvv says:

      I heard Meadows say earlier, “we are all responsible.” That was just before he said he couldn’t imagine how people were trying to bring guns to the protest.

      • TooLoose LeTruck says:

        They can’t help themselves, can they?

        It is… entertaining… to see Trump self-immolate to the degree he is…

        He’s been building up to this moment up all 4 years he’s been in office…

        He’s just reaping the crop he’s thusly, deliberately, knowingly sown…

        Fire-Bomber-In-Chief indeed!

        Again, hopefully this will make him and his evil, slimy spawn politically radioactive for decades to come.

    • BobCon says:

      NPR was awful for the bit I listened — their Hill reporter was called in for analysis and he kept talking about “polarization” in the abstract as if it was somehow the fault of the Earth’s magnetic poles instead of deliberate strategy by the GOP.

      • timbo says:

        Yep. It’s incredibly frustrating to blame folks who just want things to remain within reason as somehow participating in polarization, ain’t it?

  51. harpie says:

    1] https://twitter.com/ByJohnLMicek/status/1346933137989885956
    4:34 PM · Jan 6, 2021

    Former Pa. state lawmaker Rick Saccone was among those who stormed the Capitol, per his Facebook page. [Link] [Photo]

    2] Dave Wasserman:
    https://twitter.com/Redistrict/status/1346938310359396354
    4:54 PM · Jan 6, 2021

    Saccone is a former Air Force counterintelligence officer who came within 800 votes of winning a seat in Congress in 2018; Trump held rallies for him in #PA18 twice.

  52. Peterr says:

    “And Ivanka is doing her performative head-patting. (click on date+time in Acosta’s tweet to open)”

    Too late – the tweet to which Acosta was replying has been deleted.

      • Fran of the North says:

        PJ, thank you for your heartfelt and sincere concerns for the deceased and her family / friends. Their loss is real.

        There are many parents, spouses and children grieving loss right now who deserve our sympathy and prayers. None of whom had anything to do with an attempt to countermand the will of the citizenry of the U.S.

        Continuing to ignore those deaths is a travesty.

  54. Peterr says:

    Ilhan Omar via her twitter:

    I am drawing up Articles of Impeachment.

    Donald J. Trump should be impeached by the House of Representatives & removed from office by the United States Senate.

    We can’t allow him to remain in office, it’s a matter of preserving our Republic and we need to fulfill our oath.

  57. Eureka says:

    Couple of videos from earlier. Don’t know if second one (accommodating selfie inside Capitol) is going along to get along (he is outnumbered):

    Timothy Burke: “Well, see, the cops were up by less than a touchdown with a minute left in the game and the terrorists had the ball first-and-goal”
    https://twitter.com/bubbaprog/status/1346939208103911424

    QT:

    ujungbits ONLY❍: “THEY LITERALLY JUST LET THEM THROUGH [video]”
    3:00 PM · Jan 6, 2021

    Timothy Burke: “Cops are taking selfies with the terrorists. [video]”
    https://twitter.com/bubbaprog/status/1346920198461419520
    3:42 PM · Jan 6, 2021

      • Eureka says:

        Molly, is it the same video as in the first Burke link I posted (to ujungbits ONLY❍: “THEY LITERALLY JUST LET THEM THROUGH [video]“), or yet another one?

        I’d prefer to avoid clicking IG* … and Talcolm X.

        *Zuck and his properties have a lot to answer for in this seditious coup attempt as well.

        • Molly Pitcher says:

          Eureka, just checked and it is the same. The Capitol Police are dirty cops. Or they have been infiltrated. This cannot be overlooked or the government will be in continuous jeopardy.

        • Eureka says:

          I hate to think of the ways we’ll (further) find out that lots more agencies are infiltrated / in some cases are the insurgency. And I mean across the land. [All the PBA Trump endorsements, events all summer are flashing back…]

          The way the Proud Boys/Trumpers have been attacking police lately (for failing to be sufficiently loyal to their cause/ daring to have any boundaries) sets up some make-or-break the nation loyalty tests. Laxity won at the Capitol today. So much is happening, so fast, that I don’t know how much time there is for them to sort this out / police their own.

          I am concerned for the security of DC-adjacent and (esp.) east coast cities* now that the insurgents know that the Nat Guard units are called into DC. (Besides the degrees to which most NG units are tied up helping states manage COVID, though those are mostly medical sectors.) Do we have enough security if the Trumpers decide to expand their efforts?

          *scratch that: anywhere they want to take over…

  58. Peterr says:

    Trump on Twitter just now:

    These are the things and events that happen when a sacred landslide election victory is so unceremoniously & viciously stripped away from great patriots who have been badly & unfairly treated for so long. Go home with love & in peace. Remember this day forever!

    Today, he thanks his Brownshirts; tomorrow, he pardons them.

    • John Paul Jones says:

      Never.

      They’ll come out with a story from “sources close to power” about how all DJT’s staff and aides are apalled nervous horrified and generally on tenterhooks about the boss, and how said boss is having such a hard time dealing with reality.

      • Peterr says:

        They may also be worried that they will pay a price for enabling him.

        If they aren’t, they should be.

    • PeterS says:

      Come on, however many thousands of rioters there were today they represent a tiny fraction of the people who voted for Trump. A much much smaller fraction than the one Clinton referred to. I assume the much maligned Clinton still acknowledges that wasn’t her finest rhetorical moment.

      (Apologies if I’m not getting the right Clinton reference)

  61. Ern says:

    I’m pretty ticked at the minimal police presence today. One of the local hotels even closed today because they didn’t want to deal with these assholes.

    I mean, you’ve got a large* mob of angry, armed rednecks wandering around the nation’s Capital. What could go wrong?

    *: large, but much, much smaller than the crowd at Obama’s inauguration.

    • TooLoose LeTruck says:

      Just heard someone, the DA for the City of Washington, DC I believe, say he thought the capitol police were ordered to stand down earlier in the day…

      Don’t know if this is true, but this is also pretty much what he did directly say.

    • P J Evans says:

      The Harrington had announced its closure last week. They had become a center for the PBs, and didn’t want them.

  63. skua says:

    A mob of Americans who’ve been led over decades by “news media” into wild fantasies about Trump being a great leader, COVID being a hoax, etc, etc, tries to storm the federal Capitol.
    No surprise there.

    Mob tries to storm federal Capitol on day that is central to “duly elected” process and succeeds in causing pause in that process?
    Now I’m very surprised.

    Is this an abundance of incompetence?
    I would have thought that the Secret Service at least would have ensured that they were working in a reliably securable environment.

  64. Christopher Blanchard says:

    Two bits:

    First, I ask you to please keep paying attention. Trump and those with him never (!) run one scheme at a time, they always have backups. Every single scheme is always distraction from the others in preparation. This isn’t some kind of careful planning, but there is some opportunistic intelligence in there, so they, or some of them, will have some other evil scheme already in motion. It might be crazy, or very dangerous, or both, and if you don’t see it coming you are at risk.

    Second, I have been playing Alan Ginsburg’s ‘Howl’ (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=A-Q2HA0OkJY), which I thought might fit between my obsessive watching, but it is a bit too cheerful.

      • MB says:

        Both Roger Stone and Mike Flynn were in D.C. today lighting matches for smaller crowds. Stone was a speaker at a “medical freedom rally”. Looks like they were pardoned in plenty of time to play their parts in the coup.

    • Ginevra diBenci says:

      When the best minds of your generation include Josh Hawley, pursuing his own vile ambition on a day when almost four thousand people died of Covid, it is indeed easy to get distracted. Russia hacked us? Who’s paying attention?

  65. greengiant says:

    40 some hours ago I questioned whether Trump would be impeached yesterday or today. Will take a 25A. Total irony of having the wing nut media and the likes of Stone, Flynn, Bannon having deluded Trump into this fake reality and hoisting him on their petard. What was congress thinking? Goes back to the days of congressional softball games and the idea that extreme media would not require more security. Trump and Stone’s militia media world is invading or surrounding state capitols. Not going to work with an ultimate authority branch of government.
    Scripted by the ***** politicians remarks of the nut jobs.

  66. klynn says:

    I find myself revisiting Grassley’s comments from a day ago about Pence not being there and his stepping in. Looking at his comments, this all looks quite orchestrated. I sure hope we don’t get 25A plus a pardon plus Pence declaring Martial Law.

  67. rattlemullet says:

    The entire law enforcement response to this insurrection demonstrates starkly the difference between black versus white perpetrators of violence and destruction. Just as clearly the judicial system is skewed by color and money, for the most part, the well off walk and the poor, those of color bear the full brunt of unequal justice, as it continues it centuries old oppression of fines and incarcerations to those of unequal means,

  68. Eureka says:

    So are we only going to find out they 25thed Trump when Congress reconvenes and Pence is no longer doing the ceremonial vote recognition? Or would Pence retain statuses attached to VP role in this odd case?

    ???

    • Peterr says:

      My guess is that Chuck Grassley, president pro tem of the Senate, would preside. So long as Pence is the Acting President, he is not the VP.

    • Eureka says:

      Welp, I guess we’ll find out if the first thing they do is vote on a President Pence’s VP nomination.

      ETA: Peterr, that was my guess, but on checking over at the 25th wiki I just came to the same conclusion as skua who posted at the same time:

      The Twenty-fifth Amendment (Amendment XXV) to the United States Constitution deals with issues related to presidential succession and disability. It clarifies that the vice president becomes president (as opposed to acting president) if the president dies, resigns, or is removed from office, […]

      https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Twenty-fifth_Amendment_to_the_United_States_Constitution

    • Eureka says:

      (Oh, and by “this odd case” — because so many oddities — I should clarify that I meant the case where they seem to be pretending that they’ve not invoked the 25th at the same time as Pence is otherwise in the role of invoking presidential powers. They never do things “right” and seem to like it that way for the loopholes they can enjoy now and later.)

      (But also we scored some kind of a hat trick by all commenting at once, do we get a prize of US democracy saved or something)

        • Peterr says:

          That wiki citation is wrong.

          Section 1 says that if the president dies, resigns, or is removed from office, the VP becomes President. In this context, removal means impeachment. There is no “acting” about it – the VP becomes president.

          Section 2 says that if there is a vacancy in the office of VP, here’s how you fill that vacancy . . .

          Section 3 says this: “3. Whenever the President transmits to the President pro tempore of the Senate and the Speaker of the House of Representatives his written declaration that he is unable to discharge the powers and duties of his office, and until he transmits to them a written declaration to the contrary, such powers and duties shall be discharged by the Vice President as Acting President.”

          Note: the VP remains VP, but assume the powers and duties of the president on a temporary basis.

          Section 4 lays out how the VP and Cabinet might act to declare the President incapable of fulfilling his/her duties, even against the president’s wishes. Note, again, how the VP remains VP but only assumes the powers and duties of the president as the Acting President. The first paragraph here says this:

          Whenever the Vice President and a majority of either the principal officers of the executive departments or of such other body as Congress may by law provide, transmit to the President pro tempore of the Senate and the Speaker of the House of Representatives their written declaration that the President is unable to discharge the powers and duties of his office, the Vice President shall immediately assume the powers and duties of the office as Acting President.

        • Eureka says:

          Thanks, Peterr. So would an Acting President Pence (in this instance) also retain his VP roles? That’s what I was originally wondering, who’d then have the powers and duties of Veep?

          (Attention is split trying to keep track of the speeches) (Graham on in Senate now)

        • earlofhuntingdon says:

          It would mean that if the president is permanently “removed,” the VP becomes president, not acting president. If the president is temporarily incapacitated or unable to fulfill his duties, the VP becomes acting president for the duration of that incapacity. In either case, the term is that of the original president. For Trump (and Pence), that term ends at noon on 20 January 2021.

        • Eureka says:

          Thanks, earl — that part I understand. I’m wondering what happens to the duties and powers of VP (scant as they may be) upon VP becoming Acting President (while VP retains position of VP). In other words, is the VP as Acting President then vested with the powers and duties of both offices?

        • Peterr says:

          I don’t know. My hunch is that for a ceremonial thing like presiding over the Senate, he would choose to not be present and allow the President Pro Tem to preside — thus ducking the question.

          That’s not a knock on Pence or anyone else. It’s just my WAG that if things were so serious that the 25th amendment was involuntarily invoked, the VP might decide to focus on other things and let the PPT handle the regular presiding over the Senate.

          Edited to add: Constitutionally speaking, presiding over the Senate is the only official duty of the VP. Everything else the VP does is because the President has assigned it to him/her.

        • Eureka says:

          I guess that would have to be the case (dually-vested) if he stays VP by definition.

          [Don’t know that anyone has parsed-out any potential conflicts of such a situation, I cannot think of any offhand. But as devious as the GOP is wont to be, I’d like to see that scenario “war gamed”, if anyone has done so. Kind of like how experts this summer gamed out every constitutional nook and cranny Trump would be exploiting to arrive at today’s events.]

          ETA: LOL at the timing once again, ** waves at Peterr **

      • klynn says:

        And then what? Does this become a, “Sorry Biden you were never legally certified. Too bad now Pence is Pres indefinitely?” A Dominionist dream!

  69. Rapier says:

    I am surprised there have not been outbreaks from Trump supporters in other cities and other places yet. Boogaloo.

  72. earlofhuntingdon says:

    As a speaker, Mike Pence is as exciting as a bowl of tap water. And it seems premature to congratulate the Capitol Police. The investigation has not begun into why it was so easy for rioters to wander so freely and destructively and for so long. Mitch McConnell criticizes his own supporters and the president he has slavishly supported when he condemns the rioters. Two-faced does not begin to describe his hypocrisy.

        • P J Evans says:

          The water at my parents’ cabin in the Sierra, when they got running water to it, was full of air bubbles. You had to wait a few seconds for it to clear. (Tasted like iron pipe and granite.)

    • Peterr says:

      I suspect that us folks on the outside knew a helluva lot more about what was going on today than the members of Congress. We could watch all the coverage on a variety of platforms, and they spent a sizable chunk of that same time hunkered down in safe places, many cut off from the outside, and it was the Capitol Police who got them into those safe spaces.

      Their thank-you’s were for the very specific acts of the very specific people who led them to safety, and I’ve got no problem with that. I didn’t take this as a blanket “no problems here” statement at all about the work of the Capitol Police overall. Give them time, and I am sure they will be asking some very pointed questions about how this mob was able to get as far as they did.

  74. Dizz says:

    Hi. First time post. Not a lawyer & visit EW for perspective. Thanks for hosting/ moderating. First time post – change my name if you need to :)

    Twitter link to video of a young man who was with the women when she was shot/ killed. The comments state that she was 16 yo. The young man is outraged and has no clue why. Reminds me of the 17yo in Kenosha – so misled. Fomented to sedition with no rational place to go with it.
    https://twitter.com/AsstGroyper/status/1346929732756119566

    I am crying for our country.

  76. Ern says:

    Never had any faith in the 25th amendment, considering who the voters are.

    On the plus side, protesters retreat because of:

    Bullets? No.

    Rubber bullets? No.

    Tear gas? No.

    Tasers? No.

    Curfew. Bingo.

  78. skua says:

    Senate has re-convened.
    Cspan.
    Pence is sitting in the top chair.
    It appears DJT is still sitting Pres.

    • Worried says:

      Disastrous day, but it has exposed Trump in all his malevolence.

      One positive good thing, he is now distracted from the pardon process. And, potentially he has fewer acolytes supporting him.

  79. earlofhuntingdon says:

    Based on tonight’s Senate Gooper speeches, you’d think no Republican had much to do with today’s “shenanigans” and “nuttery,” and that their politics and conduct were not far removed from what you might have read in high school civics class. That’s false and opportunistic. Their president invited that mob to come and use violence to disrupt and distract from his rejection at the polls. And the Republican establishment welcomed it.

  80. Molly Pitcher says:

    What happens to the President AFTER the 25th Amendment ?

    Margaret Brennan, from CBS Face the Nation has retweeted from Ed O’keefe of CBS News that the Cabinet is meeting to initiate the 25th Amendment as I write this.

  82. skua says:

    Pence’s speech: “Violence never wins.”
    The surviving families of +2,000,000 Iraqis say otherwise.

  83. Eureka says:

    MSNBC and CNN air Hawley’s insurrection trolling (about PA) then CUT OFF THE DEM REPLY FROM THE PA SENATOR (Casey). So pissed, have never wanted Maddow to STFU more. Also want to see if Toomey speaks.

    CSPAN 1 has the House, CSPAN 2 has the Senate, FYI.

    ETA: Romney on now

      • Eureka says:

        He was followed by Stefanik, who spread disinformation about MI. Outright disinfo which Marcy wrote about (repeatedly IIRC). This is not going as well as one might hope, some (? enough) of them have turned no corners.

    • cavenewt says:

      My favorite live update on CNN today, by a White House advisor: “If we could throw him to the angry mob, we’d throw him to the angry mob now,” the adviser said.

  87. PhoneInducedPinkEye says:

    I cannot take hearing another dem speak the words “move on”. I cannot. If leadership is incapable of using this moment to stand up, lead, and impeach, they need to step down and let Cori Bush and those who are prepared, to take their place.

    Hope everyone is safe

  89. Molly Pitcher says:

    I am very concerned for the safety of the House and Senate knowing that members of the Capitol Police are Trump supporters and aiders and abettors of the insurrection. There is no one to begin an investigation of them that isn’t associated with Trump, unless the FBI would have the jurisdiction to do it ? Perhaps someone with legal knowledge could address this ?

    • john in denver says:

      Several Representatives have already said there will be a thorough investigation by the House Committee on Oversight and Government Reform. Questions already being asked about the interactions between officers and “protestors,” the tactics used as the mob moved, the intelligence about possibilities, strategy choices, and overall preparation to secure the building.

      Sounded like there was an expectation of resignations from officers up to the Chief of the Capitol Police, questions about the role of the Sergeant at Arms of the United States House of Representatives, examination of possible communication between elected officials or their staffs and those who broke into the building.

  90. BobCon says:

    Zuckerberg appears to be in almost as much denial as Trump:

    https://www.buzzfeednews.com/amphtml/ryanmac/facebook-trump-coup

    He has a lot of people in the company who could actually fix much that is wrong with the company’s complicity with extremism and stave off a huge backlash that could potentially cost him tens of billions of dollars. They have detailed knowledge of how their algorithms work and what impact dampening down extremists would have on the business, and they keep saying it’s not that big of a deal compared to the risks of maintaining their course. He won’t budge.

    I have no illusions that Facebook tamping down extremism will still leave a ton that is awful about them, but there really is no bigger priority as far as Facebook than cleaning up this garbage. Start threating him with business audits and taxes tomorrow until he wakes up.

  91. Eureka says:

    *Amy Spitalnick: “A “Camp Auschwitz” shirt. This is who these people are. You can draw a straight line from today back to Charlottesville, where the neo-Nazis proclaimed: “Next stop Charlottesville. Final stop, Auschwitz.””
    https://twitter.com/amyspitalnick/status/1346960719871430658

    QT:

    Mike DeBonis: “This was the Founders’ nightmare. (via @itvnews) [still image with QT of itv video]”
    https://twitter.com/mikedebonis/status/1346957589339320321

    —
    *Spitalnick’s bio:
    Executive Director, @IntegrityForUSA
    (suing the Nazis who attacked Charlottesville – #SueANazi). Former Comms Director & Senior Advisor to NY Attorney General.

  92. Epicurus says:

    There will be no 25th. Some cabinet members may resign but Pence knows it would be a death knell to any 2024 thoughts he may harbor, so no go there. There will be no impeachment in the next x days. McConnell and Pelosi aren’t interested. Trump is here until January 20th with all his yet to be committed venial and mortal sins. Because he is amoral he doesn’t even know they are sins and, thus, the onus for their malevolence falls on others. Don’t worry about it. There is nothing that can be done legally to remove Trump. I think this was 2020’s parting shot. I hope so anyway. Best thing, create a whole new Justice Department division dedicated solely to Trump and family crimes. Not that he, his family, and his associates would be toast but more importantly it would drive him and them crazy to live in deposition land for at least four years. Put Michael Cohen in charge.

    • PhoneInducedPinkEye says:

      Black voters turned out for dems. If the Dem leadership wilts in the face of this white nationalist assault on our capitol, so reminiscent of the abandonment of reconstruction in the south, what message does that send? Impeachment is not optional if Dems have any sense of self preservation, let alone an urge to preserve the nation.

    • bmaz says:

      No. Even if possible, and I guess it technically is, there is not enough time for the GOP to walk away before he is simply out of office.

  93. earlofhuntingdon says:

    Have Mikey Pence and the Cabinet concocted an unannounced “partial” invocation of the 25th Amendment – taking some powers from Trump while leaving others with him – but haven’t told anyone outside a magic circle?

    If so, who has the recipe and how was that turkey carved up? Who gets the meat and who the stuffing? Is the guy with the nuclear football following Trump or Pence? What about the SecDef and SecState? What do the gang of eight know, individually or jointly?

    If Pence & Co. have orchestrated anything like this – and assuming the face-saving secrecy is part of why Trump hasn’t blown the whistle on it – that would seem to be as much a partial coup as a partial invocation of a constitutional rule whose use was never meant to be kept secret.

    Any use of the 25th Amendment assumes that the president is both powerful and either incapable or an existential threat. The passengers on the ship of state deserve to know if their captain can no longer tell port from starboard or is threatening to scuttle the ship because no one will tell him who ate his strawberries.

  94. earlofhuntingdon says:

    Nobody likes a Cassandra. Suddenly the airwaves are bereft of the voice of Mary Trump. Clinical psychologist Dr. Mary L. Trump wrote a book about her uncle, and spent months telling us that he would interpret a rejection at the polls and his impending loss of office as an existential threat – to his person, freedom, wealth, and status – that he would do anything to avoid.

    Imagine what he’s tried to do we haven’t heard about that would get this supine Cabinet and Mike Pence to consider the 25th Amendment. Imagine what he could yet do before noon on the 20th, and will continue to do thereafter.

  95. Eureka says:

    Three additional deaths “due to medical emergency” on the Capitol today per NBC News (besides the woman we knew of).

    ———-

    Adding: insurgent in video describes police blocking their path then stepping aside*, twice, as they advanced inside the Capitol; also apparently describes what happened with that woman:

    “Firsthand account from a proud Trump supporter and domestic terrorist. [video]”
    https://twitter.com/KirkWrites79/status/1347035203630350339

    For a side of COVID, another commenter noted his cough.

    • Eureka says:

      re “stepping aside”: there was that video earlier of one of the officers advancing backwards up the steps, successively into spaces deeper in the building, while he futilely thrust his baton towards the insurgent crowd. That was clearly a case of being overwhelmed, not complicity. That may be the type of blocking then “stepping aside” this insurgent is referring to.

      • Molly Pitcher says:

        The officer had a gun on his hip. He took an oath. He had the high ground and could have made a stand.

        • vvv says:

          Pretty sure the cop Ms. Pitcher references was black. He was holding them off with his baton, retreating/fleeing up marble stairs in the video I saw.

        • Eureka says:

          Yep, this is the video to which I was referring (and I think you are, too). There is no method of policing by which him pulling a gun would have helped; instead it would likely have only gotten him rushed and killed/stomped (and provided the insurgents with a firearm).

          The tactics he used slowed the crowd until more police could gather above him; his body and behavior were buffers:

          Igor Bobic: “Here’s the scary moment when protesters initially got into the building from the first floor and made their way outside Senate chamber. [video]”
          https://twitter.com/igorbobic/status/1346911809274478594

          ^ this is also at the bottom of the thread Rayne opened with, lots of additional photos.

          IMO the issue is lack of overall preparations / fortification in the streets (at all points) / laxity at the known, coming threat [to state the obvious: in contrast with the shows (and uses!) of force made for the BLM protests].

        • Eureka says:

          ^ & delayed them until (more) persons could retreat or otherwise seek safety.

          Anyway, I thought he did the best he could under the circumstances.

        • Subtropolis says:

          With how many bullets?

          I have yet to see any evidence that the Capitol Police acted unprofessionally. Even the video going around, purporting to show them opening the fence and inviting protesters in, is deeply suspect. I see no officer lifting the fence. They were retreating in the face of overwhelming opposition with no prospect of backup.

    • Fran of the North says:

      The seditionist’s comments about the Capitol Police giving way seem to be an attempt to justify the mob’s behavior. Surrender is tantamount to acquiescing in the face of pillage.

  96. Molly Pitcher says:

    20 Members of Congress on the House Judiciary Committee headed by Ted Lieu sent a letter to Pence imploring him to invoke the 25th Amendment.

    • Eureka says:

      1206am: 55 reps 0 Senators re Nevada — APPLAUSE

      [I missed the end of Georgia earlier, not sure if a Senator signed the objection — if so it was very brief. ]

      1213am: Pennsylvania — 80 reps and a Senator did sign. Good grief. 1216 am: Joint session adjourned to respective houses…

      Adding: Legonaut below verifies that GA had no Senator sign

      • Peterr says:

        Josh Hawley strikes again.

        The next two years in Missouri are going to be wild. Hawley definitely taps into a non-trivial segment of the GOP in the MO hinterlands, where one can still see the Confederate battle flag flying proudly from mainstreet shops. On the other end of things, you’ve got Roy Blunt, the #3 member of the GOP leadership, who is the epitome of Establishment Republican.

        Blunt is up for reelection in 2022, and I’m wondering which MO wingnut will try to take Blunt out in a primary and how strongly will Hawley back him. (And it will be a “him”.)

        • Eureka says:

          Yeah in mis-thinking PA would somehow breeze by like the other post-AZ “contested” states, I had forgotten Hawley’s insurrection trolling not three hours before.

          It’s terrifying, right? How much worse it (not “would”, but at this point is and) will be with outright nutters in place of our establishment GOP Senators (Koch-y Toomey* is out in ’22 as well). You’re already halfway to “FULL” there in MO.

          Your MO hinterlands resemble some PA country (there is that Confederate regalia store here, which specializes in “alt”-Confed merch so people don’t get caught signalling to anyone but themselves), which I mention because Connor Lamb thinks that Hawley is doing this to pander for votes here for his ultimate presidential run.

          —
          *State Sen Mastriano (of ongoing coup hijinks fame) looks to be Toomey’s replacement given current trends, so I have a preview of where that’s all going…

  98. Legonaut says:

    Just watched Georgia’s electoral report (on C-SPAN). One of their House reps tried to make an objection, but had to admit that ‘after the events of today’, it was no longer signed by a senator.

    Same thing just happened for Michigan. And Nevada.

    Rarely have I seen such cratering in real time. At this rate, we could be done with this by 12:30.

  99. earlofhuntingdon says:

    Americans like to think that Fascism can’t happen here. But a few are coughing from the smokey-throated tingle left by the Reichstag fire moments from today’s riot at the federal legislature in Washington, DC.

    Four people died – one shot by police, three owing to medical emergencies – but there was no visible fire, only the smoke fanned by the psycho in the White House.

    More than a few people want to know how many dominoes had to fall in order to open the doors to a building whose security is ordinarily closely guarded. It took so long to retake the building, I was expecting Gerard Butler or Channing Tatum to dash across the balcony, leaving a trail of freed hostages and empty magazines.

  101. skua says:

    So many Republican Senators:
    We’ve forgotten that we’ve enabled, protected, supported, defended, and been threatened, cowed, enthralled and bullied by, the President Mr Donald J. Trump over the past 4 years. And forgotten that we are deeply complicit in the killing and the deaths of hundreds of thousands of Americans.

    And want to say today that we will never be threatened, cowed, enthralled or bullied.

    • readerOfTeaLeaves says:

      We need to take a closer look at culture.
      In recent months, Trump was portrayed on a balcony at the White House after returning from hospital for (supposed) COVID. Recall how Trump got up on that White House balcony in almost perfect lighting, and did his Mussolini thing?! We should all be asking who created those ‘production values’ for that imagery. (And that was AFTER he had used the White House as his backdrop for the Republican National Convention, again with ‘production values’ beyond what any elected office holder should be able to generate.

      Between the damage done by Reality TV, and the chaos wrought by misuse of Twitter and Facebook, we need to take a much harder look at media.

      We need to rethink media, starting with irresponsible cable news, as well as YouTube.

      (And please, for God’s sake, stop confusing Apple or Microsoft with Twitter and Facebook, neither of which makes devices, and neither of which develops enterprise software.)

      • quebecois says:

        François,

        C’est l’horreur tout ceci.

        Sachant que Trump double downs the hate on a daily basis, je crains les prochains jours.

  104. harpie says:

    Not sure if this one has been mentioned: what Rudy’s been up to [via Laura Rozen]:

    https://twitter.com/declanpgarvey/status/1347021060047335424
    10:23 PM · Jan 6, 2021

    NEW: Rudy Giuliani meant to call Sen. Tommy Tuberville to ask him to object to 10 states’ electoral votes, to buy Team Trump more time. He accidentally left a voicemail on a different senator’s phone. [BWAHAHAHA!] We have the audio. From @stephenfhayes. [The Dispatch]

    “We need you, our Republican friends, to try to just slow it down so we can get these legislatures to get more information to you.”

    Giuliani: “If you could object to every state and, along with a congressman, get a hearing for every state, I know we would delay you a lot, but it would give us the opportunity to get the legislators who are very, very close to pulling their vote.” [embedded AUDIO]

    • skua says:

      Rudy has Team Trump as separate to the Republicans. Us and you.
      And is confident that Tuberville is fine with that distinction being stated, and probably ok too with helping these non-Republicans overturn the election.

  105. readerOfTeaLeaves says:

    Notably the headlines are more: subject/verb active voice:

    “Pro-Trump Mob Storms Capitol Building: President incites crowd to acts of insurrection, violence”. (WaPo)

    “Mob Incited by Trump Storms Capitol” (NY Times)

    Live: “4 dead, 52 arrested after Trump supporters storm US Capitol” (Times of India)

    “Pro-Trump Mob Driven From Capital After Breach, Fatal Shooting” (Bloomberg)
    “Twitter, Facebook Reach Trump Breaking Point After Siege of Capitol”. (Bloomberg)

    “Cabinet Members Said to Discuss Removing Trump As President By Invoking 25th Amendment” (Forbes)

    A reckoning is taking place, but I did not expect such clear, frank headlines.

    • Rayne says:

      There was some sort of consensus about refraining from using “protestors” choosing instead “mob” after the LA Times tweeted that was their editorial decision.

      It was probably cemented by the journalists who were forced to shelter inside the Capitol while they were covering the joint session before the breach. With their own people at risk and credibly terrified, editors likely saw the mob for what it really was this time.

      • readerOfTeaLeaves says:

        Interesting, thanks.
        It seems like people without weapons are ‘protestors’.

        But people who show up with weapons, and in camouflage, are more rightly described as a mob, IMVHO.

  106. skua says:

    From Joe Biden tweet marked 5:15 AM · Jan 7, 2021
    ” … What we are seeing is a small number of extremists dedicated to lawlessness. … ”

    Those dangerously deluded fools seemed to believe that they were protecting the Constitution, defending the nation, from their statements in interviews.
    It is time for Joe to face up to the fact that “delusional” and “dedicated to lawlessness” are very different problems and require very different remedies.

    Locking these deluded fools up and letting Murdoch et al. continue to brainwash American voters into a la-la land worldview is not a reason-based response. Nor will it be effective.

  107. Honeybee says:

    For those of us who have encountered these crazies before and tried unsuccessfully to seek help from “authorities,” we live in hope that there will finally be investigation and intervention. They hide inside the ranks of those charged to protect and defend our human rights. They harass journalists and scholars relentlessly. Hawley turned out to be one of the advertising types listed as wanting to follow my Facebook, along with a number of Koch-affiliated groups. (One of the reasons I deleted my FB.) Perhaps some of us will feel safer coming out of the shadows where they have herded us if real attention can be paid to their doxxing and tracking. There needs to be a safe place to share and seek help IMHO.

  108. Raven Eye says:

    Clarification on the DC Guard from a WaPo article:

    “The Defense Department was able to restrict the D.C. Guard because the military force answers to the president rather than the mayor, as the District is not a state. The president’s power over the D.C. Guard is typically delegated to the defense secretary, then the Army secretary, who makes command decisions.”

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