#american extremists

[seriousbusinessforhumans]

[seriousbusinessforhumans]

SPD Now Admits Five Seattle Cops Attended Trump's Insurrection Rally

"I anticipate there will be more," said Andrew Myerberg, director of the OPA.

[seriousbusinessforhumans]

Opinion | Josh Hawley deserves consequences. Losing his book deal is a good start.

Some actions deserve serious moral consequences. Inciting, enabling or participating in an attempted insurrection aimed at overturning the results of a free and fair election should fall into that category.

Jan. 8, 2021 

Poor Josh Hawley. The first senator to announce that he would object to the certification of the 2020 election results, Hawley fed the delusion that Joe Biden’s victory over President Trump could be overturned. He set himself up as one of the “strong" Republicans Trump praised at his rally Wednesday before urging his supporters to march to the Capitol and to inspire “weak Republicans” to “the kind of pride and boldness that they need to take back our country.” And unlike his colleagues who returned to their senses after the Capitol was trashed, Hawley continued to object to the certification of Biden’s win. After all that, Hawley lost his book contract with Simon & Schuster and then promptly cast himself as a free speech martyr, pledging to “fight this cancel culture with everything I have.”

It’s reasonable to debate which ideas fall outside the spectrum of acceptable public opinion: Attitudes change, sometimes very quickly, and these boundaries are constantly being renegotiated. But we should all agree that there are some views and behavior that must be met with social, professional and moral sanction.... Everyone else who played a role in Wednesday’s disgraceful spectacle deserves far more than the annoyance of losing a prestigious publisher and being forced to hunt for a down-market conservative alternative.

The only redeeming feature of the riot incited by Trump was that it produced a rare moment of near unity. Almost everyone in public life acknowledged that an unprecedented attack on American democracy had taken place.

Randall Lane, the editor of Forbes magazine, has announced that if private companies hire Trump press officials who lied to the public, “Forbes will assume that everything your company or firm talks about is a lie.” Publishers can certainly hold authors who peddled lies about the 2020 election to a more rigorous fact-checking standard than currently is the norm.

Alabama Attorney General Steve Marshall heads the Republican Attorneys General Association’s nonprofit Rule of Law Defense Fund, which participated in organizing Wednesday’s gathering, including through robocalls saying that “we will march to the Capitol building and call on Congress to stop the steal.” He should be voted out of office. Some lawyers are pressing for ethics investigations and possible disbarments of lawyers who participated in efforts to get the courts to reverse the outcome of the election.

[seriousbusinessforhumans]

2 Capitol Police officers suspended and at least 10 more under investigation for alleged roles in riot

Two US Capitol Police officers were suspended and at least 10 more are under investigation for their behavior during last week's assault on the Capitol, and federal agents will look at whether current and former law enforcement officers played a role in the riot.

January 11, 2021

Two US Capitol Police officers were suspended and at least 10 more are under investigation for their behavior during last week's assault on the Capitol, and federal agents will look at whether current and former law enforcement officers played a role in the riot.

One of the Capitol police officers took a selfie with someone who was part of the mob that overtook the Capitol and the other wore a "Make America Great Again" hat and started directing people around the building, according to Rep. Tim Ryan, an Ohio Democrat. He didn't disclose how many other officers were under investigation but confirmed it was between 10 and 15, and didn't say what they were being scrutinized for except that it was their behavior during the riot. Ryan told reporters that one individual had been arrested, but a spokesperson for the congressman later said he was wrong and no members of law enforcement have been arrested. The spokesperson said at least 10 Capitol Police officers are being investigated for their roles in the riot.

A House aide separately said there are as many as 17 officers under investigation as part of eight investigations into the insurrection at the Capitol. In a statement Monday night, Capitol Police acting Chief Yogananda Pittman said several officers were suspended.

The federal investigative interest is a priority and a part of the broader investigation into the mob at the Capitol, sources said. The investigation into insurrectionist ties to law enforcement is a priority because the skills that officers are trained to use during their duties could be useful to an extremist mob, authorities say. This includes clearing rooms, taking custody of people, securing areas and handling firearms. Democratic members of the House have also raised questions about potential sympathies for the attackers among the ranks of US Capitol Police. That agency hasn't responded to CNN's request for comment.

House Majority Whip Jim Clyburn, a South Carolina Democrat, is among those who have others questions about whether some Capitol Police officers aided the protesters and were complicit in Wednesday's insurrection. Clyburn, for instance, said it was fishy that the rioters knew the location of lawmakers' offices.

Early videos -- one showing a Trump supporter taking a selfie with a police officer near an entrance to the Capitol and another appearing to show police letting protesters into the building -- went viral on social media.The second video was later found to have been taken an hour after the Capitol had been breached.

(selected segments of the article)