In our effort to make sure no one forgets the violence incited by Donald Trump and encouraged by traitorous shitbags like Ted Cruz, Josh Hawley, Marjorie Taylor Greene, Paul Gosar, Lauren Boebert, Mo Brooks, and Andy Biggs (along with others) we will continue to talk about the Qanon Caucus and dangerous rightwing extremists who continue to threaten our democracy.  The NYTimes posted videos today that were presented in court yesterday where more charges were leveled at violent insurrectionists on January 6.  The article and videos can be seen here.  These videos are disturbing where a woman, Rosanne Boyland, was trampled to death in the crush at the West Entrance to the Capitol where major violence occurred.  Now, let’s be frank, here.  She was a protestor, who illegally charged the Capitol with other insurrectionists on that day.  Ironically, she was carrying a “Don’t Tread On Me” flag when she was trampled by the mob she was supporting.  Even though she was breaking the law and threatening Capitol Police, her friend’s cries for help for her are tragic.

We can never forget that day, and we must continue to remind the public that many in Congress, including those from our own state, are complicit in this tragedy that forever will be a stain on our country.

Yesterday the DOJ announced the arrest and charging of 3 insurrectionist leaders who planned and led the attack on the Capitol.  In an extensive 23 page indictment, 3 individuals were named, Thomas Caldwell, Donovan Crowl, and Jessica Watkins, associated with extremist groups including Oathkeepers, Proud Boys, and the Three Percenters.  The charges detailed how they forcibly entered the Capitol, assaulted officers, destroyed property, interfered with Congress, and pursued members of Congress.  One particular chilling part of the indictment describes FB messages Caldwell was receiving from co-conspirators that were actually guiding him down flights of stairs and through tunnels as he pursued fleeing members of Congress.  In messages between other co-conspirators, they even talked about “Paul” who has “the goodies in case things go bad and we need to get heavy.”  And stupidly, they put a lot of this communication and evidence of their lawbreaking up on social media for all to see.  Unbelievable.

It’s becoming very clear that the attack on the Capitol wasn’t just a demonstration that got out of hand.  The attack was planned among conspirators in multiple states in multiple extremist groups.  Their military training, radical rhetoric, and threats made it clear they intended to capture, and even kill members of Congress whom they had decided had somehow committed “treason”.  The evidence is also becoming clear that they had help from the inside of the Capitol.  Who that is, we don’t know yet, but I predict we will.

The feds must continue investigating, arresting, trying and convicting as many of these conspirators.  These extremists are gun nuts who advocate unlicensed and unregulated ownership of all firearms.  Many are convicted felons who are excluded from owning guns, by law.  Even though many of these radicals are not allowed to own guns, they can still get them through private sales and black markets, but the feds must continue pursuing these criminals and enforcing the law.  The Congress in collusion with George W, let the genie out of the bottle in 2004 when they let the Assault Weapons ban expire.  Millions of weapons of war have flooded into the market feeding the violent tendencies of extremists groups that have proliferated all over the country.  The only tool we have remaining is charging, convicting, and jailing thousands of these gun nuts who threaten our democratic republic.

This is at least a start.

I burst out laughing at this one, and thought you might enjoy it, too.  Bryan Betancur, a self professed white supremacist and member of the Proud Boys, was arrested by the FBI for his role in the attack on the US Capitol on January 6th.   That’s not news, since a lot of white supremacists have been arrested for their role in the attack where 5 people died and scores injured.  The news is how Betancur was tracked down…he was wearing an ankle monitor stemming from a conviction for burglary.  That’s right folks, this genius participated in insurrection against the federal government while on probation for a felony conviction.  Sheesh.

It gets even better – he’s from Silver Spring Maryland and lied to his probation officer that he was going to DC to…wait for it…pass out Gideon Bibles.  He’s been tracked to the Trump rally at the Ellipse just south of the White House to the Capitol with the rest of the criminals.  He’s now in FBI custody for not only his role in the attack, but also for violating his probation by lying to his probation officer and his continued participation in several white supremacist organizations.

White supremacists, like gun-nuts, are generally not known for their intelligence, but this guy takes the cake.  If stupidity was a violin, this guy would be the Stradivarius of stupidity.

Trump just boarded Air Force One bound for Florida to begin his fight to stay out of jail for the rest of his life.  The crowd was sparse, but the Army did give him the 21 gun salute and the band played Hail to the Chief.  During his remarks, he immediately veered off script, which is normal for him.  The written remarks had him wishing Biden and Harris success by name, but he couldn’t bring himself, even now, to even do that.  Instead, he boasted that he stopped the pandemic, took credit for the vaccines, and said he was more popular with veterans than any president in history.  The rest of his speech was his normal self aggrandizing bullshit.  Mercifully, the speech was much shorter than his normal word salad filled diatribes.

His plane is now on the runway.  I hope I never hear his voice again.

Today, Pro Publica published an amazing archive of over 500 videos of the attack on the Capitol posted to Parler by the insurrectionists who horrified all normal people on January 6th.  They are in sequential order and cover the time from noon until 6pm Eastern time.

The level of violence can disturb some, so be warned and cautious sharing this around.  This is significant work and preserves for all time how Americans attacked Americans because they didn’t like the result of a free and fair election and followed a profoundly corrupt man to the Capitol and now to jail for a long time.

You’ll probably recall the videos showing a Metropolitan Police officer being dragged down the steps on the west side of the building and beaten by Trump insurrectionists.  These self-described “patriots” beat this officer with poles of their flags and his own baton.  They stole is ammunition, his radio, and other equipment.  They tased him several times. When they started screaming, “Kill him with his own gun!”, he cried out that he had kids at home.  A few rioters who had not completely lost their souls stepped in and saved his life. He was rescued and sent to the hospital.

The officer’s name is Michael Fanone; he is an undercover narcotics detective who rushed with his partner to the Capitol when he heard about the attack.  For his efforts, he was almost killed by Trump insurrectionists.  He was interviewed today by CNN, and the reporter asked him what he wanted to say to the rioters who saved him from being killed.  His response?

“Thank you, but fuck you for being there.”

El Jefe unilaterally declares this to be the Quote of the Week.