UPDATED: The Emerging Story is Scarier than You Think
UPDATE 2: The Boston Globe is reporting that Massachusetts Rep. Ayanna Pressley and her husband retreated to her office during the attack and staff barricaded and bolted the door. When she went to her panic button (every office has one) she found that it had been ripped out. Capitol Hill Police moved her several times to keep her away from the mob.
UPDATE 1: New Jersey Rep. Mikie Sherrill told constituents on a live stream last night that she witnessed certain representatives actually giving tours of the Capitol on January 5th that she’s now realized were actually reconnaissance for the attack the following day. She didn’t name them publicly, but is going to make sure that they are brought to justice along with other complicit representatives as well as Trump. She does know what she’s talking about, being a Navy helicopter pilot and member of flag staff for a decade. This story just piles more evidence on the emerging narrative that the attack was most certainly carefully planned and executed from the highest levels of the government.
ORIGINAL STORY: Seth Abramson, a NYTimes bestselling author and analyst for several networks, has compiled over 250 reports on last Wednesday and a seriously disturbing pattern is emerging about what events led to an invasion of the Capitol. The punch line is that this entire sordid episode was planned and executed with the specific intent of disrupting the certification of the Electoral Vote long enough for violent extremists to actually stop the certification. I won’t post the entire thread here, but you can read it here on Threadreader. It is required reading to begin to understand what happened on January 6th.
To set the scene, here were the main players:
Trump
Giuliani
Rep. Biggs (R-AZ)
Rep. Gosar (R-AZ)
Rep. Brooks (R-AL)
Sen. Tuberville (R-AL)
Arizona Proud Boys
Alabama Attorney General Steve Marshall
Assisted by:
Ali Alexander, far-right activist
Roger Stone, friend and advisor to the president
Paul Manafort, former Trump campaign manager
Donald Trump Jr., son of the president
Roger Stone is in the center of this conspiracy (sound familiar?), is close to the Proud Boys, and coordinated the effort. Alexander originally organized a “Stop the Steal” rally for January 6. Stone had coined the term. The event was eventually combined with another event, “Save America” which had been organized by a Trump dark money group. Since the election, Trump has raised over $300 million from loyalists for “election defense” but much of the money apparently went to Stone and Manafort to organize the insurrection. Stone recruited Biggs, Gosar, and Brooks in the house to object to the Arizona electoral vote, and got Tuberville to join in the Senate.
Here’s the money line: THE ONLY REASON THEY WERE TO OBJECT TO THE ELECTORAL VOTE WAS TO DELAY THE CERTIFICATION LONG ENOUGH TO GIVE THE MOB, LED BY THE PROUD BOYS, TIME TO BREACH THE CAPITOL AND STOP THE CERTIFICATION COMPLETELY.
Here are the Arizona Proud Boys at the Capitol. They wore the orange hats to distinguish members during the invasion:
That, boys and girls, is chilling. Seth Abramson has compiled public data that reveals a narrative that the President of the United States, one US Senator, three US Congressmen, a state attorney general, Trump’s insane attorney, two convicted felons, Trump’s shitbag son, and a violent far right group of extremists hatched a plan IN THE WHITE HOUSE to actually overturn a free and fair election, overthrow the US government, and hand it to Donald Trump, Dictator. Apparently, idiots like Ted Cruz and Josh Hawley were unwitting accomplices to the overthrow plot just trying to stay on the Crazy Train to 2024.
Read Abramson’s thread. It will give you cold chills about how close the United States government actually came to collapsing on Wednesday, January 6, 2021.
I just hope the FBI can catch and arrest this bunch ASAP and get the full story out in the press. It will help greatly to decrease tRump’s chances of even thinking of getting into politics again at any time. Of course, I am still betting that he will be in jail thanks to the Southern District of New York prosecutor.
1hatched a plan IN THE WHITE HOUSE to actually overturn a free and fair election, overthrow the US government, and hand it to Donald Trump, Dictator.
2Breaking into Ellsburg’s psychiatrist’s office seems quaint.
The only thing missing from his thread is the number of times his majesty called Putin for some helpful hints.
3If only this series of actions could fall outside of his pardon, I would love to see Stone jailed for the rest of his miserable life…
4Old Fart#4 – Stone AND Manafort.
Abramson makes for chilling reading. thank God Guiliani doesn’t know how to store phone numbers in his phone, these guys’ timing was off, and the agents in the House Chamber barricaded the doors. So, partly their incompetence and partly heroics on the part of folks most people have never heard of…of such acts of courage good things may come.
We came perilously close, friends.
5Interesting comments so far. Kinda illustrates Santayana’s point about history. Hitler rose to power because of the defeat of Germany’s military and economic status. This country went thru in principle in the latter 1930s when the monied peoples like ford, Morgan, Rockefeller, Mellon, Pew, Pitcairn, Hutton, Dupont, Remington, Anaconda, Bethlehem, Goodyear, GMC, Swift tried many times to get ret’d Maj Gen Smedley Butller, USMS, 2 times CMOH recipient, to lead half a million army of vets onto the WH to overthrow FDR.*
Sound familiar? Remember Nixon?
Germany had an excuse in large part due to the Allies’ victory. The Depression offered some reasons for discontent. But what is the reason for trump’s attempt at overthrow when this country has the strongest economy in history?
IMO, the same as the proceeding attempts and thruout history; ie, the privileged want more than their share.
But they could not do any of this without the fact that each person born comes with no knowledge of what their parents have gone thru or of anything. So, don’t we then kinda perpetuate that deja vu thing all over again regarding history?
* The Plot to Seize the White House” by Jules Archer (review by Dale Wharton)
6Cruz and Hawley “unwitting” accomplices? Hell, no. They both jumped on that horse and rode it gleefully in the same parade, and I do not believe they were “unwitting”. They knew enough when they knew the president wanted a fair election overturned. They are absolutely guilty of seditious conspiracy. They recruited more cannon fodder to come along and to support from the rear. TrumpCo was glad to have them.
I’ll agree that they may not have been in the plot all the way, but they certainly were far enough in to be charged for what they did.
7Watching the House impeachment hearings. Based on the rip Steny Hoyer gave Gym Jordan, let it be said the Democratic caucus is not taking Jan. 6th in any boys will be boys or let bygones be bygones fashion. As the gravity of Jan 6th increasingly strikes the Democrats, the Republicons might want to stop with their silly cancel culture whining and their cries that prosecuting traitors would be ‘devisive.’ That soapload want wash anytime soon.
8Clearly a “Seditious conspiracy”, violations of the Smith Act, and fomenting the prelude to a coup d’état. This must be pursued to the max against any who were involved in this conspiracy.
Up to, and including the repulsive rufous-colored ratbastard due to leave our White House in less than 1 week, 0 days, 1 hour, 25 minutes, 15 seconds.
.
It is too damned bad that the maximum prison sentence for these criminal acts in the USA are only 20 years, and/or fines [some other nations have the options of more ‘physical’ punishments…].
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Seditious_conspiracy
“Seditious conspiracy is a conspiracy to commit sedition. It is a federal crime in the United States per 18 U.S.C. § 2384:
If two or more persons in any State or Territory, or in any place subject to the jurisdiction of the United States, conspire to overthrow, put down, or to destroy by force the Government of the United States, or to levy war against them, or to oppose by force the authority thereof, or by force to prevent, hinder, or delay the execution of any law of the United States, or by force to seize, take, or possess any property of the United States contrary to the authority thereof, they shall each be fined or imprisoned not more than 20 years, or both.
For a seditious conspiracy charge to be effected, a crime need only be planned, it need not be actually attempted. ”
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Smith_Act
“Title I. Subversive activities….”
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Coup_d%27état
9“A coup or coup d’état (/ˌkuː deɪˈtɑː/ About this soundlisten (help·info); French: [ku deta], literally “blow of state”; plural: coups d’état, pronounced like the singular form;
also known simply as an overthrow, takeover, or putsch) is the removal of an existing government from power, usually through violent means.
Typically, it is an illegal, unconstitutional seizure of power by a political faction, the military, or a dictator.[1] Many scholars consider a coup d’état successful when the usurpers seize and hold power for at least seven days.[1]
A coup attempt may refer to a coup in the works or an unsuccessful coup.”
As a Texan, I want the name of every Texan who enabled Trump’s flight to Alamo, Texas, yesterday…was it the trifecta of state government, all Trumpies? Or a cadre of south Texas Proud Boys? Inquiring minds not only want to know but want to smear the caca del toro of pro-Trumpness all over their names before the next election.
10Hmmm. I remain unpersuaded although it might be possible. How to persuade me?
Note the crucial importance of timing. Then someone inside had to be communicating with the plotters outside. By cellphone, no doubt.
There ought to be records of that, although I don’t know how smart the algorithm would have to be to find them.
Or, perhaps the phones of suspects could be subject to search.
11The panic buttons in the office of Congresswoman Ayanna Pressley (D-MA) had been ripped out. If there’s any doubts as to this “peaceful protest” being a premeditated attack.
12Add this to the pointed remarks of the day. She nailed it even more than she usually does.
https://margaretandhelen.com/2021/01/13/if-i-had-5-minutes-with-donald-this-is-what-i-would-say-resign/
13Now I’m more convinced than ever that Trump will move to Dubai
14RICO! (Racketeering Influenced and Corrupt Organizations)
Do it to everyone associated with Dumb Don. Including Melanie and maybe even Tiffany and Barron.
15And don’t forget freshman Congresswoman Laura Boebert, who tweeted Nancy Pelosi’s location during the assault and was photographed leading people on a tour of the Capitol on January 5. Those people were photographed in the Capitol during the insurrection the next day.
16Remember the guy who tried to blow up the House of Parliament in London about 200 or so years ago? If I recall correcltly his name was Guy Fawkes. Despite all the evidence, he denied he had any part in it. And he was still found guilty. The Brits did not take what he did lightly. tRump is overy own Guy Fawkes.
17FBI says they already have over 50,000 tips. They are actively seeking more.
A “simple” high profile case, like the Oklahoma City bombing, took several days for an arrest, over 3 until there was an indictment, and just over a year before the trial began.
I expect we will continue hearing revelations about this riot/insurrection/coup until at least summer time.
18Has Gaetz or Jordan claimed yet that Rep. Pressley ripped out the panic buttons herself? Or antifa? I’ll go check the news again.
19A.K. Lynne @ 13: Oh, god. Thank you for reminding me of Margaret and Helen. “… convincing a fly to land on shit really isn’t a very impressive accomplishment. It’s a fly. And you’re shit.” Yup, that verifies that Helen is indeed from Texas.
John in Denver: don’t take the 50k tips to the FBI seriously. At least half of them consist of photos with Donald, Junior, Ivanka, and the Dumber One circled. (Or at least half of the ones that students in my lab are sending consist of the First Crime Family.)
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