On a more serious note, we Brits have always found Americans' love affair with guns a bit curious. Nearly 40,000 Americans die from gunshots every year in the United States. A shocking waste of life, IMHO. That is only deaths, about 70,000 more people survive gunshot wounds.
^The short story is they grew up with the gun culture it and it's all they've ever known. It'd be like asking an Eskimo how the hell he can be ok with being surrounded by ice his entire life.
Trump declares state of emergency in D.C. ahead of inauguration
The order, stemming from last week’s deadly riots at the Capitol, allows DHS and FEMA to assist the city in any emergency response.
Trump declares state of emergency in D.C. ahead of inauguration - POLITICO
Hope the experts are correct!
Planned protests spark fears of more violence in Trump's final days
Trump supporters and right-wing extremist groups are planning demonstrations that experts warn could escalate into the kind of violence seen during last week’s deadly riots at the Capitol.
Two days in particular are considered at high risk of coordinated and potentially violent activity: Jan. 17 and Inauguration Day on Jan. 20.
Trump supporters are expected to gather in Washington, D.C. and state capitals across the country on Sunday and then again three days later for the inauguration, according to law enforcement officials and experts monitoring online posts about the upcoming events. One flyer associated with Sunday’s gatherings tells participants to “come armed at your personal discretion.”
Similar to Wednesday’s mob attack on the U.S. Capitol, the demonstrations are fueled by election disinformation amplified by President Trump and his allies.
But neither day is expected to draw the same crowd levels that stormed the Capitol.
One reason, experts say, is because unlike last week’s events, the upcoming rallies aren’t being promoted by Trump or any of his high-profile allies.
“The demonstrations on the sixth of January had a lot of political elites backing [them],” Alex Newhouse, digital research lead at the Center on Terrorism, Extremism, and Counterterrorism at the Middlebury Institute, said. “The risks of another massive protest happening are relatively low unless those big conservatives start throwing their weight behind it again.”
Another reason experts are expecting lower attendance is the recent crackdown by social media platforms.
In addition to banning Trump, Twitter booted influential right-wing figures like “Stop the Steal” organizer Ali Alexander, Pro-Trump lawyer Sidney Powell and former 8kun administrator Ron Watkins.
Facebook on Monday announced it would be purging all content referencing “Stop the Steal.”
And Parler, an app popular on the right for its lax content moderation, was functionally taken down over the weekend after being dropped by the Apple App Store, Google Play Store and Amazon Web Services, due in large part to its posts encouraging last week’s violence.
The lack of clear leadership and the crackdown on platforms appears to have translated to less organization for the expected upcoming demonstrations.
But the composition of the upcoming protests might be more dangerous than last week’s at the Capitol, Newhouse warned, because the groups that have been hyping them include armed militias and white nationalists.
And although there has been less logistical planning out in the open this time around, Jared Holt, a visiting research fellow at Digital Forensic Research Lab, said it’s not necessarily an indication that the demonstrations are “going to be a dud.”
“The logistical planning element is a really good indicator of attendance before events, but the absence of logistical conversations is also not an indication that nobody is going to attend the event,” he said, adding that since some participants may be demonstrating locally, it limits the need to plan hotel stays and caravans.
The recent deplatforming by social media giants may also have had the side effect of shepherding users to right-wing fringe sites where extremist movements prosper.
“What happens when millions of people who believe disinformation and lies that the democratic system has [been] totally corrupted get into these social media circles that are just brimming with people who already want to destroy the government and hurt people?” Holt said.
He added that there have been posts about a call for armed protests on Jan. 17 dating back as far as November, while in the last week or so the message has shifted to appeal more broadly to Trump supporters.
Posts pertaining to the upcoming demonstrations are appearing on platforms with limited content moderation like Telegram, MeWe and various chat rooms, researchers told The Hill.
Federal and local law enforcement have indicated they will be on high alert leading up to President-elect Joe Biden’s inauguration.
The National Guard has been authorized to deploy up 15,000 members, bureau chief Gen. Daniel Hokanson announced Monday.
Later that day, Trump declared an emergency in Washington, D.C. and ordered federal assistance to supplement efforts to prepare for Biden’s inauguration. The move came after D.C. Mayor Muriel Bowser (D) asked Trump to issue an emergency declaration amid concerns about potential threats on Jan. 20.
The FBI is also monitoring the protests, ABC News reported Monday citing an internal agency bulletin.
"The FBI received information about an identified armed group intending to travel to Washington, DC on 16 January," the bulletin read. "They have warned that if Congress attempts to remove POTUS via the 25th Amendment, a huge uprising will occur."
A spokesperson for the FBI did not confirm the contents of the bulletin but said the agency is supporting state, local and federal law enforcement partners with maintaining public safety.
With mounting concerns over the potential for more violence, as well as continued concerns over the spread of COVID-19, Bowser is discouraging Americans from traveling to the nation’s capital for the inauguration.
Bowser has also asked the Interior Department to cancel public gathering permits and deny further permit applications for the same time period.
Special security operations surrounding the inauguration are also starting on Wednesday, earlier than previously scheduled. The decision was made “in light of events of the past week and the evolving security landscape,” Chad Wolf said, just hours before he stepped down as acting Homeland Security secretary.
Biden and Vice President-elect Kamala Harris are still set to be sworn in on the West Front of the U.S. Capitol.
A presidential inaugural committee official said the committee is “confident in our security partners who have spent months planning and preparing for the inauguration, and we are continuing to work with them to ensure the utmost safety and security” of Biden, Vice President-elect Kamala Harris and other inauguration participants.
Despite that confidence, the potential for more extremist-driven violence persists, experts warned.
“A lot of these groups view what happened on January 6th as a clear triumph of their cause,” Holt said.
Planned protests spark fears of more violence in Trump's final days | TheHill
Cops Warn House Dems of Plot to Encircle the Capitol and Assassinate Them, Says Report
Last week’s deadly storming of the U.S. Capitol building sent shockwaves around the world—and it seems the threat isn’t over just yet. According to a report from HuffPost, Capitol Police warned House Democrats on Monday night that there are three potentially violent demonstrations planned ahead of Joe Biden’s inauguration next week—including one plot to surround the Capitol and assassinate them. Lawmakers were reportedly told that demonstrators plan to encircle the Capitol to block Democrats and non-Trumpist Republicans from entering the building, and allow lawmakers loyal to Trump to enter and control government. Democrats were reportedly told on the call that the plot could involve assassinations. “It was pretty overwhelming,” one Democrat told HuffPost. Police reportedly told members that, this time, they’re ready to handle the plots.
https://www.thedailybeast.com/police...eport?ref=home
Chicago-area man charged with threatening violence at Biden inauguration
A Chicago-area man was arrested on Tuesday after threatening to kill Democrats at President-elect Joe Biden’s inauguration, the Department of Justice announced.
Louis Capriotti, 45, is accused of leaving a voicemail for a House member from New Jersey on Dec. 29, saying that if people “think that Joe Biden is going to put his hand on the Bible and walk into that f----ng White House on Jan. 20, they’re sadly f----ng mistaken,” according to a criminal complaint.
“[W]e will surround the motherf----ng White House and we will kill any motherf----ng Democrat that steps on the motherf----ng lawn,” Capriotti allegedly said, according to the complaint filed in U.S. District Court.
MORE Chicago-area man charged with threatening violence at Biden inauguration - POLITICO
^ He seems upset
Cancel culture strikes again.
Airbnb cancels all inauguration week reservations in D.C.
Airbnb also announced that it had banned “numerous individuals” from its platform who participated in the insurrection or were linked to known hate groups.
Airbnb cancels all inauguration week reservations in D.C. - POLITICO
Walkie-talkie app Zello, used by rioters at Capitol, deletes more than 2,000 channels
Social media "walkie-talkie" app, Zello, has deleted more than 2,000 channels "associated with militias and other militarized social movements" after it discovered it had been used by rioters who stormed the Capitol on Jan. 6.
In a blog post Zello said it was “with deep sadness and anger” that it had discovered evidence of the app being “misused by some individuals while storming the United States Capitol building.”
Zello added it was concerned the app could be used to organize violent protests and disrupt President-elect Joe Biden's inauguration on Jan. 20.
"We take the issue of violence and other kinds of wrongdoing on our platform just as seriously as we cherish the ideals of free speech," said the company behind the app, which claims to have 120 million users worldwide.
Walkie-talkie app Zello, used by rioters at Capitol, deletes more than 2,000 channels
National Guard at Capitol Authorized to Use Lethal Force in Aftermath of Mob
The dramatic escalation in authorities granted to the 20,000 Guard troops stationed in D.C. is only the latest response to last week’s massive security failure.
National Guard at Capitol Authorized to Use Lethal Force in Aftermath of Mob | National News | US News
Get the Brits to be the World cops, the Russkis to be the World army, and Chinese to be the World spies. America can keep to it's speciality of televising and making movies from it all. Problem solved- unless you are a bad guy of course.
Given the inherent stupidity of Americans generally, they should proclaim unambiguously that anyone not in authority conferred by either the state or federal agencies who approaches within a three mile radius of the Capitol bearing arms will be shot on sight.
This was not a "Warning" But an actual arrest, (Arrest's need proof). FBI: Florida Man Daniel Baker Arrested For Plotting Violent Attack On Pro-Trump Protesters At State Capitol Building – CBS Miami
Jaysus, deeks, you shouldn’t comment on inherent stupidity. You really mangle written English!
Uncovering the #MAGA Plot Against America
Investigations of the terrible crimes committed against the United States at the Capitol last week had scarcely begun when the usual suspects launched a right-wing cover-up. Rather than blame the motley swarm of #MAGA fanatics, white nationalists and habitual criminals whom we all witnessed storming into the citadel of democracy to stop certification of the 2020 election, they pointed the finger to the antifa and Black Lives Matter movements.
But such a preposterous political alibi, premised on nonexistent evidence, won't stand up to the kind of scrutiny that must now be brought to bear on these momentous events. Long after President Donald Trump's impeachment is over and done, and regardless of whether he is convicted or not, the myriad investigations and trials of the perpetrators of the Capitol insurrection will go on for years. Justice will be done; the truth will be revealed; and the breadth of the assault on our constitutional democracy will stun even the jaded and cynical.
Combining vanity and stupidity, the shock troops who carried out the assault recorded themselves in the process of the attack. Perhaps they believed that they would be pardoned by Donald Trump. Knock, knock. Now the FBI is sweeping them up across the country to face federal prosecution.
More than a few of these individuals have prior convictions for serious crimes. These predicate felons, who exemplify the extremist wing of Trump's movement, are likely to crack under prosecutorial pressure and disclose what they know. And no matter what they expected, Trump probably won't dare to pardon them. He is reported to be upset at the low class of his diehards apparently willing to kidnap and assassinate in his name.
While much of what occurred on Jan. 6 and the days and weeks leading up to the attack still remains somewhat murky, it is already clear that the insurrection was not a spontaneous uprising. The mob that assaulted the Capitol included highly trained fighters who came prepared with tactical gear of all kinds, often superior to the equipment of the police officers trying to hold them back, as well as a communications system. What they needed from the thousands of dupes whipped up by Trump and Rudy Giuliani was an overwhelming physical force to enable an unstoppable rush into the building.
We don't know the extent of coordination, if any, between the White House, various ultra-right members of Congress and fascist gangs like the Proud Boys and the Oath Keepers that came to Washington bent on bloodshed. The initial clues, however, raise deeply troubling questions. Why were members of Congress escorting groups of Trump supporters around the Capitol on Jan. 5, the day before the attack, when the building was supposed to be closed? Why did the attacking vanguard leave the Trump rally at the White House early and proceed to the Capitol? And why did the Pentagon fail to send National Guard reinforcements in time, despite desperate pleas from the Capitol Police?
The support structure for the demonstration that turned into an insurrection ranged across the Trumpist movement, encompassing figures like Ginni Thomas, the wife of Justice Clarence Thomas, and Charlie Kirk, who runs the far-right college outfit Turning Point USA and boasts close ties with Donald Trump Jr. Both of them have tried to erase evidence of their organizing efforts.
Equally intriguing is the role of Ali Alexander, who takes credit for staging the "Stop the Steal" rally on Jan. 6, whose militant rhetoric set the event's tone and who now seems to have gone into hiding. He has a long history of connections with Trump confidant Roger Stone and Stone's proteges in the Proud Boys. He has also received funding in the recent past from the billionaire Mercer family, which lurks behind many of the nation's most toxic far-right elements. And Alexander says that he worked on the insurrection with at least three Republican members of Congress — Andy Biggs, R-Ariz., Paul Gosar, R-Ariz., and Mo Brooks, R-Ala.
Here it is worth recalling that Stone oversaw the "Brooks Brothers riot" in Miami that stopped the vote counting in Miami-Dade County and swayed the outcome of the 2000 presidential election. Since last November, he has repeatedly called for Trump to impose martial law to overturn the results of the 2020 election.
The events of Jan. 6 represented the worst threat to democracy and the rule of law that we have seen in our lifetimes. The violent authoritarian impulse within the Republican right has metastasized under Trump into a potent and very dangerous force. Uncovering the roots of that threat and isolating its sponsors will be a lengthy and complicated process that will involve the Department of Justice, the Department of Homeland Security, the FBI, state and local law enforcement, the attorney general of the District of Columbia, many committees of the House and Senate, and almost certainly a national investigative commission on the order of the 9/11 commission. And there will be trials.
Nothing less will suffice to defend our democratic republic from its enemies, foreign and domestic.
Uncovering The #MAGA Plot Against America - National Memo
There are currently 1 users browsing this thread. (0 members and 1 guests)