Morning Briefing: Congressional Republicans Prepare to Rewrite History of January 6th Insurrection
House Speaker Mike Johnson announced 'the creation of a new select subcommittee to investigate events before and after January 6, 2021.'
Morning Briefing: House Speaker Mike Johnson announced “the creation of a new select subcommittee to investigate events before and after Jan. 6, 2021,” however, the Speaker “didn't make clear what false narratives he alleges were made by the original select committee.”
Congressional Democrats are reportedly raise security concerns about President Donald Trump’s pardons, and have pointed out that “several people who were freed were deemed too dangerous by judges to attend Trump’s inauguration” and “several more remained detained pending trial because of judges’ concerns about the danger they posed.”
Riley Kasper, who was charged and convicted for participating in the Capitol Riot and sentenced to 37 months in prison, has been released from prison after Trump’s pardon and said that while he’s ashamed that he used bear spray to assaulted Capitol Police officers, “I'm not ashamed that I stood up for what I believed."
Daniel Ball, who was facing criminal charges related to the Capitol Riot that have since been dismissed after Trump’s pardon, reportedly “remains behind bars after authorities issued an outstanding arrest warrant against him on a federal gun charge.”
Leaked documents from a Utah-based group associated with the Oath Keepers, the far right militia group, reportedly revealed “that two 2023 leadership meetings of the extremist group were attended by former law enforcement officers, a serving prosecutor and a former elected official.”
Officer Kyle Mingari, a Chicago police officer who was photographed wearing a Three Percenters mask at a demonstration in 2020, will reportedly receive only a “reprimand after years of investigation,” and it was determined that Mingari didn’t “discrediting the department or undercutting its goals.”
In Portland, Oregon, a group of people wearing hoods and masks reportedly “broke dozens of windows and spray painted anti-government graffiti on the Multnomah County Elections building,” and local law enforcement described the incident as an “orchestrated attack on this building.”
Travis Keith Garland, who allegedly disguised himself in an attempt to enter a Jewish community center in Nashville,” appeared before a judge for the first time this week and the “judge declined to reduce Garland's bond from $250,000.”
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David Gilbert writes that President Donald Trump’s “actions have generated a lot of excitement among the far-right in the US. They’ve also been hailed as a blueprint by an adoring fan base of far-right lawmakers, extremist influencers, and white supremacist groups across the globe. And those people and organizations now believe that Trump’s actions should not only be copied, but taken to the next level… In Brazil, far-right lawmaker Jair Bolsonaro, who was invited to the inauguration but could not travel because of his alleged role in a Brazilian coup attempt in 2023, wrote a lengthy message to Trump, saying that ‘under Trump’s leadership, the West is being reborn.’ He added that Trump’s return ‘reaffirms the pillars of our civilization: God, nation, family, and freedom.’ In Germany, Sebastian Schmidtke, the leader of the neo-Nazi Die Heimat party, wrote, ‘Greetings back from Germany @elonmusk’ above a clip on X of Musk’s Nazi-like salute. The country’s far-right publication COMPACT also praised Trump’s decision to withdraw from the World Health Organization, citing the organization’s ‘evil nature during the Corona period.’ ‘There is huge support for Trump in the German far-right, and they see themselves emboldened by it,’ Miro Dittrich, a researcher who focuses on German extremist groups, tells WIRED.” [Wired]
Cynthia Miller-Idriss writes that “Trump’s pardoning or commuting sentences of more than 1,500 Jan. 6 offenders, including Tarrio and Rhodes and 12 other notable leaders of far-right militant groups, is a dangerous move for our democracy and our national security, on several levels… By valorizing political violence and extremist action, the pardons legitimize the actions of a group that our allies overseas consider terrorists, creating a significant national security risk. In Canada, the Proud Boys is listed as a terrorist entity and a ‘neo-fascist’ organization, and New Zealand designated it a terrorist organization and made it a crime to support or join the Proud Boys. The pardons send a clear message that some kinds of political violence are not only acceptable, but won’t be prosecuted. This will embolden violent actors in ways that put us all at risk. History is a pretty good guide to what can happen when far-right extremists get pardons or acquittals for anti-government crimes. After an Arkansas jury acquitted 14 white supremacist extremists of seditious conspiracy in 1988, the unlawful, anti-government militia movement surged. Just a few years later, 168 people died at the hands of an anti-government, white supremacist extremist who bombed a government building in Oklahoma City.” [MSNBC]
Melissa Gira Grant write that “of course, the office of the presidency cannot control what we think and believe about gender or who gets to define gender. Neither the rhetoric about battling ‘gender ideology’ nor the order’s decree that there are two sexes, male and female, which are determined ‘biologically,’ can be considered new; nor is likening trans people to sexual predators, nor is claiming the definition of ‘woman’ is under threat. All this is now old-hat anti-trans rhetoric and policy language. LGBTQ+ legal experts and advocates correctly anticipated much of what the order would contain, and for months have been preparing strategies to respond. Putting aside much of the vague concern in the order about ‘gender ideology,’ there are some directives in it that could result in concrete changes in the lives of trans and nonbinary people. These changes would not be the result of Trump’s order alone; rather, they would be the decisions each federal agency takes to implement these directives. Their decisions would not all be evident immediately.” [The New Republic]
What to expect from Radical Reports: Morning Briefing provides a daily round-up of reporting on the Radical Right; Extremist Links offers a weekly round-up of extremists activities including the white supremacist and militia movements; Narratives of the Right delivers weekly analysis of the current narratives in far right online spaces and promoted by right-wing media; and Research Desk provides monthly highlights research and analysis from academia on the Radical Right.
Damn! They are wasting our hard earned money tax dollars that must be used to make life better for our citizens, not to satisfy their own insecurities for continuing to support their felon leader who has shown us that he has no regard nor respect for our laws! Stop Mike Johnson! You’re showing your weakness as Speaker! Get some self respect for yourself and your Congress and work for your constituents, not a felon criminal!