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Trump's Capitol insurrection: A detailed timeline shows how the GOP owns January 6 lock, stock and barrel
March 05, 2021
At last weekend's Conservative Political Action Conference (CPAC), the Republican Party tried to rewrite history, in this case very recent history. Seven panels at the event were dedicated to the thoroughly-debunked assertion that Joe Biden is not a legitimate president, including "Other Culprits: Why Judges & Media Refused to Look at the Evidence" and "The Left Pulled the Strings, Covered It Up, and Even Admits It." Trump mined The Big Lie in his keynote speech, claiming that "this election was rigged," that the Democrats had "just lost the White House," that "I may even decide to beat them a third time" in the 2024 presidential race.
One thing Trump didn't address at CPAC was the insurrection he incited on January 6.
<p>The GOP's ongoing attempt to avoid blame for the seditionist uprising while doubling down on the messaging that caused it is a grave disservice to <a href="https://thehill.com/homenews/news/537204-us-score-falls-in-economists-2020-democracy-index" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">our fragile democracy</a>. We owe it to ourselves—and to future generations—to get the history right. Following are known facts (so far).</p><p>Prior to January 6, 2021, the official electoral college vote certification was a purely ceremonial ritual. The 2021 certification was fraught with violence and division because of the disinformation promulgated by Donald Trump and his allies in<a href="https://www.politico.com/news/2021/01/13/republican-legislatures-trump-conspiracy-458507" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank"> state legislatures</a>,<a href="https://www.theatlantic.com/ideas/archive/2021/01/republicans-own-insurrection/617583/" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank"> Congress</a>, and<a href="https://www.newyorker.com/news/daily-comment/how-social-media-made-the-trump-insurrection-a-reality" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank"> right-wing media</a>.</p><p>After riling up Republican voters for two months with<a href="https://www.factcheck.org/2020/12/nine-election-fraud-claims-none-credible/" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank"> craven lies</a> about the election having been stolen, the GOP arranged one final, grand charade: a "Stop the Steal"<a href="https://www.nytimes.com/2021/01/06/us/politics/capitol-mob-trump-supporters.html?campaign_id=9&emc=edit_nn_20210110&instance_id=25857&nl=the-morning&regi_id=126380121&segment_id=48890&te=1&user_id=d83df742c3b67c9afcdc1a7c3e05db74" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank"> rally</a> followed by a "Save America March." The rally and the march were a prelude to the formal challenge by 13 Republican senators and 140 House members to Joe Biden's seven million-ballot win. The challenge, <a href="https://www.cbsnews.com/news/senator-josh-hawley-missouri-to-object-electoral-college-vote/" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">led by</a> senators keen on appealing to the Republican base in 2024 presidential runs, would consist of regurgitated claims rejected for lack of evidence in<a href="https://www.politifact.com/factchecks/2021/jan/08/joe-biden/joe-biden-right-more-60-trumps-election-lawsuits-l/" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank"> 60 judicial cases</a>, by both Democratic and Republican judges, including numerous judges appointed by Trump.</p><p>Sensing trouble, Washington D.C. mayor Muriel Bowser requested National Guard backup, but Trump's Defense Department handcuffed the Guard's mission. <a href="https://www.washingtonpost.com/national-security/trump-protests-washington-guard-military/2021/01/07/c5299b56-510e-11eb-b2e8-3339e73d9da2_story.html" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">According to</a> Paul Sonne, Peter Hermann, and Missy Ryan of <em>the Washington Post</em>, "the Pentagon prohibited the District's guardsmen from receiving ammunition or riot gear, interacting with protesters unless necessary for self-defense, sharing equipment with local law enforcement, or using Guard surveillance and air assets without the defense secretary's explicit sign-off." In a directive that would have disastrous consequences, "The D.C. Guard was also told it would be allowed to deploy a quick-reaction force only as a measure of last resort," which in effect forced local D.C. officials to get a sign-off from Trump's Defense Department for rapid deployment, a bureaucratic hurdle which hadn't existed previously. </p><p>On the day of the certification, Trump called vice president Mike Pence, who would preside over the ceremony, and<a href="https://www.nytimes.com/2021/01/12/us/politics/mike-pence-trump.html" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank"> told him</a>, "You can either go down in history as a patriot…or you can go down in history as a pussy."</p><p>Pence chose to go down in history as a patriot. Just before the count began, he<a href="https://www.pbs.org/newshour/politics/read-pences-full-letter-saying-he-cant-claim-unilateral-authority-to-reject-electoral-votes" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank"> released a public letter stating the obvious</a>—that he lacked the constitutional authority to unilaterally decide which electoral votes to accept or reject.</p><p>Concerns about The U.S. Constitution and long-established democratic precedent were absent from the speeches at Trump's rally on the Mall, which preyed on right-wing victimhood and included numerous<a href="https://www.nytimes.com/2021/01/07/briefing/white-house-capitol-donald-trump-jon-ossoff.html" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank"> incitements to violence</a>. Leading things off, Republican representative Mo Brooks said, "Today is the day American patriots start taking down names and kicking ass!" Referring to congressional Republicans who intended to honor the election results by <em>not</em> challenging Biden's legitimate win, Donald Trump, Jr. said, "We're coming for you, and we're going to have a good time doing it" and that if they didn't change their minds and oppose certification "<a href="https://www.vox.com/22220746/trump-speech-incite-capitol-riot?utm_medium=email&utm_campaign=Sentences%201821&utm_content=Sentences%201821+CID_5cdd5fe59652d724914f30c48ed58541&utm_source=cm_email&utm_term=How%20Trumps%20speech%20led%20to%20the%20Capitol%20riot" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">I'm gonna be in your backyard in a couple of months</a>." Trump's lawyer, Rudy Giuliani, told the crowd, "Let's have trial by combat," which was "<a href="https://www.stamfordadvocate.com/news/article/Backup-was-denied-Capitol-Police-chief-says-15860394.php" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">an eerie reference to battles to the death in the series 'Game of Thrones</a>.'"</p><p>Talking tough from behind bulletproof glass, Trump spewed a litany of baseless assertions about the election, "<a href="https://www.vox.com/22220746/trump-speech-incite-capitol-riot?utm_medium=email&utm_campaign=Sentences%201821&utm_content=Sentences%201821+CID_5cdd5fe59652d724914f30c48ed58541&utm_source=cm_email&utm_term=How%20Trumps%20speech%20led%20to%20the%20Capitol%20riot" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">used</a> the words 'fight' or 'fighting'<a href="https://www.rev.com/blog/transcripts/donald-trump-speech-save-america-rally-transcript-january-6" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank"> at least 20 times</a>," said "You'll never take back our country with weakness. You have to show strength. You have to be strong," and finished with a call to action:</p><p><em>"We will never give up; we will never concede….We will stop the steal. We're going to walk down Pennsylvania Avenue, and we're going to the Capitol…We're going to try and give our Republicans, the weak ones…the kind of pride and boldness that they need to take back our country."</em></p><p>As could be expected, the violent rhetoric whipped the MAGA-ites into a frenzy. After traversing Pennsylvania Avenue, a crowd of 8,000, some<a href="https://www.stamfordadvocate.com/news/article/Backup-was-denied-Capitol-Police-chief-says-15860394.php" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank"> equipped with</a> "riot helmets, gas masks, shields, pepper spray, fireworks, climbing gear...explosives, metal pipes, [and] baseball bats," arrived at the Capitol.</p><p>Just before 2 p.m., Trump supporters—<a href="https://www.propublica.org/article/several-well-known-hate-groups-identified-at-capitol-riot?utm_source=sailthru&utm_medium=email&utm_campaign=majorinvestigations&utm_content=feature" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">heavily represented by right-wing hate groups</a>, inlaid with<a href="https://slate.com/news-and-politics/2021/01/capitol-riots-new-details-plans.html" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank"> former members of law enforcement and the military</a>—busted through a police line to<a href="https://www.politico.com/news/2021/01/06/pence-rushed-out-of-senate-capitol-455483" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank"> storm the Capitol</a>, the first hostile takeover of America's seat of government since 1814. </p><p>Once inside, <a href="https://www.npr.org/2021/02/09/965472049/the-capitol-siege-the-arrested-and-their-stories#database" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">the insurrectionists</a> stopped the certification of Biden's victory,<a href="https://www.the-sun.com/news/2109105/bleeding-capitol-cop-screams-help-maga-mob-mask/" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank"> assaulted Capitol police officers</a>,<a href="https://www.nytimes.com/2021/01/07/us/politics/capitol-lockdown.html" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank"> attacked journalists</a>,<a href="https://slate.com/news-and-politics/2021/02/capitol-riot-january-6-trauma-terror-attack.html" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank"> traumatized</a> members of Congress and<a href="https://www.stamfordadvocate.com/news/article/Pelosi-says-staff-hid-under-a-table-for-hours-as-15860759.php" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank"> congressional aides</a>, and contributed to<a href="https://nymag.com/intelligencer/2021/01/could-the-capitol-riot-become-a-superspreader-event.html" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank"> multiple members</a> of Congress getting COVID-19. </p><p>Some of the insurrectionists carried<a href="https://nypost.com/2021/01/14/air-force-vet-carrying-zip-ties-in-capitol-riot-wanted-to-take-hostages/" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank"> zip-tie handcuffs</a> or weapons and targeted the offices of specific members of Congress<a href="https://apnews.com/article/donald-trump-ap-top-news-michael-pence-nancy-pelosi-capitol-siege-14c73ee280c256ab4ec193ac0f49ad54" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank"> in hopes of kidnapping them</a>, or<a href="https://slate.com/news-and-politics/2021/01/justice-department-arizona-filing-qanon-shaman-capture-and-assassinate-lawmakers.html" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank"> worse</a>. There were allegations that plotters<a href="https://www.cnn.com/2021/01/13/politics/capitol-insurrection-insider-help/index.html" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank"> may have had help</a> from Republican representatives or<a href="https://talkingpointsmemo.com/fivepoints/capitol-insurrection-january-6-house-hearing-police" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank"> members of the Capitol police force</a>.</p><p>Because local officials' authority to call for backup had been taken away <a href="https://www.cnn.com/2021/03/03/politics/us-capitol-riot-hearing-dhs-fbi-pentagon/index.html" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">one day before the certification</a>, it was left to Capitol police chief Steven Sund to beg Trump administration officials in the Department of Defense (DOD) for backup. Trump's DOD stonewalled Sund. Lieutenant General Walter Piatt reportedly told Sund he<a href="https://www.washingtonpost.com/national-security/trump-protests-washington-guard-military/2021/01/07/c5299b56-510e-11eb-b2e8-3339e73d9da2_story.html" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank"> didn't like "the optics</a>" of "having armed military personnel on the grounds of the Capitol," though the DOD had<a href="https://www.cnn.com/2021/01/07/us/police-response-black-lives-matter-protest-us-capitol/index.html" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank"> deployed armed military personnel</a> at peaceful Black Lives Matter protests in June.</p><p>Several Republicans, including senator Lindsey Graham, House minority leader Kevin McCarthy, and former advisor Kellyanne Conway called the White House after the breach to try to get Trump to act, but Trump wasn't taking calls at first because he was wrapped up in watching the<a href="https://clinecenter.illinois.edu/coup-detat-project-cdp/statement_jan.27.2021" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank"> attempted <em>coup</em></a> he'd fomented on TV. As one aide<a href="https://www.msn.com/en-us/news/politics/six-hours-of-paralysis-inside-trump-e2-80-99s-failure-to-act-after-a-mob-stormed-the-capitol/ar-BB1cFqj4?ocid=uxbndlbing" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank"> told a reporter</a>, "'He was hard to reach, and you know why? Because it was live TV….If it's TiVo, he just hits pause and takes the calls. If it's live TV, he watches it, and he was just watching it all unfold.'"</p><p><a href="https://www.npr.org/sections/trump-impeachment-trial-live-updates/2021/02/13/967625878/as-trumps-impeachment-trial-nears-end-some-lawmakers-want-details-on-mccarthy-ca" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">According to</a> Republican congressional representative Jamie Herrera Beutler, who was with Kevin McCarthy, "When McCarthy finally reached the president on January 6 and asked him to publicly and forcefully call off the riot, the president initially repeated the falsehood that it was anti-fascists that had breached the Capitol….McCarthy refuted that and told the president that these were Trump supporters. That's when, according to McCarthy, the president said: 'Well, Kevin, I guess these people are more upset about the election than you are.'"</p><p>This was of a piece with a report from Republican senator Ben Sasse that Trump was "<a href="https://edition.cnn.com/politics/live-news/washington-dc-riots-trump-news-friday/h_3b3d237d139679d425ef2e0a54ddfca7" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">confused about why other people on his team weren't as excited as he was</a> as you had rioters pushing against Capitol Police trying to get into the building." Sasse also mentioned that Trump was talking to the other people in the room about "a path by which he was going to stay in office after January 20." </p><p>While lawmakers hid from rioters, Trump called Republican senator Tommy Tuberville, to push Tuberville to obstruct the electoral college vote certification whenever it could safely resume. (Trump's lawyer Rudy Giuliani would make<a href="https://www.cnn.com/2021/01/08/politics/mike-lee-tommy-tuberville-trump-misdialed-capitol-riot/index.html" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank"> a call</a> to Republican senator Mike Lee, later in the day, with the same purpose). When Trump reached Tuberville, around 2:15 p.m., he was<a href="https://www.nytimes.com/interactive/2021/01/15/us/trump-capitol-riot-timeline.html" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank"> notified</a> that Mike Pence and his family had been whisked away from the Senate floor. </p><p>Despite his knowledge of the threat to the vice president's safety, at 2:24 p.m.,<a href="https://www.newyorker.com/magazine/2021/01/25/among-the-insurrectionists" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank"> while</a> "America Firsters and other invaders fanned out in search of lawmakers, breaking into offices and reveling in their own astounding impunity," Trump<a href="https://www.msn.com/en-us/news/politics/six-hours-of-paralysis-inside-trump-e2-80-99s-failure-to-act-after-a-mob-stormed-the-capitol/ar-BB1cFqj4?ocid=uxbndlbing" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank"> tweeted</a> that "Mike Pence didn't have the courage to do what should have been done to protect our Country and our Constitution, giving States a chance to certify a corrected set of facts, not the fraudulent or inaccurate ones which they were asked to previously certify….USA demands the truth!"</p><p>As former Trump ally Mitch McConnell would later<a href="https://www.nytimes.com/2021/02/13/us/politics/trump-capitol-riot.html?action=click&campaign_id=9&emc=edit_nn_20210214&instance_id=27134&module=Top+Stories&nl=the-morning&pgtype=Homepage&regi_id=126380121&segment_id=51688&te=1&user_id=d83df742c3b67c9afcdc1a7c3e05db74" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank"> say</a> at Trump's impeachment trial, the president "kept pressing his scheme to overturn the election. Even after it was clear to any reasonable observer that Vice President Pence was in serious danger, even as the mob carrying Trump banners was beating cops and breaching perimeters, the president sent a further tweet attacking his own vice president."</p><p>Trump made half-hearted attempts to defuse the situation with<a href="https://www.thetrumparchive.com/" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank"> tweets</a> at 2:38 ("Please support our Capitol Police and Law Enforcement. They are truly on the side of our Country. Stay peaceful!") and 3:13 p.m. ("I am asking for everyone at the U.S. Capitol to remain peaceful. No violence! Remember, WE are the Party of Law & Order – respect the Law and our great men and women in Blue. Thank you!").</p><p>Pressured by aides when these tweets had no discernible impact on the rioters, Trump released a slightly more forceful video plea<a href="https://www.msn.com/en-us/news/politics/six-hours-of-paralysis-inside-trump-e2-80-99s-failure-to-act-after-a-mob-stormed-the-capitol/ar-BB1cFqj4?ocid=uxbndlbing" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank"> two hours into the breach</a>, but even then, he fed the ill-founded rage at the heart of the insurrection:</p><p><em>"It was a landslide election. And everyone knows it. Especially the other side. But you have to go home. … There's never been a time like this when such a thing happened when they could take it away from all of us. From me, from you, from our country. This was a fraudulent election. … Go home. We love you. You're very special."</em></p><p>After<a href="https://wtop.com/maryland/2021/01/hogan-federal-approval-to-send-national-guard-during-capitol-attack-delayed/" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank"> an inexplicably long delay</a>, with the assistance of<a href="https://www.chron.com/news/article/Trump-s-retreat-into-rage-is-followed-by-grudging-15854550.php" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank"> Mike Pence</a> (since Trump had "<a href="https://www.forbes.com/sites/joewalsh/2021/01/06/reports-trump-resisted-sending-national-guard-to-quell-violent-mob-at-us-capitol/?sh=22f701091e18" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">resisted requests</a>" to stop the violence), the National Guard was called up. </p><p>The Capitol<a href="https://www.nytimes.com/interactive/2021/01/15/us/trump-capitol-riot-timeline.html" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank"> was finally cleared</a> at 5:34 p.m., three-and-a-half hours after it had been breached. Over<a href="https://www.nytimes.com/2021/02/24/us/politics/capitol-riot-damage.html?action=click&module=Top%20Stories&pgtype=Homepage" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank"> $30 million dollars in damage</a> was done to the citadel of American democracy. 146 police officers<a href="https://www.nytimes.com/2021/02/13/us/politics/capitol-riots-impeachment-trial.html?action=click&module=Spotlight&pgtype=Homepage" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank"> sustained injuries</a> and seven people would end up dead, including three Capitol police officers—one of whom was an Iraq War vet who had been<a href="https://www.reuters.com/article/us-usa-election-police-officer/homicide-investigation-opened-into-death-of-capitol-police-officer-idUSKBN29D2LI" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank"> bashed in the head with a fire extinguisher</a>, and two others who would later<a href="https://www.politico.com/news/2021/01/27/second-officer-suicide-following-capitol-riot-463123" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank"> commit suicide</a>. If not for the<a href="https://www.washingtonpost.com/dc-md-va/2021/01/14/dc-police-capitol-riot/?arc404=true" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank"> bravery</a> of the Capitol police, the toll would have been even worse, as rioters came<a href="https://www.washingtonpost.com/investigations/2021/01/16/video-timeline-capitol-siege/?arc404=true&campaign_id=9&emc=edit_nn_20210119&instance_id=26150&nl=the-morning&regi_id=126380121&segment_id=49657&te=1&user_id=d83df742c3b67c9afcdc1a7c3e05db74" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank"> within a hair's breadth</a> of getting their hands on Mike Pence and members of Congress.</p><p>At 6:01 p.m., Trump<a href="https://www.msn.com/en-us/news/politics/six-hours-of-paralysis-inside-trump-e2-80-99s-failure-to-act-after-a-mob-stormed-the-capitol/ar-BB1cFqj4?ocid=uxbndlbing" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank"> tweeted</a> "These are the things and events that happen when a sacred landslide election victory is so unceremoniously & viciously stripped away from great patriots who have been badly & unfairly treated for so long….Go home with love & in peace. Remember this day forever!"</p><p>Ultimately, the insurrection was unsuccessful. Once the Capitol was secured, Congress<a href="https://www.axios.com/congress-certifies-biden-electoral-college-win-eeb6ba0a-0bc7-4508-ada7-9c1b93aca416.html?utm_source=newsletter&utm_medium=email&utm_campaign=newsletter_axiosam&stream=top" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank"> certified Joe Biden's win</a>, despite the objections of<a href="https://www.theatlantic.com/ideas/archive/2021/01/more-dangerous-capitol-riot/617655/?utm_source=newsletter&utm_medium=email&utm_campaign=atlantic-daily-newsletter&utm_content=20210113&silverid-ref=NjY0NzQxMzgxNDkxS0" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank"> 2/3rds of House Republicans and eight Republican senators</a> who came out of hiding to pimp the<a href="https://www.factcheck.org/2020/12/nine-election-fraud-claims-none-credible/" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank"> false election fraud narrative</a> which had jeopardized their safety just hours earlier.</p><p>In the two weeks between the election certification and Joe Biden's inauguration, U.S. taxpayers were stuck with a<a href="https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2021-02-04/national-guard-s-post-riot-deployment-cost-at-least-480-million?sref=IYQ5mP1s" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank"> $480 million tab</a> to secure the Capitol, as 25,000 National Guard members were sent to D.C.</p><p>The most concise summation of January 6 came from rock-ribbed Republican Liz Cheney, the daughter of <a href="https://www.pfaw.org/press-releases/bush-running-mate-dick-cheneys-congressional-voting-record-emphatically-far-right/" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">ultra-conservative</a> former vice president Dick Cheney and the chair of the House GOP Conference who <a href="https://projects.fivethirtyeight.com/congress-trump-score/house/" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">voted with Trump 93% of the time</a> during his four years in office. On the eve of the January 13 House of Representatives vote to impeach Trump for inciting a riot, Cheney released a statement: </p><p><em>"On January 6, 2021 a violent mob attacked the United States Capitol to obstruct the process of our democracy and stop the counting of presidential electoral votes. This insurrection caused injury, death and destruction in the most sacred space in our Republic.</em></p><p><em>"Much more will become clear in coming days and weeks, but what we know now is enough. The President of the United States summoned this mob, assembled the mob, and lit the flame of this attack. Everything that followed was his doing. None of this would have happened without the President. The President could have immediately and forcefully intervened to stop the violence. He did not. There has never been a greater betrayal by a President of the United States of his office and his oath to the Constitution."</em></p><p>Sadly, Cheney's matter-of-fact statement was as brave as it was rare. With the exception of a very small number of congressional Republicans who supported impeachment (10 in the House, six in the Senate), the party has tried to bury January 6, to pretend that it never happened. </p><p>Since one of our two major political parties is AWOL in its oversight role, it is incumbent on Congressional Democrats to nut up and make a 9/11-style commission with aggressive subpoena powers become reality. If the U.S. is to remain a functioning democracy, American citizens need a full accounting of everything that happened on January 6, 2021—whether Donald Trump likes it or not. </p><p><em>Dan Benbow has been an online political features writer since 2003. His work has appeared at <a href="https://www.salon.com/2020/04/19/detailed-timeline-of-trumps-failures-shows-how-americas-coronavirus-crisis-was-man-made_partner/" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">Salon</a>, <a href="https://buzzflash.com/articles/more-americans-will-die-because-trump-suppressed-cdc-guidelines-for-reopening" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">Buzzflash</a>, <a href="https://zoxannedev.wpengine.com/2020/04/republicans-stealing-elections-the-upcoming-wisconsin-voter-purge-and-how-the-gop-turned-the-state-into-wississippi/" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">RawStory</a>, <a href="https://www.alternet.org/2010/10/how_right-wing_anti-tax_crusaders_ruined_california/" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">AlterNet</a>, <a href="http://beyondchron.org/the-honest-republican/" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">BeyondChron</a>, <a href="https://web.archive.org/web/20070413141555/http:/getunderground.com/underground/author.cfm?Contributor_ID=264" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">GetUnderground</a>/Kotori Magazine, and his boutique blog, <a href="http://benbosophy.blogspot.com/" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">Truth and Beauty</a>. He can be followed <a href="https://twitter.com/danbenbow?ref_src=twsrc%5Egoogle%7Ctwcamp%5Eserp%7Ctwgr%5Eauthor" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">@danbenbow</a> on Twitter. </em></p>
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Trump aide arrested for Capitol riot worked for hate group Family Research Council -- and once held top secret clearance
March 04, 2021
Federal officials have arrested an appointee in Donald Trump's administration in connection with the fatal January 6th insurrection at the U.S. Capitol.
"The FBI on Thursday arrested Federico Klein, a former State Department aide, on charges related to the storming of the Capitol on Jan. 6, marking the first known instance of an appointee of President Donald Trump facing criminal prosecution in connection with the attempt to block Congress from certifying President Joe Biden's victory," Politico reported Thursday. "Klein, 42, was taken into custody in Virginia, said Samantha Shero, a spokesperson for the FBI's Washington Field Office. Details on the charges against him were not immediately available."
<p>Prior to working for the State Department, Klein worked on Trump's 2016 campaign.</p><p>Politico interviewed the suspect's mother, Cecilia Klein.</p><p>"Federico Klein served as a Marine in Iraq, his mother said. He held a top-secret clearance from 2014 to 2019, issued by the Defense Department, according to his LinkedIn page," Politico reported. "Before joining the 2016 Trump campaign, Klein worked as a researcher for the conservative <a href="https://www.splcenter.org/fighting-hate/extremist-files/group/family-research-council" target="_blank">Family Research Council</a> and served as a Republican state convention delegate in Virginia, according to his LinkedIn page. He graduated from George Mason University in 2002."</p><p>"Fred's politics burn a little hot," his mother said.</p><p>Read the <a href="https://www.politico.com/news/2021/03/04/trump-appointee-arrested-for-capitol-riot-473825" target="_blank">full report</a>.</p>
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Two anti-LGBTQ+ bills — Mississippi's transgender youth sports ban and South Dakota's Religious Freedom and Restoration Act — are both heading to the states' governors for their signatures.
The two bills are the first in a spate of anti-LGBTQ+ measures to advance out of state legislatures in what advocates say has been an unprecedented campaign against transgender rights in particular.
<p>“Anti-equality forces are attacking our families," Human Rights Campaign President Alphonso David said on a call with reporters Thursday. “They're attacking our children. They're attacking our dignity, and they're attacking our existence."</p><p>According to the Human Rights Campaign, more than 70 anti-trans bills are pending in state legislatures, with new bills still being introduced. The organization estimates that 2021 will eclipse 2020 as the year with the most anti-LGBTQ+ legislation ever filed. </p><p><a href="http://billstatus.ls.state.ms.us/documents/2021/html/SB/2500-2599/SB2536CS.htm">Mississippi Senate Bill 2536</a> bars “males" from competing on interscholastic or intramural athletic teams. The bill states that a student's sex is to be determined by their reproductive anatomy, testosterone levels and “analysis of the student's genetic makeup," which a student can establish with a doctor's note. Its aim is to keep transgender girls, many of whom have yet to reach puberty, from playing on sports teams. </p><p>Last month, Mississippi Gov. Tate Reeves criticized President Joe Biden's <a href="https://www.whitehouse.gov/briefing-room/presidential-actions/2021/01/20/executive-order-preventing-and-combating-discrimination-on-basis-of-gender-identity-or-sexual-orientation/">LGBTQ+ executive order</a>, which enforced the Supreme Court's 2020 ruling that prohibited employment discrimination against queer workers and extended sex protections in law to include LGBTQ+ kids in sports, as a “<a href="https://www.metroweekly.com/2021/02/mississippi-governor-rants-that-bidens-pro-lgbtq-executive-order-is-a-radical-social-experiment/">radical social experiment</a>." Reeves, a Republican, did not immediately respond to a request to comment from The 19th. </p><p>Mississippi resident Katy Binstead said she worries about her daughter, after her principal told her she couldn't play basketball with other middle schoolers.</p><p>“My daughter isn't comfortable playing with the boys because she's not a boy, and she never has been a boy," Binstead said. “And they're saying she can't play girls' basketball, based on a gender assigned at birth." </p><p>But for Binstead, the issues go beyond what team her daughter plays on. “There's so many mental health issues at play here," she said. “A lot of kids that are transgender, if they're not affirmed, the mental health risk of them dying by suicide is quite high." </p><p>At least two bills — in Alabama and <a href="https://www.them.us/story/anti-trans-bill-would-penalize-trans-girls-playing-sports-using-locker-room">Minnesota</a> — would criminilaze and even incarcerate transgender children for playing on athletic teams inconsistent with their sex assigned at birth. </p><p>However, state legislatures aren't just passing athletic bills. South Dakota has passed a <a href="https://19thnews.org/2021/02/36-anti-lgbtq-religious-freedom-measures-are-in-covid-church-bills/">Religious Freedom and Restoration Act</a> (RFRA), a type of anti-LGBTQ+ religious exemption law not seen since former Indiana Gov. Mike Pence inked one into law in 2015. The bills mirror a 1993 federal law that has been used to justify discrimination against LGBTQ+ people and women, advocates say. At least 36 states have RFRAs <a href="https://19thnews.org/2021/02/36-anti-lgbtq-religious-freedom-measures-are-in-covid-church-bills/">pending in state legislatures</a>. </p><p><a href="https://mylrc.sdlegislature.gov/api/Documents/214181.pdf">South Dakota Senate Bill 124</a> was intended to allow churches to stay open during the pandemic. However, the bill contains four lines that echo RFRA language. South Dakota has been used as the testing ground for anti-LGBTQ+ legislation since federal marriage equality became the law of the land in 2015, in part because its chambers are Republican-controlled. <br/>It's unclear if South Dakota Gov. Kristi Noem will sign the bill into law. <a href="https://www.siouxlandproud.com/news/south-dakota-news/noem-welcomes-transgender-people-declines-to-discuss-bills/">The Associated Press reported last month</a> that the Republican said she welcomed transgender people in South Dakota but declined to comment on the transgender legislation moving through her state. </p><p><em>Originally published by </em><a href="https://19thnews.org/2021/03/first-anti-lgbtq-bills-2021-close-becoming-law/"><em>The 19th</em></a></p>
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