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MAGA rioter took shots of 'Fireball' whisky after breaking into Pelosi's office: witness
March 08, 2021
A man who participated in the January 6th riots at the United States Capitol building took shots of Fireball Cinnamon Whisky after breaking into House Speaker Nancy Pelosi's office, a witness has told investigators.
News 4 San Antonio reports that Canyon Lake, Texas resident Treniss Jewell Evans III was ratted out by a "family acquaintance" who had been told that Evans "went inside Pelosi's office to take shots of the liquor" during the riots.
<p>A second witness gave the FBI a photo that showed Evans clearly at the riot, which prompted officials to execute a search warrant on the man's phone, which showed "Evans was at the Capitol on the day and at the time of the riots," according to court documents.</p><p>What's more, officials say they have surveillance footage of Evans inside the Capitol building that day.</p><p>Evans has since been arrested and charged with "obstruction of justice/congress, knowingly entering a restricted building and violent entry on Capitol grounds," according to News 4 San Antonio. </p>
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Jury selection was delayed on Monday in the US trial of the white policeman charged with killing George Floyd, a Black man whose dying breaths were captured on video and sparked outraged protests against racial injustice around the world.
As hundreds of protestors gathered near a heavily guarded Minneapolis courthouse, Judge Peter Cahill ordered the selection of jurors in the closely watched trial delayed until at least Tuesday.
<p>Prosecutors had asked for a delay until a court of appeals can rule on whether a third-degree murder charge can be reinstated against Chauvin.</p><p>The 44-year-old is already facing second-degree murder and manslaughter charges for Floyd's May 25, 2020 death.</p><p>"We have jurors but I think realistically we're not going to get to any jury selection and we won't have an answer (from the court of appeals) until at least tomorrow," the judge said.</p><p>"So unless any of the parties object I'm going to kick our jurors loose and start everything tomorrow with jury selection."</p><p>The judge called a recess until 10:00 am Central Time (1600 GMT) on Tuesday.</p><p>Chauvin, who has been free on bail, appeared in court wearing a dark suit and a face mask at a desk surrounded by plexiglass as a Covid-19 precaution.</p><p>He appeared to closely follow the procedural arguments and was seen at one point jotting down notes on a yellow legal pad. </p><p>Chauvin was arrested and dismissed from the police force after he was seen on video with his knee on the neck of a pleading, gasping Floyd for nearly nine minutes.</p><h1>Racial wounds</h1><p>Floyd's death laid bare racial wounds in the United States and sparked months of sometimes violent protests against racism, injustice and police brutality, both in the US and abroad.</p><p>Lawyers for both sides face the difficult task of finding jurors who have not already made up their minds about the widely publicized case.</p><p>Jury selection is expected to take up to three weeks, with arguments slated to begin on March 29.</p><p>Three other police officers involved in Floyd's arrest -- Alexander Kueng, Thomas Lane and Tou Thao -- face lesser charges and will be tried separately.</p><p>All four officers were fired by the Minneapolis Police Department.</p><p>Floyd's arrest was prompted by accusations that he tried to pass a counterfeit $20 bill in a nearby store.</p><p>Among the hundreds of protesters gathered in Minneapolis on Monday morning was Marcus X. Smith, who stood on a sidewalk using a karaoke machine to blare his message to the crowd carrying "Black Lives Matter" posters and pictures of Floyd.</p><p>"There's a problem in America," Smith told AFP. "The problem is the system we're fighting. Cops get acquitted in a racist system."</p><p>Smith said if Chauvin is acquitted he does not want to see a repetition of the destruction and looting that followed Floyd's death.</p><p>"Instead of burning the city down," Smith said, "lock the city down."</p><p>Chauvin's case is being watched as a potential marker of change in a country that recently elected its first Black vice president, but where police officers historically have often escaped punishment for abusive acts.</p><p>It will feature gripping testimony, as foreshadowed Sunday by Benjamin Crump, a prominent civil rights attorney representing the Floyd family.</p><p>"You look at the video, and you hear him say 28 times, 'I can't breathe,'" Crump told ABC's "This Week." </p><p>"The public is begging the police to take the knee off his neck. They say his nose is bleeding; he can't breathe; he is going unconscious -- you're going to kill him."</p><h1>'Exactly as he was trained to do'</h1><p>Amid the Covid-19 pandemic, social distancing rules mean seating will be limited at the trial, with the Floyd and Chauvin families given only one seat a day. </p><p>Despite intense global interest, only two reporters will be allowed in each day.</p><p>The Minnesota attorney general's office brought in Neal Katyal, a former US acting solicitor general who has argued cases before the Supreme Court, to help with the prosecution.</p><p>Lawyers for Chauvin, a 19-year veteran of the force, have argued that he was following police procedure.</p><p>"Mr. Chauvin acted according to MPD policy, his training and within his duties as a licensed peace officer of the State of Minnesota," according to his lawyer, Eric Nelson. "He did exactly as he was trained to do."</p><p>According to Nelson, Floyd died of an overdose of fentanyl. </p><p>An autopsy did find traces of the drug in Floyd's system but said the cause of death was "neck compression."</p><p>A verdict is not expected until late April.</p>
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Mike Pence chooses right wing religious org tied to anti-LGBTQ hate group to host his first post-VP speech
March 08, 2021
Former vice president Mike Pence has chosen a Christian organization dedicated to "persuasively present biblical principles" and preserve religious freedom to host his first speech since leaving the White House. Palmetto Family, a group with ties to anti-LGBTQ organizations, including a hate group, is based in South Carolina, the state that led to President Joe Biden winning the Democratic Party's presidential nomination.
The group opposes same-sex marriage and a woman's right to choose. It also opposes sex education, pornography, and lists among its "accomplishments" that "11-year-olds will not be required to be vaccinated for sexual diseases."
<p>"Pence, who since leaving the administration has been doing work with the Heritage Foundation and Young America's Foundation, has not indicated if he plans a future run for office, but his choice of making his post-administration debut in South Carolina helps set down a marker for a potential 2024 presidential bid," <a href="https://apnews.com/article/us-news-columbia-michael-pence-south-carolina-bda56f16bc2655da95c75cf3ae71da37" rel="noopener" target="_blank">The Associated Press reports</a>. "The state holds the first presidential primaries in the South, and candidates of both major parties typically spend more than a year in the state ahead of those votes, introducing themselves and trying to secure support."</p><p>Palmetto Family, formerly Palmetto Family Council, <a href="https://www.palmettofamily.org/values/" rel="noopener" target="_blank">says</a> it is tied to both the anti-LGBTQ organization Focus on the Family and the anti-LGBTQ hate group Family Research Council.</p><p>Between 450 and 600 people are expected to attend Pence's speech and dinner.</p><p>Palmetto Family also lists among its accomplishments that the "Ten Commandments may be displayed in public buildings," "Schools must follow state abstinence laws in sex education or lose funding," "Students may receive graduation credit for off-campus Bible study," "The Bible may be taught as history and literature in public schools," and "Biology standards must allow critique of evolution."</p><p>Pence, Palmetto Family president Dave Wilson told the AP, "is very reflective of the ideas, policies and direction that we at Palmetto Family want to see in South Carolina: bringing faith to the forefront and growing the next generation of conservative leaders for our state."</p>
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