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MAGA rioter who stole flag and yelled 'we ride for Trump we die for Trump' escapes with no prison sentence
January 19, 2022
Jacob Kyle Wiedrich escaped a prison term that prosecutors had recommended Wednesday despite having stolen a U.S. flag and boasted wildly about his exploits at the January 6 Capitol insurrection.
Wiedrich, of Salt Lake City, was sentenced only to three months of home confinement and three years of probation in connection to the attack on the Capitol, KSL.com reported. Federal prosecutors had asked for a seemingly light 3-month prison sentence after Wiedrich, who initially called himself “Jason Weed,” pleaded guilty.
The sentence by Judge Thomas Hogan stood in stark contrast to one issued yesterday by Judge Amy Berman Jackson, who gave the same amount of home-detention time -- along with stiff fines -- to a MAGA rioter who spent just five minutes in the Capitol and was accused of no violence or vandalism, much less stealing a flag.
The feds had revealed in a sentencing memorandum that Wiedrich had stolen a U.S. flag from the Capitol and that it was recovered during a search of his home in Salt Lake City.
Also setting apart the two cases were Wiedrich’s boasts about his day at the insurrection. Here’s how KSL.com reported that:
“Charging documents say Wiedrich could be heard yelling "we ride for Trump, we die for Trump" while walking in a crowd. FBI agents also allegedly found a Snapchat video of Wiedrich in which he allegedly said, "We marched to the Capitol, broke a few windows."
Not included in the reporting, but part of the FBI criminal complaint against Wiedrich, was this description of the MAGA rioter:
“The male individual is verbally combative with law enforcement attempting to maintain security; at one point, the male individual complains of being shot with rubber bullets and tear gassed. As the mob moves closer to the Capitol building, the male yells "we're not done!" and "Charge! Charge the motherfucker!" to the mob. The male also screams "take it back!.”
Wiedrich also was quoted by the FBI as contrasting the Capitol riot to Black Lives Matter protests and stating, “we won’t put up with the fraud,” in reference to the 2020 election.
Hogan indicated that that Wiedrich’s statements “concerned” him, the reporting said. But the judge apparently was persuaded by the arguments of Wiedrich’s defense attorney, Maria Jacob, who told the court Wednesday that a Snapchat video and other social media posts were made to try and impress his friends, though some statements made in posts were untrue,” KSL.com reported.
Here’s how the rest went:
“She said that Wiedrich wrote a letter to U.S. Capitol Police officers apologizing for his actions, and he previously suggested to the court that he complete 100 hours of community service as part of his sentence.
"There is obviously remorse here," Jacob said. "He sincerely regrets his actions."
“In a brief statement to the court, Wiedrich, who refers to himself as "Gods Battle Ax and Weapon of War" on Twitter, said he had enrolled in a trade school and knows his past actions will be a stain on his future. He also said that, regardless of politics, "breaking American property is not acceptable." Wiedrich said he is still passionate about politics, but rather than focus on national politics, Wiedrich said he wants to do it the "right way" and focus on local issues.
“Hogan ultimately ruled against sending Wiedrich to prison, saying that he would be incarcerated, the extent of Wiedrich's would only mean a few months behind bars and no additional oversight from the court.
“Instead, Hogan sentenced Wiedrich to three months of home detention, which would allow for Wiedrich to continue with trade school. Once that is complete, Wiedrich will be on supervised probation for three years, which Hogan noted would extend past the 2024 presidential election to ensure Wiedrich doesn't fall into the same patterns that led him to the Capitol. Hogan also ordered that Wiedrich serve 100 hours of community service.”
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‘Something is seriously wrong’: Critics are horrified Trump may run for president again to protect himself
January 19, 2022
Almost a year after Joe Biden was sworn in as president of the United States, former President Donald Trump continues to be the target of multiple investigations — from Fulton County District Attorney Fani Willis in Georgia to Manhattan DA Alvin Bragg, Jr. to New York State Attorney General Letitia James, who has been probing the Trump Organization’s financial activities.
This week, James alleged that her office’s investigation shows a history of “fraudulent or misleading” financial practices. And according to New York Times reporter Maggie Haberman, these investigations can be used to predict whether or not Trump will run for president in 2024.
When NBC News’ Tom Winter described James’ investigation in a Twitter thread, Haberman responded:
Any question of whether Trump runs seem to have been answered this morning. His aides have always signaled that if the investigations progressed that he would run for president againhttps://twitter.com/tom_winter/status/1483657372467924998\u00a0\u2026— Maggie Haberman (@Maggie Haberman) 1642602998
Attorney Daniel S. Goldman, who served as counsel for U.S. House Democrats during their first of two impeachments of Trump, saw Haberman's tweet and responded:
Something is seriously wrong with our system if someone runs for president to avoid accountability for criminal behavior. DOJ must reconsider its policy that a president cannot be indicted in light of this.https://twitter.com/maggienyt/status/1483810638094811139\u00a0\u2026— Daniel Goldman (@Daniel Goldman) 1642609664
Goldman was planning to run for New York State Attorney General in the 2022 midterms. But when James ended her gubernatorial campaign, Goldman decided not to run and endorsed James’ reelection.
Here are some more responses to Haberman’s tweet:
This is why it might be a good idea to charge him with the obstruction of justice he committed when he was last president? If presidents have immunity from prosecution while in office, and then it\u2019s \u201cbygones\u201d when they\u2019re out, what\u2019s the deterrent for someone like Trump???https://twitter.com/maggienyt/status/1483810638094811139\u00a0\u2026— Asha Rangappa (@Asha Rangappa) 1642610003
Makes total sense. His entire Presidency was an effort to advance his personal objectives and it seemed to work well for him. Why not do it again?— (((Howard Forman))) (@(((Howard Forman)))) 1642603078
Yeah, the presidency isn't supposed to be a "get out of jail free" card, but here we arehttps://twitter.com/maggieNYT/status/1483810638094811139\u00a0\u2026— \ud83e\udd66Dan 'The Enemy' Tagliarina\ud83e\udd66 (@\ud83e\udd66Dan 'The Enemy' Tagliarina\ud83e\udd66) 1642624326
There are only two ways to formally prevent an otherwise-eligible person from holding federal office: (1) impeachment, conviction and disqualification (missed that boat last year) and (2) 14th Amendment \u201cinsurrection or rebellion\u201d (but we don\u2019t know precisely how that works).https://twitter.com/maggienyt/status/1483810638094811139\u00a0\u2026— Elie Honig (@Elie Honig) 1642623649
Nothing says Law and Order like running for president in hopes it will get you out of legal trouble (again)https://twitter.com/maggienyt/status/1483810638094811139\u00a0\u2026— Robert Maguire (@Robert Maguire) 1642619945
Trump\u2019s impulse here is a hilarious, incidental giving-up-the-game of how this country now treats the concept of the presidency: go ahead and do crime, who\u2019s gonna hold you accountable?https://twitter.com/maggienyt/status/1483810638094811139\u00a0\u2026— Asawin Suebsaeng (@Asawin Suebsaeng) 1642618639
seems like a bad system where you run for the most important job in the world to try to avoid prosecution for any crimes you committed.https://twitter.com/maggienyt/status/1483810638094811139\u00a0\u2026— Tyler Dinucci!! (@Tyler Dinucci!!) 1642615430
TBH, the answer to this question seemed to be pretty clear before this morning. Between his new feud with Ron DeSantis and his speech at the Arizona rally last weekend, I don\u2019t think there was much of a question that he\u2019s going to try to run again.https://twitter.com/maggienyt/status/1483810638094811139\u00a0\u2026— Caroline Orr Bueno, Ph.D (@Caroline Orr Bueno, Ph.D) 1642614813
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GOP Texas governor candidate: It would be 'cancel culture' to fire campaign staffer with white nationalist ties
January 19, 2022
Don Huffines, a Texas Republican gubernatorial candidate who is running a primary challenge against incumbent Gov. Greg Abbott, is refusing to fire a campaign staffer who has in the past been allied with avowed white nationalists.
As Huffington Post reports, Huffines is standing by right-wing activist Jake Lloyd Colglazier, who was once a featured speaker at an America First conference organized by Holocaust denier Nick Fuentes, and who once claimed that the white "race is dying."
In an interview with Huffington Post, Huffines said that he wouldn't give in to "cancel culture" by firing Colglazier.
“He has done fieldwork for my campaign," the Texas Republican explained. "I have 12 field offices across Texas and over 70 people on payroll with my campaign. If I were to go through the social media history of any young Texan I would find something I disagree with. My campaign will not participate in cancel culture.”
READ MORE: 'Jaw-dropping' Oath Keepers indictment suggests DOJ has major additional evidence: Barbara McQuade
As Huffington Post explains, however, Colglizier's ties to white nationalists go beyond a few problematic tweets.
In a January 2020 livestream, for example, he explicitly said his goal was to infiltrate the Republican Party to make it more friendly toward white nationalist views.
“We need to get into positions of authority, or within close proximity of positions of authority,” he said. “We need to get into positions of institutional power so that we can enact policies that can prevent or stymie demographic change, so that we can continue to gain institutional power, so that we can restore historical America.”
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