FEBRUARY 28, 2021 

PROGRESSIVE OPINION AND NEWS

THIS RIOTER TOOK TIME OUT TO INSULT HIS GIRLFRIEND, AT WHICH POINT SHE TURNED HIS NAME IN TO THE FBI FOR BEING THERE. I HAVE TO LAUGH. 

https://www.cbsnews.com/news/capitol-riot-richard-michetti-turned-in-by-ex-girlfriend/ 
Capitol riot suspect turned in by ex after texting her, "If you can't see the election was stolen you're a moron"
BY CASSIDY MCDONALD
FEBRUARY 25, 2021 / 11:43 AM / CBS NEWS 

Richard Michetti texted his ex during the Capitol riot to say she was "a moron" if she didn't believe the election was stolen. She turned him in. 

Michetti is now facing charges for his alleged conduct January 6 after prosecutors said someone with whom Michetti had a "prior romantic relationship" shared with law enforcement texts and videos that he'd sent her during the attack. 

"If you can't see the election was stolen you're a moron," Michetti texted her that day. 

Michetti was charged with entering or remaining in restricted building or grounds, violent entry and disorderly conduct on Capitol grounds, obstruction of justice as well as a charge making him punishable as a principal. 

Prosecutors listed a series of texts that Michetti sent his ex as he made his way to the U.S. Capitol. 

Around 7:15 p.m. the night before the riot, he wrote, "I just got to dc I'll call when I get off." 

ASSAULT ON THE U.S. CAPITOL
*FBI focusing on one possible suspect in Capitol officer's death
*How Black Americans viewed the Capitol riot
*Lawmakers press acting Capitol Police chief on January 6 preparations
*Over 300 charged so far: What we know about the Capitol riot arrests 

The woman told law enforcement that Michetti was in Washington on January 6 because he believed the election was stolen from then-President Donald Trump. 

PHOTOGRAPH -- Michetti.png, Prosecutors say this photo, submitted to the FBI through their tip line, shows Richard Michetti standing on the U.S. Capitol steps January 6.   DEPARTMENT OF JUSTICE 

At around 6:04 p.m., he sent a series of text messages to his ex. One said: "I understand your point but what I'm saying is [ex's name] the election was rigged and everyone knows it. All's we wanted was an investigation that's it. And they couldn't investigate the biggest presidential race in history with mail in ballots who everyone knows is easy to fraud." 

In fact, Attorney General William Barr authorized U.S. attorneys across the country to "pursue substantial allegations" of voting irregularities in the 2020 election, but the Justice Department uncovered no evidence of widespread fraud that would change the outcome of the election. Election officials in individual states also conducted their own audits and recounts, which did not find fraud or change the outcome of the election. 

"This is our country do you think we live like kings because no one sacrificed anything?" Michetti said in texts to his ex. "...the vote was fraud and trump won but they won't audit the votes. We are patriots we are not revolutionaries the other side is revolutionaries they want to destroy this country and they say it openly." 

He also wrote, "This is tyranny they say there and told us 'we rigged the election and there's nuthin you can do about it' what do you think should be done?" 

In his texts, prosectors say, Michetti detailed what he was doing on January 6, sending his ex videos of rioters yelling inside the Capitol building. 

"...it's going down here we stormed the building they held us back with spray and teargas and paintballs," he wrote. "Gotta stop the vote it's fraud this is our country." 

He told his ex, "my eyes are burnitin" [sic] and "thousands of people storming." 

A number of Capitol riot suspects have been reported to law enforcement by an ex or family member. Riley Williams, accused of stealing Nancy Pelosi's laptop during the riot, surrendered to authorities after her ex called the FBI multiple times to report having seen her in videos inside the Capitol. Guy Reffitt, who was indicted on charges including obstruction of justice, allegedly threatened his son and daughter after his son spoke to the FBI about his actions. 

Clare Hymes contributed to this report.

First published on February 25, 2021 / 11:43 AM 

© 2021 CBS Interactive Inc. All Rights Reserved. 

 

TERRORISM IS NOT A CHARGE? FREEDOM OF SPEECH, MAYBE? IT DOES APPEAR THAT THE GOVERNMENT IS PURSUING THIS AS THE NATIONAL DEFENSE MATTER THAT IT IS. LISTEN TO THE VIDEO BY POLITICAL SCIENTIST ROBERT A. PAPE ON THE DEMOGRAPHICS OF THE ASSAULT, THOUGH IT LEFT ME WANTING MUCH MORE INFORMATION.
 
 https://www.cbsnews.com/news/capitol-riot-arrests-2021-02-27/ 
Over 300 charged from more than 40 states: What we know about the "unprecedented" Capitol riot arrests
BY CLARE HYMES, CASSIDY MCDONALD, ELEANOR WATSON
UPDATED ON: FEBRUARY 26, 2021 / 7:16 PM / CBS NEWS 

VIDEO – WHO ARE THE CAPITOL INSURRECTIONISTS? 07:53 MIN. 

America watched as hordes of rioters broke into the U.S. Capitol on January 6 — crushing through windows, pressing up stairways, and sending lawmakers and law enforcement running for their lives. The flood of protesters who streamed into the Capitol that day left federal authorities with an equally immense task: finding and charging those responsible. 

Federal prosecutors have now charged more than 300 people, and arrested more than 280, in connection with the events of January 6, Acting Deputy Attorney General John Carlin said Friday. A Justice Department official said this week that the department had opened files on approximately 540 subjects. 

"The investigation into those responsible is moving at a speed and scale that's unprecedented, and rightly so. Those responsible must be held to account, and they will be," Carlin said. 

As law enforcement continues to round up alleged attackers, here's what CBS News has learned about the people who were arrested: 

How many have been charged? 

Over 300 defendants have been charged in federal court. CBS News has reviewed the charging documents for 258 defendants whose cases were unsealed, and of those, at least 84 were also indicted by grand juries. 

Where did they come from?
 
The alleged rioters come from at least 42 states outside of Washington, D.C. Among those arrested whose home states were known, the most were from Texas, with 25 Texans charged so far. New York had 21 residents arrested while Florida and Pennsylvania each had 20.
 
ASSAULT ON THE U.S. CAPITOL
*FBI focusing on one possible suspect in Capitol officer's death
*How Black Americans viewed the Capitol riot
*Lawmakers press acting Capitol Police chief on January 6 preparations
*Over 300 charged so far: What we know about the Capitol riot arrests 

How many have served in the military? 

At least 23 of those arrested are veterans and three are currently enlisted in the military — two in the Army Reserve and one in the National Guard — according to military service records and court documents obtained by CBS News. 

Of the veterans, 12 have served in the U.S. Marines, eight served in the Army, two served in the Navy and one served in the Air Force. 

The Army Reserve shared the following statement with CBS News: "The U.S. Army Reserve takes all allegations of Soldier or Army civilian involvement in extremist groups seriously and will address this issue in accordance with Army regulations and the Uniform Code of Military Justice to ensure due process. Extremist ideologies and activities directly oppose our values and beliefs and those who subscribe to extremism have no place in our ranks." 

How many worked in law enforcement? 

At least five of those arrested were employed as law enforcement officers at the time of the riot, and at least three of those arrested had previously worked as police officers. Prosecutors also charged one current firefighter and one retired firefighter. 

Of the five police officers, four have since lost their jobs. An officer in North Cornwall Township, Pennsylvania was suspended without pay after he was charged with, among other crimes, obstruction of law enforcement during civil disorder. Houston police officer Tam Dinh Pham and Monmouth County correctional police officer Marissa Suarez both resigned after they were arrested, and two Virginia police officers were fired after prosecutors charged them for their alleged conduct at the Capitol. 

Laura Steele, a member of the Oath Keepers militia indicted for conspiracy, worked for the High Point Police Department in North Carolina for 12 years before she was terminated for conduct toward superior personnel, absence from duty, and violating a communications policy, a spokesperson for High Point Police said. Her husband, Kenneth Steele — who was not alleged to be at the Capitol riot — retired on January 1 as assistant police chief. Thomas Webster, who prosecutors said is a former New York Police Department officer, was charged after he allegedly lunged at a Capitol Police officer with a metal flagpole during the Capitol riot. Nicholes Lentz — who the Florida Department of Law Enforcement said is a former officer in the North Miami Beach and Fort Pierce police departments — was charged after posting videos from inside the Capitol. In a video, he said, "We're not here to hurt any cops of course. I love my boys in blue, but this is overwhelming for them." 

Additionally, firefighter and paramedic Andrew Williams was arrested for his participation in the riot, and retired firefighter Robert Sanford was arrested and accused of throwing a fire extinguisher that hit three police officers in the head. 

Common charges 

Acting U.S. Attorney Michael Sherwin said last month that prosecutors would move away from charging the easily identifiable "internet stars" who appeared in photos and on social media and begin to build more complicated conspiracy cases related to militia groups' coordination during the attack. So far, at least 18 have been charged with conspiracy, a charge that alleges they coordinated with others to commit an offense. 

More than 20 have been charged under a destruction of government property statute. During proceedings for two of those defendants, the government said their crimes amounted to "terrorism" — an allegation that is not itself a charge but could influence prison sentences if the men are found guilty. 

The FBI told CBS News earlier this month that 40 people have been arrested for assault on law enforcement officers. The crime carries penalties ranging from one to 20 years, depending on the circumstances of the assault. Federal prosecutors have also charged at least 195 alleged rioters with "restricted building or grounds" charges. 

How many have extremist affiliations? 

Authorities have connected at least 34 alleged rioters to extremist groups, including the Proud Boys, Oath Keepers, Three Percenters, Texas Freedom Force and the conspiracy group QAnon. 

How many were women? 

While those arrested in the January 6 mob were mostly men, at least 31 women have also been arrested for their alleged participation. 

How old were those arrested? 

Among the 82 defendants whose ages are known, the average age was 42. The youngest-known alleged rioter is 18-year-old Bruno Joseph Cua, who prosecutors accused of assaulting an officer after he posted online, "President Trump is calling us to FIGHT!" 

The oldest rioters were two 70-year-old men: Bennie Parker, an alleged Oath Keeper, and Lonnie Coffman, an Alabama man who authorities say brought a car full of weapons and explosives to Washington, D.C. 

How many have been released? 

At least 121 people have been approved to go home after posting bail or agreeing to supervised release. 

How many leads are being followed? 

Federal law enforcement has issued more than 500 grand jury subpoenas and search warrants, and the FBI has fielded more than 200,000 digital media tips from people hoping to share evidence of the riot. 

Recent updates on notable cases 

A Capitol riot suspect was turned in by his ex after he texted her, "If you can't see the election was stolen you're a moron." 

An Oath Keepers member, Jessica Watkins, on Tuesday became the third Capitol rioter accused of committing a "crime of terrorism." 

The daughter of a Virginia man arrested during the U.S. Capitol assault said her father is "brainwashed." 

Federal prosecutors indicted six members of the Oath Keepers militia, who the government added as co-defendants to an existing indictment for three alleged Oath Keepers. Seven of the group were part of a tactical "stack" of people dressed in combat gear who pushed through crowds to enter the Capitol, the government said. 

Paulina Smolinski contributed to this report. 

First published on January 26, 2021 / 5:36 PM 

© 2021 CBS Interactive Inc. All Rights Reserved. 

 

NOW FOR SOMETHING LIGHT: BERNIE SANDERS HAS A GOOD FAN BASE, BUT NOT THIS GOOD. NOTICE THE NUMBER OF VIEWS AND THE DATE OF THIS VIDEO. IT’S FUNNY AND CHARMING, AND GIVES ME A VERY GOOD IMPRESSION OF PRINCE HARRY. 

 https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7oxlCKMlpZw 
#9 ON TRENDING
An Afternoon with Prince Harry & James Corden, 17:03 MIN.
10,140,510 views • Feb 26, 2021
UPS   323K    DOWNS   9.4K 

The Late Late Show with James Corden

26M subscribers 

Now that the Duke and Duchess of Sussex are settled into Southern California, James Corden thought it was time to show his friend Prince Harry the sights. From tea on an open top bus to visiting the "Fresh Prince of Bel Air" mansion, Prince Harry gets the tour he never dreamed of. Special thanks to Spartan for providing an incredible Spartan Race Obstacle Course to run. Learn more: spartan.com 

 

END OF FEBRUARY 28 

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 PROGRESSIVES – THE DEMOCRAT PARTY VERSUS THE REPUGLICANS
COMPILATION AND COMMENTARY
BY LUCY WARNER
FEBRUARY 27, 2021
 
A CRUDE LINGUISTIC WAR OF SLIGHTS AND SLURS HAS BEEN GOING ON, MORE PROMINENTLY AMONG POLITICIANS SINCE THE TEA PARTY HIJACKED THE GOP THAN IN THE PAST. THE REPUBLICANS ALWAYS, NOW, MAKE IT A POINT TO CALLTHE DEMOCRATIC PARTY THE “DEMOCRAT” PARTY. I SUGGEST WE CALL THEM THE GODAWFUL OLD PARTY, OR EVEN BETTER THE “REPUGLICANS.” THAT’S A PERFECT DESCRIPTION.
 
THE WHOLE THING IS SILLY, OF COURSE, LIKE CALLING ENVIRONMENTALLY CONCERNED CITIZENS “TREE HUGGERS.” IT DOES, HOWEVER, MAKE ANYTHING APPROACHING GOODWILL AN IMPOSSIBILITY, AND IT GUARANTEES THE CONTINUANCE OF A DEPLORABLE AND INCREASINGLY DANGEROUS LEGISLATIVE GRIDLOCK WELL INTO THE DISTANT FUTURE.
 

https://apnews.com/article/donald-trump-us-news-ohio-elections-f39b9370f14fd698a76285b83a2ef4c6    
What’s in an adjective? ‘Democrat Party’ label on the rise
By JULIE CARR SMYTH
Today [FEBRUARY 27, 2021]
 
PHOTOGRAPH -- FILE - In this Feb. 24, 2021, file photo, a sign directs Republican and Democrat legislators to their parking areas as a N.H. State Trooper watches the flow of traffic prior to a New Hampshire House of Representatives session held at NH Sportsplex, due to the coronavirus in Bedford, N.H. Amid calls to dial back hyper political partisanship, two letters are among the obstacles standing in the way. Republicans, including the lawyers who defended former President Donald Trump during last week’s impeachment trial, routinely drop the “i-c” when referring to the Democratic Party or its policies. (AP Photo/Charles Krupa, File)
 
COLUMBUS, Ohio (AP) — Two days before the assault on the U.S. Capitol, Pennsylvania state Sen. Doug Mastriano, a Republican, said supporters of then-President Donald Trump’s claims of election fraud were basically in a “death match with the Democrat Party.”
 
A day later, right-wing activist Alan Hostetter, a staunch Trump supporter known for railing against California’s virus-inspired stay-at-home orders, urged rallygoers in Washington to “put the fear of God in the cowards, the traitors, the RINOs, the communists of the Democrat Party.”
 
The shared grammatical construction — incorrect use of the noun “Democrat” as an adjective — was far from the most shocking thing about the two men’s statements. But it identified them as members of the same tribe, conservatives seeking to define the opposition through demeaning language.
 
Amid bipartisan calls to dial back extreme partisanship following the insurrection, the intentional misuse of “Democrat” as an adjective remains in nearly universal use among Republicans. Propelled by conservative media, it also has caught on with far-right elements that were energized by the Trump presidency.
 
Academics and partisans disagree on the significance of the word play. Is it a harmless political tactic intended to annoy Republicans’ opponents, or a maliciously subtle vilification of one of America’s two major political parties that further divides the nation?
 
Thomas Patterson, a political communication professor at Harvard’s Shorenstein Center on Media, Politics and Public Policy, said using “Democrat” as an adjective delivers a “little twist” of the knife with each usage because it irritates Democrats, but sees it as little more than that.
 
“This is,” he says, “just another piece in a big bubbling kettle of animosities that are out there.”
 
Others disagree. Purposely mispronouncing the formal name of the Democratic Party and equating it with political ideas that are not democratic goes beyond mere incivility, said Vanessa Beasley, an associate professor of communications at Vanderbilt University who studies presidential rhetoric. She said creating short-hand descriptions of people or groups is a way to dehumanize them.
 
In short: Language matters.
 
“The idea is to strip it down to that noun and make it into this blur, so that you can say that these are bad people — and my party, the people who are using the term, are going to be the upholders of democracy,” she said.
 
To those who see the discussion as an exercise in political correctness, Susan Benesch, executive director of the Dangerous Speech Project, said to look deeper.
 
“It’s just two little letters — i and c — added to the end of a word, right?” she said. “But the small difference in the two terms, linguistically or grammatically, does not protect against a large difference in meaning and impact of the language.”
 
During the “Stop the Steal” rallies that emerged to support Trump’s groundless allegations that the 2020 election was stolen from him, the construction was everywhere. Republican National Committee Chairwoman Ronna McDaniel accused “Democrat lawyers and rogue election officials” of “an unprecedented power grab” related to the election. Demonstrators for the president’s baseless cause mirrored her language.
 
After Republican congresswoman Marjorie Taylor Greene of Georgia was removed from her House committees for espousing sometimes dangerous conspiracy theories, she tweeted: “In this Democrat tyrannical government, Conservative Republicans have no say on committees anyway.”
 
Trump’s lawyers used the construction frequently during his second impeachment trial, following the lead of the former president, who employed it routinely while in office. During a campaign rally last October in Wisconsin, he explained his thinking.
 
“You know I always say Democrat. You know why? Because it sounds worse,” Trump said. “Democrat sounds lousy, but you know what? That’s actually their name, the Democrat Party. Right? The Democrat Party. So I always say Democrat.”
 
In fact, “Democratic” to describe some version of a U.S. political party has been around since Thomas Jefferson and James Madison formed the Democratic-Republican Party in the 1790s. Modern Democrats are loosely descended from a split of that party.
 
The precise origins of Republicans’ truncated phrasing are difficult to pin down, but the Republican National Committee formalized it in a vote ahead of the 1956 presidential election.
 
Then-spokesman L. Richard Guylay told The New York Times that “Democrat Party” was “a natural,” because it was already in common use among Republicans and better reflected the “diverse viewpoints” within the opposing party — which the GOP suggested weren’t always representative of small-d democratic values.
 
Wisconsin Sen. Joseph McCarthy, who had just led his notorious campaign against alleged communists, Soviet spies and sympathizers, was the most notable user of the phrase “Democrat Party” ahead of the vote. The current RNC did not respond to emails and phone messages seeking comment for this story.
 
The construction was used sparsely in the following decades, but in recent times has spread to become part of conservatives’ everyday speech.
 
At the height of last summer’s racial justice protests, the group representing state attorneys general criticized “inaction by Democrat AGs” to support law enforcement. In explaining its rules for cleaning Georgia’s voter roles, the office of Republican Secretary of State Brad Raffensperger said it was following a process started in the 1990s under “a Democrat majority General Assembly and signed into law by a Democrat Governor.” Asked recently what he would think of his former health director running for the U.S. Senate in Ohio, Republican Gov. Mike DeWine responded, “I’m going to stay out of Democrat primaries.”
 
Using Democrat as a pejorative is now so common that it’s almost jarring to hear a Republican or conservative commentator accurately say “Democratic Party.”
 
Ohio Supreme Court Chief Justice Maureen O’Connor said she wishes both parties would abandon their heightened rhetoric toward each other. She spoke out forcefully in September after the Ohio Republican Party maligned a “Democrat common pleas judge” who had ruled against them. The party later apologized.
 
Her objection was the politicization of the judiciary, which she has fought against, and not specifically the GOP’s misuse of the word “Democrat.” But in a later interview, she said the language was a reflection of today’s hyperpartisan political environment.
 
“It’s used as almost like a curse word,” said O’Connor, a Republican. “It’s not being used as a compliment or even for purposes of being a benign identifier. It’s used as a condemnation, and that’s not right.”
 
For their part, Democrats rarely push back, even when the phrase is used in state legislative chambers or on the floor of Congress. It wasn’t always that way.
 
Then-President George W. Bush departed from his written remarks and used the phrase “Democrat majority” in his 2007 State of the Union address. He was swiftly rebuked and apologized.
 
“Now look, my diction isn’t all that good,” a rueful Bush said. “I have been accused of occasionally mangling the English language, so I appreciate you inviting the head of the Republic party.”
 
Bush’s self-deprecating joke highlighted a key issue around Republicans’ use of “Democrat” as an epithet, says political scientist Michael Cornfield, an associate professor at George Washington University. Democrats don’t have a comparable insult for Republicans.
 
“It’s a one-way provocation,” he said.
 
In the 1950s, Democrats toyed with a tit-for-tat approach in which they would refer to Republicans as “Publicans,” the widely despised toll collectors of ancient Rome. Republicans scoffed at the effort, which they rightly noted no one would understand. Republicans also could turn it around as a way to burnish their brand: In British usage, a publican is someone who owns a pub.
 
Meanwhile, “Republic” — without the “a-n” — isn’t derogatory. It’s known as a “God word” in American politics, just as small-d “democratic” is, meaning a revered cultural concept that’s universally understood.
 
The truncated “Democrat,” on the other hand, “rhymes with rat, bureaucrat, kleptocrat, plutocrat,” Cornfield said. ”‘Crats’ are bad. So you can see why they do it.”
 
David Pepper, a former Democratic Party chairman in Ohio, says Republicans’ phrasing has “clearly been thought about.” Even so, he doesn’t see trying to erase it as a good use of Democrats’ time as the party seeks to reset the national agenda after four years of Trump.
 
He said that while President Joe Biden has pledged national unity, “the other side is literally trying to make the other party sound like rodents.”
 
“To me,” Pepper said, “that’s absurd and disturbing at the same time.”
 
AP news researcher Jennifer Farrar in New York contributed to this report.
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