Fire him, take his pension, and lock his punk ass up.
Trump supporters behaving like the bags of ass that they are
- Thread starter PliggaNease
- Start date
Fire him, take his pension, and lock his punk ass up.
I had to find a visual.
Jan. 6 panel sets vote on contempt charges against Bannon
By MARY CLARE JALONICK, ERIC TUCKER, JILL COLVIN and MICHELLE R. SMITH
7 minutes ago
Jan. 6 panel moves against Bannon, sets contempt vote
A congressional committee investigating the Jan. 6 Capitol insurrection has set a vote to recommend criminal contempt charges against former White House aide Steve Bannon after he defied the panel’s subpoena.apnews.com
WASHINGTON (AP) — A congressional committee investigating the Jan. 6 Capitol insurrection has set a vote to recommend criminal contempt charges against former White House aide Steve Bannon after he defied the panel’s subpoena on Thursday.
The chairman of the panel, Rep. Bennie Thompson, D-Miss., said the committee will vote next week to recommend the charges. That would send the recommendation to the full House for a vote.
If the House votes to recommend the contempt charges against Bannon, the Justice Department will ultimately decide whether to prosecute. The committee had demanded documents and testimony from Bannon, who was in touch with President Donald Trump ahead of the violent attack.
“The Select Committee will not tolerate defiance of our subpoenas, so we must move forward with proceedings to refer Mr. Bannon for criminal contempt,” Thompson said in a statement.
The committee had scheduled a Thursday deposition with Bannon, but his lawyer said that at Trump’s direction he wouldn’t appear. Bannon also failed to provide documents to the panel by a deadline last week.
A second witness called for a deposition Thursday, former Defense Department official Kashyap Patel, also would not appear, according to two people familiar with the confidential negotiations who were granted anonymity to discuss them. But Patel is still engaging with the committee, the people said, and the committee is not pursuing contempt charges against him.
Two other aides who worked for Trump — former White House chief of staff Mark Meadows and longtime Trump social media director Dan Scavino — are scheduled for depositions Friday. It is unclear whether they will appear. Like Patel, Meadows is speaking with the committee.
Bannon’s testimony is just one facet of an escalating congressional inquiry, with 19 subpoenas issued so far and thousands of pages of documents flowing in. But his defiance is a crucial development for the committee, whose members are vowing to restore the binding force of congressional subpoenas after they were routinely flouted during Trump’s time in office.
“Mr. Bannon has declined to cooperate with the Select Committee and is instead hiding behind the former President’s insufficient, blanket and vague statements regarding privileges he has purported to invoke,” Rep. Thompson said in his statement. “We reject his position entirely.”
Other witnesses are cooperating, including some who organized or staffed the Trump rally on the Ellipse behind the White House that preceded the violent riot. The committee subpoenaed 11 rally organizers and gave them a Wednesday deadline to turn over documents and records. They have also been asked to appear at scheduled depositions.
Among those responding was Lyndon Brentnall, whose firm was hired to provide Ellipse event security that day. “All the documents and communications requested by the subpoena were handed in,” he told The Associated Press.
Brentnall had previously said, “As far as we’re concerned, we ran security at a legally permitted event run in conjunction with the U.S. Secret Service and the Park Police.”
Two longtime Trump campaign and White House staffers, Megan Powers and Hannah Salem, who were listed on the Jan 6. rally permit as “operations manager for scheduling and guidance” and “operations manager for logistics and communications,” have also provided documents or are planning to do so.
It remains unclear whether the others who were subpoenaed intend to cooperate. A committee spokesperson declined to comment Wednesday on the responses it had received and how many of the 11 were complying.
Two additional rally organizers, Ali Alexander and Nathan Martin, as well as their “Stop the Steal” organization, were also subpoenaed for documents, which are due Oct. 21.
Many of the rioters who stormed the Capitol on Jan. 6 marched up the National Mall after attending at least part of Trump’s rally, where he repeated his meritless claims of election fraud and implored the crowd to “fight like hell.” Dozens of police officers were injured as the Trump supporters then broke through windows and doors and interrupted the certification of President Joe Biden’s victory.
The rioters repeated Trump’s false claims of widespread fraud as they marched through the Capitol, even though the results of the election were confirmed by state officials and upheld by the courts. Trump’s own attorney general, William Barr, had said the Justice Department found no evidence of widespread fraud that could have overturned the results.
Also Wednesday, the panel issued a subpoena to a former Justice Department lawyer who positioned himself as Trump’s ally and aided the Republican president’s efforts to challenge the results of the 2020 election.
The demands for documents and testimony from Jeffrey Clark reflect the committee’s efforts to probe not only the insurrection but also the tumult that roiled the Justice Department in the weeks leading up to it as Trump and his allies leaned on government lawyers to advance his election claims.
Clark, an assistant attorney general in the Trump administration, has emerged as a pivotal character. A Senate committee report issued last week showed that he championed Trump’s efforts to undo the election results and clashed as a result with Justice Department superiors who resisted the pressure, culminating in a dramatic White House meeting at which Trump ruminated about elevating Clark to attorney general.
The committee’s demands of Trump aides and associates are potentially complicated by Trump’s vow to fight their cooperation on grounds of executive privilege.
Biden has formally rejected Trump’s claim of executive privilege surrounding a tranche of documents requested from the former president’s time in the White House, and has set up the documents’ potential release to Congress in mid-November. White House Counsel Dana Remus wrote to the National Archives in a letter released Wednesday that Biden believes that “an assertion of executive privilege is not in the best interests of the United States.”
So they're gonna vote to vote to see if the DOJ will arrest him. But let one of our asses defy a subpoena and watch what happens immediately
House panel on Jan. 6 votes to hold Steve Bannon in contempt for defying subpoena
Claudia Grisales
October 19, 2021
www.npr.org
The House committee investigating the Jan. 6 attack on the U.S. Capitol on Tuesday evening unanimously approved a criminal contempt report against Steve Bannon, an ally of former President Donald Trump's, for defying a subpoena from the panel.
The vote sends the measure to the full House for a planned vote Thursday. If the chamber approves it, the referral would be sent on to federal law enforcement for potential charges.
The nine-member committee, made up of seven Democrats and two Republicans, was united in their scathing response to Bannon's refusal to come before the panel. Bannon no-showed for a deposition that was sought last Thursday, and did not turn over documents for another deadline a week earlier.
"Mr. Bannon will comply with our investigation or he will face the consequences," the committee's chairman, Rep. Bennie Thompson, D-Miss., said in prepared remarks to open a meeting to take up the contempt report.
"Maybe he's willing to be a martyr to the disgraceful cause of whitewashing what happened on January 6th — of demonstrating his complete loyalty to the former President," Thompson added. "So I want other witnesses to understand something very plainly: If you're thinking of following the path Mr. Bannon has gone down, you're on notice that this is what you'll face."
Privilege debate
In the 26-page contempt report, the panel documented its many attempts to make contact with Bannon regarding documents and testimony. Members reiterated that his claim of executive privilege, which says that a president can keep private certain documents or discussions with advisers, did not apply in his case.
The panel also shared a series of exchanges with Bannon's attorney, Robert Costello, warning that the former Trump strategist was in "defiance" of his subpoena.
The move comes the day after Trump himself filed a lawsuit against the committee, saying he still retained executive privilege. Trump had advised Bannon and others that the legal shield protects them from sharing certain conversations and documents.
However, the committee's members have argued that protection rests with President Biden, who waived the privilege regarding an earlier document request. They also argued that Bannon's case especially does not apply since he was a private citizen as of Jan. 6 and not part of the Trump administration.
What happens next
The contempt report now heads to the House floor for a vote that's scheduled Thursday on whether to approve the referral, and the plan is expected to win approval in the Democratic-controlled chamber. Following passage, House Speaker Nancy Pelosi, D-Calif., could certify the report for the U.S. attorney's office, which can then take it before a grand jury for consideration.
Ultimately, these final prosecution steps could involve the highest levels of the Justice Department, including Attorney General Merrick Garland, as such cases are rare.
"It's exceedingly rare for the Department of Justice to charge anyone with contempt of Congress," said Daniel Goldman, a former House impeachment lawyer who served during Trump's 2019 case before the lower chamber. "This is an unusual situation where you have executive branch officials from a previous administration, not the current administration. And it's also incredibly unprecedented, unusual circumstances surrounding a insurrection, riot and effort to overturn a lawful election."
Goldman also noted that pursuing such a criminal referral was "not an option for us" during Trump's 2019 impeachment as the Justice Department would not have followed through on the contempt report.
"Ultimately, this is going to rest on the Department of Justice and whether they're willing to use their authority to enforce these subpoenas," Goldman told NPR after the committee announced its plans to pursue the contempt charge.
Former White House Chief of Staff Mark Meadows, ex-Trump White House deputy chief of staff for communications Dan Scavino and former Defense Department official Kash Patel also received subpoenas in recent weeks. But the panel postponed their depositions for now, with Meadows and Patel recently in talks with the committee, and Scavino seeing a delay receiving his subpoena.
The committee has a number of other subpoena deadlines approaching, including ones for the right-wing Stop the Steal group and nearly a dozen other organizers behind the rally that preceded the deadly attack on the Capitol.
And the committee issued another subpoena Wednesday for Jeffrey Clark, an ex-Justice Department official who had promised to pursue Trump's false election fraud claims.
Claudia Grisales
October 19, 2021
House panel on Jan. 6 votes to hold Steve Bannon in contempt for defying subpoena
The unanimous vote sends the measure to the full House. If the chamber approves it, the referral would be sent on to federal law enforcement for potential charges.
www.npr.org
The House committee investigating the Jan. 6 attack on the U.S. Capitol on Tuesday evening unanimously approved a criminal contempt report against Steve Bannon, an ally of former President Donald Trump's, for defying a subpoena from the panel.
The vote sends the measure to the full House for a planned vote Thursday. If the chamber approves it, the referral would be sent on to federal law enforcement for potential charges.
The nine-member committee, made up of seven Democrats and two Republicans, was united in their scathing response to Bannon's refusal to come before the panel. Bannon no-showed for a deposition that was sought last Thursday, and did not turn over documents for another deadline a week earlier.
"Mr. Bannon will comply with our investigation or he will face the consequences," the committee's chairman, Rep. Bennie Thompson, D-Miss., said in prepared remarks to open a meeting to take up the contempt report.
"Maybe he's willing to be a martyr to the disgraceful cause of whitewashing what happened on January 6th — of demonstrating his complete loyalty to the former President," Thompson added. "So I want other witnesses to understand something very plainly: If you're thinking of following the path Mr. Bannon has gone down, you're on notice that this is what you'll face."
Privilege debate
In the 26-page contempt report, the panel documented its many attempts to make contact with Bannon regarding documents and testimony. Members reiterated that his claim of executive privilege, which says that a president can keep private certain documents or discussions with advisers, did not apply in his case.
The panel also shared a series of exchanges with Bannon's attorney, Robert Costello, warning that the former Trump strategist was in "defiance" of his subpoena.
The move comes the day after Trump himself filed a lawsuit against the committee, saying he still retained executive privilege. Trump had advised Bannon and others that the legal shield protects them from sharing certain conversations and documents.
However, the committee's members have argued that protection rests with President Biden, who waived the privilege regarding an earlier document request. They also argued that Bannon's case especially does not apply since he was a private citizen as of Jan. 6 and not part of the Trump administration.
What happens next
The contempt report now heads to the House floor for a vote that's scheduled Thursday on whether to approve the referral, and the plan is expected to win approval in the Democratic-controlled chamber. Following passage, House Speaker Nancy Pelosi, D-Calif., could certify the report for the U.S. attorney's office, which can then take it before a grand jury for consideration.
Ultimately, these final prosecution steps could involve the highest levels of the Justice Department, including Attorney General Merrick Garland, as such cases are rare.
"It's exceedingly rare for the Department of Justice to charge anyone with contempt of Congress," said Daniel Goldman, a former House impeachment lawyer who served during Trump's 2019 case before the lower chamber. "This is an unusual situation where you have executive branch officials from a previous administration, not the current administration. And it's also incredibly unprecedented, unusual circumstances surrounding a insurrection, riot and effort to overturn a lawful election."
Goldman also noted that pursuing such a criminal referral was "not an option for us" during Trump's 2019 impeachment as the Justice Department would not have followed through on the contempt report.
"Ultimately, this is going to rest on the Department of Justice and whether they're willing to use their authority to enforce these subpoenas," Goldman told NPR after the committee announced its plans to pursue the contempt charge.
Former White House Chief of Staff Mark Meadows, ex-Trump White House deputy chief of staff for communications Dan Scavino and former Defense Department official Kash Patel also received subpoenas in recent weeks. But the panel postponed their depositions for now, with Meadows and Patel recently in talks with the committee, and Scavino seeing a delay receiving his subpoena.
The committee has a number of other subpoena deadlines approaching, including ones for the right-wing Stop the Steal group and nearly a dozen other organizers behind the rally that preceded the deadly attack on the Capitol.
And the committee issued another subpoena Wednesday for Jeffrey Clark, an ex-Justice Department official who had promised to pursue Trump's false election fraud claims.
Been waiting on an update on this case. It was a full-on manhunt for this chick in PA right after Jan 6th
These people are getting slaps on the wrist. There's no way the sentences would've been the same if the skin colors were different.
Black man given longest sentence over Capitol riots even though he didn't go
Smocks posted on the right-wing social media platform Parlor during the January 6 insurrection, urging people to take up arms as 'American patriots.'
metro.co.uk
i guess he learnedBlack man given longest sentence over Capitol riots even though he didn't go
Smocks posted on the right-wing social media platform Parlor during the January 6 insurrection, urging people to take up arms as 'American patriots.'
he ain't one of them
good drop
They gotta vote to see if they gone hold Bannon in contempt...
Will lock our ass up for not complying with jury duty though, something that we have no business with in the first place
Will lock our ass up for not complying with jury duty though, something that we have no business with in the first place
EXCLUSIVE: Jan. 6 Protest Organizers Say They Participated in ‘Dozens’ of Planning Meetings With Members of Congress and White House Staff
Two sources are communicating with House investigators and detailed a stunning series of allegations to Rolling Stone, including a promise of a “blanket pardon” from the Oval Office
It’s a long read, but informative.
Two sources are communicating with House investigators and detailed a stunning series of allegations to Rolling Stone, including a promise of a “blanket pardon” from the Oval Office
EXCLUSIVE: Jan. 6 Protest Organizers Say They Participated in 'Dozens' of Planning Meetings With Members of Congress and White House Staff
Two sources are communicating with House investigators and detailed a stunning series of allegations to Rolling Stone, including a promise of a “blanket pardon” from the Oval Office
www.rollingstone.com
It’s a long read, but informative.
EXCLUSIVE: Jan. 6 Protest Organizers Say They Participated in ‘Dozens’ of Planning Meetings With Members of Congress and White House Staff
Two sources are communicating with House investigators and detailed a stunning series of allegations to Rolling Stone, including a promise of a “blanket pardon” from the Oval Office
EXCLUSIVE: Jan. 6 Protest Organizers Say They Participated in 'Dozens' of Planning Meetings With Members of Congress and White House Staff
Two sources are communicating with House investigators and detailed a stunning series of allegations to Rolling Stone, including a promise of a “blanket pardon” from the Oval Officewww.rollingstone.com
It’s a long read, but informative.
treasonous bitch
Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene hit with four more fines for breaking House rule by refusing to wear a mask
Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene (R-Ga.) leaves the Senate chamber July 29 after marching to the Senate with a group of House Republicans who oppose mask mandates. (Elizabeth Frantz/Reuters)
By Mariana Alfaro
Today at 6:27 p.m. EDT
Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene (R-Ga.) faced four more fines Monday for refusing to wear a mask on the House floor and has racked up at least $15,500 in fines for violating the pandemic-dictacted rule.
Greene has been cited at least seven times for breaking the House rule, which was established in January. Members are fined $500 for their first offense and $2,500 for each subsequent offense. The fines are deducted from their congressional pay of $174,000 annually.
2021 Election: Complete coverage and analysis
According to a Monday news release from the House Ethics Committee, Greene was disciplined four times in late September for failing to wear a mask. The committee had previously made public three earlier occasions in which Greene was fined for breaking the same rule — another time in September, once in August and a first offense in May.
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In a statement Monday, Greene stood by her opposition to masks, which health professionals say can slow the spread of the deadly coronavirus in public settings. Mask-wearing has become highly politicized, especially after former president Donald Trump repeatedly refused to wear a mask.
Greene railed against “communist Democrats” and “tyrannical dictators” with mandates and lockdowns.
“I will continue my stand on the House floor against authoritarian Democrat mandates, because I don’t want the American people to stand alone,” she said.
Nick Dyer, a spokesman for Greene, said the congresswoman has been fined almost two dozen times for not wearing a mask, resulting in $48,000 in fines. An Oct. 28 letter from Sergeant-at-Arms William Walker to Greene reviewed by The Washington Post shows that Greene has been observed not wearing a mask in the House that many times since May 18.
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Last month, Greene tweeted that she had racked up more than $25,000 in mask fines.
Of the seven citations Greene has received listed online by the House Ethics Committee, she has only filed an appeal for one.
House ejects Marjorie Taylor Greene from committees over extremist remarks
The mask rule was established at the recommendation of Capitol attending physician Brian P. Monahan. While it was lifted for a few weeks in mid-June, it was put back in place in July, when the delta variant led to a rise in coronavirus cases. The Senate, meanwhile, has never required masks.
Greene has repeatedly complained online about the House mask fines, tweeting in July that Monahan “has no authority” to fine members of Congress, and saying House Speaker Nancy Pelosi (D-Calif.) is acting like an “authoritarian.”
The congresswoman has also constantly criticized national mask guidances during the pandemic. Over the summer, she compared mask policies to the Nazi practice of labeling Jews with Star of David badges. She apologized for her statement in June as she faced a House censorship resolution.
During the Jan. 6 attack on the U.S. Capitol, Greene was not wearing a mask while hiding in a secure room with other House members. Some Democrats in that group tested positive for the virus soon after. Greene told Fox News it was “insane” for Democrats to blame those infections on maskless Republicans.
Last edited:
House select committee targets 134-year-old law in effort to prevent another January 6
amp.cnn.com
House select committee targets 134-year-old law in effort to prevent another January 6
Members of the January 6 committee are working on potential legislation to tighten the process of certifying a presidential election in an effort to eliminate contentious avenues that spurred the January 6 riot, sources tell CNN.
amp.cnn.com
How'd that work out for you?
www.yahoo.com
Jan. 6 Defendant Who Said She's 'Definitely Not Going To Jail' Sentenced To Prison
Jenna Ryan, a Texas real estate agent who flew to D.C. on a private plane and livestreamed in the Capitol, got 60 days in prison.
How'd that work out for you?
Jan. 6 Defendant Who Said She's 'Definitely Not Going To Jail' Sentenced To Prison
Jenna Ryan, a Texas real estate agent who flew to D.C. on a private plane and livestreamed in the Capitol, got 60 days in prison.
Its gonna be the longest 60 days of her life for sure.
Them crazy ass chicks in there gonna have some fun with her.
If they managed to get a reality show of her going thru the inprocessing and her stay in prison, that shit would break ratings records for sure.
Candidates who attended ‘Stop the Steal’ rally win races
By MICHAEL KUNZELMAN
November 3, 2021
apnews.com
Del. John McGuire, R-Goochland, speaks against one of a number of gun-related bills during the floor session of the Virginia House of Delegates inside the State Capitol in Richmond, Va., Thursday, Jan. 30, 2020. Three Virginia Republicans who won their state legislative races on Tuesday, including McGuire, had attended former President Donald Trump's “Stop the Steal” rally on Jan. 6 before rioters stormed the U.S. Capitol. (Bob Brown/Richmond Times-Dispatch via AP)
At least six state or local political candidates won their elections on Tuesday, less than 10 months after they attended former President Donald Trump’s “Stop the Steal” rally on Jan. 6, the day when thousands of rioters stormed the U.S. Capitol.
At least 13 candidates on Tuesday’s ballots for state or local offices were in Washington, D.C., for the rally promoting the lie that the 2020 presidential election had been stolen from Trump, according to a list compiled by BuzzFeed News. None of them have been charged with any crimes in connection with the Jan. 6 riot or accused of entering the Capitol that day.
Five of the 13 were running for seats in the Virginia House of Delegates, which Democrats and Republicans are battling to control. Three of the five, including two incumbent legislators, won their races on Tuesday.
The House remained up for grabs Wednesday, with a handful of competitive races still too early to call.
The list of losing candidates who attended the “Stop the Steal” rally included Oath Keepers member Edward Durfee Jr., who ran for the New Jersey General Assembly. He finished third behind two Democrats. Durfee worked a security detail for the Oath Keepers outside the Capitol on Jan. 6, Gothamist reported, but he isn’t accused of joining other members of the far-right paramilitary group in storming the building.
The three rally attendees who won their Virginia House races were incumbents Del. Dave LaRock and Del. John McGuire and Marie March, who won an open seat. The two losers in Virginia were Philip Hamilton and Maureen Brody. BuzzFeed News reported that Hamilton and Brody were at the Capitol on Jan. 6.
Elsewhere, “Stop the Steal” attendees winning local races included candidates for seats on the City Council in Nampa, Idaho, the Borough Council in Watchung, New Jersey, and the Board of Commissioners in Hunterdon County, New Jersey, according to published reports. Apparent losers included candidates for county executive in Pennsylvania and for the City Council in Mason, Ohio.
March said during an interview Wednesday that she doesn’t regret attending Trump’s Jan. 6 rally with her husband and father. She said they left before Trump finished his speech and the mob breached the Capitol and they didn’t go to the Capitol before returning home.
“We’re in a very conservative district and a lot of people do like Donald Trump,” March said. “He was the sitting president of the United States of America at the time. We went to see him speak.”
March, who owns a restaurant in Christiansburg called Due South BBQ, said she was motivated to run for office in part by an incumbent Democratic lawmaker from a neighboring district who tweeted, “Who wants to start a BBQ joint in the (New River Valley) where the owners don’t participate in an attempted coup?”
“I won and he lost, so it’s kind of poetic justice,” March said of Del. Chris Hurst.
Over 650 people have been charged with federal crimes in the Jan. 6 riot. Several members of the Oath Keepers and Proud Boys, another far-right extremist group, are charged with plotting coordinated attacks on the Capitol to stop Congress from certifying President Joe Biden’s electoral victory.
Trump urged the crowd of his supporters to march on the Capitol, saying, “If you don’t fight like hell, you’re not going to have a country anymore.” The Democratic-led U.S. House impeached Trump on a charge he incited the riot, but the Republican-led Senate acquitted him.
LaRock told The Winchester Star in January that he saw rioters attacking the Capitol after attending Trump’s speech, but didn’t join them.
“I don’t know what constitutes the Capitol grounds, but I certainly didn’t enter the Capitol,” LaRock told the newspaper.
McGuire told The Washington Post in July that he was at Trump’s rally but didn’t enter the Capitol that day. He later issued a statement saying he had joined thousands of law-abiding citizens at the rally “to voice our support of a free and fair elections process.”
“When I arrived home and saw the news, I was just as shocked and horrified as everyone else to see that people had entered the Capitol. It was a tragic day, and one we won’t soon forget,” his statement said, according to the Richmond Times-Dispatch.
By MICHAEL KUNZELMAN
November 3, 2021
Candidates who attended 'Stop the Steal' rally win races
At least six state or local political candidates won their elections on Tuesday, less than 10 months after they attended former President Donald Trump's “Stop the Steal” rally on Jan. 6, the day when thousands of rioters stormed the U.S.
apnews.com
Del. John McGuire, R-Goochland, speaks against one of a number of gun-related bills during the floor session of the Virginia House of Delegates inside the State Capitol in Richmond, Va., Thursday, Jan. 30, 2020. Three Virginia Republicans who won their state legislative races on Tuesday, including McGuire, had attended former President Donald Trump's “Stop the Steal” rally on Jan. 6 before rioters stormed the U.S. Capitol. (Bob Brown/Richmond Times-Dispatch via AP)
At least six state or local political candidates won their elections on Tuesday, less than 10 months after they attended former President Donald Trump’s “Stop the Steal” rally on Jan. 6, the day when thousands of rioters stormed the U.S. Capitol.
At least 13 candidates on Tuesday’s ballots for state or local offices were in Washington, D.C., for the rally promoting the lie that the 2020 presidential election had been stolen from Trump, according to a list compiled by BuzzFeed News. None of them have been charged with any crimes in connection with the Jan. 6 riot or accused of entering the Capitol that day.
Five of the 13 were running for seats in the Virginia House of Delegates, which Democrats and Republicans are battling to control. Three of the five, including two incumbent legislators, won their races on Tuesday.
The House remained up for grabs Wednesday, with a handful of competitive races still too early to call.
The list of losing candidates who attended the “Stop the Steal” rally included Oath Keepers member Edward Durfee Jr., who ran for the New Jersey General Assembly. He finished third behind two Democrats. Durfee worked a security detail for the Oath Keepers outside the Capitol on Jan. 6, Gothamist reported, but he isn’t accused of joining other members of the far-right paramilitary group in storming the building.
The three rally attendees who won their Virginia House races were incumbents Del. Dave LaRock and Del. John McGuire and Marie March, who won an open seat. The two losers in Virginia were Philip Hamilton and Maureen Brody. BuzzFeed News reported that Hamilton and Brody were at the Capitol on Jan. 6.
Elsewhere, “Stop the Steal” attendees winning local races included candidates for seats on the City Council in Nampa, Idaho, the Borough Council in Watchung, New Jersey, and the Board of Commissioners in Hunterdon County, New Jersey, according to published reports. Apparent losers included candidates for county executive in Pennsylvania and for the City Council in Mason, Ohio.
March said during an interview Wednesday that she doesn’t regret attending Trump’s Jan. 6 rally with her husband and father. She said they left before Trump finished his speech and the mob breached the Capitol and they didn’t go to the Capitol before returning home.
“We’re in a very conservative district and a lot of people do like Donald Trump,” March said. “He was the sitting president of the United States of America at the time. We went to see him speak.”
March, who owns a restaurant in Christiansburg called Due South BBQ, said she was motivated to run for office in part by an incumbent Democratic lawmaker from a neighboring district who tweeted, “Who wants to start a BBQ joint in the (New River Valley) where the owners don’t participate in an attempted coup?”
“I won and he lost, so it’s kind of poetic justice,” March said of Del. Chris Hurst.
Over 650 people have been charged with federal crimes in the Jan. 6 riot. Several members of the Oath Keepers and Proud Boys, another far-right extremist group, are charged with plotting coordinated attacks on the Capitol to stop Congress from certifying President Joe Biden’s electoral victory.
Trump urged the crowd of his supporters to march on the Capitol, saying, “If you don’t fight like hell, you’re not going to have a country anymore.” The Democratic-led U.S. House impeached Trump on a charge he incited the riot, but the Republican-led Senate acquitted him.
LaRock told The Winchester Star in January that he saw rioters attacking the Capitol after attending Trump’s speech, but didn’t join them.
“I don’t know what constitutes the Capitol grounds, but I certainly didn’t enter the Capitol,” LaRock told the newspaper.
McGuire told The Washington Post in July that he was at Trump’s rally but didn’t enter the Capitol that day. He later issued a statement saying he had joined thousands of law-abiding citizens at the rally “to voice our support of a free and fair elections process.”
“When I arrived home and saw the news, I was just as shocked and horrified as everyone else to see that people had entered the Capitol. It was a tragic day, and one we won’t soon forget,” his statement said, according to the Richmond Times-Dispatch.
