Category: US House

Arrested in Capitol Riot: Organized Militants and a Horde of Radicals

New York Times logo

In the weeks since the Jan. 6 attack on the U.S. Capitol, federal prosecutors have announced criminal charges against more than 175 people — less than a quarter of those involved in the melee, but enough to provide a rough portrait of the mob and the sprawling investigation into its actions.

At least 21 of those charged so far had ties to militant groups and militias, according to court documents and other records. At least 22 said they were current or former members of the military. More than a dozen were clear supporters of the conspiracy theory QAnon. But a majority expressed few organizing principles, outside a fervent belief in the false assertion that President Donald J. Trump had won re-election.

The accused came from at least 39 states, as far away as Hawaii. At least three were state or local officials, and three were police officers. Some were business owners; others were unemployed or made their living as conservative social media personalities. Many made comments alluding to revolution and violence, while others said the protests had been largely peaceful. Continue reading.

GOP Reps. Gohmert, Clyde fined $5,000 each for bypassing House metal detectors

Axios logo

Republican Reps. Louie Gohmert (Texas) and Andrew Clyde (Ga.) were fined $5,000 each for bypassing hand-held metal detectors before entering the House chamber on Thursday in violation of a rule adopted this week, according to a senior Democratic aide. 

Why it matters: Gohmert and Clyde are the first lawmakers to face the fine, which will be deducted directly from their salaries. 

What they’re saying: “We’ll be appealing because this is ridiculous. This isn’t ‘The Godfather’ where you plant a gun in the toilet tank,” Gohmert told Axios. “There is no toilet tank in the bathroom.”  Continue reading.

Defiant Greene attacks media, dodges questions on past remarks

The Hill logo

A day after the House voted to remove her from committees for her previous promotion of conspiracy theories, a defiant Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene attacked the media and repeatedly refused to address her past endorsements of violence against Democrats.

In a remarkable press conference just outside the Capitol, the newly arrived Georgia Republican acknowledged that her past embrace of certain conspiracy theories — including claims that several school shooting massacres were staged to advance gun reform laws — was “wrong and offensive.” 

But when asked if she still stands by remarks accusing Speaker Nancy Pelosi (D-Calif.) of treason, which she said at the time is a “crime punishable by death,” Greene interjected and asked the reporter, “How many stories did you report on Russian collusion conspiracy lies?” Continue reading.

Republicans worry Greene could be drag on party in suburbs

The Hill logo

Republicans are increasingly concerned that the controversy over Rep. Marjorie Taylor Green (R-Ga.) could define the party and its candidates in the 2022 midterms, throwing a wrench in GOP efforts to recapture the support of suburban voters.

Democrats have already jumped on the outrage surrounding Greene. The Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee on Tuesday launched a six-figure ad campaign tying Republicans to the QAnon conspiracy theory, which Greene has voiced support for in the past, while Speaker Nancy Pelosi(D-Calif.) referred to Minority Leader Kevin McCarthy (R-Calif.) as “Q-CA” in a press release on Wednesday.

On Thursday, the Democratic group House Majority Forward released an ad accusing McCarthy of warmly embracing “the QAnon Caucus,” after the California Republican signaled he wouldn’t move to punish Greene over her past comments. Continue reading.

GOP Rep. Madison Cawthorn told a crowd before Capitol riots it had ‘fight in it.’ Now he says, ‘I don’t regret it.’

Washington Post logo

On Jan. 6, about two hours before a violent mob breached the U.S. Capitol in a deadly riot, Rep. Madison Cawthorn (R-N.C.) took to the stage before a fiery crowd of Trump supporters and falsely claimed that the presidential election was fraudulent.

“This crowd has some fight in it,” Cawthorn said. “The Democrats, with all the fraud they have done in this election, the Republicans hiding and not fighting, they are trying to silence your voice. Make no mistake about it, they do not want you to be heard.”

One month later, former president Donald Trump faces impeachment over his role in inciting the riot, hundreds of rioters face criminal charges, and Cawthorn faces calls for his resignation and an ethics investigation. Continue reading.

Bipartisan support emerges for domestic-terror bills as experts warn threat may last ‘10 to 20 years’

Washington Post logo

An apparent bipartisan majority of the House Homeland Security Committee on Thursday endorsed the idea of new laws to address domestic terrorism in the wake of last month’s riot at the U.S. Capitol, as experts warned such internal threats would plague the country for decades to come.

Elizabeth Neumann, a former assistant secretary of homeland security for counterterrorism during the Trump administration, warned lawmakers that there is a “high likelihood” that another domestic terrorist attack would occur in the coming months and that the problem would persist “for the next 10 to 20 years.”

Jonathan Greenblatt, head of the Anti-Defamation League, told lawmakers that Jan. 6 had been a “watershed moment for the white supremacist movement,” and that its adherents viewed the Capitol breach as a “victory.” Continue reading.

At AOC-organized floor session, Democrats share tears, fears from Capitol storming

‘Some are already demanding that we move on,’ New York Democrat says

Fighting through tears, Rep. Rashida Tlaib described her first memory of Congress. “On my very first day of orientation, I got my first death threat,” she said. “I didn’t even get sworn in yet and someone wanted me dead for just existing.”

The death threats kept coming, Tlaib said, speaking at a special floor session Thursday night organized by Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez, who placed a hand on her back to comfort her.

“One celebrating, in writing, the New Zealand massacre and hoping that more would come. Another mentioned my dear son Adam, mentioning him by name,” she said, choking up at the thought of her teenage son. Continue reading.

‘It’s Embarrassing’: Marjorie Taylor Greene Tests the Limits of Some Voters

New York Times logo

In her Georgia district, voters saw Ms. Greene as a conservative voice that would be impossible to ignore. Now the revelation of past social media posts has unsettled some who backed her.

SUMMERVILLE, Ga. — Billy Martin does not care much for politicians. But the retired teacher and coach liked what he heard from Marjorie Taylor Greene as she promised to take on Washington as a defiant force, intent on rattling the establishment.

Mr. Martin, 62, has lived all of his life in the foothills rolling below the Appalachian Mountains in Georgia, in a community that he believed had long been overlooked. He supported Ms. Greene, he said, because she had a brazen voice that was impossible to ignore.

Yet it has also been impossible to ignore the torrent of troubling social media posts and videos of Ms. Greene’s that have surfaced in recent weeks. In them, she endorsed violent behavior, including executing Democratic leaders. She also spread conspiracy theories, describing a deadly school shooting as a hoax and questioning whether a plane crashed into the Pentagon on Sept. 11. Continue reading.

House Exiles Marjorie Taylor Greene From Panels, as Republicans Rally Around Her

New York Times logo

Democrats pressed past Republicans’ objections to remove the Georgia freshman from her two committee posts in a vote without precedent in the modern Congress.

WASHINGTON — The House on Thursday exiled Representative Marjorie Taylor Greene from congressional committees, blacklisting the first-term Georgian for endorsing the executions of Democrats and spreading dangerous and bigoted misinformation even as fellow Republicans rallied around her.

The House voted 230 to 199 to remove Ms. Greene from the Education and Budget Committees, with only 11 Republicans joining Democrats to support the move. The action came after Ms. Greene’s past statements and espousing of QAnon and other conspiracy theories had pushed her party to a political crossroads.

The vote effectively stripped Ms. Greene of her influence in Congress by banishing her from committees critical to advancing legislation and conducting oversight. Party leaders traditionally control the membership of the panels. While Democrats and Republicans have occasionally moved to punish their own members by stripping them of assignments, the majority has never in modern times moved to do so to a lawmaker in the other party. Continue reading.

Rep. Greene Claims She Never Promoted QAnon After Her Election Win. That’s Not True.

Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene (R-GA) claimed Thursday ahead of a House vote to remove her from committees that she hasn’t promoted the QAnon conspiracy theory since winning election in November. But a now-deleted tweet she sent in December shows that’s not true.

Greene faces a potential loss of her committee seats after promoting conspiracy theories about QAnon and 9/11, as well as attacks on Muslims, Jews, and support for the execution of Speaker Nancy Pelosi (D-CA). In her Thursday speech, she claimed she had moved past conspiracy theories before ever running for office.

“I never once said during my entire campaign ‘QAnon,’” Greene said. “I never once said any of the things that I am being accused of today during my campaign. I never said any of these things since I have been elected for Congress. These were words of the past.” Continue reading.