Category: Latest News

MNGOP BPOU Chair Threatens “Casualties” for Officials Upholding the Integrity of Elections

SAINT PAUL, MINNESOTA – Today, the Minnesota DFL Party condemned violent threats issued by a Minnesota Republican Party BPOU (Basic Political Operating Unit) Chair on the steps of the Minnesota Capitol. Alley Waterbury, Chair of the House District 53A Republican Party, used violent rhetoric to both encourage protesters to visit the homes of judges and elected officials opposed to efforts to baselessly overturn the 2020 election and to spur on the rioters in Washington D.C.

In a speech earlier today, Waterbury said, in part:

“We are going to start raising hell. And these other judges that we’re coming for, we’re going to come for you in a way where we are gonna back you into a corner. We are going to bring your decision-making to the forefront because you’re not going to hide behind that bench anymore. You’re not going to make those decisions behind closed doors. You’re going to answer to we the people… It’ll be interesting to see how many of you show up to that house tour with us.”

Waterbury then turned to spurring on the numerous violent rioters currently clashing with police at the United States Capitol. In response to Vice President Pence’s decision not to interfere with the certification of results, Waterbury said that:

“…over one million patriots stormed, I think it was the White House grounds, I believe.Now you know why Trump wanted us there! I can’t express to you guys, you will be threatened, you will be scorned. My god you guys, we are going to fight, we are going to go down, there’s going to be casualties. I’ll be the first casualty, I do not care. We are not going to give up.”

DFL Party Chairman Ken Martin released the following statement calling on Republican Party of Minnesota Chairwoman Jennifer Carnahan to apologize for Waterbury’s remarks and remove her from her leadership position within the party:

“The violence that engulfs the United States Capitol did not emerge out of nowhere. It was stoked, fueled, and encouraged by reckless and irresponsible rhetoric carelessly thrown around by leaders within the Republican Party. Enough is enough.

“By threatening elected officials and civil servants with casualties and organizing protests outside their homes, Alley Waterbury has crossed a dangerous line and must be immediately removed from her leadership position with the Minnesota Republican Party. I am also calling for Minnesota Republican Chairwoman Jennifer Carnahan to issue a full and immediate apology for Waterbury’s inciting language.

“Just as today’s violence did not emerge on its own, it will not be quelled on its own. It is past time for Republican leaders to accept responsibility for the radicalizing misinformation and violent sentiments tearing through their party, start telling their supporters the truth about the 2020 elections, and remove bad actors from within their ranks.”

McCarthy: “Help is needed” at U.S. Capitol after mob breaches building

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House Minority Leader Kevin McCarthy (R-Calif.) declared that “help is needed” in a live phone interview with CBS News, in response to a mob breaching the U.S. Capitol and Senate chambers following a “March for Trump” demonstration against certifying Electoral College votes. 

What he’s saying: “I think for the security of others, I think help is needed,” McCarthy said. “Let’s get this under control.”

Where it stands: Senators, House members and reporters have been evacuated to undisclosed locations, per Axios reporters on the ground. Vice President Mike Pence, overseeing the certification of Electoral College votes, was evacuated from the Senate chamber around 2 p.m. Continue reading.

Ossoff defeats Perdue in Georgia Senate runoff

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Jon Ossoff notched a critical victory in Georgia on Wednesday, with a projected defeat of Republican David Perdue in a Senate runoff election that will give Democrats control of the upper chamber.

The Associated Press called the race for Ossoff shortly after 4 p.m. EST. Ossoff currently leads Perdue by less than 0.6 percentage points, a slim margin but just over the 0.5-percentage-point threshold that would trigger an automatic recount of the vote.

The runoff was one of two in the Peach State that determines which party will control the Senate – and how effectively President-elect Joe Biden will be able to advance his legislative agenda – beginning Jan. 20. Continue reading.

Biden condemns riots at Capitol, calls on Trump to demand end to siege

President-elect Joe Biden offered a scathing rebuke of the hundreds of pro-Trump rioters who continued to storm the U.S. Capitol Complex and disrupted the official declaration of the 2020 election results earlier on Wednesday.

Biden, who will become the U.S. president on Jan. 20, castigated the rioters and called upon law enforcement to quell violence in Washington.

“At this hour, our democracy is under unprecedented assault, unlike anything we’ve seen in modern times,” the president-elect said from Wilmington, Delaware. “Let me be very clear: The scenes of chaos at the Capitol do not reflect the true America, do not represent who we are.” Continue reading.

Trump keeps kinda, sorta admitting he lost

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On Wednesday, many House and Senate Republicans will press forward with an extraordinary and unprecedented effort to overturn the results of the 2020 election. They will be doing so with the express support of President Trump, who two months after the election continues to baselessly insist he won.

Well, at least most of the time. Repeatedly since Joe Biden was declared the winner Nov. 7, Trump has momentarily acknowledged the likelihood — if not the fact — that Biden will be succeeding him as president later this month.

He did it twice Monday night at an otherwise defiant rally in Georgia. Continue reading.

Trump auctions drilling rights to Arctic National Wildlife Refuge on Wednesday

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Move comes after major energy companies passed on drilling in a fragile habitat critical for threatened polar bears

Trump administration officials auctioned off oil and gas leases in Alaska’s Arctic National Wildlife Refuge on Wednesday, capping Republicans’ decades-long quest to drill in one of the nation’s most vast unspoiled wild places. The move marks one of the most significant environmental rollbacks the president has accomplished in his term.

But with lackluster oil prices and an increasing number of banks saying they would not finance Arctic energy projects, major oil companies did not try to buy the leases. That left the state agency, Alaska Industrial Development and Export Authority, as the main bidder. The agency put up all but two of the winning bids, which went to a couple of small energy firms.

The sale of 11 tracts on 600,000 acres netted roughly $14 million, a tiny fraction of what Republicans initially predicted it would yield. Only two of the bids were competitive. Continue reading.

Minnesota’s Republican Members of Congress Partly to Blame for Violence in D.C.

SAINT PAUL, MINNESOTA – Today, Minnesota DFL Party Chairman Ken Martin condemned Minnesota’s Republican congressional delegation for fueling the baseless conspiracy theories around the 2020 election that are at the heart of the numerous violent protesters taking place on the steps of the United States Capitol.

“For months, Congressmen Stauber, Emmer, Hagedorn, and Fischbach have been fueling the fires of conspiracy and paranoia that now threaten to engulf our nation’s Capitol,” said DFL Party Chairman Ken Martin. “Each of Minnesota Republican members of Congress has worked to sow distrust in the American electoral process and each of Minnesota’s Republican members of Congress bears responsibility for the violence their actions have helped unleash.”

One month after the presidential election results came in, none of Minnesota’s Republican members of Congress were willing to declare President-elect Biden the rightful winner of that election, a sentiment shared by Congresswoman-elect Fischbach. 

In December, Congressmen Stauber, Emmer, and Hagedorn signed an amicus brief in support of a lawsuit asking the Supreme Court to overturn the results of the 2020 elections. Stauber claimed, without offering any evidence, that he did so because there were “questions on the integrity of this presidential election” that needed to be addressed. Today, Congresswoman Michelle Fischbach said she would object to certifying the results of the presidential election.

Following numerous clashes with law enforcement, Republican-aligned protesters have breached the United States Capitol and are engaged in an armed standoff with law enforcement at the door to the House chamber. Members of Congress and staff have been asked to evacuate their offices and one member even received a bomb threat.

“The sustained attack on the integrity of our democracy by Representatives Fischbach, Stauber, Emmer, and Hagedorn has done serious harm to our ability to function as a nation and resolve our differences peacefully via the ballot box,” added Martin. “Today is one of the darkest days I have witnessed. Donald Trump poured the gasoline and Republican leaders lit the match that ignited this dark time in our history. I pray our nation can recover from the wounds inflicted on us by cowardly politicians who would sooner incite violence and sedition than stand up for American democracy and the rule of law.”

Trump delivers thinly-veiled threat to Mike Pence ahead of electoral vote count in Congress

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During his rally in Dalton, Ga., on Monday, Jan. 4, President Donald Trump delivered a thinly-veiled threat to Vice President Mike Pence ahead of Congress’ formal count of electoral votes.

Trump told his crowd of supporters that he hopes Pence “comes through” for themalthough the vice president’s role in overseeing the vote is procedural. The embattled president also insinuated that Pence would no longer be on his list of favorable people, according to The Daily Beast.

“I hope Mike Pence comes through for us,” Trump said to his crowd of supporters. “If he doesn’t come through, I won’t like him quite as much.” Continue reading.

Latest Trump Lawsuit Demands Court Cancel Georgia Vote

Donald Trump filed a lawsuit on New Year’s Eve demanding that a federal judge decertify the results of the 2020 presidential election in Georgia, alleging without any evidence that “illegal voting” occurred and therefore the results were invalid.

The suit, filed with the United States District Court for the Northern District of Georgia against Georgia Gov. Brian Kemp and Secretary of State Brad Raffensperger in their official capacities, claims the existence of violations of election law that “have resulted in more than 11,779 ‘illegal’ votes to be counted in the State of Georgia which is sufficient to change the outcome of the election or place the outcome in doubt.”

President-elect Joe Biden won the state by exactly 11,779 votes. Continue reading.

Live updates: D.C. National Guard will be activated as mobs breach U.S. Capitol; one person shot inside; D.C. mayor imposes curfew

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Thousands of President Trump’s supporters are in Washington for rallies Wednesday to falsely assert that the presidential election was stolen from him. The demonstrations turned violent as many in attendance saw them as a last stand for Trump on the same day that Congress votes to certify that President-elect Joe Biden won the election.

Trump — who lost the popular and electoral college vote — continues to dispute the results, without evidence, and has encouraged his supporters to attend the rallies in the nation’s capital. He took the stage about noon to roaring crowds, claiming he had won the election.

At the U.S. Capitol, throngs of people pushed past police who were trying to block them from entering the building as lawmakers inside debated the certification of the presidential election. A mob was able to breach security and successfully enter the building. Continue reading.