#SeditionHunters - today's arrest of former Green Beret & Florida Congressional candidate Jeremy Brown suggests that FBI now has a strategy for going after the semi-organized groups who arrived armed and ready on Jan 6, but remained on the edges waiting. 1/
Brown's Signal chat (L) shows intent to storm the Capitol; he called his group "Ground Force One". But, on Jan 6, while he was on the E. Plaza, he didn't attack. (The pic at R is him shoved BY police). How to avoid a defense of `selective prosecution'? 2/ extremism.gwu.edu/sites/g/files/…
Brown's charging documents start with 11 pages describing the Capitol attack in detail as an attempt to stop certification of the election. Only on p. 12 do "facts specific" to him appear. He's quoted as telling police they're "violating the laws"... 3/
..but documents spend more time on intent, pre-planning, & coordination than on Jan 6 actions. He met beforehand with someone who pled guilty to conspiracy (likely an Oath Keeper since he is #GoatOK, h/t @bennybryant17 ). Watch his March interview... 4/
Brown aka #GoatOK was interviewed by FBI already in early Jan; he claimed his role was to "provide[] security for VIPs at the 'Stop the Steal' rally." By Oct., FBI's made it clear that excuse doesn't wash. Pre-planning, knowledge of the attack, presence on grounds seem enough. 5/
Brown / #GoatOK's interview was posted by @visionsurreal in July in thread exploring links between 1AP and groups like the Oath Keepers. By now it is very clear that many groups were at the Capitol, with coordination and some view of a larger plan. 6/
At end of day, a frustrated Jeremy Brown, like many other Capitol 'hard men', was sulking on the NE path, fuming over the police pushback. Hear him shout about "tyrants all over the world". (h/t @OSINTyeti, & journo @sandibachom for great footage). 7/
Track Jeremy Brown throughout the day on Jan 6 w/ help from @OSINTyeti. In the morning he's at the Ellipse rally wearing a baseball cap (L), in the afternoon on the E. Plaza in tactical vest and bike helmet (top R), then at end of day on the NE path with gear off (bottom R). 8/
Photographer Yuri Gripas caught Jeremy Brown aka #GoatOK at the morning rally with other Oath Keepers. The OKs are one of the few militia groups at the Capitol in full-blown logo gear; even Brown has his shirt with gold lettering on - you can see it peeking out of his jacket. 9/
For an interesting perspective on Brown's presence at the Capitol (& on political grandstanding by servicemembers in general), here's a Connecting Vets article by journalist @JackMurphyRGR, who served with Brown & saw his radicalization in recent years 10/ audacy.com/connectingvets…
Another interesting article by @JackMurphyRGR from Aug. 2020 mentions the now-arrested Jeremy Brown (his "team sergeant") as an example of a veteran falling for conspiracy theories after leaving the service. 11/ audacy.com/connectingvets…
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Reminder: Elon Musk, whose Starship just blew up on the test stand (with its extra fuel tanks nearby), was allowed for THIRTY YEARS to lie about his training in science. He started lying in 1995, kept lying - and suffered no consequences. But physics itself has consequences. 1/
Just listen to the man's nonsense about how he is shaped by physics and consider: the press allowed him to bullshit like this for 30 YEARS. Of course he got convinced he can just make up his own reality. If anyone died in the Starship explosion tonight, blame the press too. 2/
In 2022 I did a 69-Tweet thread on Elon's fake AstroBoy Genius image, hoping to ward off what was coming: Elon helping to overthrow democracy. What you saw on the launchpad tonight, that's what he's doing now to US science, to our country: exploding it. 3/
Sure, it's funny that Fox News is now using "86" in talking about a fired reporter, when less than a month ago they demanded the FBI investigate "86" as a death threat. But the joke is on us. Performative outrage over bullshit is a test of YOU, to see if you'll accept it. 1/
You can't criticize Fox's words as hypocrisy. Hypocrisy is when someone committed to the truth is inconsistent. Fox and others are post-truth: they're just making noises to see if they can get you to react. They're gaming you. 2/
All of us have a psychological need for rationality. We need to feel that words have meaning, that people mean what they say. We do understand that people lie: a lie is a meaningful but false statement, to deceive. But what Fox is doing here is worse, and harder to cope with. 3/
ABC's explanation of why they suspended correspondent Terry Moran misuses the word "objective". Moran said Stephen Miller was a "world-class hater" and "his hatreds are his spiritual nourishment". Those are objectively true statements. Miller's hatred is deeply documented. 1/
Moran ascribed to Miller an emotion: "hatred". A decade of reporting has documented, objectively, that Miller hates. In 2018, LA Mag interviewed his high school classmates and reported their stories of how Miller hated minorities. "Hate" is their word. 2/ lamag.com/politics/steph…
Terry Moran also said that for Stephen Miller, "hatred is his spiritual nourishment". That's colorful language, but also documented. Here's a high school classmate of Miller's with a story of Miller saying awful, provocative things to immigrants: "he wanted to be hated". 3/
Reminder: Trump has tried this before. It's part of his dream of control, to send in the National Guard against the will of a state or mayor. On May 29, 2020, he Tweeted the threat: "Any difficulty and we will assume control but, when the looting starts, the shooting starts.." 1/
Trump has also overtly sought a Secretary of Defense willing to order the National Guard to shoot at protestors. In 2020 he fired Mark Esper and put in Chris Miller for that reason. Pete Hegseth may face a terrible test now. 2/
On Jan 6, the National Guard arrived late likely because sane heads in the Pentagon delayed them til local police had regained control, out of fear of what Trump might order. There are fewer sane heads now. Hegseth is already failing his test. 3/
Howard Lutnick, our Sec. of Commerce, shows a disconnect from material reality that will make Americans die. A weather forecast cannot be "automated" or MADE AT ALL without data. And Trump is cutting the satellites and weather stations that provide that data. 1/
Lutnick, who is in charge of NOAA and its National Weather Service, seem to think that if you say "web" and "cloud" and "computer" and "AI" then by some magic knowledge appears. But weather forecasts depend on MEASUREMENTS. Which Lutnick is cutting. 2/ kcci.com/article/propos…
The proposed NOAA budget cuts both current satellite operations and planned future satellites meant to make better predictions. Lutnick's testimony suggests: people have forgotten that not everything is a simulation, that reality exists (and bites). 3/ spacenews.com/omb-suggests-n…
Since Frank Luntz is defending Elon Musk, a recap: Luntz, like Roger Stone, was one of "Arthur's boys", mentored by Arthur Finkelstein, the dark lord of negative campaigns who (tho gay and Jewish), pushed homophobic far-right extremists - and gave us Orban, Netanyahu, & Trump. 1/
It was the Jewish Arthur Finkelstein who created the antisemitic George Soros conspiracy, to propel Victor Orban to power. Anything to get his clients elected. Everything Luntz says now is shaded by that history. 2/ buzzfeednews.com/article/hnsgra…
It was Arthur Finkelstein who brought in Roger Stone's partner Paul Manafort - who had been working for a pro-Russian politician in Ukraine - as Trump's first campaign manager. 3/