Stewart Rhodes charged with seditious conspiracy, a major development in the DOJ’s Jan. 6th investigation and the first time that charge has been filed in connection with the attack on the Capitol. nytimes.com/2022/01/13/us/…
“The seditious conspiracy indictment alleges that, following the Nov. 3, 2020, presidential election, Rhodes conspired with his co-defendants and others to oppose by force the execution of the laws governing the transfer of presidential power” justice.gov/opa/pr/leader-…
The indictment is interesting, quoting a lot of new communications from Rhodes and referring repeatedly to an as-yet-unidentified 1/6 operation leader.
On his way toward DC, Rhodes armed himself with a new AR rifle and various gear costing over $10k.
A notable quote, and a microcosm of the Fox News propaganda cycle that would play out for the next year.
“fuck ‘em”
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I don’t think it’s right to categorize this as executive unilateralism. Congress granted a clear authority to address grave dangers in the workplace to the agency in the OSH Act and Richard Nixon signed it. The conservative movement has never liked it but it’s a duly enacted law.
The extraordinary scope of the vaccine mandate arises from the pandemic itself being an extraordinary once-a-century sort of thing (knock on wood), not from it being a strained interpretation of the law.
But the court’s conservatives have jumped at the chance to entrench a fairly novel and, imo, deeply unwise principle (“major questions” doctrine) that it’s somehow wrong to adapt existing law to new and unforeseen circumstances and so you must go back to Congress.
Lots of occupational hazards are not solely encountered at work. People can cut themselves in their kitchens, perish in a fire at a music venue, or suffer eye damage in a high school chemistry class... does that mean OSHA can't regulate sharps, fire safety, and eye protection?
Does the Court's express reference to "air pollution" as a "universal risk" in that passage mean that OSHA's extensive indoor air quality regulations are about to be overruled?
I wouldn’t let Trump or his followers off nearly so easy. Don’t forget Trump’s deliberate seeding of the lies about mail ballots before the election and his speech claiming victory at 2a after election night, when we all knew the ballots weren’t fully counted.
And the people he deluded were the recipients of one of the broadest, loudest, and most determined efforts to convey the truth in memory. Their fellow citizens marshaled evidence and banged pots and pans for five years to let them know they were being lied to. They didn’t care.
The reason they didn’t care is what, imo, makes arguments like Bari Weiss’s sophistry. The Capitol insurrectionists were there for Trump, their attachment to him was direct and personal. They were there because he wanted them to be. It had nothing to do with truth or democracy.
The nerve of President Biden injecting crass politics into the sacred memory of the mob violence fomented by the former President to overturn his election defeat.
Next thing you know President Biden might politicize U.S. Senator from South Carolina Lindsey Graham’s call to Georgia Secretary of State Brad Raffensberger. washingtonpost.com/politics/linds…
One wonders what happened to that investigation by the Fulton County District Attorney.
Some potentially revealing exchanges in recently unsealed 1/6 conspiracy charges against two defendants. Notable discussions in late December of funding, allusions to secret plans, and coordination with the Proud Boys. documentcloud.org/documents/2115… h/t @alanfeuer
The allegations indicate that the leader of this little crew, Denney, was principally involved in the assault on Officer Michael Fanone. He allegedly both crushed him with a riot shield within the tunnel (note the name tag in the first pic) and dragged him out into the crowd.
If, like me, you're curious about the timing, some info: The docs say FBI had tips identifying these two defendants within 24 hours of the 1/6 attack, got a search warrant on 1/18 and a second one 3 months later, but the arrests didn't happen until 12/7.