Frank Eathorne, chair of the Wyoming GOP, is - like other politicians at the Jan 6 Capitol attack - a liar: “No violence or property damage was observed during my..brief stop there” But Eathorne was at the Capitol for 2.5 hours and saw violence up close - we’ll show you. 1/
Because Eathorne was on Capitol grounds so long - with a radio - we held off Tweeting to try to understand more. But now that NBC is reporting on him, it’s time to go over his footage. This thread has highlights; see the full report for video links. 2/ docs.google.com/document/d/1WT…
Eathorne seems to head to the Capitol directly from the Trump rally, arriving around 1:30 PM, right behind GA State Rep Vernon Jones. By that time police are fighting hard on the Plaza and lobbing tear gas and flashbangs into the crowd. Everyone comments on it. 3/
Eathorne stayed on the W. lawn for an hour while the Plaza battle raged. He wasn’t up at the police lines, but would have seen the tear gas, heard people yelling on bullhorns: “Move forward - they can’t arrest all of us!” This is 2:06 PM. 4/
Eathorne would have seen invaders seize the NW Scaffolds and methodically slash its tarp all the way up to the top (“no..property damage was observed”). This clip is 2:07 and 2:08 PM. 5/
At 2:28 PM, after invaders had breached the Capitol, a coordinated violent attack broke the police lines on the W. Plaza. Eathorne wasn’t this close but he would still have seen something from the lawn. 6/
Here’s what the fall of the W. Plaza looked like from about where Eathorne stood. The crowd cheers “We did it!” “F— yeah!” “Let’s go!” as the mob moves forward, and others carry police barricades away. 7/
At 2:37 PM (L), while the last police officers retreat, Eathorne is still on the lawn, but by 2:45 PM (R), he’s moved forward with the mob onto the W. Plaza. 8/
This is the peak of the coordinated attack, when invaders breached multiple doors to the Capitol, and several signals appear set off to mark the successes. At 2:46 PM, Eathorne is right next to the red smoke signal on the Plaza. 9/
Eathorne stays on the Plaza for at least another hour, gradually moving forward, while the mob attacks at the tunnel above. He would have seen the bleachers fill with invaders, heard the shouts. At 3:32 he’s looking cheerful. 10/
At 3:50 PM, a half hour after Officer Fanone was dragged, Eathorne is still there. 11/
Here’s Eathorne’s full statement issued after the riot. It is a lie. Video shows he “personally witnessed” violence. That he personally witnessed property damage. And 2.5 hours is not a “brief stop”. 12/ wyomingnewsnow.tv/2021/01/10/sta…
If Eathorne was just making a peaceful, normal, protest, it’s worth asking also: what’s with the costume? We literally found no photographs of him without his cowboy hat - except at the Capitol attack. 13/
At Saturday’s rally in Casper, Eathorne talked tough, said he’d “crawl over barbed wire for Trump”. But like other J6 politicians, ask him a question about Jan 6 and he sounds like a toddler instead: “no no, not me!” Might reconsider that barbed wire. 14/ cowboystatedaily.com/2022/05/28/gop…
Eathorne’s not alone: other politicians of the insurrection also sound like toddlers. They all stayed outside; they’re unlikely to be arrested - but they lie anyway, instead of owning up to their actions. They can’t handle the smallest accountability. 15/
Lots of competition for the most spineless politician of the insurrection. Eathorne is Candidate 1. Candidate 2 is Mark Finchem, former AZ State Rep, running for AZ Sec. of State. Came to watch on the E. Plaza, then claimed “I was never really there”. 16/
Candidate 3 is Doug Mastriano, former PA State Senator, running for PA Governor. Toured the insurrection, walking over barricades, police retreating before him. Then claimed “I respected all police lines” except that, well, “police lines did shift.” 17/
Here are Mastriano's exact words, in a statement he issued after news reports of his presence at the Capitol on Jan 6. 18/ senatormastriano.com/2021/05/25/mas…
Candidate 4 is JR Majewski, running for Congress in OH-9. Rushed in in the first wave with his QAnon pal Zak Paine (RedPill78), stayed on the W. Plaza through concussion bombs & tear gas. Then swore on Twitter he’d never been on illegal grounds & had been “cleared by the FBI” 19/
Another strong contender would be Dana Rohrabacher, formerly “Putin’s favorite Congressman” (CA). Bravado on Jan 5: “Now I’m headed to DC to join the patriots that are mobilizing there..” Watched for over an hour, then blamed “leftist provocateurs” 20/
Vote: which Jan 6 politician had the most spineless excuses? (Only 4 options so choose among the current pols.) Please retweet for maximum voter turnout. 21/
Trump just declared Harvard ineligible for all grants and the NYT botches the story. It's not that "Harvard.. relies on federal money..[for] its projects". It's the federal government that relies on Harvard for its projects. Harvard provides services for you, the taxpayer. 1/
The NYT's phrasing is as dumb as saying gosh, your plumber relies on your money for HIS plumbing projects! What happens is the federal government puts out a call for research in some area, on YOUR behalf. Individuals then submit proposals to do that work. Just like plumbers. 2/
The NYT article is astoundingly backwards. You'd think @alanblinder, an education reporter, would know better, if he'd ever lifted his head beyond admissions grievances and culture wars to consider what universities actually do. Unpaywalled link. 2/ archive.is/Mcwtc#selectio…
Reporters: yes, alt-right gadfly Ivan Raiklin says crazy stuff, but what's most interesting about him is the backstory, how he was groomed to be an influencer. Because Raiklin is of Russian origin: parents are Russian emigres, brother a Russian scholar, wife a Russian teacher. 1/
Ivan Raiklin could have been on a list since his summer in Moscow in 2002. His brother Ben would be known from his PhD ("Stalin’s Documentary Filmmaking Industry, 1926-1946"). And Ben's insecure little brother, an officer in the National Guard, would be such a tempting target. 2/
We have to stop pretending far-right influencers appear spontaneously. They have histories: normal childhoods, then they're recruited into the game. It's rarely natural. Always ask: how did this person become known, who set them onto this new path? That's the bigger story. 3/
Stephen Miller confirms what anyone who studies Jan 6 knows: Trump's government wants to control education and impose a national 'patriotic' curriculum. It was OBVIOUS this was coming: Trump promised this in 2020 in exchange for support for his coup. But pundits ignored it. 1/
This account first called it in 2022. THE DAY BEFORE THE ELECTION Trump set up a commission on patriotic education. The people who led it - from Hillsdale & Claremont - then wrote his election-fraud lawsuits, arranged fake electors. They met on Jan 5. 2/
Education was Trump's barter with the religious right: public funds for private religious schools and a national 'patriotic' curriculum. It could have been stopped: Michigan should have indicted Larry Arnn, Hillsdale president, 176 Commission leader. 3/
Our new Navy Director of Communications watched the action at the Capitol on Jan 6 for Breitbart News. Her worst post might be this one: she flippantly captioned a video of people attacking the North Doors: "Things got a lil sporty here". To her it was a joke. Video tk. 1/
Here's Wong's video of the attack on the North Doors. She can claim she was just a reporter, but her caption shows that she thinks an attack on our Capitol and officers is funny. @SECNAV: is this the message you want to send to the troops, who swear to uphold the Constitution? 2/
Actual reporters, not Breitbart hacks, should ask @SecNav John Phelan: why was Kristina Wong picked? Is this the right message to send the US Navy? That attacking our own Capitol to prevent the peaceful transfer of power is just "a lil sporty"? 3/
It's clear by now: we WILL lose US democracy without a civil society pushback. Today the universities finally rose up, bluntly denouncing "undue government intrusion". The coalition is is now top-heavy with establishment heavyweights. Summary follows. 1/ theguardian.com/us-news/2025/a…
Who signed? Let's start with the Ivies. Status-worship is gross, but it matters that they're nearly all leading now:
* Ivy: Harvard, Princeton, Yale, Cornell, Penn, Brown
NOT Columbia, Dartmouth
* Ivy-plus: MIT, Duke
NOT Stanford, Univ. of Chicago
2/
continuing... universities with big research arms:
* Other elite tech:
NOT Caltech, Rice, Georgia Tech
* Big state R1s: Rutgers, U WA, U MD, U WI Madison, U HI, UC Riverside, Stony Brook
NOT U MI, UIUC, other UCs, UT, etc.
3/
When Trump's goons threatened Harvard it was clear what would happen: first PR, then lawyers. Harvard has now filed suit, solo against 8 government agencies. Two main points: 1) government did not follow procedure, 2) government cannot dictate speech. 1/ harvard.edu/research-fundi…
As you'd expect, Harvard has also put out a smooth letter explaining their lawsuit. It starts by outlining the 5 attacks Trump has made on Harvard. Then pivots to defending research. Then thoughts on antisemitism - giving Trump an offramp he could take. 2/ harvard.edu/president/news…
More careful work: Harvard has kept the 2 ultra-Trumpy lawyers originally hired to negotiate, but added 14 more from 2 specialty law firms: Ropes & Gray, experts in life sciences & pharma research, and Lehotsky Keller Cohn, experts in federal regulations. Choose your fighter. 3/