"Trump’s order to “take the fucking mags away,” whether or not the Secret Service obeyed it, was not constitutionally protected political speech but, rather, an overt act, sandwiched between sentences reflecting awareness & intent..."
"By ordering the removal of the magnetometers, Trump acted in a way that would have increased the dangerousness of the crowd, and so he too should be held accountable for incitement."
"it is clear that he [Trump] knew (or believed) that he was sending a heavily armed and potentially violent crowd to the Capitol that was almost inevitably going to disrupt and impede Congress’s proceedings."
"Trump’s speech, his attempt to remove the magnetometers... show that Trump intended & acted so as to “endeavor to influence, obstruct, or impede” Congress’s certification of the Electoral College vote, all to corruptly cling to power."
"the case for an insurrection charge follows logically. After all, what is an insurrection against Congress but a violent riot with the intent to obstruct Congress’s most solemn duty: facilitating the peaceful transition of power?"
"By “threats to democracy,” they mean ... the spread of baseless claims about rampant election fraud to state legislatures’ efforts to make it more difficult to vote & easier for partisans to overturn legitimate voting results."
~@Sulliview
The result is a 28-page publication called “The Authoritarian Playbook: A Media Guide,” an effort to give reporters and editors some tools in recognizing what’s happening and in covering it effectively.
"While the guide is intended for journalists, every American would benefit from reading it — especially in conjunction with the House committee hearings on the Jan. 6, 2021, insurrection."
~@Sulliview
"Creating a false equivalence between detailed testimony under oath and an anonymous source vouching for Trump is misleading at best and at worse serves the Trump camp’s disinformation machine."
~@JRubinBlogger
"First, unless they have new factual information that meet the standards for anonymous sourcing, respectable publications should not afford anonymity to those offering takes from Trump’s camp."
"The clear and present danger to our democracy now is that former President Donald Trump & his political allies appear prepared to... seize the presidency in 2024 if Trump or his anointed candidate is not elected by the American people."
~@judgeluttig
"Republican senators like Ted Cruz of Texas & Josh Hawley of Missouri tried to capitalize on those ambiguities in the law to do Trump’s bidding, mounting a case for overturning the results in some Biden-won states on little more than a wish."
"he told Eastman that the plan violated the Electoral Count Act and that “Mr. Eastman acknowledged that that was the case.”
...
Knowledge of the plot being illegal is significant when it comes to whether the Jan. 6 plotters committed a crime."
"Jacob described the process for drafting Pence’s statement rejecting the Trump team’s plan. He said Pence wanted it to be “just so” because “this may be the most important thing I ever say.”"
Proud Boys Led Major Breaches of Capitol on Jan. 6, Video Investigation Finds
A months long Times investigation using court documents, text messages and videos reveals how teams of Proud Boys instigated critical breaches of the Capitol on Jan. 6.
"More than 40 members of the Proud Boys, a far-right group, have been indicted in connection with the assault, among them several of its leaders who are now facing charges of seditious conspiracy."
"members of the group [Proud Boys] maneuvered in a coordinated fashion that day in a way that was not previously known and in a manner that was unlike that of the hundreds of other rioters who stormed the building."