Since George Meza aka #RabbiPB is testifying for the defense in the Proud Boys trial, let's remember that on Jan 6 he watched the brutal attacks on the Columbus Doors. Here he is at 2:38 PM, 8s before the breach and 2s after. You can see his Israeli flag patch. 1/
In the morning, George Meza was at the Lot 7 rally, like the other Proud Boy defense witness Michale Graves (who opened for the convicted Stewart Rhodes). Here is Meza with Joshua Macias, arrested for bringing guns to a Philly vote-counting center. 2/
Most of the Lot 7 crowd decamped to the Capitol to join the insurrection and Meza was there early. Here he is at 2:17:31 PM and 2:18:02 PM. Like many Proud Boys, he tends to bail as the fight is heating up. Footage from Vinceableworld, 04:18 and 04:49. 2/ archive.org/details/DitvdK…
Meza is near the Columbus Doors for so long that he shows up in pretty much everyone's footage. Here he is at 2:25 PM, just 23 s after the first doors breach, in footage shot by then-WV-state-rep Derrick Evans (56:19). As usual, Meza is bailing out to a safe distance. 3/
Derrick Evans' FB livestream was released as part of his recent court case - he got 3 months for civil disorder. Meza didn't go inside, but he's arguably more culpable. The only Proud Boy he should be defending is himself. 4/ nbcnews.com/politics/justi…
For completeness, the sighting of Meza in Tweet 1 was from LA Times' @kentnish, 20:53 and 21:03 in the footage released last year. 5/ archive.org/details/pvesDR….
More sightings of Meza: before the main breach 2:36:12 PM he heads away from the doors, then heads back in 2:38:18 JUST in time for the breach. How did he know? Meza has his mask up for this one. AUSA's: ask him why he was hiding. 6/
George Meza, witness for the Proud Boys who claims under oath he saw no violence, WATCHED the breach of the Columbus Doors. Here he is 5s before the doors swing open. It's on YouTube - watch it. Listen to the crowd, as Megan Paradise chants it out. 7/
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Everyone's talking about the bribery part of Trump's gift of a $400M superluxury airplane from the Emir of Qatar but no one's covered the security risk part. Trump will be doing private meetings in a vehicle provided by a foreign government. 1/ abcnews.go.com/Politics/trump…
Is it likely Trump's folks can effectively sweep that plane for listening devices? Trump's envoy Steve Witkoff just walked into a meeting with Putin using a Russian intelligence officer as his translator. They're not the sharpest pencils in the box. 2/
OK, some are raising security fears, just not in the published articles. Garrett Graff calls it an "unmeasurable risk" and points out: the president can't even accept a helicopter ride from a foreign government. He travels with his own helicopter. But sure, use a Qatari plane. 3/
Ed Martin just got named Trump's "Pardon Attorney" (plus Associate Deputy AG). He does know the subject - in 2020, Martin brokered a pardon for Michael Flynn in exchange for Flynn's speaking at Stop the Steal rallies. Martin knows how to cut a pardon deal. 1/
This 2023 thread covers the story. Nov. 4, the day after the election, Ali Alexander spun up Stop the Steal with Ed Martin as a top recruit. Nov. 7, Martin reaches out to the White House with a deal: pardon Flynn and he'll help with "base-rallying". 2/
People like to think of Michael Flynn as a villain but in 2020, it was Ed Martin leading. Flynn would do nothing til he got that pardon - a straight quid pro quo. But Ed Martin was all-in from the start, busily working to overthrow the rule of law. 3/
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/