Extremists

The New York Times reports: Federal prosecutors investigating the violent riot at the Capitol this month announced their first conspiracy charges against the Proud Boys on Friday night, accusing two members of the far-right nationalist group of working together to obstruct and interfere with law enforcement officers protecting Congress during the final certification of the presidential election. In a brief …

The Wall Street Journal reports: The rally in Washington’s Ellipse that preceded the Jan. 6 riot at the U.S. Capitol was arranged and funded by a small group including a top Trump campaign fundraiser and donor facilitated by far-right show host Alex Jones. Mr. Jones personally pledged more than $50,000 in seed money for a planned Jan. 6 event in …

The Verge reports: After this month’s deadly attack at the Capitol, QAnon has been widely banished from the internet. Facebook, Twitter, and TikTok have all banned Q-related content, and the right’s favored platform, Parler, has been forced offline for weeks. But it hasn’t all disappeared. A new platform called Clapper, a “free-speech” TikTok clone, is becoming a home for QAnon …

Mother Jones reports: In the days ahead of the January 6 Capitol riot, there were warnings, but no guarantee that the day would turn violent. But users of TheDonald.win, a major online pro-Trump forum, were preparing for a fight, posting maps of the Capitol and swapping messages about being ready to die. In the wake of the carnage, law enforcement …

The Associated Press reports: The Capitol Police are stepping up security at Washington-area transportation hubs and taking other steps to safeguard traveling lawmakers as Congress continues to react to this month’s deadly assault on the Capitol. Capitol Police will be stationed at area airports and Washington’s Union Station railway hub on busy travel days, the House’s chief law enforcement officer …

Reuters reports: House Judiciary Committee Chairman Jerrold Nadler (D-N.Y.) on Friday called on the Justice Department to prosecute all those who illegally entered the Capitol during the Jan. 6 riot and to provide detailed information about how it is making charging decisions. Nadler made the request in a letter to acting attorney general Monty Wilkinson, citing news accounts that prosecutors …

From Brandon Straka’s Facebook page: Patriots, The entire #WalkAway team wants to thank you for your concern for Brandon. We want to let you all know that Brandon has been released from jail and is doing well. There is a long road ahead of him but he’s strong and he’s looking forward to the future. We’ve had a lot of …

The Hill reports: Rep. Cori Bush (D-Mo.) said Friday that she’s moving her office away from Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene’s (R-Ga.) for her safety. The progressive lawmaker accused Greene and her staff of berating her in a hallway, adding that the Georgia Republican targeted her on Twitter. Greene has drawn scrutiny this week after a video surfaced that showed her …

Media Matters reports: In early 2019, conspiracy theorists — including QAnon supporters — claimed that Democrats were hiding Ginsburg or covering up that she was dead so they could hold on to her Supreme Court seat. In one iteration, some people claimed that a body double replaced Ginsburg when she was seen in public. Greene is one of those people. …

Reuters reports: The head of the U.S. Capitol Police on Thursday urged U.S. lawmakers to add permanent fencing and back-up security staff at the Capitol building after a deadly Jan. 6 attack. U.S. House of Representatives Speaker Nancy Pelosi said lawmakers would also probably need more funding for security as the “the enemy is within” the House, following a warning …

Law & Crime reports: Al Watkins, a lawyer for accused Capitol rioter Jacob Chansley, is offering his client as a witness in the upcoming Senate impeachment trial of former President Donald Trump. Chansley is better known in popular culture as the “QAnon Shaman” or, as Watkins called him, the “guy with the horns and the fur” who was photographed raiding …

The Jerusalem Post reports: Among the many posts being unearthed amid renewed scrutiny of Marjorie Taylor Greene’s social media history is one in which the new congresswoman implicated “Rothschild Inc” in connection with a deadly forest fire that, she wrote, was started using secret laser beams from space. In her post, Greene noted that Roger Kimmel, a board member at …

CNN reports: Republican Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene has removed dozens of Facebook posts from 2018 and 2019 in which she endorsed fringe conspiracy theories and repeatedly indicated support for executing prominent Democratic politicians. Searches of Greene’s Facebook show the posts from 2018 and 2019 have been removed. Links saved by CNN’s KFile during a review of hundreds of posts and …

The Daily Beast reports: A 71-year-old MAGA supporter obsessed with baseless theories that the 2020 election was rigged has been arrested after authorities allegedly found him parked near the U.S. Capitol with a gun, 20 rounds of ammunition, “Stop the Steal” paperwork and a list of lawmakers. Dennis Westover, of South Charleston, West Virginia, was arrested on several charges, including …

Media Matters reports: In November 2018, California was hit with the worst wildfire in the state’s history. At the time, future Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene (R-GA) wrote a bizarre Facebook post that echoed QAnon conspiracy theorists and falsely claimed that the real and hidden culprit behind the disaster was a laser from space triggered by some nefarious group of people. …

The Washington Post reports: Top Democrats in Congress on Thursday blasted congressional Republicans for assigning to the House education committee Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene (R-Ga.) — who has identified with the QAnon cult and called deadly school shootings “false-flag” operations. On Wednesday morning, House Speaker Nancy Pelosi (D-Calif.) condemned the Republican leadership for giving her the committee assignment. “What I …

Politico reports: Rep. Jimmy Gomez wants Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene booted from Congress. The California Democrat announced on Wednesday that he planned to introduce a resolution to oust the conspiracy-theory-peddling Republican from Georgia after recent news reports revealed that Greene had previously called for violence against Democrats on social media. A two-thirds majority is required to expel a member from …

The Washington Post reports: Three self-styled militia members charged in the Jan. 6 breach of the U.S. Capitol began soliciting recruits for potential violence within days of the 2020 presidential election, later training in Ohio and North Carolina and organizing travel to Washington with a busload of comrades and a truck of weapons, U.S. authorities alleged Wednesday. A four-count indictment …

Newsweek reports: Police escorted a reporter from a town hall event in Dalton, Georgia after she attempted to ask Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene (R-Ga.) a question on Wednesday night. Meredith Aldis, a reporter for Tennessee NBC affiliate WRCB, was removed from the event immediately after questioning the congresswoman, according to the outlet. During Wednesday’s town hall, Greene portrayed herself as …

Richmond’s NBC News affiliate reports: The Virginia Senate has voted to censure Sen. Amanda Chase (R-Chesterfield) following her involvement in the rally-turned-insurrection at the United States Capitol. SR91 passed in a bipartisan vote of 24-9 on Wednesday. “Since taking her oath in 2016, Senator Amanda Chase has over and over again engaged in behavior unbecoming of a Senator. She propagated …