Trump cultists

ABC News reports: With the governor out of the state, Idaho’s lieutenant governor issued an executive order Thursday banning mask mandates in schools and public buildings, saying the face-covering directives threatened people’s freedom. Republican Lt. Gov. Janice McGeachin is acting governor while Gov. Brad Little is at the Republican Governors Association conference in Nashville, Tennessee. He was expected to return …

NBC News reports: Former House Speaker Paul Ryan delivered a thinly veiled warning Thursday about the Republican Party’s reliance on former President Donald Trump, calling on the GOP to re-embrace traditional conservative principles. “Once again, we conservatives find ourselves at a crossroads,” Ryan, R-Wis., said in an outdoor speech at the Ronald Reagan Presidential Library in Simi Valley, Calif., which …

“We’re seeing the civil war within the GOP. Matt and I have teamed up because we refuse to allow Liz Cheney, or Adam Kinzinger, or any Trump-hating Republican or any Republican that just sells out the Republican voters. “We won’t allow the GOP to turn into their party, so we’re taking charge, we’re bringing it to the people. We know …

The Points Guy reports: In an emailed response on Thursday to questions from TPG, DeSantis press secretary Christina Pushaw suggested vaccine requirements for sailings that Celebrity Cruises announced Wednesday as part of a plan to restart cruising from Florida on June 26 are in violation of Florida law, and the line could face massive fines if it moves forward with …

Law & Crime reports: A self-described “MAGA Caravan” organizer going by the name “Pi Annon” has been charged by federal prosecutors with assaulting police during the siege of the U.S. Capitol—and ordering his fellow rioters to “hold the line” during that onslaught against law enforcement on Jan. 6th. Authorities believe that man is 38-year-old Ohio resident Kenneth Joseph Owen Thomas, …

The Washington Post reports: Lawyers for the Oath Keepers urged a federal judge Wednesday to toss out a lawsuit accusing the group, former president Donald Trump, lawyer Rudolph W. Giuliani and another far-right organization of inciting the Jan. 6 storming of the Capitol, calling its actions a form of peaceful political protest protected by the First Amendment. The Oath Keepers …

Cincinnati’s NBC News affiliate reports: A Northern Kentucky man has now been arrested, accused in connection to the Jan. 6 U.S. Capitol breach. Nicholas James Brockhoff has been arrested on several federal charges, including assaulting, resisting or impeding officers; use of a deadly or dangerous weapon; and obstruction of law enforcement during civil disorder. Brockhoff, of Covington, was arrested in …

The New York Daily News reports: Rudy Giuliani says he didn’t really mean for anyone to take him seriously when he urged a mob of #MAGA followers to engage in “trial by combat” on Jan. 6 before they stormed the Capitol. President Trump’s former personal lawyer Thursday asserted his fiery speech was “clearly hyperbolic” and claims that “no reasonable listener” …

Minneapolis’s CBS News affiliate reports: A 50-year-old Lino Lakes man pleaded guilty Tuesday to attacking an elderly couple with a golf club and his fists over a Joe Biden campaign sign last November in White Bear Lake. The Ramsey County Attorney’s Office says Mark Anthony Ulsaker took a plea deal, which dropped the most serious charges against him: second-degree assault …

The Kansas City Star reports: An Olathe Proud Boy incarcerated since his arrest in connection with the Jan. 6 Capitol insurrection is asking the court to reconsider its decision to detain him pending trial. In a motion filed Wednesday in U.S. District Court for the District of Columbia, William Chrestman’s attorney argued that the Army veteran posed no safety risk …

The New York Post reports: “I support Donald Trump for president. I’ve directly encouraged him to run and he gives me every indication he will,” the Florida Republican texted The Post Wednesday. “If Trump doesn’t run, I’m sure I could defeat whatever remains of Joe Biden by 2024.” Gaetz, who said he hasn’t formally launched an exploratory committee, is facing …

The Texas Tribune reports: Lt. Gov. Dan Patrick late on Wednesday is asking Gov. Greg Abbott to call a special session of the Texas Legislature in June to advance three pieces of GOP-backed legislation that died in the Texas House at midnight on Tuesday. The bills sought to ban transgender students from playing on sports teams based on their gender …

The Hill reports: Attorney Alan Dershowitz has filed a multimillion-dollar lawsuit against Netflix over his portrayal in the documentary series “Jeffrey Epstein: Filthy Rich.” The $80 million lawsuit in a Florida federal court alleges that the company and the show’s producers “knowingly and deliberately misled Professor Dershowitz as to their intentions for his participation in the series.” Dershowitz, who was …

NBC News reports: The Senate has been mulling the future of the filibuster for months, but votes Thursday could finally push that discussion from the theoretical to the practical, and proponents of nuking the 60-vote threshold believe it could fuel their cause. Two major pieces of legislation before the Senate could be blocked this week by Republicans, the first time …

Mediaite reports: Twitter is abuzz over a clip that shows a fly crawling into Texas Senator Ted Cruz’s mouth and being washed down with bottled water during an appearance on Fox News’ Hannity program. The brief clip, without sound, rocketed around Twitter on Wednesday night, and by Thursday morning, #ToadCruz was the number one trending topic on the platform — …

The transcript from last night’s Newsmax appearance: You have to have respect for Nancy Pelosi and that she never allows attacks on her own, and she defends them even when they sleep with Chinese spies, when they attack Israel, when they stand with Hamas terrorism. And that when their rhetoric is so disgusting, and that antifa, pro-Palestinian rioters are on …

Politico Playbook reports: They’ll never say it publicly. But Republicans in Washington are dreading Donald Trump’S return to the stump, predicting his rallies will cause a major headache for the party as it mounts a bid to take back Congress in 2022. Even as they tee off against Twitter and Facebook for banning Trump, GOP lawmakers are privately relieved he …

Axios reports: The White House has a simple message for Trump appointees venting to the media about losing their jobs since President Biden took office: get over it. The White House has been methodically clearing house, a practice former President Trump followed when he was elected — most prominently at the State Department. The aim is to install staff more …

The Guardian reports: A school principal in Arkansas has apologized for “political inaccuracies” in a yearbook falsely stating that Donald Trump was not impeached and that last year’s racial protests in the US were “Black Lives Matter riots”. Josh Thompson, principal of Bentonville’s Lincoln junior high school, admitted that some of the contents of the yearbook, which also included a …

The Hill reports: The Department of Justice is reportedly preparing to sue luxury Las Vegas casino developer Steve Wynn in order to force him to register as a foreign lobbyist over allegations that he attempted to lobby Trump administration officials to obtain a diplomatic favor for China. The Wall Street Journal reported Wednesday that people familiar with the matter said …