1/6 Insurrection Investigation

[Rick Plant]

'Rage-filled' assault video leads first day of ex-NYPD officer's Capitol riot trial



WASHINGTON — The attorney for a former NYPD officer asked jurors Tuesday to believe his client was instigated to attack police on Jan. 6 – suggesting multiple times a DC Police officer punched Thomas Webster in the face prior to the assault.

Webster’s trial on multiple felony charges began this week before U.S. District Judge Amit P. Mehta. The former officer and U.S. Marine Corps veteran is accused of repeatedly striking DC Police Officer Noah Rathbun with a metal pole before breaking through a barricade and tackling him to the ground.

Several jurors were clearly shocked by footage from Rathbun’s bodyworn camera, which shows an irate Webster in a red, black and white jacket pushing through the crowd outside the U.S. Capitol Building to berate officers. The video shows Webster repeatedly pushing at the bike racks police were using as an ad hoc barricade before swinging the pole at one of them – Rathbun – who then managed to disarm him.

After the pole is taken from him, Webster can be seen charging forward through the barricade with other rioters and tackling Rathbun to the ground as he attempts to rip off his gas mask and helmet. DC Police Det. Jonathan Lauderdale, who reviewed hundreds of hours of bodyworn camera footage, including Rathbun’s, said Webster’s attack “choked out” Rathbun with the chin strap of his helmet.

The video of the confrontation lasts about a minute and a half, but Webster’s attorney, James E. Monroe, focused on just a few frames which appear to show Rathbun’s hand making contact with Webster’s face at the corner of the video. Monroe also played a video from a second angle during his opening statement which, he claimed, showed Rathbun initiated the confrontation – although even that video appeared to show Webster shoving the bike rack barrier prior to any contact by Rathbun.

Monroe repeatedly asked Lauderdale if he knew about or had seen any notes from an FBI use-of-force investigation into Rathbun’s contact on Jan. 6 – a line of questioning Judge Mehta eventually shut down as inappropriate. Lauderdale said his role on the riot task force was to investigate possible criminal conduct from rioters, and not to conduct internal affairs investigations. He also said he wasn’t aware of the brief moment of footage that appears to show contact between Rathbun and Webster until just prior to his testimony Tuesday. But, he said, even if Rathbun made contact with Webster on Jan. 6, he couldn’t see how it was the DC Police officer, as Monroe suggested, who was instigating.

“I don’t see how him responding to the Capitol on the chief or the mayor’s order to defend democracy and stop what was going on, how he initiated that,” Lauderdale said.

Monroe continued hammering Lauderdale, however, on whether Rathbun reported any injuries from the attack by Webster – he did not – or whether he filed a use-of-force report about the incident – also. Lauderdale said DC Police policy requires officers to notify a superior if they use force in the line of duty.

“What about if you punch someone in the face without provocation?” Monroe asked.

“Yes,” Lauderdale said.

Even if he had known about the contact Rathbun made with Webster’s face, however, Lauderdale said it would not have affected his role in the investigation or his decision to put out a BOLO on Webster.

"There was clear video evidence of an assault on a police officer,” he said.

Prosecutors said they intended to call Rathbun himself to the stand to testify on Wednesday. While Monroe was expected to challenge Rathburn on the reports he filed – or didn’t file – after Jan. 6 and the FBI investigation into his use of force, Monroe was unlikely to be able to ask about a May 2021 shooting in which Rathbun shot and killed 26-year-old Vedo Hall while Hall was reportedly holding his ex-girlfriend against her will with a rifle. Federal prosecutors declined to bring any charges against Rathbun in connection to the shooting, saying in a statement there was insufficient evidence to show he’d used excessive force under the circumstances.

Including Rathbun, prosecutors said they had five witnesses to call Wednesday and would likely rest on Thursday. In a pretrial memorandum, Monroe said he also had five witnesses to call, including three who will act as character witnesses on Webster’s behalf.

Watch video:

https://www.wusa9.com/article/news/national/capitol-riots/defense-says-dc-police-officer-instigated-assault-on-jan-6-thomas-webster-nypd-capitol-riot-marine-corps-veteran-donald-trump-bloomberg/65-f66ab105-a912-4db3-96f5-55295b766d5c

[Rick Plant]

'I didn't provoke this' | DC Police officer testifies against ex-NYPD officer in Capitol riot asault trial

Officer Noah Rathbun said he was attempting to keep Thomas Webster behind the perimeter fence when the Marine Corps veteran assaulted him.

WASHINGTON — A former NYPD officer will take the stand in his own defense Thursday in an attempt to convince a jury he was instigated to attack a DC Police officer at the U.S. Capitol on Jan. 6.

Thomas Webster, who began trial earlier this week on multiple felony counts of assault and civil disorder, will be only the second Capitol riot defendant to take the stand in his own defense. Earlier this month, Dustin Thompson, of Ohio, testified that he believed former President Donald Trump had ordered him and other rioters to enter the Capitol. A jury convicted him on all counts.

Webster will take the stand in an attempt to rebut testimony from DC Police Officer Noah Rathbun, who testified for nearly three hours on Wednesday. Rathbun walked jurors second-by-second through footage from his bodyworn camera showing Webster push his way to the front of the crowd and begin yelling at him and shoving the police barrier. Webster eventually struck Rathbun with a metal pole multiple times before breaking through the barrier and tackling him to the ground – at which point he violently attempted to rip off his helmet and gas mask. Rathbun testified that Webster choked him with his helmet strap while pinning him to the ground, and that chemical irritants in the air became trapped inside his mask once he re-secured it.

“That’s not a position anyone wants to be in,” Rathbun said. “I knew we had lost the perimeter at that point. I couldn’t see any other officers in the area, so I was scared.”

Rathbun said it appeared Thomas Webster's actions helped cause the perimeter to collapse. On to the assault: "He squared up with me. He began running toward me with his arms held up toward his chest w/ clenched fists and he knocked me down."

Webster’s defense hinges on just a few seconds of blurry video from another camera angle which, his attorney James E. Monroe has insisted in court, shows it was actually Rathbun who instigated the attack. The video appears to show Webster shoving a bike rack against Rathbun multiple times before the officer pushed him back in return – making open-palm contact with Webster’s face in the process. Monroe told Rathbun that while the officer might call the contact – which he says was inadvertent – a shove, he was going to call it a “punch.”

Monroe also suggested Rathbun had motioned to Webster to fight him.

“At this point in time,” he said, showing another brief, blurry video snippet, “aren’t you signaling to the man in the red, white and black jacket to bring it on? To come and fight you?”

“No,” Rathbun told him.

Monroe made hay as well from the fact that Rathbun spoke to a DC Police detective and an FBI agent about the altercation. He asked why Rathbun didn’t report the bruises and scrapes he later claimed to have received from the attack. Rathbun said they didn’t seem important to him compared to the serious laceration he received to a finger during a later incident in the Capitol Rotunda – which required stitches and which he did report – and also to the injuries other officers received that day.

“There were officers who died, so I didn’t feel like being pushed to the ground and suffering some scrapes was as meaningful as other things that had happened,” Rathbun said. “But I was assured our bodycams would be reviewed.”

Prosecutors submitted other evidence to undercut Webster’s self-defense claim. FBI Special Agent Riley Palmertree, who was assigned as the lead agent on the case, walked jurors through footage showing Webster making his way through the massive crowd – passing multiple barriers and climbing over a waist-height wall – to reach the front lines. After the attack on Rathbun, open source video also appeared to show Webster continuing to move forward up to the restricted area of the Lower West Terrace. At one point, Webster appeared to point his finger aggressively at another group of police – just as he had at Rathbun prior to the attack. In another video, Webster yells into a camera, “Send more patriots! We need help!”

The prosecution was expected to rest its case Thursday after finishing questioning Palmertree. In addition to Webster’s testimony, Monroe said he had three character witnesses lined up to speak on his client’s behalf on Friday.

https://www.wusa9.com/article/news/national/capitol-riots/i-didnt-provoke-this-dc-police-officer-testifies-against-ex-nypd-officer-in-capitol-riot-attack-thomas-webster-noah-rathbun-marine-veteran-trump/65-7b256089-14ce-4404-be78-9a4e844c9a45

[Rick Plant]

DC man faces 5 years in prison for attacking police on Jan. 6

WASHINGTON — A D.C. man could face more than five years in prison at sentencing in July after pleading guilty Friday to assaulting police during the Capitol riot.

Mark Ponder, 56, of Northwest D.C., entered his plea of guilty before U.S. District Judge Tanya S. Chutkan to one felony count of assaulting police with a dangerous weapon. At sentencing on July 18, he’ll face an estimated guideline range of 57-71 months in prison – in part because of a lengthy criminal history that includes a 2007 bank robbery and a prior conviction of domestic assault.

Ponder, who has been incarcerated since his arrest last year, appeared in court in a dark green inmate’s jumpsuit. His hearing got off to a rocky start when he told Chutkan the jail hadn’t tested him for COVID-19 before his appearance. Ponder, like many Jan. 6 defendants held in the D.C. and Alexandria jails, has declined the COVID-19 vaccine.

Before accepting his plea, Chutkan read through the statement of offense. Line by line, Ponder agreed that he assaulted police at least three times on Jan. 6. That included striking an officer with a stick so hard it shattered against his riot shield, rearming himself for another attack and then “wildly swinging” a pole at a line of police trying to reestablish order on the Capitol grounds.

Officers eventually tackled Ponder to the ground on Jan. 6 and placed him under arrest, but had to release him after they were called to reinforce the front lines. Ponder then left the grounds for a short time before returning. He eventually left for good once tear gas was deployed.

Ponder will remain in custody at the Alexandria Jail while he awaits sentencing. He will receive credit for the more than a year he’s already spent behind bars. In addition to prison time, he will also have to pay $2,000 in restitution for damage to the U.S. Capitol and could face up to three years of supervised release.

Watch Video:

https://www.wusa9.com/article/news/national/capitol-riots/dc-man-faces-5-years-in-prison-for-attacking-police-on-jan-6-mark-ponder-capitol-riot/65-e24ef825-70b5-4cab-b096-e2b517d988a9

[Rick Plant]

Rep. Boebert involved in ‘beginning stages’ of White House Jan. 6 planning, ex-aide says



U.S. Rep. Lauren Boebert of Colorado was involved in the “beginning stages” of talks with senior White House officials that ultimately led to efforts by former President Donald Trump and his allies to decertify the 2020 election results, a former top aide told congressional investigators.

Cassidy Hutchinson, a former assistant to White House Chief of Staff Mark Meadows, identified Boebert as one of a small group of Republican lawmakers who met with Meadows as early as the last week of November 2020 to “raise the idea” of former Vice President Mike Pence intervening to prevent the certification of election results by Congress on Jan. 6, 2021. The ensuing assault on the U.S. Capitol by a mob of Trump supporters that day led to the deaths of five people and Trump’s eventual second impeachment trial.

Hutchinson named Boebert in testimony before the House Select Committee to Investigate the January 6th Attack on the United States Capitol in February. Portions of her testimony were made public this week as part of a legal filing made by lawyers for the committee in a lawsuit brought against it by Meadows in an effort to block several subpoenas.

Under questioning from committee investigators, Hutchinson recalled several meetings in the weeks after Thanksgiving in which “campaign officials and a few members of Congress” discussed the possibility of Pence aiding an effort to overturn the election results on Jan. 6.

“Mr. Scott Perry, Mr. Jim Jordan… Ms. Marjorie Taylor Greene and Lauren Boebert are the four members that immediately jump out to me,” Hutchinson said.

“I recall those individuals being involved in the earlier stages at this time,” she added. “I’m sure there were other individuals involved, but those are ones that I remember specifically being involved that Mr. Meadows had outreach to.”

Boebert, a controversial first-term lawmaker from Silt, has been scrutinized for giving tours of the Capitol to a “large group” of people on the day prior to the insurrection, and for sending tweets that some characterized as relaying “intel” about House Speaker Nancy Pelosi’s location during the attack. On the morning of Jan. 6, she tweeted, “Today is 1776.”

Hutchinson also said that “Ms. Ellis” was among the campaign officials who had early meetings with Meadows on the issue — an apparent reference to Colorado attorney Jenna Ellis, a legal advisor to the Trump campaign. Ellis authored a memo sent to Meadows on Dec. 31, 2020, in which she argued Pence had the power to overturn the election, ABC News reported last year.

Constitutional scholars have overwhelmingly rejected the argument that vice presidents have any authority to influence the counting of electoral votes in the congressional certification process, and conspiracy theories alleging widespread fraud in the 2020 election have been exhaustively debunked by state and local officials, experts, law enforcement authorities and the courts.

https://coloradonewsline.com/briefs/boebert-white-house-jan-6-planning/

[Rick Plant]

January 6 Committee zeroes in on GOP financing arm — and staffers are coming forward



On Wednesday, POLITICO reported that the House Select Committee investigating the January 6 attack on the U.S. Capitol has been focusing in on the financial practices of the Republican National Committee — and staffers are coming forward to testify.

"Multiple current and former Republican National Committee staffers have spoken with the Jan. 6 select committee amid questions about the party’s messaging and fundraising in the weeks after the 2020 election, according to two people familiar with the probe," reported Betsy Woodruff Swan and Kyle Cheney. "The committee has shown particular interest in staff from the RNC’s digital and finance teams."

"Most of the officials who have spoken with investigators are former employees who worked during the 2020 election cycle, including the fraught period between Election Day and the Jan. 6 attack on the Capitol, one of the people said," the report continued. "That means the committee has more insight than previously known into the Republican Party’s activity in the lead-up to January 6. The interviews underscore the select committee’s interest in how political messaging by the national GOP apparatus — which partnered with the Trump campaign on digital fundraising efforts — may have stoked falsehoods about the 2020 election."

The committee first subpoenaed the RNC's fundraising records from Salesforce in February. At the time, the committee said the reason was to ascertain whether former President Donald Trump used fundraising material to promote election lies that might have motivated the attack.

"Ronna McDaniel, the RNC Chair, has met with panel investigators," noted the report. "But on the day she did, the RNC sued to block Salesforce from complying with the Jan. 6 committee subpoena."

You can read more here: https://www.politico.com/news/2022/04/27/multiple-rnc-staffers-have-spoken-to-jan-6-panel-sources-say-00028349

[Rick Plant]

MAGA-rioting Oath Keeper may have obstructed justice while talking on the jail's recorded phone line: feds



One of the eleven members of the Oath Keepers charged with seditious conspiracy may have deepened his legal problems with incriminating statements made over a recorded prison phone line.

In January, Magistrate Judge John Z. Boyle ordered Edward Vallejo held in jail pending trial.

"The conspiracy alleged by the government threatens the very fabric of democracy," he explained.

But Vallejo appealed.

On Thursday, the Justice Department filed a supplemental brief in opposition to Vallejo's motion for reconsideration.

Under the headline "evidence of obstruction," the government noted the evening before that January detention hearing, Vallejo called his wife on a recorded phone line.

"I know part of the conditions of my parole will be no alcohol, no drugs, no this no that, blah blah blah. Go through all my stuff. Inspect everything and anything that is contraband, give it to [THIRD PARTY]," Vallejo said.

The Justice Department said, "this evidence of attempted concealment of evidence shows an additional threat posed by Vallejo's release."

"In addition to being a danger to the community, Vallejo appears to be obstructing justice even while held and communicating on a recorded line [emphasis in the original]. If released, there are certainly no conditions that can assure that he would not attempt further obstruction," U.S. Attorney Matthew Graves wrote.





Filing here:



https://www.rawstory.com/edward-vallejo-oath-keepers/

[Rick Plant]

House January 6 committee plans eight hearings for June

The House committee investigating the January 6 attack on the U.S. Capitol plans to hold eight public hearings in the month of June after wrapping up its depositions in May, the panel's chair, Rep. Bennie Thompson, said Thursday.

"We'll tell the story about what happened," Thompson said. "We will use a combination of witnesses, exhibits, things that we have through the tens of thousands of exhibits we've [...] looked at, as well as the hundreds of witnesses we deposed or just talked to in general."

The committee previously held a hearing in July 2021 that featured testimony from police officers who helped defend the Capitol from the mob on January 6, 2021. According to Thompson, the eight remaining hearings will be spread out during the daytime and in primetime. Thompson said the first hearing will be held June 9.

The panel then plans to release a full report about the deadly attack on the Capitol in early fall, he said earlier this week. That was a change from the committee's initial plan to release an interim report before then.

Committee member Jamie Raskin told CBS News' "Red & Blue" that "eight is a lot of hearings," pointing out that most subjects before Congress get one or maybe two hearings. Raskin said the committee divided it up into chapters "that will allow for the unfolding of the narrative."

Raskin said no decision had been made about what specific witnesses will appear at the hearings, including former Vice President Mike Pence. Raskin suggested that Pence might not be asked to appear at before the committee, saying, "I think we have what we need from him."

Raskin praised Pence for staying at the Capitol to ensure that Congress could affirm the Electoral College count of the ballots, despite the threats he faced from the mob at the Capitol and then-President Trump, who had tweeted that day that Pence "didn't have the courage to do what should have been done," that is, to overturn the election.

The committee previously planned to restart hearings in May, but delayed that plan to hold more depositions. The panel continues to engage with everyone still on their deposition wish list, including Donald Trump, Jr., Thompson said.

By the end of this week, the panel will renew its request to speak with Minority Leader Kevin McCarthy and put in additional requests to speak with other Republican members, Thompson said.

In audio recordings recently released by The New York Times, McCarthy told Republicans on January 10, 2021 that former President Donald Trump's allies in the House are "putting people in jeopardy" with their public tweets and comments that could put other lawmakers at risk of violence. In another recording that was released earlier by the Times, McCarthy told House Republicans that Trump had acknowledged bearing some responsibility.

The House created the select committee last year to investigate the January 6 attack, when thousands of Trump supporters descended on the Capitol as Congress counted the electoral votes, a largely ceremonial final step affirming Mr. Biden's victory. Lawmakers were sent fleeing amid the riot, which led to the deaths of five people and the arrests of hundreds more. Trump, who encouraged his supporters to "walk over" to the Capitol during the rally at the Ellipse before the electoral vote count, was impeached by the House one week later for inciting the riot but was later acquitted by the Senate.

To date, the committee has conducted nearly 935 depositions and interviews and received nearly 104,000 documents, according to an aide to the panel.

https://www.cbsnews.com/news/house-january-6-committee-hearings-june/

[Rick Plant]

Rep. Jamie Raskin on the next steps for the January 6 House Select Committee

The chair of the House Select Committee investigating the January 6 attack on the Capitol says the panel will hold public hearings in June. Congressman Jamie Raskin, a member of the committee, joins "Red and Blue" to discuss the next steps in the investigation.

Watch: https://www.cbsnews.com/video/rep-jamie-raskin-on-the-next-steps-for-the-january-6-house-select-committee/