1/6 Insurrection Investigation

[Rick Plant]

Before Jan. 6, Proud Boys leader Enrique Tarrio was given plans to occupy congressional buildings, Supreme Court



In the week leading up to the Jan. 6 Capitol assault, Proud Boys leader Enrique Tarrio received a nine-page memo titled "1776 Returns" that laid out detailed plans to occupy congressional office buildings to protest the counting of the Electoral College votes from the 2020 presidential election.

The memo, which was filed in court as part of a recent motion made by one of Tarrio's co-defendants, outlined a goal to "maintain control over as select few, but crucial buildings in the DC area for a set period of time, presenting our demands in unity."

"We must show our politicians We the People are in charge," the memo said. Targeted buildings allegedly included the three Senate and House office buildings, the Supreme Court of the United States, and CNN —to "at least egg doorway," according to the filing.

The demands outlined in the memo included "free and fair elections," "liberty or death" and "No Trump, No America."

In "Storm the Winter Palace," a section marked for internal use and a "Patriot Plan" for outside distribution, the directions called for five teams of individuals per building, ranging from a "covert sleeper" who would spend the day inside the targeted building to a recruiter who would gather a crowd. A group of 50 "patriots" would then occupy each building.

However, nowhere in the document is there a suggestion that violence should be used against police, members of Congress or their staff or other Capitol personnel.

The document includes a page to assign roles for each of the targeted locations and maps of the identified buildings.

Between Jan. 1 - 5, 2021, the memo says, those in charge should recruit members, scope out road closures and set up appointments with various representatives in the buildings.

"Use Covid to your advantage," the document advised. "Pack huge face masks and face shields, protect your identity."

On Jan. 6, 2021, "1776 Returns" directed certain individuals known as "leads" to dress in suits and stay inside the targeted buildings to find entrances and exits. Once a sufficient crowd was recruited, the memo suggests, those already inside should open the doors and allow the group to enter.

"This might include causing trouble near the front doors to distract guards who may be holding the doors off," it said, "The goal is to ensure there is an entry point for the masses to rush the building."

Participants around the city should pull fire alarms at various locations like Walmart, hotels, and museums to distract law enforcement if necessary, according to the document.

Once inside, the entire group would then present its list of demands and perform sit-ins in certain senators' offices, the filing says.

The manual advised readers to use large trucks or a large caravan of cars to block intersections to make traversing the city more difficult. "Now is the time to reach out to truckers or bikers for Trump for these roadblocks," a note reads.

According to the portion of the memo meant for external distribution, participants were to demand a new election be conducted on Jan. 20, 2021, monitored by the National Guard.

"Mitch McConnell, Kevin McCarthy, Mike Pence & Bill Gates," it says, "We the people are watching you.

"Rand Paul & Ron DeSantis...We the people love you."

The existence of the 1776 Returns document was revealed when Tarrio was first indicted earlier this year on conspiracy charges. Prosecutors alleged Tarrio, who has now been charged with seditious conspiracy and pleaded not guilty, was allegedly sent the document by an unknown individual. After sending Tarrio the document, the individual allegedly stated, "The revolution is important than anything," to which investigators say Tarrio replied, "That's what every waking moment consists of...I'm not playing games."

At the same time, Tarrio and other Proud Boys leaders were operating a so-called "Ministry of Self Defense" organization, with Tarrio at the top of the power structure.

"This group was to form the nucleus of leadership in a new chapter of the Proud Boys organization, which Tarrio described as a 'national rally planning' chapter. The first event targeted by the group was the rally in D.C. on January 6," prosecutors allege.

The court filing that the copy of the "1776 Returns" memo accompanied was a request that the judge overseeing the large Proud Boys conspiracy case take another look at the pretrial detention of Tarrio codefendant Zachary Rehl. In the filing, Rehl's legal team argues the memo "is not a plan to attack the Capitol and does not even mention the Capitol. It refers to occupying Congressional office buildings."

The recent indictment of Tarrio and other Proud Boy leaders shows that they used 1776 to refer to themselves on Jan. 6. At 2:57 p.m., during the assault on the Capitol, Tarrio posted a message mentioning 1776 that said "Revolutionaries are now at the Rayburn Building," which the indictment notes was mentioned in the 1776 plan. At 7:44 p.m. one individual sent a text to Tarrio that said, "1776 moth*********."

Tarrio's attorney has not responded to a request for comment.

According to Wednesday's motion, the document was sent to Tarrio by a female acquaintance and not shared with Rehl or other defendants.

https://www.cbsnews.com/news/proud-boys-enrique-tarrio-occupy-congress-supreme-court-january-6-2021/

[Rick Plant]

Maddow details J6 committee revelations on election workers who were terrorized by Trump supporters



MSNBC host Rachel Maddow began her Monday show teasing what is expected before the fourth public hearing by the House Select Committee investigating the plot to overthrow the election and the subsequent violence over it on Jan. 6. The focus of the committee will be on the pressure campaign against election officials and election workers who continue to be terrorized by fans of former President Donald Trump.

While Maddow cited the witnesses who will appear before the House, she also focused on the mother of one of the witnesses, Wandrea "Shaye" Moss.

Ruby Freeman, a Georgia election worker who was targeted by a former Trump aide and "Chicago publicist for hip-hop artist Kanye West," Reuters described.

According to the 2021 report, Freeman and her daughter were getting threats from Trump supporters after the two women were filmed counting ballots. At one point, Freeman hands her daughter a piece of candy, which turned into a conspiracy theory that she was really handing over a thumb drive that could somehow ensure Joe Biden won the election.

At one point, an attacker, who Reuters identified as Trevian Kutti, showed up at their home offering "help" as a publicist because Freeman became a target of the right-wing. Kutti claimed she was sent to Freeman by a "high-profile individual," with the message that she was about to be arrested in the next 48 hours and go to jail. Kutti was later identified as a former Kanye West associate, as well as a former publicist for R. Kelly.

Freeman wouldn't talk Kutti.

On Jan. 4, just 48 hours before the Jan. 6 attacks, Freeman called the police as Kutti was knocking on her door. According to what Kutti told a neighbor, Freeman was in danger.

“They’re saying that I need help,” Freeman said according to the 911 recording, “that it’s just a matter of time that they are going to come out for me and my family.”

At the police station, Kutti spoke to Freeman saying, that she wouldn't reveal what would happen, “I just know that it will disrupt your freedom," she said, "and the freedom of one or more of your family members.”

“You are a loose end for a party that needs to tidy up,” Kutti said. The whole conversation was recorded on a police officer's body cam video. Kutti claimed, “federal people” were involved and specifically cited "Harrison Ford," not the actor, but the "authoritative powers to get you protection."

Freeman said that the man and Kutti spent an hour trying to get her to implicate herself in voter fraud. Kutti offered legal assistance if she confessed to it.

“If you don't tell everything, you're going to jail," Freeman said that Kutti told her.

Freeman said she jumped up and said, "The devil is a liar,” and called for an officer.

As Maddow explained, they were focused on getting Freeman to admit to a crime within "48 hours" because two days later was the Jan. 6 certification. If she confessed, Mike Pence would be justified in saying that the election couldn't be certified.

A lawsuit filed against the right-wing website The Gateway Pundit and One America News Network, which spread lies about Freeman, said that 48 hours after the visit from the Trump people, while Trump supporters were storming the U.S. Capitol, Trump supporters were also trying to storm her house.

"They surrounded Ruby Freeman's house outside Atlanta, shouting at her through a bullhorn," said Maddow. "Fortunately, nobody was hurt and she by then had already fled her home for her safety following the FBI's advice to do so."

See Maddow's report below:

[Rick Plant]

Ahead of J6 testimony, Arizona GOP leader slams Trump's 'juvenile' push to overturn 2020 election

On Monday, WRAL reported that Arizona's Republican House Speaker Rusty Bowers slammed former President Donald Trump's efforts to overturn the 2020 presidential election as "juvenile" in conversation with reporters.

This comes as Bowers is one of a number of Republican officials scheduled to testify at the next public hearing of the January 6 House Select Committee on Tuesday.

"Bowers spoke to The Associated Press after he arrived in Washington on Monday afternoon. He will be questioned about a phone call he got from Trump and attorney Rudy Giuliani in the weeks after the November 2020 election where Giuliani floated a proposal to replace Arizona's Biden electors by having the state's Legislature instead choose those committed to voting for Trump," reported Bob Christie. "Bowers refused, saying the scheme was illegal and unconstitutional. In an interview last year, he said he told the president he would not break the law to help him gain the presidency."

"Bowers said efforts by Trump's backers have harmed the nation, undercut trust in elections and the right of people to vote their conscience," said the report. "'I just think it is horrendous. It’s terrible,' Bowers said. "The result of throwing the pebble in the pond, the reverberations across the pond, have, I think, been very destructive."

A number of other Republican officials stood up to Trump's push to overturn the results in states Joe Biden won.

One of the most famous examples is that of Georgia Secretary of State Brad Raffensperger, whom Trump pressured to "find" 11,000 extra votes in the leadup to the Capitol attack. That matter is currently under criminal investigation by a state prosecutor in Georgia.

https://www.wral.com/arizona-republican-calls-push-to-overturn-2020-juvenile/20339920/

[Rick Plant]

There are tapes: Jan. 6 committee subpoenas filmmaker's interviews with Trump and his family on day of riot

The House Select Committee has subpoenaed footage from a filmmaker who recorded former President Donald Trump and his family immediately before and after the Jan. 6 insurrection.

Documentary filmmaker Alex Holder had been granted extensive access to the former president and his inner circle, including interviews with Trump both before and after the U.S. Capitol riot whose existence had not previously been known, reported Politico's Playbook.

Holder began filming on the campaign trail in September 2020, and the subpoena sought raw footage from Jan. 6 and raw footage of interviews with Trump, former vice president Mike Pence, Ivanka Trump, Donald Trump Jr., Eric Trump and Jared Kushner.

The committee also asked for any raw footage recording discussions of election fraud or election integrity surrounding the November 2020 election.

https://www.rawstory.com/alex-holder-trump/

[Rick Plant]

Here's a crucial advantage the Jan. 6 committee has over previous Trump investigations: WaPo reporter

The House Select Committee is hoping to avoid mistakes made by previous investigations of Donald Trump's corruption.

Congressional investigators have the benefit of hindsight over special counsel Robert Mueller's investigation and two impeachment inquiries, and Washington Post reporter Jacqueline Alemany told MSNBC's "Morning Joe" how they plan to overcome the mistakes made in past attempts to hold Trump accountable.

"Just to put a pin in this conversation on violence, I think what the committee has understood more so than previous congressional investigations is that facts can't necessarily change minds here, but feelings can," Alemany said, "which is why we're seeing such an emphasis on having people like [former Georgia election worker Shaye] Moss come speak to the intimidation tactics that have an effect, not just on people potentially running for office, but election workers trying to participate in democracy, the way these things undermine democracy overall."

"But the schemes of electors will be a big focus today," Alemany continued. "We're not totally sure if Ginni Thomas is going to be raised at all. We know it was under discussion yesterday amongst committee members, what we're hearing is it might actually not be completely relevant to the bigger picture story of John Eastman's legal coup and the implementation of it. Although, what Ginni Thomas was doing was also in line with this employ that John Eastman was proposing to the former president, along with legislatures."

"I think we'll hear how the pressure was really overwhelming on these state players to submit phony slates of electors in order to halt the electoral certification," she added, "or at least apply pressure on the vice president to send it back to the state legislatures, to sort of actually implement the president's plan to overturn his defeat."

Watch:

[Rick Plant]

Ron Johnson blasted in Wisconsin after being first senator named in Jan. 6 hearings



The office of GOP Sen. Ron Johnson of Wisconsin was implicated in Donald Trump's phony electors scheme during Tuesday's public hearing of the House Select Committee Investigating the Jan. 6 Attack on the U.S. Capitol.

"Republican U.S. Sen. Ron Johnson wanted to hand then-Vice President Mike Pence official-looking documents falsely affirming former President Donald Trump won in Wisconsin and Michigan as Pence prepared to confirm Joe Biden's win in January 2021, according to text messages revealed at a U.S. House hearing Tuesday," the Wisconsin State Journal reported. "The Wisconsin document, signed by 10 Republicans who convened in the state Capitol on Dec. 14, 2020, was filled out on the same day the Democratic slate of Wisconsin electors met in the same building to deliver the state's 10 electoral votes to Biden. The meeting of Republicans occurred after the Wisconsin Supreme Court ruled Biden had won the election."

Leigh Ann Caldwell of The Washington Post reported it was the first time the actions of a senator have been highlighted by the select committee.



"The evidence presented Tuesday once again showed that Wisconsin — one of seven states Biden won where groups of Republicans gathered as false presidential electors — was at the center of efforts to overturn the election," the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel reported. "A text message from state GOP executive director Mark Jefferson also presented Tuesday indicated Trump's campaign team wanted the elector paperwork flown to Washington D.C."

Johnson received harsh criticism in Wisconsin.

"Ron Johnson actively tried to undermine this democracy. He literally tried to hand Mike Pence a slate of fake electors. Ron Johnson is a danger to democracy," said Lt. Gov. Mandela Barnes, who is challenging Johnson in the 2022 midterms.

He called on Johnson to resign.

"Trump and his MAGA allies planned, promoted, & paid for a seditious conspiracy to overturn an election they lost. And Ron Johnson attempted to deliver it to DC on a silver platter" wrote Democrat Alex Lasry, who is also challenging Johnson.

He called Johnson "a seditious traitor and danger to our democracy."

Tom Nelson, who is also running, said, "Ron Johnson is a traitor. He must resign."

"Voters won't forget this," he wrote.

Watch:

[Rick Plant]

Jan. 6 committee member: 'None of this would have happened without' Trump



WASHINGTON, D.C. — Rep. Jamie Raskin (D-MD), one of the officials on the House Select Committee investigating the Jan. 6 attack on Congress and the attempt to overthrow the election, spoke to Raw Story about the testimony heard on Tuesday.

The committee spoke to Republican officials, but also spoke with Shaye Moss, who served as an election worker for the 2020 election and ultimately became the target of Donald Trump's supporters. She tearfully described the attacks on her, her mother and grandmother and those who terrorized the women ahead and on Jan. 6.

As Raskin explained, "none of this would have happened without him. And Trump's lawlessness inevitably led to and leads to violence."

He went on to say that there must be an end to the attacks on election officials. As Moss testified, none of the workers and supervisors who helped in 2020 have returned to help count the votes. It means that there is a void in people who can be trusted to legitimately count the votes on election night.

"One of the things we could be looking at is penalties, stiffer penalties against people who intimidate election officials," said Raskin. "Donald Trump's relentless intimidation of election officials had a chilling effect on election officials across the country... It's a serious problem with people who are hired across the country to have people driven out of the business by virtue of this campaign."

He went on to say that the Congress of the United States must make clear that states are on the side of the election workers and not those who try to intimidate the workers.

When asked about others who might come before the committee, Raskin said that because the investigation is ongoing, they continue to receive evidence and it's possible that other witnesses will appear. The question about whether Ginni Thomas, wife of Supreme Court Justice Clarence Thomas, will appear has been in the conversation after it was revealed she was pressuring lawmakers to change the election results.

"The original hearings were going to wrap up in June, but we are picking up new evidence at an enormous velocity," Raskin told Raw Story. "So, we're going to be incorporating and including the new information. Certainly, the hearings will conclude before the end of the summer."

The information is coming from "diverse" sources, he asked when questions about whether the additional testimony was from the Justice Department.

"I think that people are seeing we're running a serious investigation that is bipartisan in nature and is just focused on getting the facts of what happened and a lot of people are coming forward now with information they have," Raskin continued.

The Committee, he explained, will have a list of recommendations that will come out of the hearing that detail how elections can be fortified to protect against some of these attacks on them in the future. They intend to say as a committee that these actions will not stand.

He was asked about Rep. Andy Bigg (R-AZ) after fellow Republican Arizona House Speaker Rusty Bowers mentioned that he was among the GOP members in the pressure campaign. Raskin made it clear that if his name had come up multiple times in a congressional probe as someone involved that he would come forward to set the record straight.

There are reasons, however, that Republicans have that they won't come forward or help with the investigation," Raskin told reporters.

https://www.rawstory.com/raskin-nothing-without-trump/

[Rick Plant]

Liz Cheney explains why it's important the same people were involved in two plots to overturn the election

GOP Rep. Liz Cheney of Wyoming on Tuesday linked different parts of Donald Trump's schemes to overturn the election together during her opening remarks at the public hearing of the House Select Committee Investigation the Jan. 6 Attack on the U.S. Capitol.

Cheney, the committee's vice-chair, introduced a panel featuring Arizona House GOP Speaker Rusty Bowers, Georgia Secretary of State Brad Raffensperger, and Gabriel Sterling, the Georgia secretary of state chief operating officer.

"Today we will begin examining President Trump's effort to overturn the election by exerting pressure on state officials and state legislators. Donald Trump had a direct and personal role in this effort as did Rudy Giuliani, as did John Eastman," Cheney said.

She then delivered a statement that seemed directed at Attorney General Merrick Garland.

"In other words, the same people who were attempting to pressure Vice President Mike Pence to reject electoral votes illegally were also simultaneously working to reverse the outcome of the 2020 election at the state level. Each of these efforts to overturn the election is independently serious. Each deserves attention both by Congress and by our Department of Justice," she explained. "But as a federal court has already indicated, these efforts were also part of a broader plan, and all of this was done in preparation for Jan. 6."

"I would note two points for particular focus today," she continued. "First, today you will hear about calls made by President Trump to officials of Georgia and other states. As you listen to these tapes, keep in mind what Donald Trump already knew at the time he was making those calls. He had been told over and over again that his stolen election allegations were nonsense."

Watch: