Assault on the Capitol (DC)

[Dave from down under]

Monsters always need a scapegoat to feed on.

[DrIrvingFinegarten]

Because something cannot be conclusively proven false, it must be true or something like that?

"After YEARS of not being charged, Epps got a slap on the wrist, ergo, he was (at least) a cooperating witness, if not a fed."

... and not that his participation was relatively minor, he pleaded guilty, and he accepted responsibility.

Here's an archived version of a RWNJ article that "makes" the case Epps was a federal agent sent to entrap patriots.

Sane people would argue Epps was undercharged, as several who never entered the Capitol were charged with very serious offenses due to their leadership and planning roles. Even if Epps wasn't as culpable as they were, he did show leadership and, well, a role in a conspiracy that spanned beyond his actual actions. But, ultimately, there was insufficient evidence to link him to the bigger fishes.

Seeing as how Epps does have a civil suit against Tucker Carlson, without any tangible evidence linking him to the FBI, I don’t think any defense from Carlson that he was telling the truth would be successful. Some RWNJs have said the fact that he wasn’t charged until late in the game and he received a rather light sentence means that the jurors could draw an inference that he is a fed, but I don’t think jurors are allowed to draw inferences.

[bob]

Some RWNJs have said the fact that he wasn’t charged until late in the game and he received a rather light sentence means that the jurors could draw an inference that he is a fed, but I don’t think jurors are allowed to draw inferences.

Jurors are free to draw inferences; jurors draw inferences all the time. (Trials are nothing but inferences, as jurors are tasked to infer what happened during circumstances they by definition could not have witnessed.)

If there is a trial, it'll be trivially easy for Epps to prove he wasn't a federal agent.

The actual issue will be is why did Carlson falsely say Epps was a federal agent. If Carlson wants to say, under oath, that he made that inference, he's free to do so. And then there will be a long conversation about Carlson's "research."

[RTH10260]

washup from last year - could have been in the "Lawyers behaving badly" threas

Georgia Man Sentenced on Charges for Actions During Jan. 6 Capitol Breach
Defendant, a Practicing Attorney, Illegally Entered Capitol Within Minutes of the Initial Breach

Friday, August 4, 2023
U.S. Attorney's Office, District of Columbia

WASHINGTON - A Georgia man was sentenced today on felony and misdemeanor charges for his actions during the breach of the U.S. Capitol on Jan. 6, 2021. His actions and the actions of others disrupted a joint session of the U.S. Congress convened to ascertain and count the electoral votes related to the 2020 presidential election.

William McCall Calhoun, Jr., 60, of Americus, Georgia, was ordered to serve 18 months in prison for obstruction of an official proceeding, a felony, as well as entering and remaining in a restricted building or grounds, disorderly and disruptive conduct in a restricted building or grounds, disorderly conduct in a Capitol building, and parading, demonstrating, or picketing in a Capitol building. Calhoun is a practicing attorney in the state of Georgia.

U.S. District Court Judge Dabney L. Friedrich heard the case in a bench trial and delivered her verdict on March 21, 2023, in the District of Columbia. In addition to the prison sentence, Judge Friedrich ordered Calhoun to serve 24 months of supervised release and pay restitution of $2,000.

According to the government’s evidence, starting on Jan. 6, 2021, local and federal law enforcement received tips regarding an individual named McCall Calhoun, a practicing criminal defense attorney, who posted about his involvement in the Capitol Riot on Parler, Facebook, and Twitter. Prior to January 6th, Calhoun posted about certification of the electoral college vote and the importance of being physically present in Washington, D.C. on January 6th.

Evidence shows that he attended the “Stop the Steal” rally on January 6th, then made his way to the Capitol building. Calhoun walked up the West side of the Capitol grounds, continuing even as smoke rose from the crowd and people were affected by tear gas. As he approached the Senate Wing Door, Calhoun stated, “This is it. We’re storming the Capitol.”

Calhoun entered through the broken Senate Wing Door as an alarm blared. Calhoun walked through the Capitol, encountered a police line in the Crypt, and went back and forth from the Rotunda multiple times before ultimately leaving through the East side of the Capitol. One video depicts Calhoun amongst other rioters who pounded on doors and walls as they passed by members’ offices. Calhoun stated in the video that they were “looking for people.” Calhoun ultimately made it to the outside of House Speaker Nancy Pelosi’s Office.

Later on the 6th, Calhoun posted on Facebook: “Today the American People proved we have the power. We physically took control of the Capitol building in a hand to hand hostile takeover. We occupied the Capitol and shut down the Government – we shut down their stolen election shenanigans . . .”

Calhoun was arrested on Jan. 15, 2021, in Macon, Georgia.



https://www.justice.gov/usao-dc/pr/geor ... tol-breach

ps. among the crowd that entered Pelosis office

and the consequences

Lawyer sentenced for Jan. 6 capitol riot has license suspended by Georgia Supreme Court

By WSBTV.com News Staff
November 07, 2023 at 3:37 pm EST

Among a series of rulings by the Georgia Supreme Court, Calhoun’s license to practice law was placed on hold.

In the Matter of W. McCall Calhoun, Jr., the state ruled to suspend his license, citing his “federal court felony and misdemeanor judgments of guilt related to his participation in the events of January 6, 2021 at the United States Capitol.”

The maximum penalty for violating Georgia Bar Rules 8.4(a)(2) and (3) is disbarment, the court noted.

In Georgia, it is a violation of bar rules to be convicted of a felony, and for a lawyer to be convicted of a misdemeanor involving moral turpitude.”

To that end, his license is not fully revoked and he was not disbarred, though final judgment is pending the outcome of his appeals in federal court.



https://www.wsbtv.com/news/local/lawyer ... CSXQB2HNQ/

[RTH10260]

from shortly after Jan6

How a Hard-Core Liberal Lawyer Joined the Pro-Trump Mob
W. McCall Calhoun Jr., who ran for office in Georgia as a Democrat, is a walking embodiment of his state’s political contradictions.

By Richard Fausset and Campbell Robertson
Feb. 18, 2021

AMERICUS, Ga.— Over the past three decades, as the state around him turned ever more resolutely Republican, W. McCall Calhoun Jr. remained an outspoken and unwavering liberal. He gave money to Democrats, ran for office as a Democrat and zealously championed Democratic policies in social circles that were far from sympathetic. If friends admitted they voted for Donald J. Trump, his reaction could be blistering.

“He was hard core, there’s no doubt about it,” said Dr. Michael Busman, a physician who has known Mr. Calhoun for years. “He wouldn’t even want to talk to you if you were Republican.”

But last year, as the progressive movement in Georgia was on the cusp of historic electoral triumph, Mr. Calhoun, a small-town lawyer whose family had long roots in the state, suddenly abandoned the Democrats. And not only that, he pledged to kill them.

“I have tons of ammo,” Mr. Calhoun wrote on Twitter three months before storming the U.S. Capitol with a pro-Trump mob. “Gonna use it too — at the range and on racist democrat communists. So make my day.”



https://www.nytimes.com/2021/02/18/us/W ... -riot.html
gift link: https://www.nytimes.com/2021/02/18/us/W ... =url-share

[RTH10260]

Man who was subject of Jan. 6 conspiracies sentenced to probation
James Ray Epps Sr. was falsely accused of being a government agent and helping spark the violence on Jan. 6

By Justin Jouvenal
January 9, 2024 at 6:46 p.m. EST

More than 850 people have been convicted of crimes related to the Jan. 6, 2021, attack, but a prosecutor told a federal judge in D.C. on Tuesday that no case was quite like the twisting saga of the graying man who appeared before him by Zoom for sentencing: James Ray Epps Sr.

Epps had been on the front lines of the mob as it pushed toward the Capitol, but the prosecutor said that he was the only defendant known to have tried to de-escalate the violence at points and that he turned himself in to the FBI on Jan. 8, 2021. He cooperated with authorities and the House committee investigating the attack.

Epps initially blamed antifa — a loose-knit group of far-left activists — for the Jan. 6 attack, but he himself became the subject of high-profile conspiracy theories by Tucker Carlson and others that he was an undercover government agent who had instigated the mayhem. Epps was forced to flee his home and now lives in a trailer in the woods in an undisclosed location.




https://www.washingtonpost.com/dc-md-va ... ion-jan-6/
gift link https://wapo.st/47vmXAX

[Kendra]

https://lawandcrime.com/high-profile/it ... -on-jan-6/

A fire chief in Montana who tried to hide his face as he allegedly assaulted police at the U.S. Capitol with a barrage of pepper spray on Jan. 6, 2021, has been arrested after online sleuths helped track him down.


Frank Dahlquist, chief of the West Valley Fire Rescue in the Big Sky state, was arrested on Wednesday, according to court records reviewed Thursday by Law&Crime. His arrest was first reported by Court Watch.

West Valley Fire Rescue, which services at least four counties in Montana according to its website, did not immediately return a request for comment to Law&Crime about how the department would cope with the disruption to its leadership.

https://www.documentcloud.org/documents ... -dahlquist

[raison de arizona]

Seems touristy.

Republican on Maryland elections board resigns after Jan. 6 arrest
Carlos Ayala was at the front of the mob as rioters tried to breach the building and shoved his flagpole through a broken window, according to an FBI affidavit.

A man arrested by the FBI this week in connection with the Jan. 6 attack on the U.S. Capitol has resigned as a Republican member of the Maryland State Board of Elections.

Federal authorities arrested Carlos Ayala on Tuesday and charged him with several misdemeanors and a felony count of civil disorder.

He is accused of joining the mob at the windows to the Capitol, shoving his broken flag through a broken window and waving it around while wearing a stars-and-stripes hoodie, a "Stop the Steal" button and a "grey 3M-style painter’s mask with large filters on each cheek," according to an FBI affidavit. Ayala's black flag featured the words "We the People," an M-16-style rifle and "DEFEND," court documents said.

The Maryland Republican Party confirmed Ayala’s resignation.

“The MDGOP believes in the 1st Amendment and in the American principle that one is innocent until proven guilty,” Nicole Beus Harris, the chairwoman of the state GOP, said in a statement. “That said, Mr. Ayala did choose to resign because he believes that the 2024 elections process and the State Board of Elections is extremely important and should not be muddied with distraction.”

https://www.nbcnews.com/politics/justic ... rcna133560

[Sam the Centipede]

This is sort of off topic, but I'm curious as to how others see the current state of J6 investigations, arrests and prosecutions.

I'm not in the US, I'm not a legal person , so I don't have a "feel" for it. But if asked at the start "how do you expect law enforcement to proceed?" I would probably have said that the cops etc. would go after the ringleaders and those who were extremely violent, prosecute them hard, and then lose focus because there's still the "day job" criminality to attend to, that they'd leave the bit part players alone.

So I'm slightly surprised – but in no way disappointed! – to see more bodies being pulled in, more mugshots put on display.

Are perps still being picked up now simply because the workload, the sheer quantity of insurrectionists, means it takes time to assemble each dossier of evidence and find available officers and courtrooms?

Some people in recent roundups have held responsible positions in their local communities: council leaders, fire chiefs, etc. Are locals perhaps assisting the enforcement effort on the basis that it is distasteful to have insurrectionists in those roles?

[Slim Cognito]

I can't say, but I'd like to think that.

[raison de arizona]

Matthew Krol, self proclaimed Michigan Militia Man and Jan 6 terrorist claims he’s not receiving medical care in jail. He admits he was offered treatment at Howard University but refuses to go there because “Obama gave a speech there and it’s mostly Black people that work there”.

[RTH10260]

Candidate for a Darwin award

[pipistrelle]

He beat Sgt. Gonell. Video.

[pipistrelle]

More on Krol:

https://www.freep.com/story/news/politi ... 905262007/

[sugar magnolia]

Matthew Krol, self proclaimed Michigan Militia Man and Jan 6 terrorist claims he’s not receiving medical care in jail. He admits he was offered treatment at Howard University but refuses to go there because “Obama gave a speech there and it’s mostly Black people that work there”.

Take it or leave it, you racist piece of shit.

[DrIrvingFinegarten]

I think there should be a law that anyone who pleads guilty for a crime and publicly complains they were set up, selectively prosecuted or coerced into pleading guilty should have to go back to prison for one year.
Because obviously they haven’t accepted responsibility for their actions.

[Kendra]

https:// twitter.com/michellelcswr/status/1745878018013147140

Matthew Krol, self proclaimed Michigan Militia Man and Jan 6 terrorist claims he’s not receiving medical care in jail. He admits he was offered treatment at Howard University but refuses to go there because “Obama gave a speech there and it’s mostly Black people that work there”.

I really don't care, do u?

[bill_g]

Sounds like Howard U dodged a bullet. He seems high maintrenance. Maybe he'll become less picky when all he can eat is jello.

[pipistrelle]

https:// twitter.com/michellelcswr/status/1745878018013147140

Matthew Krol, self proclaimed Michigan Militia Man and Jan 6 terrorist claims he’s not receiving medical care in jail. He admits he was offered treatment at Howard University but refuses to go there because “Obama gave a speech there and it’s mostly Black people that work there”.

I really don't care, do u?

In the replies, someone said he has a pacemaker that needs maintenance or a battery replacement. The replies pretty much said he would get awesome care at Howard. I guess he'd rather be miserable and die.

I also note his health didn't stop him from beating Sgt. Gonell.

[RTH10260]

another one bites the dust

Florida Man Arrested for Assaulting Law Enforcement and Other Charges During Jan. 6 Capitol Breach

Wednesday, January 10, 2024
U.S. Attorney's Office, District of Columbia

Defendant Struck Law Enforcement with Flagpole

WASHINGTON - A Florida man has been arrested on felony and misdemeanor charges, including for assaulting law enforcement during the breach of the U.S. Capitol on Jan. 6, 2021. His actions and the actions of others disrupted a joint session of the U.S. Congress convened to ascertain and count the electoral votes related to the 2020 presidential election.

David Kennedy Homol, 55, of Umatilla, Florida, is charged in a criminal complaint filed in the District of Columbia with felony offenses of obstruction of an official proceeding, civil disorder, and assaulting, resisting, or impeding certain officers.

In addition to the felonies, Homol is charged with several misdemeanor offenses, including knowingly entering or remaining in any restricted building or grounds without lawful authority, disorderly and disruptive conduct in a restricted building or grounds, engaging in physical violence in a restricted building or ground, disorderly conduct in a Capitol building, and act of physical violence on Capitol grounds.

Homol was arrested today by the FBI in Florida and will make his initial appearance in the Middle District of Florida.


https://www.justice.gov/usao-dc/pr/flor ... -capitol-0

[raison de arizona]

The man with three first names. It doesn't appear that is why they arrested him, however.

[Rolodex]

Picked up another one. This one is a veteran who murdered someone before.

[DrIrvingFinegarten]

Wasn't there a requirement that the National Guard needed to be mobilized thru the proper channels at the DOD?

https://dc.ng.mil/About-Us/

The D.C National Guard was formed in 1802 by President Thomas Jefferson to defend the newly created District of Columbia. As such, the Commanding General of the D.C. National Guard is subordinate solely to the President of the United States. This authority to activate the D.C. National Guard has been delegated, by the President, to the Secretary of Defense and further delegated to the Secretary of the Army. The D.C. National Guard is the only National Guard unit, out of all of the 54 states and territories, which reports only to the President.

OK, but does the President need a request or permission from the Capitol Police Board or the Mayor of Washington to be deployed to those places? Could the president deploy the DC National Guard without their permission or request?

[raison de arizona]

The President of the United States does not need the Capitol Police nor the Mayor of DC’s permission to deploy the National Guard.

[DrIrvingFinegarten]

The President of the United States does not need the Capitol Police nor the Mayor of DC’s permission to deploy the National Guard.

This is the response I got to that.

“DC and the capitol are two different entities. The mayor is who decides if the presence of the Guard is warranted. And the majority leaders who oversee the sergeant at arms office decides for the Capitol grounds.“