State Champ Radio January 6 Insurrection
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Harry Dunn, one of the Black police officers who defended the U.S. Capitol from rioters during the Jan. 6 insurrection, is running for Congress.
On Friday (Jan. 5), former Capitol police officer Harry Dunn announced that he was running for a congressional seat in Maryland. Dunn declared his candidacy on X, formerly Twitter, a day before the third anniversary of the vicious and violent attack by supporters of former President Donald Trump on the U.S. Capitol building, which temporarily disrupted the certification of then-President-elect Joe Biden.
In an interview with the Associated Press concerning his announcement, Dunn said: “As a Capitol Police officer, I did all that I can do in that role to protect, defend, and preserve democracy. But that is exhausted now.” The 15-year veteran retired from the Capitol Police last month. Dunn became known as one of the prominent faces representing the embattled officers saying he was “hell-bent on finishing what he started” being one of the figures who protected members of Congress as rioters swarmed the halls, protecting a stairwell leading to the Lower West Terrace.
In testifying before the House Select Committee investigating the insurrection, Dunn, who is Black, spoke about the intense violence of the rioters and being hit with numerous racial slurs. “I know so many other officers continue to hurt both physically and emotionally,” Dunn said during his testimony. “What we went through that day was traumatic.” The investigation would lead to over 1,230 people arrested and charged with federal crimes related to the insurrection, with 730 pleading guilty and 170 being convicted of at least one charge through trial.
Dunn would later be awarded the Presidential Citizens Medal by President Biden for his service. He is entering the race for the 3rd District of Maryland, a heavily Democratic district after Rep. John Sarbanes declared he would not seek reelection last October. Sarbanes is one of 12 from his party not returning to Congress while 14 Republican members of Congress have also declared that they would not seek reelection.
“A lot of people are leaving, because I don’t know of a better way to say it, it’s a very toxic place. But I do believe that in times like this it is important for good people to stand up, so the bad guys, so to speak, do not win,” Dunn said in an interview with AP.
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The Colorado Supreme Court ruled that Donald Trump is disqualified from the Republican ballot for 2024 due to engaging in insurrection, prompting many online responses.In a striking decision, Donald Trump was disqualified from holding political office again by the top court of Colorado on Tuesday (December 19) due to his engaging in actions that led to the insurrection at the U.S. Capitol on January 6, 2021. The decision means that the former president is ineligible to appear on the state’s ballot for the upcoming 2024 Republican primary elections for president. It also rules that voters cannot write Trump’s name in on that ballot.
“We do not reach these conclusions lightly,” the four-justice majority wrote in the decision. “We are mindful of the magnitude and weight of the questions now before us. We are likewise mindful of our solemn duty to apply the law, without fear or favor, and without being swayed by public reaction to the decisions that the law mandates we reach.” The majority decision cited Section 3 of the 14th Amendment which disqualifies anyone engaging in insurrection against the Constitution. The three remaining justices dissented.
The monumental decision does not apply to the presidential ballot, but it has major ramifications for Trump’s current campaign. Representatives for Trump said that they would immediately appeal the decision to the Supreme Court, setting the stage for a decision that could not only impact the upcoming presidential election but other cases set before them such as whether he is immune from criminal prosecution for actions he committed while in office including his alleged involvement in the January 6 insurrection. The Colorado Supreme Court did state that they would uphold the decision until January 4 next year for the
The reactions to the ruling online ranged from observers and experts applauding the decision to those showing skepticism over the conservative-dominated Supreme Court’s majority (with three justices nominated by Trump during his term) upholding the Colorado court’s ruling. One Republican candidate, Vivek Ramaswamy, issued a video stating that he would withdraw his name from the state’s GOP primary ballot in protest and demanded that Nikki Haley and Ron DeSantis do the same in a post on X, formerly Twitter.
We’ve collected some of the responses from social media below.
1. Robert Reich
2. Joey Blue
A “Seinfeld” meme gets employed to imagine the real reactions of Ramaswamy, Nikki Haley and other GOP nominees to the news of the decision.
3. Alex Cole
4. Ragnarok Lobster
5. Jon_Davis
6. Elie Mystal
The Nation writer and lawyer chimed in initially with a witty reference to Trump’s past rage reactions.
7. Imani Gandy
The lawyer and journalist offered her perspective on why the public may not see the Supreme Court uphold the Colorado decision.
8. Tristan Snell
9. Neal Katyal
Katyal, who has argued several cases before the Supreme Court, offered his analysis of the Colorado Supreme Court’s decision and his opinion on how the Supreme Court could rule.
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Federal prosecutors revealed messages that a D.C. police officer exchanged with the leader of the Proud Boys before the January 6th insurrection during his trial.
On Wednesday (Feb.15th) in the trial of the far-right group’s leader, Henry “Enrique” Tarrio, and four associates, prosecutors for the federal government presented a series of text messages between him and Metropolitan Police Lt. Shane Lamond. These messages included internal information that Lamond shared with Tarrio. Lamond was an intelligence officer with the Metropolitan Police tasked with investigating the group, and a 23-year veteran of the force.
One exchange on December 18th, 2020 featured Lamond asking Tarrio if he had called in an anonymous tip claiming his responsibility in burning a Black Lives Matter banner taken from a historically Black church in downtown Washington D.C. after a Trump rally. Tarrio responded that he had done “more than that”, confirming he shared the deed on social media. On the same day, Tarrio had expressed to other Proud Boys members that he “got the jump on the narrative” on the burning in an effort to make it difficult to charge him with a hate crime. He cited his “contact at DC Metro”, advising those members to keep the info to themselves. Tarrio would also get word that he was to be arrested on January 4th, 2021, changing the settings in his chat with Lamond to have messages “self-destruct”.
Another startling exchange took place a week later as Lamond informed Tarrio that he had ID’d Tarrio to the criminal investigation department in a photo the leader had posted to Parler. “They may be submitting an arrest warrant to the U.S. Attorney’s office,” he wrote. Justice Department prosecutor Conor Mulroe asked FBI Special Agent Peter Dubrowski if he had ever observed law enforcement disclosing sensitive information in that manner, to which Dubrowski replied, “I’ve never heard of it. I see no benefit [to law enforcement].” Sabino Jauregui, Tarrio’s attorney, stated to the judge when the jury was removed that further exploration of Lamond’s texts would show that Tarrio provided heavy information to federal and local authorities to help stem the damage from the riots on January 6th.
In a statement released that day, Lamond’s attorney Mark Schamel said that the officer (who was placed on administrative leave in February 2022) aided in Tarrio’s arrest for the banner burning and that his job “was appropriate and always focused on the protection of the citizens of Washington, DC.”
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Supporters of former Brazilian president Jair Bolsonaro stormed government buildings in a move eerily similar to the insurrection at the U.S. Capitol.
On Sunday (Jan. 8), rioters in support of the former president of Brazil stormed the buildings of Congress, the presidential palace, and the federal Supreme Court in the capital of Brasilia. The mob of far-right individuals numbered in the thousands, smashed windows, set fires while, ransacked offices, and made off with official documents and weaponry. Federal troops were able to regain control and push them out after three hours of their actions.
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Brazilian President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva swiftly condemned the rioters, stating that the “fanatical fascists” responsible “will be found and they will be punished,” laying the blame squarely on Bolsonaro. His office, along with House Speaker Arthur Lira, Chief Justice Rosa Weber of the Supreme Court, and Veneziano Vital do Rego, the deputy president of the Senate officially declared the riots “acts of terrorism” in a statement Monday (Jan. 9) morning.
The footage and photos from the riots showed scenes eerily similar to the storming of the U.S. Capitol by insurrectionists who were supporters of former President Donald Trump Jan. 6, 2021. Bolsonaro, like Trump, had vehemently claimed that the election which he lost by two percentage points to his leftist opponent in October was “stolen.” He refused to attend the inauguration last week, flying to Florida instead.
According to authorities, over 1,200 people were detained in Brasilia. Ibaneis Rocha, Governor of Brasilia stated on Sunday night that they had arrested 400 of the rioters. But Supreme Court Justice Alexandre de Moraes ordered that Rocha, a Bolsonaro ally, be removed from his position for 90 days due to an investigation into his possible involvement in the unrest. Outside observers also noted that local police allowed some rioters through barricades before they began to vandalize the buildings. Journalists on the scene also reported being violently attacked by rioters.
Bolsonaro issued a statement decrying the violence on Sunday night through social media and denied his involvement. Congressional Democrats, including Representative Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez, issued calls for President Joe Biden to extradite Bolsonaro back to Brazil in the wake of the riots. President Biden issued his condemnation of the events through social media, with no further word on if there would be steps to revoke Bolsonaro’s visa.
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