State Champ Radio January 6 Insurrection
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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.
