This article was published more than 1 year agoCommentGift ShareThe D.C. government will pay $1.6 million to settle two lawsuits alleging police unlawfully detained more than 200 protesters in mass arrests the day of Donald Trump’s presidential inauguration in January 2017, the parties told a federal judge Monday.Demonstrators represented by the ACLU of the District of Columbia and Jeffrey L. Light alleged D.C. police violated the constitutional rights of journalists, legal observers and protesters by indiscriminately rounding them up after rampaging vandals damaged property over...…This article was published more than 1 year agoCommentGift ShareThe D.C. government will pay $1.6 million to settle two lawsuits alleging police unlawfully detained more than 200 protesters in mass arrests the day of Donald Trump’s presidential inauguration in January 2017, the parties told a federal judge Monday.Demonstrators represented by the ACLU of the District of Columbia and Jeffrey L. Light alleged D.C. police violated the constitutional rights of journalists, legal observers and protesters by indiscriminately rounding them up after rampaging vandals damaged property over...WW…

This article was published more than 1 year agoGift ShareCapitol Police officer Brian D. Sicknick suffered two strokes and died of natural causes a day after he confronted rioters at the Jan. 6 insurrection, the District’s chief medical examiner has ruled.The ruling, released Monday, will make it difficult for prosecutors to pursue homicide charges in the officer’s death. Two men are accused of assaulting Sicknick by spraying a powerful chemical irritant at him during the siege, but prosecutors have not tied that exposure to Sicknick’s death.In an interview with The Washington Post,...…This article was published more than 1 year agoGift ShareCapitol Police officer Brian D. Sicknick suffered two strokes and died of natural causes a day after he confronted rioters at the Jan. 6 insurrection, the District’s chief medical examiner has ruled.The ruling, released Monday, will make it difficult for prosecutors to pursue homicide charges in the officer’s death. Two men are accused of assaulting Sicknick by spraying a powerful chemical irritant at him during the siege, but prosecutors have not tied that exposure to Sicknick’s death.In an interview with The Washington Post,...WW…

This article was published more than 1 year agoCommentGift ShareAs the Capitol was overrun on Jan. 6, armed supporters of President Donald Trump were waiting across the Potomac in Virginia for orders to bring guns into the fray, a prosecutor said Wednesday in federal court.The Justice Department has repeatedly highlighted comments from some alleged riot participants who discussed being part of a “quick reaction force” with stashes of weapons. Defendants have dismissed those conversations as bluster. But in a detention hearing for Kenneth Harrelson, accused of with other members of the...…This article was published more than 1 year agoCommentGift ShareAs the Capitol was overrun on Jan. 6, armed supporters of President Donald Trump were waiting across the Potomac in Virginia for orders to bring guns into the fray, a prosecutor said Wednesday in federal court.The Justice Department has repeatedly highlighted comments from some alleged riot participants who discussed being part of a “quick reaction force” with stashes of weapons. Defendants have dismissed those conversations as bluster. But in a detention hearing for Kenneth Harrelson, accused of with other members of the...WW…

This article was published more than 1 year agoCommentGift ShareJustice Department prosecutors have launched an internal review of the former interim U.S. attorney for the District, over comments he made recently on “60 Minutes” about the ongoing Capitol riot investigation ­— remarks a federal judge warned Tuesday may threaten the fair-trial rights of some of the accused rioters.U.S. District Judge Amit P. Mehta called a surprise hearing Tuesday on six hours’ notice to discuss his concerns that comments by Michael R. Sherwin aired on Sunday and a separate article published Monday by...…This article was published more than 1 year agoCommentGift ShareJustice Department prosecutors have launched an internal review of the former interim U.S. attorney for the District, over comments he made recently on “60 Minutes” about the ongoing Capitol riot investigation ­— remarks a federal judge warned Tuesday may threaten the fair-trial rights of some of the accused rioters.U.S. District Judge Amit P. Mehta called a surprise hearing Tuesday on six hours’ notice to discuss his concerns that comments by Michael R. Sherwin aired on Sunday and a separate article published Monday by...WW…

ADRoger Stone’s name and image were invoked by prosecutors and defendants in court filings over the last week, underscoring the increasingly visible presence of former president Donald Trump’s political confidant in the Jan. 6 Capitol breach investigation.On Wednesday, U.S. prosecutors produced a photograph they said was shared on Facebook on Dec. 15 showing two Florida members of the right-wing Oath Keepers group who were later charged in the riot posing with five others next to someone who appears to be Stone at a book signing.All the faces are redacted except for the two...…ADRoger Stone’s name and image were invoked by prosecutors and defendants in court filings over the last week, underscoring the increasingly visible presence of former president Donald Trump’s political confidant in the Jan. 6 Capitol breach investigation.On Wednesday, U.S. prosecutors produced a photograph they said was shared on Facebook on Dec. 15 showing two Florida members of the right-wing Oath Keepers group who were later charged in the riot posing with five others next to someone who appears to be Stone at a book signing.All the faces are redacted except for the two...WW…

This article was published more than 1 year agoCommentGift ShareU.S. prosecutors accused Proud Boys leaders from four states of conspiring to overwhelm police and obstruct Congress in the Jan. 6 Capitol riot, revealing detailed new encrypted communications between alleged leaders including an “unindicted co-conspirator” and two newly arrested defendants.An indictment unsealed Friday charging Zach Rehl, 35, a president of the group’s chapter in Philadelphia, and Charles Donohoe, 33, an organizer in Winston-Salem, N.C., alleges they were among 60 others who communicated on an encrypted...…This article was published more than 1 year agoCommentGift ShareU.S. prosecutors accused Proud Boys leaders from four states of conspiring to overwhelm police and obstruct Congress in the Jan. 6 Capitol riot, revealing detailed new encrypted communications between alleged leaders including an “unindicted co-conspirator” and two newly arrested defendants.An indictment unsealed Friday charging Zach Rehl, 35, a president of the group’s chapter in Philadelphia, and Charles Donohoe, 33, an organizer in Winston-Salem, N.C., alleges they were among 60 others who communicated on an encrypted...WW…

This article was published more than 2 years agoCommentGift ShareU.S. prosecutors alleged Monday that Oath Keepers founder Stewart Rhodes was in direct contact before, during and immediately after the Jan. 6 Capitol breach with members since charged with plotting to prevent Congress from confirming the results of the 2020 presidential election., prosecutors alleged that Rhodes directed the right-wing anti-government group to rally during the riot to the southeast steps of the Capitol, after which several members forcibly entered the east side of the building.Prosecutors said they had...…This article was published more than 2 years agoCommentGift ShareU.S. prosecutors alleged Monday that Oath Keepers founder Stewart Rhodes was in direct contact before, during and immediately after the Jan. 6 Capitol breach with members since charged with plotting to prevent Congress from confirming the results of the 2020 presidential election., prosecutors alleged that Rhodes directed the right-wing anti-government group to rally during the riot to the southeast steps of the Capitol, after which several members forcibly entered the east side of the building.Prosecutors said they had...WW…

This article was published more than 2 years agoCommentGift ShareA man linked by prosecutors to the Oath Keepers and Republican strategist Roger Stone was arrested Monday in New York and charged with criminal involvement in the breach of the U.S. Capitol on Jan. 6.Roberto Minuta, 36, of Texas is accused of obstructing the formal counting of presidential election votes, trespassing and attempting to cover up his crimes. He was ordered released on a $125,000 bond over the objections of federal prosecutors.“I think it is not a stretch to think Mr. Minuta, if called upon to do so, would...…This article was published more than 2 years agoCommentGift ShareA man linked by prosecutors to the Oath Keepers and Republican strategist Roger Stone was arrested Monday in New York and charged with criminal involvement in the breach of the U.S. Capitol on Jan. 6.Roberto Minuta, 36, of Texas is accused of obstructing the formal counting of presidential election votes, trespassing and attempting to cover up his crimes. He was ordered released on a $125,000 bond over the objections of federal prosecutors.“I think it is not a stretch to think Mr. Minuta, if called upon to do so, would...WW…

ADFor many accused of trying to block Congress from confirming the winner of the U.S. presidential election on Jan. 6, arrest was a reality check. Now they are getting another.As defendants charged in the Capitol siege have been coming through court, some have been shifting blame onto former president Donald Trump, downplaying their actions or expressing remorse. But federal judges — particularly those who work a few blocks from the Capitol — aren’t buying it.One judge called a defendant’s claim of civil disobedience “detached from reality.” Another verbally smacked down an attorney...…ADFor many accused of trying to block Congress from confirming the winner of the U.S. presidential election on Jan. 6, arrest was a reality check. Now they are getting another.As defendants charged in the Capitol siege have been coming through court, some have been shifting blame onto former president Donald Trump, downplaying their actions or expressing remorse. But federal judges — particularly those who work a few blocks from the Capitol — aren’t buying it.One judge called a defendant’s claim of civil disobedience “detached from reality.” Another verbally smacked down an attorney...WW…

This article was published more than 2 years agoCommentGift ShareThe Justice Department and the FBI are investigating whether high-profile right-wing figures — including Roger Stone and Alex Jones — may have played a role in the Jan. 6 Capitol breach as part of a broader look into the mind-set of those who committed violence and their apparent paths to radicalization, according to people familiar with the investigation.The investigation into potential ties between key figures in the riot and those who promoted former president Donald Trump’s false assertions that the election was...…This article was published more than 2 years agoCommentGift ShareThe Justice Department and the FBI are investigating whether high-profile right-wing figures — including Roger Stone and Alex Jones — may have played a role in the Jan. 6 Capitol breach as part of a broader look into the mind-set of those who committed violence and their apparent paths to radicalization, according to people familiar with the investigation.The investigation into potential ties between key figures in the riot and those who promoted former president Donald Trump’s false assertions that the election was...WW…