Tag: protests

Government Employee Violated Law on Jan. 6 but Wasn’t Prosecuted: Document

A U.S. government employee violated the law on Jan. 6, 2021, but was not prosecuted, according to an internal report obtained by The Epoch Times.

Investigators with the U.S. Treasury Department Office of Inspector General (OIG), acting on a tip from the U.S. Department of Justice’s inspector general, found that an OIG worker was on U.S. Capitol grounds as the Capitol was breached on Jan. 6.

The employee admitted during an interview with the OIG to being near the Capitol but made a number of false claims, including that he did not witness any violence and did not do anything illegal, according to the OIG.

There was “widespread unlawful behavior” happening around the Capitol when the worker was on Capitol grounds, the report stated. Video footage showed that people gained unauthorized access to areas past barricades at about 1:45 p.m., the same time that the Treasury employee later admitted to walking through a U.S. Capitol Police barricade at the East Plaza.

The worker stayed on the grounds, moving to the West Plaza, for about two hours. During that time, he said later, he saw clashes between the Capitol Police and protesters. Video footage from the scene showed law enforcement officers retreating, protesters becoming violent, and barricades lying on the ground.

The Treasury Department worker was not identified by name.

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Whistleblowers To Further Dismantle Jan. 6 National Guard Narrative About Trump

On Wednesday, whistleblowers from the Washington DC National Guard are expected to tell Congressional investigators that former President Donald Trump wanted them deployed, but an Army Secretary, Ryan McCarthy, delayed relaying this to DC National Guard Commander William Walker by at least two hours.

According to the Daily Mail, at least three whistleblowers will also testify that their stories were ignored by the Democrat-led January 6 committee because it didn’t fit their narrative. The hearing will aim to further prove that Acting SecDef Christopher Miller did give advance approval to deploy the National Guard at Trump’s command.

Instead of getting to the bottom of the breakdown in communication and focusing on improving Military preparedness for future incidents, the witnesses feel the January 6 panel was solely focused on pinning blame for the events that day on Trump.

The officers, who were with Walker the day of the Capitol riot, will detail how they were on buses in full tactical gear for hours waiting for the go-ahead from the Army.

McCarthy has stated under oath that he did give a timely order for deployment of the D.C. National Guard – but Walker’s troops said they found out about mobilization during a press conference, which led to a three-hour-and-19-minute delay of forces arriving at the Capitol. -Daily Mail

Some have suggested that McCarthy was trying to intervene over the optics of the Army, under his command, trying to inhibit or interfere with certification of the 2020 presidential election results – and that he may have been vying for a spot in the incoming Biden administration.

The hearing on Wednesday, “Three Years Later: D.C. National Guard Whistleblowers Speak Out on January 6 Delay,” will explore whether Trump was at fault for the delay in deploying the National Guard.

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CIA Officer Admits To Undercover Journalist That FBI Agents Attended January 6 Protest At Capitol

An official with the Central Intelligence Agency (CIA) told an undercover journalist that members of the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) were in attendance at the protests at the U.S. Capitol on January 6, 2021, and also highlighted methods that intelligence agencies use to disempower political opponents.

Gavin O’Blennis, a self-proclaimed Contracting Officer for the CIA and former member of the FBI, was caught on camera by an undercover journalist with Sound Investigations as he discussed January 6. O’Blennis claimed that former President Donald Trump incited a riot before going on to say that roughly 20 undercover FBI agents were in the crowd.

“I thought you said that there were FBI agents in the crowd at J6?” the undercover journalist asked O’Blennis.

“There are, there always are when there’s a big protest in DC, just in case it gets out of hand like that,” he responded before going on to say “There wasn’t enough to turn that tide.”

“I’m talking we maybe had 20. You needed 1,000 to get rid of that crowd,” he said. “Just to go through, to observe, to see what they can hear, you know that kind of thing.” The video also shows O’Blennis affirming that the FBI didn’t want the public to know that they had agents embedded in the crowd and saying that he personally knows agents who were in attendance. “They work for the Agency now,” he said about the former FBI agents, referencing the CIA.

“Do people know that the Bureau was in the crowd?” the undercover Sound Investigations journalist asked, with O’Blennis responding, “Nope, and they probably never will.”

FBI Director Christopher Wray previously stated in a Congressional hearing concerning January 6th that he was “not sure there were undercover agents on scene,” doubling down in an answer to Rep. Andy Biggs (R-AZ) and saying. “I do not believe that there were undercover agents on scene.”

In the video, O’Blennis went on to detail various different tactics that the intelligence community uses against those it perceives to be their political opponents.

“You can kinda put anyone in jail if you know what to do … You set ‘em up,” he remarked to the undercover journalist. “You create the situation where they have no choice but to act on their impulse, and once they act on that impulse, some would call that entrapment.”

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Record Number Of Truck Drivers Refuse To Take Drug Tests As More States Legalize Marijuana

As more states legalize marijuana, a new federal report shows that the number of positive drug tests among commercial drivers fell last year compared to the year before, dropping from 57,597 in 2022 to 54,464 in 2023. At the same time, however, the number of drivers who refused to be screened at all also increased by 39 percent.

The record-high number of refusals comes as the transportation industry faces a nationwide shortage of drivers, which some trade groups have said has only been made worse by drug testing policies that risk flagging drivers even when they’re not impaired on the job.

The rise in refusals meant that even though there were fewer positive tests overall in 2023, the total number of recorded drug violations among truckers actually rose slightly—to 68,229 in 2023 compared to 67,775 a year earlier.

“The overall rise in drug violations in 2023, even though there are fewer positive tests, is attributed to a nearly 40% increase in reported drug test refusals—9,214 in 2022 versus 12,804 in 2023,” the Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration (FMCSA), which produced the new report, told the trade publication Transport Topics.

“Drug test refusals include employer reported refusals like failing to show up for a random test, or leaving a test collection facility after a test has begun but before it’s complete,” added FMCSA, an arm of the U.S. Department of Transportation.

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Judge Ordered Jan. 6 Defendant’s Computer Monitored for ‘Disinformation’—Appeals Court Overturns

A sentencing requirement that Jan. 6 defendant Daniel Goodwyn have his computer monitored by the government for “disinformation” has been vacated by the U.S. Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia Circuit.

The court on March 26 published a mandate sending the case back to U.S. District Judge Reggie Walton to remove the computer monitoring requirement he issued as part of the sentencing judgment in the case on June 15, 2023.

“Judge Walton had no legal basis to issue the special condition,” Carolyn Stewart, Mr. Goodwyn’s attorney, told The Epoch Times in an April 3 email.

A three-judge panel of the U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals ruled the judge “plainly erred” in imposing the computer monitoring. Judges Gregory Katsas, Naomi Rao, and Bradley Garcia issued a per curiam order vacating the monitoring provision.

Judge Walton, when imposing a 60-day jail sentence in June 2023, said Mr. Goodwyn spread “disinformation” during a broadcast of “Tucker Carlson Tonight” on March 14, 2023. Judge Walton ordered that Mr. Goodwyn’s computer be subject to “monitoring and inspection” by a probation agent to check if he spread Jan. 6 disinformation during the term of his supervised release.

The judge also referred to Mr. Goodwyn spreading alleged “misinformation,” using the term interchangeably with “disinformation.”

Mr. Goodwyn, 35, of Corinth, Texas, pleaded guilty on Jan. 31, 2023, to one misdemeanor count of entering and remaining in a restricted building or grounds without lawful authority. The charge could have meant up to a year in prison.

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America’s Hypocrisy as an Authoritarian State Being Exposed as Ukraine Flounders

Even though a growing number of Western elites are awakening to the reality that Ukraine is headed for defeat and will drag NATO along with it, the so-called intellectual cognoscenti of foreign policy, like the editorial board of the NY Times, continue to indulge fantasies and delusions. They conclude a Sunday editorial pleading for more money for Zelensky and the losing cause with this:

Mr. Trump and his followers may argue that the security of Ukraine, or even of Europe, is not America’s business. But the consequence of allowing a Russian victory in Ukraine is a world in which authoritarian strongmen feel free to crush dissent or seize territory with impunity. That is a threat to the security of America, and the world.

The Washington and New York establishments continue to insist that Vladimir Putin is an “authoritarian strongman.” I have one word of advice — look in the damn mirror and pay attention to what is happening in the United States before you mount your moral high horse and gallop off to lecture other countries on democracy and human rights.

When I read the penultimate sentence in the paragraph above I asked myself the question, “How many political prisoners are there in Russia?” I was not surprised by the answer.

“For political prisoners, the situation is often worse, because the state aims to additionally punish them, or additionally isolate them from the world, or do everything to break their spirit,” Vaypan said. His group counts 680 political prisoners in Russia.

Guess what? The United States has prosecuted (and persecuted) twice as many political prisoners than Russia.

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“Oh Man, This Is Huge”: Video Revealed By Jan. 6 Defendant Raises Questions About Undercover Agents

Recently released Jan. 6 U.S. Capitol Police security video shows a suspected FBI special agent clapping and cheering as crowds surged up steps to the Columbus Doors and another meeting with an FBI tactical team just before it entered the Capitol after the fatal shooting of Ashli Babbitt.

The videos were first identified by defendant William Pope of Topeka, Kansas, in court filings in his own Jan. 6 criminal case. Exhibits Mr. Pope originally filed under seal have become public since the release of thousands of hours of Jan. 6 security video by the Committee on House Administration Subcommittee on Oversight.

Two possible FBI special agents and a third unknown colleague were with John D. Guandolo, the FBI’s former liaison with U.S. Capitol Police, at the Women for a Great America event on the East Front of the Capitol on Jan. 6, 2021, according to Mr. Pope.

In sworn testimony in a December 2022 Alaska civil court trial and in numerous media appearances, Mr. Guandolo said he was with two FBI special agents and a colleague with whom he traveled to Washington on Jan. 6. Mr. Guandolo has indicated that he was also introduced to other FBI personnel at the Capitol that day.

Mr. Pope is seeking to compel federal prosecutors to identify them all. He said even if the men were at the Capitol on personal time, their free movement around the grounds shows they did not believe the Capitol was off limits to the public.

Mr. Guandolo, who handled counterterrorism and criminal investigations for nearly 13 years—from 1996 to 2008—as an FBI special agent, has said he was at the Capitol in a personal capacity and went primarily to pray.

He was interviewed by the FBI about his Jan. 6 visit on July 6, 2022. A heavily redacted copy of the FBI 302 interview summary has been made public.

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Massive Protests Against Netanyahu Form in Israel as Entire Region Erupts in Unrest

Since Monday Israeli residents, potentially numbering in the hundreds of thousands, have began to protest Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu. At the same time, the surrounding Islamic world is beginning to rise up against Israel for the genocide in Gaza.

The protestor’s grievances range from judicial overhaul criticisms to the calling for a cease fire in Gaza to calls of freeing Israeli hostages via prisoner swaps and requests for the embattled leader to hold early elections.

The massive groundswell of protestors began at the same time as the murder of Western food aid workers by Israeli Defense Force (IDF) fighters. The killing of aid workers in a marked aid vehicle on a marked aid route has unleashed condemnation from around the world.

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I was threatened by the January 6 committee into staying silent, Trump’s acting Defense Secretary Chris Miller claims

Donald Trump‘s former acting Defense Secretary Chris Miller claims the January 6 committee threatened to ‘make his life hell’ if he kept claiming his former boss authorized National Guard deployment during the Capitol riot.

In an exclusive interview with DailyMail.com, the former Director of the National Counterterrorism Center said he became ‘fearful’ of aggressive tactics by members of the Democrat-led panel who tried to stop him speaking publicly about a narrative that didn’t align with their final report.

Miller’s bombshell claims follow a report by Republican Rep. Barry Loudermilk that reveals the committee withheld a transcript from an interview with a top White House official where he told Vice Chair Liz Cheney and other staffers that Trump did want to deploy troops.

Cheney did not immediately respond to a request for comment on whether she or any other members of the Select Committee corresponded with witnesses in a way that could be interpreted as threatening.

Trump appointed Miller as the Pentagon chief in November 2020 after he fired Mark Esper amid attempts to overturn Joe Biden‘s presidential election victory.

He was only in the job for two months, but was thrust in front of the committee during their probe into the events that unfolded on the day the electoral college votes were certified.

Miller claims the members intimidated him, and warned they would repeatedly bring him in for ‘hours’ of additional testimony if he kept going on TV and defending the former president’s actions.

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J6 Political Prisoner, Dominic Pezzola, Confronts Myth of Rehabilitation in Federal Prison and the Reality of Prison Abuse

January 6TH, Prisoner Dominic Pezzola’s life within the Federal Bureau of Prisons has been anything but ‘rehabilitative.’ Each passing day of his ten-year sentence reveals a system marred by injustice and riddled with apparent apathy from those tasked with his care while in custody. Lisa, his wife, remains resolute in her role on the outside, relaying the brutal realities of Dominic’s ordeal to those willing to listen.

Earlier this year, Dominic was thrust into the cruel isolation of the Special Housing Unit (SHU) for an inexplicable 45 days. Dom told Lisa that prison authorities offered no explanation, leaving him in the dark about his alleged transgressions. After his release from the SHU, it was just two weeks later that the entire prison was placed under lockdown for more than two weeks due to a stabbing incident in a separate unit, no amount of explanation in the aftermath could undo the damage of what amounts to collective punishment. The prison walls seem impervious to reason, punishing every inmate indiscriminately, regardless of their involvement in the incident.

Dom’s confusion over the sudden confinement was compounded by the fact that he never received a formal write-up, a violation notice that typically accompanies punitive measures. For all he knew, the authorities had deemed him guilty without affording him the right to understand his supposed crimes.

Dominic’s release from the SHU was as abrupt as his initial confinement. No explanation was immediately given, and the slate was wiped clean as if the ordeal had never occurred. Through the proverbial grapevine, he learned that the prison authorities swiftly concluded the investigation of the stabbing within 48 hours. Without further explanation from BOP officials, to either Dom or his wife Lisa, motives behind the extended lockdown and solitary confinement remain unclear.

Many inmates believe that what happens with frequent and extended periods of lockdown are more than just arbitrary measures. In fact, many allege they are but one component of a systemic strategy rooted in corruption.

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