Daily Archives: April 25, 2021

House GOP Minority Leader Kevin McCarthy insisted he won't support House Speaker Nancy Pelosi's calls for a bipartisan commission that focuses on the January 6 Capitol Riot without including a probe into Black Lives Matter and Antifa.

Fox News Sunday anchor Chris Wallace repeatedly pressed McCarthy to clearly state whether he would support a probe that hones in on the deadly riot, noting that Republicans vehemently supported a tightly-focused probe into the 2012 Benghazi, Libya murder of four Americans. McCarthy repeatedly claimed he was the first congressional member to ask for a "9/11-style" commission on the riot, but he and GOP lawmakers want to see it broadly expanded to include unfounded ties to BLM and Antifa.

McCarthy's interview also saw him repeatedly avoid then ultimate deny reports that former President Donald Trump engaged in "witness tampering" during tense January 6 phone calls about the riot.

"Why not confine this committee to what happened on January 6 when there was an insurrection at the Capitol?" Wallace asked McCarthy, noting that in 2012 then-House GOP Leader John Boehner "set up the [Benghazi probe] and it was completely confined to the Benghazi murders."

"You've had political violence for the last year in this building, on Good Friday you had an officer killed for a political belief right on that Capitol as well, if you're now going to put a commission together, why wouldn't you look at all the problems to solve?" McCarthy said, referencing the April 2 killing of U.S. Capitol Police Officer William "Billy" Evans by a purported Nation of Islam member.

"I'm the one who asked for a commission, it's Speaker Pelosi who is trying to make it partisan. This is too important to negotiate in the press," McCarthy added, describing why he wants a broader probe that doesn't focus on the largely pro-Trump rioters who led the January 6 attacks.

Wallace also confronted McCarthy about his reported phone call with Trump during the January 6 insurrection, in which the then-president shamed him for not offering his support to the violent rioters. McCarthy dodged a direct answer several times before ultimately declining to relay exactly what was said between the two.

Trump reportedly said in the January 6 call, "Well Kevin, I guess these people are more upset about the election than you are."

"Is that what President Trump said to you?" Wallace asked.

"What I talked to President Trump about, I was the first person to contact him when the riots were going on and he didn't see it, but he ended the call telling me he'll put something out to make sure to stop this. And that's what he did, he put a video out later. McCarthy said.

"Quite a lot later, and it was a very weak video," Wallace said, before pressing once again. "But I'm asking you specifically, did he say to you, 'I guess these people are more upset about the election than you are'?"

"No, listen, my conversations with the president are my conversations with the president," McCarthy said. "I engaged in the idea of making sure we could stop what was going on inside the Capitol at that moment in time and the president said he would help."

Wallace continued, "Has the president ever reached out to you, since that report came out, to discuss what you and he talked about in the January 6 phone call, and did you say to him, 'I can't, because we're under oath'?"

"That's never happened, never even close," McCarthy replied, acknowledging that such a conversation would be considered witness tampering. "We never had any conversation like that. I've never even heard that rumor until today."

Newsweek reached out to McCarthy's office for additional remarks about the Fox News Sunday interview.

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Fox Host Confronts Kevin McCarthy on Demand BLM, Antifa Be Included in Capitol Riot Probe - Newsweek

The Department of Justice says that a Forestburg, Texas couple was arrested on Wednesday, April 21 for allegedly assaulting cops who were dispatched to man barricades at the U.S. Capitol on Jan. 6. Mark Middleton, 52, and Jalise Middleton, 51, made their first appearances in federal court on Thursday in the Lone Star State.

According to the FBIs statement of facts, there was ample evidence that the couple participated in the Jan. 6 siege, and some of the evidence was provided by the suspects themselves on social media. Importantly, however, tipsters identified only as acquaintances who saw those Facebook posts agreed to FBI interviews and told the feds what they saw.

One of those tipsters was described as the parent of girl who is an acquaintance of defendant Jalise Middleton. Some of the tipsters are referred to in court documents only by the pronoun it in an apparent attempt to avoid identifying the tipsters gender.

The tipster reported that ITS daughter had seen numerous posts and photos on J MIDDLETONs Facebook page following the Capitol riots indicating that J MIDDLETON had participated in the riot, court documents say. Those posts and photos were not long for this world, however, because Jalise Middleton allegedly deleted them about two days after posting them, the feds said.

A second tipster reported that an acquaintance of ITS mother informed IT that ITS mother had travelled to Washington, DC on or about January 6, 2021, with a group of people including both Middletons. The tipster said the acquaintance of ITS mother believed the suspects had an altercation with a police officer at the Capitol.

The precise familial relationships are somewhat lost in the cloak of the translation, but the bottom line, prosecutors allege, is that people were talking about the defendants causing trouble in D.C. Plus, the tipsters suggested that witnesses could pinpoint the defendants travels.

The government says that Metropolitan Police officers identified only T.T. and R.C. were assaulted by a group of rioters at the barricades of the West Front of the Capitol building on Jan. 6. Mark Middleton and Jalise Middleton allegedly took part in the attack.

As the struggle ensues, a male individual wearing a red, white, and blue Trump beanie hat, red and white scarf, gray or silver jacket, blue jeans, red and white Nike shoes, and gray backpack with a red logo on the backlater identified as Mark Middleton (M MIDDLETON) pushes against the barricades and the police line with his body. As officers repeatedly order M MIDDLETON and other rioters to get back, M MIDDLETON is heard yelling fuck you! as he continues pushing against the barricade.

At the same time, a female individual wearing a red, white, and blue Trump 2020 beanie hat, red, white, and blue scarf, gray jacket, red shirt, and gold ring with what appears to be diamondslater identified as Jalise Middleton (J MIDDLETON)repeatedly grabs and strikes T.T. over the barricade with her hand.

From here, the statement of facts discussed the Facebook posts the couple allegedly posted to their respective accounts. Mark Middleton allegedly recorded himself saying something incriminating.

We are on the front lines. We helped push down the barriers. Jalise and I got pepper sprayed, clubbed, and tear gassed. We had to retreat, but more patriots pushed forward, and theyre taking back our house, Middleton was quoted as saying. Theyve got the giant flag up on the upper terrace up there. No more fooling around! Jalise and I gotta go back to the hotel and try to recoup and change, get dry clothes on. Make America great again! Freedom!

Additional comments attributed to Mark Middleton do not appear to be exculpatory.

Jalise Middleton allegedly admitted in Facebook comments that she and her husband fought cops, were on the front lines, and ultimately got bruised and pepper sprayed.

Patriots busted through barrierers [sic] to get in Capital [sic]. Best I know there was no looting or rioting,' Jalise Middleton allegedly said on the evening of Jan. 6. We just sent a warning that we are serious.

Patriots dont stoop low like Antifa, she went on. The fixation on Antifa continued on Jan. 7:Patriots surged, just to show strength, Antifa went in to make ya look bad.

The Middletons each face the following seven charges: (1) assaulting, resisting or impeding certain officers; (2) obstruction of law enforcement during civil disorder; (3) obstruction of justice/congress; (4) knowingly entering or remaining in any restricted building or grounds without lawful authority; (5) disorderly and disruptive conduct in a restricted building or grounds; (6) engaging in physical violence in a restricted building or grounds; (7) violent entry and disorderly conduct on capitol grounds.

[Images via FBI]

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Patriots Dont Stoop Low Like Antifa: Texas Woman Admits Online that She and Her Husband Fought Cops at U.S. Capitol, Feds Say - Law & Crime

It appears that Antifa militants you know, those figments of conservatives' collective imagination, those black-clad, violent leftists who are at best "an idea, not an organization" and at worst a "myth" have miraculously exited the pages of storybooks and landed in apparent real life.

Conservative radio host Jason Rantz of KTTH-AM posted cellphone video seemingly recorded on the sly showing a group of "radical activists, including Antifa" holding an outdoor meeting in Seattle Friday night following their usual street hijinks.

During their chat, the "comrades" a term actually uttered by one freedom fighter discuss strategy, pat themselves on the back after they "fought with the pigs," and emphasize not to discuss with anyone that they've met or their activities, as well as other methods to keep authorities at bay.

Image source: Twitter video screenshot via @JasonRantz

Shockingly, one militant tells the group that "autonomous doesn't mean unorganized. So we do have to make decisions as a crew, as a team." Seriously, since when do myths and ideas band together like ... an organization?

Another militant suggests next time out they divide themselves into groups dressed as "black bloc" and "plain clothes" in order to prevent police from identifying members according to attire. In addition, another militant reminds members to look at the "Seattle [Black Lives Matter] calendar" and other groups' activities to keep informed.

Prior to departing, one militant adds, "Once we de-bloc and leave, you weren't at this autonomous action. So you don't go home and talk about it. You didn't see anything, you didn't talk to anybody." Another group member chimes in, "Our general policy is, 'I didn't see s**t or know s**t.' If somebody asks you what you did Friday night 'nothin'.'"

Others also offer tips about phones, primarily to keep them turned off, to "get a burner if you can," nont to have phones "tied to you personally," and to make them password-protected with "no bio, no face, no thumb."

Toward the end, another woman tells the group, "While we're not necessarily out in the streets every night, we are doing actions every night. We're sharing information, we're watching livestreams, we're educating ourselves, we're educating our peers, our families, our friends. So keep that momentum up." She adds that there's plenty to be done to aid the "revolution."

The militants also express a desire for "more organization" as well as concerns about being "infiltrated," especially since they're in a "vulnerable location" and "the longer we stay here, the easier it is for them to start picking out people as they walk out."

Content warning: Language:

Last July, Democratic U.S. Rep. Jerry Nadler (N.Y.), chairman of House Judiciary Committee, was caught on video stating that Antifa violence in Portland, Oregon, taking place night after night and documented in numerous videos and news reports is a "myth that's being spread only in Washington, D.C."

Last September, then-Democratic presidential nominee Joe Biden in a debate with then-President Donald Trump parroted the words of FBI Director Christopher Wray, saying that "Antifa's an idea, not an organization."

But speaking to the House Permanent Select Committee on Intelligence last week, Wray was willing to concede that Antifa is "more of a movement. There are certainly local and regional nodes, individuals who self-identify with Antifa who commit violent attacks, citing that as their motivation. And we have a number of predicated investigations into such individuals."

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Antifa 'a myth,' 'an idea, not an organization' meets after street 'action' to discuss strategy, warns each other to keep things secret - TheBlaze