Tag Archive for: jan 6

‘You May Have Just Perjured Yourself’: Massie Goes After Garland Over Jan. 6 Statements

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Republican Kentucky Rep. Thomas Massie suggested Wednesday that Attorney General Merrick Garland may have perjured himself over his statements about Jan. 6.

Massie played a compilation of previous testimony from DOJ, FBI and other agency officials refusing to comment on ongoing investigations into Jan. 6-related incidents. In one instance shown in the clip, Massie asked Garland how many agents were assets of the U.S. government on Jan. 5 and 6 who were “agitating” the crowd to go into the Capitol and how many agents went into the Capitol. Garland refused to answer.

“Peter Navarro was indicted for contempt of Congress — aren’t you in fact in contempt of Congress when you gave us this answer?” Massie said. “This is an answer that’s appropriate at a press conference. It’s not an answer that’s appropriate when we are asking questions … you cannot continue to give us these answers. Aren’t you in fact in contempt of Congress when you refuse to answer?”

Garland invoked the U.S. Constitution, arguing the separation of powers means the executive branch has control over investigations and that out of respect for those involved and due process, he is not obligated to comment on an ongoing probe.

Massie argued Garland was impeding Congress’ ability to conduct oversight.

“Can you answer [my question] now?” Massie asked.

“I don’t know the answer to that question,” Garland said.

“You don’t know how many there were, or there were none?” Massie pressed.

“I don’t know the answer to either of those questions. If there were any, I don’t know how many, or whether there are any.”

“I think you may have just perjured yourself, that you don’t know that there were any?” Massie said. “You wanna say that again? That you don’t know if there were any?”

“I have no personal knowledge of this matter. I think what I said the last time–”

“You’ve had two years to find out, and – by the way, that was in reference to Ray Epps, and yesterday you indicted him, isn’t that a wonderful coincidence?” Massie said, arguing the DOJ is “sending grandmas to prison” and putting people in jail for decades for filming or being present in the Capitol building on Jan. 6, but Epps, who was on video appearing to encourage protesters to enter the Capitol, was charged with a misdemeanor.

“The American public isn’t buying it,” Massie said before yielding his time.

AUTHOR

BRIANNA LYMAN

News and commentary writer.

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Ray Epps Charged With A Felony For His Alleged Role In January 6th Riot

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Ray Epps, a man who was filmed encouraging protesters to storm the Capitol building ahead of the Jan. 6, 2021 riot, is being charged with a felony for his alleged role in the riot.

Epps was charged Monday with a felony for disorderly or disruptive conduct in a restricted building or grounds by the U.S. Attorney’s office for Washington, D.C., according to a court filing uploaded Tuesday.

“On or about January 6, 2021, within the District of Columbia, James Ray Epps Sr. did knowingly, and with intent to impede and disrupt the orderly conduct of Government business and official functions, engage in disorderly and disruptive conduct in and within such proximity to, a restricted building and grounds,” the document reads. Epps is being charged with a single count for violating Title 18, United States Code, Section 1752(a)(2) and could face prison time.

Epps said in a defamation lawsuit filed against Daily Caller co-founder Tucker Carlson that the Department of Justice (DOJ) notified him in May 2023 that he was going to be charged for his alleged role in the Capitol riot.

“Finally, in May 2023, the Department of Justice notified Epps that it would seek to charge him criminally for events on January 6, 2021—two-and-a-half years later,” Epps’ lawsuit states.

Livestream footage from Jan. 5 and Jan. 6, 2021, appears to show Epps pushing for Trump supporters to storm the Capitol the next day. His apparent role in the Jan. 6th riot and lack of law enforcement scrutiny led to speculation from Carlson and other pundits that Epps was a federal agent.

He has been profiled by the New York Times and CBS’s 60 Minutes because of the speculation surrounding Epps’ role in the Capitol riot. Epps said in his lawsuit that he and his wife were forced to leave their Arizona home because of alleged threats and intimidation.

“I’m probably gonna go to jail for this. Tomorrow, we need to go into the Capitol,” Epps could be heard shouting on the livestream. Epps added that it should be done “peacefully” after protesters around him accused him of being a federal agent.

In his lawsuit, Epps says that his remarks were intended to “prove that he was on their side so that he could deescalate the situation.”

The DOJ has charged more than 1,100 defendants in nearly all 50 states and D.C. 32 months since the Capitol riot, according to an update the DOJ posted on Sept. 6.

AUTHOR

JAMES LYNCH

Investigative reporter. James Lynch can be reached on Twitter @jameslynch32

RELATED ARTICLE: Republicans Introduce Legislation To Repeal FACE Act Following DOJ Targeting Of Pro-Lifers

EDITORS NOTE: This Daily Caller column is republished with permission. ©All rights reserved.

REPORT: ‘QAnon Shaman’ Released From Prison Just Weeks After Tucker Carlson’s Video Release

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The so-called “QAnon Shaman” has been released from prison and sent to a halfway house just weeks after Daily Caller co-founder and Fox News host Tucker Carlson released footage from the Capitol riot, according to the Daily Mail.

Thirty-five year-old Jacob Chansley was sentenced in 2021 to 41 months in prison followed by another 36 months of supervised release after entering a plea deal for charges of civil disorder, obstruction of an official proceeding, entering and remaining in a restricted building and other non-violent crimes.

Chansley was not accused of assaulting law enforcement or destroying government property, though prosecutors argued he deserved a harsh sentence because he “showed no remorse in the days after the event,” Politico reported.

Chansley’s attorney, Albert S. Watkins, said Thursday that Chansley has been released from prison after serving just 27 months of his 41-month sentence, according to the Daily Mail.

“After serving eleven months in solitary prior to his sentence being imposed, and only 16 months of his sentence thereafter, it is appropriate this gentle and intelligent young man be permitted to move forward with the next stage of what undoubtedly will be a law abiding and enriching life,” Watkins reportedly said.

“I applaud the decision of the US Bureau of Prison in this regard,” Watkins continued, according to DailyMail.

The announcement comes after Carlson aired footage appearing to show officers escorting Chansley through the halls of the Capitol building on Jan. 6. The footage, which Carlson obtained from Republican House Speaker Kevin McCarthy and aired on March 6, shows Chansley walking with two officers, and at one point passing a group of several officers who do not appear to try to stop or arrest Chansley.

Prosecutors rejected Carlson’s argument that video footage undercut claims of criminal conduct by Chansley, saying Carlson left out incriminating parts. 

“The televised footage lacks the context of what occurred before and after the footage,” prosecutors wrote in a court filing related to charges against Proud Boys member Dominic Pezzola.

“The televised footage shows Chansley’s movements only from approximately 2:56 p.m. to 3:00 p.m.,” prosecutors continued. “Prior to that time, Chansley had, amongst other acts, breached a police line at 2:09 p.m. with the mob, entered the Capitol less than one minute behind Pezzola during the initial breach of the building, and faced off with members of the U.S. Capitol Police for more than thirty minutes in front of the Senate Chamber doors while elected officials … were fleeing from the chamber.”

AUTHOR

BRIANNA LYMAN

News and commentary writer. Follow Brianna on Twitter.

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Longest J6 Jail Sentence Levied Thus Far Goes To … A Black Guy

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A 56-year-old black man was sentenced to five years and three months in prison Tuesday for his involvement in the Jan. 6 attack on the Capitol.

Mark Ponder, a resident of Washington D.C., and former constituent services coordinator for the D.C. city council, pleaded guilty in April to assaulting three police officers with poles. His sentence is tied for the longest jail sentence levied so far against those involved in the riot, which has often been dubbed as “white supremacist” by prominent Democrats and officials.

“The violent, deadly insurrection on the Capitol nine months ago, it was about white supremacy, in my opinion,” President Joe Biden said at an event in October of last year.

“These displays of white supremacy are not new,” Lecia Brooks, chief of staff for the Southern Poverty Law Center, said of the riot. “Now it’s just reached a fever pitch.”

FBI Director Christopher Wray told the Senate the attack was racially motivated.

“The attackers on Jan. 6 included a number … of what we would call militia violent extremism. And we have had some already arrested who we would put in the category of racially motivated violent extremism, white, as well,” Wray said, according to the Washington Post.

Ponder struck officers with a pole, before law enforcement tackled him to the ground. A voice can be heard on video of the incident saying, “You gonna have to kill me today. You gonna have to kill me.”

“When our country is being attacked with, like we are, we have a right to fight … that is what the Second Amendment was built on,” Ponder told law enforcement, according to his statement of offense.

“Ponder’s criminal conduct — arming himself during a riot, assaulting a police officer, re-arming himself after his first weapon broke, assaulting two additional police officers, encouraging the crowd to attack police, and returning to the Capitol after express instructions to leave—demonstrates a profound disrespect for the law generally,” Justice Department attorney Michael J. Romano wrote in Ponder’s sentencing memo.

“Unfortunately, he got caught up in the riotous atmosphere of the crowd and erroneously perceived the police as standing in the way of the crowd’s desire to protest the election results,” Ponder’s attorney Joseph R. Conte, said in a sentencing memo.

Robert S. Palmer of Largo, Florida, was also sentenced to five years and three months in prison in December, according to the Washington Post.

Ponder was arrested on March 17, 2021.

AUTHOR

SARAH WEAVER

Staff writer.

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EDITORS NOTE: This Daily Caller column is republished with permission. ©All rights reserved.