policy

WASHINGTON (AP) — Reminders of the violence have gotten increasingly rare on the Capitol.

Scars on the partitions have been repaired. Windows and doors broken by the rioters were replaced. And there isn’t a plaque, display or memorial of any kind.

Lawmakers rarely mention the attack, and lots of Republicans try to downplay it by repeating President-elect Donald Trump's claims that that day's carnage was exaggerated and that the rioters were victims.

In some ways, it’s as if the rebellion of January 6, 2021, which shook the foundations of American democracy, never happened.

“It’s been deleted,” said Sen. Peter Welch, D-Vt. “Winners make history and Trump won. And his version is that it was a peaceful gathering. Obviously completely untrue.”

If Trump pardons rioters, as he said he would after taking office on Jan. 20, it will be “an exclamation point on his version of what happened,” Welch said.

Some of the 1,250 defendants convicted of crimes after Jan. 6 called for the deaths of then-House Speaker Nancy Pelosi of California and Mike Pence, Trump's vp, because the mob violently overran police and into the constructing penetrated. Some carried guns, zip ties, chemical irritants and Confederate flags as they ransacked the Capitol on the lookout for lawmakers. They sought to dam the certification of Democrat Joe Biden's victory over Trump, repeating the Republican incumbent's false claims that the election was stolen.

But the disruption was only temporary. Congress resumed its work that evening and accomplished its constitutional role.

Alaska Sen. Lisa Murkowski, one in all seven Senate Republicans who voted to convict Trump on impeachment charges after Jan. 6, said: “It's been a very, very dark time.” Some lawmakers, she said, “really want this.” leave us behind.”

However, there are different reasons for this.

Former Republican Sen. Mike Braun, a frequent Trump ally who left Congress this 12 months and was elected governor of Indiana, said many within the party consider the Justice Department is “disproportionately armed” against some rioters. He said many lawmakers who were on the Capitol on Jan. 6 wanted as much distance as possible between then and now.

“I think we all remember that,” Braun said. But he added: “When you start putting up plaques, it looks like it further highlights the divide on this issue. “And perhaps the best treatment is to only keep going.”

Congress passed a law in March 2022 requiring “a plaque of honor bearing the names of all officers of the United States Capitol Police, the Metropolitan Police Department of the District of Columbia, and other federal, state, and native law enforcement agencies serving on the violence that occurred on the United States Capitol on January 6, 2021.”

The Architect of the Capitol was ordered to acquire the plaque inside a 12 months and place it permanently on the West Front of the Capitol, where the worst of the fighting took place.

But almost three years later, there isn’t a plaque left. It is unclear why and who’s responsible. A spokeswoman for the Architect of the Capitol referred inquiries to the House Sergeant at Arms, who didn’t reply to requests for information.

Democratic Senate leader Chuck Schumer of New York and then-Republican Senate leader Mitch McConnell of Kentucky signed the plaque, in line with a Senate leadership aide who was acquainted with the method but was not authorized to debate the matter publicly and spoke provided that that is the case anonymity. The Democratic leader within the House of Representatives, Hakeem Jeffries of New York, also supported him. A spokesman for House Speaker Mike Johnson, R-La., didn’t reply to requests for comment.

Rep. Zoe Lofgren of California, who chaired the House Administration Committee when the law passed, wrote to Johnson in May asking why the plaque had not been installed. “If there is a reason for the delay, I look forward to any information you can share to that effect and what will be done to resolve the issue,” Lofgren said.

She never heard anything.

“It's not just the plaque, although it means something to the officers who were there, but the fact that no one cares enough about them to uphold the law and recognize the sacrifice they made for us and our country have,” Lofgren said. “This service to their country is not respected.”

New York Rep. Joe Morelle, now the highest Democrat on the House Administration Committee, said the refusal to position the plaque was a part of an effort “to deny that January 6th happened and the harm it caused to the U.S. police force.” -Capitol inflicted”.

Metropolitan Police Officer Daniel Hodges, who fought the rioters and was captured on video screaming as they crushed him in a doorway resulting in the inauguration ceremony, said it was “incredibly insulting” that the plaque was not installed became.

“It's an incredibly simple thing, but it can mean a lot to so many who fought that day to defend democracy, Congress, the vice president and the staff,” he said. He said Jan. 6 had turn out to be a political issue. “It shouldn’t be,” he said.

Hodges said he expects to work on Inauguration Day, one in all hundreds of law enforcement officials who will protect the president and the town on Jan. 20.

Former Capitol Police Sergeant Aquilino Gonell, who retired due to his injuries while fighting rioters near the tunnel on the Western Front, said he lost “my career, my health” and even some family and friends after the attack . He and Hodges were among the many few in law enforcement to talk publicly about their experiences.

“Looking back, it’s like it was all for nothing,” Gonell said. “It’s a betrayal.”

He said he wished the plaque was on the Western Front so Trump could see it before he takes the inauguration stage in a couple of weeks.

Trump “could read the names of the officials before he left,” Gonell said. “So he knew his actions had consequences.”

In the times following the Capitol siege, Republican condemnation was nearly unanimous.

“Count me out,” Republican Sen. Lindsey Graham of South Carolina, one in all Trump’s key allies, said on the evening of Jan. 6. Then-Republican leader of the House of Representatives Kevin McCarthy of California said per week later that Trump bore “responsibility” for the attack.

But McCarthy soon made amends and, inside weeks, traveled to Florida to satisfy Trump. It was a fateful decision that began Trump's slow return to power. When Trump returned to Capitol Hill during his campaign last 12 months, Republican lawmakers not only met with him but in addition gave him a standing ovation.

Over that point, Republican attitudes toward the January 6 attack have modified. GOP lawmakers have condemned the work of the Democratic-led committee that investigated the rebellion and fiercely disputed its findings. Some Republicans have echoed Trump's words that the imprisoned rioters were “hostages” potentially worthy of a pardon.

Still, the difficulty might be a sensitive one for Trump, who has promised pardons on “Day 1.” It is unclear how many individuals he desires to pardon or whether this includes probably the most violent criminals.

“If they physically assaulted police officers, I don’t think they deserve a pardon,” Sen. Markwayne Mullin, R-Okla., one in all Trump’s closest allies, said in a CNN interview. “I think they should serve their time.”

Sen. Catherine Cortez Masto, D-Nev., said there are legacies of the attack even with no plaque hanging on the wall – akin to increased security at this 12 months's certification and Biden's invitation to Trump to come back to the Oval Office after the election , a return to the peaceful transfer of power.

“Don't you think people were thinking in the back of their minds that this was different than Jan. 6?” she said. “So it works, it’s important.”

Congress has updated the Electoral Count Act, the obscure law that governs the certification of a presidential election, to make it harder for members of Congress to object to the outcomes.

But with Trump back in power and lots of Republicans supporting his version of events, Democrats fear that a misrepresentation of January 6 will gain much more traction.

“If you don't want to remember history, the more likely it is to repeat itself,” said Rep. Jim McGovern, D-Mass. “There should be a minute of silence or a memorial service. There should definitely be a memorial plaque.”

In the times after the riot, Rep. Jim Himes, D-Conn., said he believed a broken window must be kept as a reminder. But the windows were replaced, reinforced and cleaned up. There is little evidence of the widespread damage, amounting to tens of millions of dollars, that the rioters inflicted on the constructing.

It's “painful” to see attempts to rewrite what happened, Himes said, but he doesn't consider Jan. 6, 2021 might be forgotten.

“I have faith in the story,” Himes said.

By LISA MASCARO and KEVIN FREKING

WASHINGTON (AP) — This is it DOGE Time on the US Capitol.

Trump appointed the 2 business titans as his boss Ministry of Government Efficiencycommissioned with Firing federal employeesCuts to government programs and cuts to federal regulations — all a part of what he calls his “Save America” agenda for a second term within the White House.

“I think this will be a great start to the whole process,” said Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene, R-Ga., who will chair a House oversight subcommittee in the brand new 12 months to “build the bridge between Congress and to beat DOGE”. .”

Washington has seen this before, with ambitious efforts to cut back the dimensions and scope of the federal government, which has happened prior to now encounter resistance as the general public faces cuts to trusted programs that tens of millions of Americans depend on for jobs, health care, military security and on a regular basis needs.

But this time it's Trump Occupation of his administration with battle-tested architects of comprehensive proposals, a few of that are outlined in Project 2025to greatly reduce and transform government. Musk and Ramaswamy said they plan to work with the White House Office of Management and Budget, which is led by Trump nominee Russ Vought Mastermind of past cuts.

“DOGE has a historic opportunity for structural cuts in the federal government,” Musk and Ramaswamy wrote in a single Editorial within the Wall Street Journal. “We are prepared for the onslaught.”

The duo was invited by the Speaker of the House of Representatives Mike Johnson to go to Capitol Hill and face a primary private test with House and Senate lawmakers – some are excited to see what they'll be as much as.

“I'm excited to get out there and do something,” said Rep. Aaron Bean, R-Fla., who together with Rep. Pete Sessions, R-Texas, launched what they call the DOGE Caucus within the House greater than 50 Republicans and two Democratic members.

Bean said the DOGE Caucus will launch an email tip hotline for people to report wasteful spending. He also envisions a form of scoreboard that folks can view on a web site that shows “how many jobs we've cut, which agencies we've cut, and what the actual number is.”

In the Senate, Sens. Joni Ernst, R-Iowa, and Rick Scott, R-Florida, have launched an analogous caucus.

Although neither Musk nor Ramaswamy have much experience in public service, they’ve successes within the private sector – Musk's corporations do extensive government contracts – and enthusiasm for Trump’s agenda after campaigning alongside him in the ultimate stretch of the election.

The richest man on the earth, Musk Millions poured in an try to eliminate the electorate to assist the previous president return to the White House. He is thought politically for transforming the favored social media site formerly often known as Twitter into X, a platform prized by Trump's MAGA enthusiasts.

Despite its name, the Department of Government Efficiency is neither a department nor a part of the federal government, which exempts Musk and Ramaswamy from undergoing the everyday ethics and background checks required for federal employment. They said they weren’t paid for his or her work.

An excellent government group has said that as a presidential advisory body, DOGE must be expected to stick to traditional practices of transparency, equal representation and public participation – as was the case with similar advisory bodies from the Reagan to Obama administrations .

The Federal Advisory Committee Act “is expressly designed for situations like this,” Lisa Gilbert and Robert Weissman, co-chairs of Public Citizen, wrote in a letter to the Trump transition team.

“If the government wants to turn to unelected and politically unaccountable people to recommend up to $2 trillion in budget cuts, it must ensure that those recommendations come from a balanced and transparent process that is not rigged to help insiders.”

According to the Congressional Budget Office, the country's $6 trillion federal budget repeatedly runs a deficit, which this 12 months was $1.8 trillion, a historic high. It hasn't been balanced for the reason that Clinton administration greater than twenty years ago.

Republicans generally blame what they see as exorbitant spending for the deficit, while Democrats point to tax cuts under Republican Presidents Trump and George W. Bush because the primary cause.

Last 12 months's revenue as a share of gross domestic product was just under the 50-year average, while spending was 23.4% of GDP, compared with the 50-year average of 21.1%.

Some of the largest spending increases last 12 months were on politically popular programs that lawmakers were reluctant to deal with. For example, in accordance with the Congressional Budget Office, spending on Social Security advantages increased 8%, Medicare spending increased 9%, defense spending increased 7%, and veterans health care spending increased 14%.

Rep. Ro Khanna of California said he would really like to see Musk testify before the House Armed Services Committee on the “bloated defense budget.”

“I would like to see Elon recommend some cuts. Let’s let him testify,” Khanna said.

He said he was open to proposals on non-defense spending but was skeptical.

“If they find rubbish, perhaps, but when it comes to big numbers, then no one will allow a cut in education funding for children with special needs and for low-income schools, or a cut in Social Security and health insurance,” Khanna said. “If they want to do that, they will give us a landslide in 2026.”

Originally published: December 5, 2024 at 8:20 am PST

crime

WASHINGTON (AP) — A Massachusetts doctor who punched a police officer during a mob attack on the U.S. Capitol was sentenced Thursday to nine months in prison, followed by nine months of house arrest.

Jacquelyn Starer was in a crowd of rioters on the Capitol on January 6, 2021, when she punched the police officer and shouted a vulgar slur.

Starer told U.S. District Judge Timothy Kelly that she was not pleased with her actions that day, including her “regrettable encounter” with the officer.

“I take full responsibility for my actions that day and truly wish reason had prevailed over my emotions,” she said.

Starer also reached out to the police officer she attacked to apologize. The officer, identified in court documents only by her initials, told the judge she feared for her life as she and other law enforcement officials fought for hours to defend the Capitol from the mob of Donald Trump supporters.

“Do you really take responsibility for your actions or are you just going to say, 'It wasn't my fault. Fight or flight?'” the officer asked Starer before she addressed the court.

Starer, 70, of Ashland, Massachusetts, pleaded guilty in April to eight charges, including aggravated assault, without reaching an agreement with prosecutors.

Prosecutors really helpful a jail sentence of two years and three months for Starer, a physician who practiced primarily as an addiction medicine specialist before her arrest. Starer's lawyers asked the judge to sentence her to deal with arrest as an alternative of prison.

Online licensing records show that Starer agreed in January 2023 to now not practice medicine in Massachusetts. The state had issued her a medical license in 1983.

Starer attended then-President Trump's “Stop the Steal” rally near the White House on Jan. 6 before joining the mob outside the Capitol, entering the constructing through the Rotunda doors about quarter-hour after they were breached.

In the Rotunda, Starer joined other rioters and attempted to get past law enforcement officials guarding a doorway to then-House Speaker Nancy Pelosi's office. Starer pushed through other rioters and got to the front of the police line, where she yelled at officers.

When one other rioter tried to restrain her, Starer grabbed his arm, pushed him down, after which shoved him into the police line. When considered one of those officers pushed Starer backwards, she turned around and punched the officer. The attack was captured on video by a police body camera.

“The rioters responded to the attack by becoming more aggressive and then storming the police line,” a Justice Department prosecutor wrote.

Starer's lawyers said she became indignant on the rioter who tried to restrain her. She instinctively punched the officer's arm in response to the shove, her lawyers said. They argued Starer was reacting to the shove and was not motivated by the officer's skilled status.

“Dr. Starer deeply regrets this entire interaction and is fully aware that it constituted criminal conduct on her part,” her lawyers wrote.

The judge said Starer raced toward the police cordon “like a heat-seeking missile.”

“Given the threat to the physical safety of our members of Congress, this is a pretty disturbing thing,” Kelly said.

The judge asked Starer where she desired to go.

“The short answer is, 'I don't know,'” she replied.

Starer seemed to be fighting the results of the pepper spray as she left the Capitol about quarter-hour after entering the constructing.

“She received assistance from other rioters, including a rioter in camouflage clothing wearing a helmet with a military patch reading 'MILIZIA,'” the prosecutor wrote.

Starer's lawyers said she realized she had probably treated her last patient.

“Her inability to do the work she loves so much has left a very large void in her life that she will find difficult to fill,” they wrote.

Nearly 1,500 people have been charged with federal crimes related to the Capitol riots. More than 900 of them have been convicted and sentenced to prison terms, with about two-thirds receiving sentences starting from a number of days to 22 years.

politics

WASHINGTON (AP) — The Supreme Court on Friday made it tougher to charge those accused within the Capitol riots with obstruction of justice, a charge also brought against former President Donald Trump.

The judges ruled that the obstruction of an official proceeding charge, brought in 2002 in response to the financial scandal that brought down Enron, must include proof that the defendants attempted to tamper with or destroy documents. Only a few of the individuals who violently attacked the Capitol on January 6, 2021, fall into this category.

The decision could function a bolster for Trump and his Republican allies to assert that the Justice Department treated defendants unfairly in reference to the Capitol riots.

It is unclear what impact the court's decision may have on the proceedings against Trump in Washington, but special counsel Jack Smith has stated that the costs against the previous president is not going to be affected.

The Supreme Court has remanded the case of former Pennsylvania police officer Joseph Fischer to a lower court to find out whether Fischer will be charged with obstruction of justice. Fischer was charged with obstructing Congress's certification of Democrat Joe Biden's victory over Trump within the 2020 presidential election.

Fischer is certainly one of about 350 individuals who have been charged with obstruction of justice. Some have pleaded guilty or been convicted of less serious offenses.

About 170 defendants in reference to the Capitol rebellion have been convicted of obstructing or conspiring to obstruct the joint session of Congress on January 6, including the leaders of two far-right extremist groups, the Proud Boys and the Oath Keepers. Sentencing for various defendants has been postponed until the judges resolve the case.

Some rioters even sought early release from prison while the appeals process was pending, fearing they’d be sent to prison longer than scheduled if the Supreme Court rules against the Justice Department. They include Kevin Seefried, a Delaware man who threatened a black police officer with a pole tied to a Confederate flag as he stormed the Capitol. Seefried was sentenced to a few years in prison last 12 months, but a judge recently ordered him released after serving a 12 months of his sentence while he awaits the Supreme Court's ruling.

Most of the lower court judges who spoke out let the costs stand. Among them, Trump-appointed U.S. District Judge Dabney Friedrich wrote that “laws often go beyond the fundamental evil that underlies them.”

But U.S. District Judge Carl Nichols, also appointed by Trump, dismissed the costs against Fischer and two other defendants, saying prosecutors had gone too far. A divided panel of the federal appeals court in Washington reinstated the costs before the Supreme Court agreed to take up the case.

More than 1,400 people have been charged with federal crimes related to the Capitol riots. About 1,000 of them have pleaded guilty or have been convicted by a jury or judge after a trial.

The U.S. Attorney's Office in Washington, which handled the Jan. 6 indictments, said nobody convicted or charged with obstruction of justice can be completely exonerated consequently of the decision. Each defendant also faces additional charges of a felony or misdemeanor or each, prosecutors said.

For about 50 of those convicted, obstruction was the one charge, prosecutors said. Of those, about two dozen who’re still serving their sentences are most probably to be affected by the ruling.

politics

CHARLESTON, W.Va. (AP) – For Derrick Evans to be a part of the mob that stormed the US Capitol wasn't enough. The former West Virginia lawmaker desires to make his path to the halls of Congress everlasting.

On the opposite side of the metal barricades that day, Police Officer Harry Dunn couldn't stand what he saw as he defended the Capitol and its residents from rioters on January 6, 2021. Ultimately, the Maryland resident watched the lawmakers he protected Vote to acquit former President Donald Trump And Deny the violence and trauma This led to the death of a few of his fellow officers.

On Tuesday, Evans and Dunn will run for seats within the U.S. House of Representatives within the primaries of their respective states. They go into the election with wildly different interpretations of the events that day, and their performance in Tuesday's primaries in West Virginia and Maryland could provide a sign of whether voters' views on the attack and its significance are changing over time has modified.

For a complete afternoon, rioters terrorized the Capitol with pipes, bats and bear spray. They used flagpoles as weapons, brutally beat law enforcement officials, chanted they desired to hang Vice President Mike Pence, broke through glass and stormed doors as lawmakers frantically evacuated. A person from Georgia bragged about “feeding” a police officer to the mob. More than 100 law enforcement officials were injured, many beaten and bleeding. At least nine individuals who were there died during and after the riots, including a female rioter who was shot by police.

More than 1,350 people were charged with federal crimes related to the Capitol riot. Over 850 of them were convicted – around two thirds received prison sentences starting from a number of days to 30 years 22 years.

The two candidacies “symbolize a shift by both major parties in their commitment to law and order,” said Timothy Naftali, a senior researcher at Columbia University's School of International and Public Affairs.

It's remarkable, Naftali said, that on the identical day a former police officer could grow to be a Democratic candidate, while Republicans could select Evans “an unrepentant felon” who “proudly flaunts the fact that on January 6th he won against.” violated the law.”

“This is a split screen that maybe you couldn't have imagined 15 years ago,” he said.

While Evans is taken into account a longshot to unseat an incumbent and lacks the fundraising advantage that Dunn enjoys in Maryland, their candidacies at the very least raise the likelihood that they are going to serve together while sharing starkly different views on the violence and destruction represented by Jan. 6. But even when Dunn wins and Evans loses, he could be serving alongside dozens of Republicans who now view the defendants as “hostages.”

Dunn, a 40-year-old Democrat, resigned from the Capitol Police last December after greater than 15 years of service. He was 4 years wanting pension entitlement.

“I am running for Congress because the forces that drove this violent attack on January 6 are still at work in our country today, and as a patriotic American, I believe it is my duty to defend our democracy.” said Dunn.

According to his latest campaign finance report from the Federal Election Commission, Dunn leads all candidates by a large margin in fundraising within the race for Maryland's third District. He has raised $4.6 million and has a money balance of $714,000.

Evans, a 39-year-old Republican and avid Trump supporter, describes himself because the only elected official who “had the courage” to get behind efforts to temporarily halt the certification of President Joe Biden's 2020 election victory . He livestreamed himself on Facebook, cheering on what he called a “revolution.”

Evans was arrested two days after the riot and resigned his seat within the West Virginia House of Delegates a month before the 2021 legislative session. He pleaded guilty to a misdemeanor charge and served three months in prison. At the sentencing hearing, Evans apologized for his actions, but as he left prison he made a U-turn. He began portraying himself as a victim of a politically motivated prosecution.

Evans once called himself a Democrat and finished sixth out of seven candidates in a 2016 state House of Representatives primary. He then switched to the Libertarian Party in the overall election, ending last amongst five candidates.

Evans is running against West Virginia's 1st Congressional District Rep. Carol Miller, also a serious Trump supporter. In 2022, Miller received 66% of the vote in a five-candidate GOP primary en path to her third term in Congress.

Miller focuses on her own accomplishments and proposals, not criticism of Evans or his status as a Jan. 6 defendant.

“I don’t think about him at all,” she said.

Thin is one in all nearly two dozen Democrats Running in Maryland's third Congressional District, where incumbent Democrat John Sarbanes isn’t looking for re-election. The heavily Democratic jurisdiction stretches between Baltimore and the nation's capital.

Trump and New York Rep. Elise Stefanik have called the defendants jailed on Jan. 6 “hostages,” reflecting a changing tone amongst some conservatives regarding the violent try to overturn the election results. Evans wrote a book in 2023 called “Political Prisoner: The Untold Story of January 6th.”

“I kind of think it fits into the general theme of what is seen as accepted political behavior among some Republicans in the 2020s, which probably wouldn't have been the case 10 to 20 years ago,” said Scott Crichlow, an associate professor in political science at West Virginia University. “Specifically, I think it fits within Derrick Evans’ general range of behavior. But that also seems to fit more and more, at least among some Republicans, with what you want to see and say from the candidates today.”

Later this month, one other defendant convicted on Jan. 6, construction manager Chuck Hand, is running for a Republican primary within the U.S. House of Representatives within the 2nd District in southwest Georgia. Hand will face three other Republicans on May 21 for the best to run against longtime Democratic incumbent Sanford Bishop. Hand and his wife, Mandy Robinson-Hand, were convicted of parading and picketing in front of the Capitol. Both were sentenced to twenty days in federal prison.

Both Hand and Evans repeat Trump's false claims that the 2020 election was stolen.

Dunn is repulsed by this rhetoric.

“I will not stand idly by as Donald Trump and his MAGA allies in Congress try to tear our country apart,” he said, referring to Trump’s “Make America Great Again” slogan.

It stays to be seen how legitimate the rioters' candidacies are. None of those looking for public office have thus far found much favor with voters.

In New Hampshire, Capitol riot defendant Jason Riddle plans to run in a crowded GOP primary for the state's 2nd District U.S. House seat. The deadline for candidates to use for the September 10 primary is early June. Incumbent Democratic Rep. Annie Kuster announced in March that she’s going to not seek a seventh term. Puzzle was sentenced to 90 days in prison for grabbing wine from a lawmaker's liquor cabinet and stealing a Senate procedure book that he later sold.

In Arizona, Jacob Chansley, the spear-carrying rioter whose horned fur hat, bare torso and face paint made him one in all the riot's most recognizable figures, served about 27 months of a 41-month sentence. He hoped to run as a Libertarian for Arizona's eighth Congressional District seat, but missed the deadline to submit the required petition signatures to position his name on the ballot.

Tuesday's primaries in Maryland and West Virginia will provide a more tangible test.

“On the one hand, Evans sees it as something to be proud of. Dunn sees it as something that should never happen again,” Crichlow said. “And in that way, these two campaigns capture really fundamentally different perspectives on the last few years in politics and what politics will look like in the future.”