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The "man in the bull costume" is identified as:

The horned man in question is none other than 32-year-old Jake Angeli, a familiar face at pro-Trump rallies and a purported QAnon conspiracy theorist sometimes referred to as the “QAnon Shaman,” according to the Arizona Republic’s website.

In the past year, Angeli has been spotted — often in costume — at various demonstrations across the country, including a Washington D.C. protest after Joe Biden’s presidential win in November.

A man seen in a viral photo in House Speaker Nancy Pelosi's office with his feet on her desk is Richard Barnett of Gravette, Arkansas, a long time right wing activist and QAnon supporter.

We have the tools to deal with these scum. 52 years ago, interstate travel to conspire to riot became a federal crime (used against the Chicago Seven). Angeli has been photographed at several violent protests in different states, making him a prime target for use of this law. The sentence is 20 years. Barnett will "get his" by the end of the week, Pelosi won't diddle around on that. Interviewed, the inbred Arkansas evolutionary U-turn (i.e., southern white trash) claimed he was "looking for a bathroom."

They have photographs of many of them, easy to ID since they weren't wearing masks. Arrest them all on interstate conspiracy to riot. Start putting them in prison and the rest of the mouthbreathers will get the message and go back to East Asswipe, where they belong.

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So it took extreme violence and fear for their lives to change the minds of many (but not all) of the Sedition Caucus ...

As Heather has reminded us many times, the question is what WE are going to do for our country. I feel like, all things considered, with the elections of Ossoff and Warnock driven by the enormous voter turnout in Georgia that even the Traitor himself couldn’t prevent, and Mitch’s unchecked power now checked, we have a real opportunity to enact legislation. I for one would like to see strong voting rights, and anti-gerrymandering and civil rights legislation, along with health care legislation. I want to see trump prosecuted for what he has done since November 3 (not to exclude what he did before, of course). I look forward to hearing what the DOJ under Merrick Garland will look like.

Peace to all of you here, and thanks to Heather from the bottom of my heart. We keep each other afloat emotionally and now let’s channel our outrage into positive activism for America.

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“It was the best of times, it was the worst of times, it was the age of wisdom, it was the age of foolishness, it was the epoch of belief, it was the epoch of incredulity, …” (Charles Dickens describing London and Paris during the French Revolution in A Tale of Two Cities)

The domestic terrorist thugs who disrupted Congress in session and invaded the Capitol were only the noisily destructive henchmen thrill seekers fronting the ongoing threats posed by trump, his enablers, the Sedition Caucus in Congress, and the PACs that finance them.

They are not to overshadow the amazing work of Stacey Abrams and her crew that rallied support to not only turn Georgia blue, but to propel Warnock and Ossoff to win their run off election for the 2 Senate seats to neutralize McConnell's death grip on progressive legislation. Now Biden has a chance to lead this country in plugging the loopholes exploited by trump and McConnell, and building on the energy swells of BLM, #MeToo, environmentalists, anti-gun violence, Indigenous people's rights, and our various efforts to make this a more humane world for all of us.

Thank you, Heather, for another of your amazing compilations that pulls the essential events of a day fraught with chaos and puts them together in a way that coherently helps us to remember what matters.

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Good morning everyone--I hope everyone is okay. It has been some helluva week so far. As an old Tom Lehrer fan I am reminded of one of his lines introducing a song, slightly paraphrased: "America feels a little like a Christian Scientist with pneumonia . . ." I also have to admit that when I saw the photo of Hawley--to whom I sent an email screed calling him a traitor and demanding that he remove himself from office, which I sent hours before he promoted insurrection and treason on a larger scale--I cracked up. He clearly practiced in front of a mirror because he looked like a dork who thinks he is "hip" by appropriating gestures and language that the Cool Kids use. It was the essence of white male idiocy. I haven't seen any memes showing up but I am sure there will be all kinds of photoshopped versions of Hawley as a Moronic Fascist.

Someone a couple days ago pointed out that Hawley has supposedly been well educated but I reiterate that he is deeply, deeply stupid. His degrees are legacy-based as his family has been in Missouri politics for generations. He has no moral center; he is as cynical as Murderous Mitch but without the sense to know when to shut up. Someone said they were really worried about him because he was "smarter" than Trump. But the Cheeto's supporters focus on his celebrity not on his absence of mental acuity (remember he is also supposedly an Ivy League alum, so the notion that the Ivys confer some particular status on people is patently false: Bush II was a Yalie after all). Hawley looks like what he is: an awkward white boy with fantasies of power. He is a skinnier and equally deluded Ted Cruz. And Cruz is possibly the most bipartisanly hated person in Congress. The Nazis and racists who form the Cheeto base aren't interested in supporting them.

That said, I wholeheartedly support the immediate removal of Trump from office, per the 25th Amendment, and his arrest for treason and sedition on the basis that he has attempted to incite the overthrow of a legitimately elected government. In addition, all the members of Congress who objected to the EC certification should be removed from office and charged with sedition. The fact that only 50-odd people were arrested yesterday is shameful. Whiteness made it possible for an attempted coup almost to succeed: if they had gotten hold of Pelosi she would be dead. The failure of the security services to protect the Capitol despite the ginning up of potential violence by Trump and his enablers is shameful as well.

But my gleeful moment last night was reading that Biden has nominated Merrick Garland as his attorney general. I would LOVE to see all these f***ers charged and prosecuted by AG Garland. It would be yet another example of Biden's clever use of "payback sucks, doesn't it" tactics.

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A grave day, nothing I ever imagined seeing and - to date - the worst thing Trump has wrought. But he isn’t gone yet, so I’m still on edge.

For those keeping track, you can find the names of those Representatives who voted in favor of rejecting the challenged States’ votes here:

https://clerk.house.gov/evs/2021/roll010.xml

https://clerk.house.gov/evs/2021/roll011.xml

The senators are: Ted Cruz, Josh Hawley, Cindy Hyde-Smith, Cynthia Lummis, Roger Marshall, Rick Scott, John Neely Kennedy and Tommy Tuberville.

They all need to go – first home, and then to court to answer for their complicity. None of them should be permitted to hold office again.

As Professor Richardson said, this is just the beginning of the fight to set things right.

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In this Alice in Wonderland Tale with the Mad Hatter running riot, i think it's time for Queen Pelosi to shout "Off with His Head"

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General Mattis neglected to name himself among Trump's enablers, although to be fair, he did bail fairly early from the Trump Train Wreck.

I kept hoping I'd see Cruz and McCarthy perp-walked through the desecrated Rotunda, but no such luck. Oh, yeah, and Pence, too, of course.

I noted Marsha Blackburn declined, after the riot, to continue her opposition. That lady is nothing, if not a political animal. (And I use the term 'lady' advisedly).

And speaking of political animals, if anyone had any doubt as to whom McConnell would protect at all costs (hint: himself), I hope today erased all doubts. Thank God, Goddess, Buddha, Krishna, whatever powers you choose to invoke, that Georgia rescued us from having to endure McConnell any longer.

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Paula Roberts1 min ago

I was so glad to hear Sen. Duckworth call out the fact that each of those lawmakers joined Trump in violating their oaths of office. In a just world, I would hope to see them prosecuted and removed along with Trump. And for once, I am glad for the social media that will help law enforcement identify the rioters who thought it was funny to destroy the building and norms at the center of our democracy. I was moved by the emotional speeches, but I am also moved by your efforts to reach out to us — first in the midst of the day’s chaos, and so quickly following the certification. Your honest openness, your expert background, and your amazing analysis mean so much. I thank you. ❤️

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I'd like to amend my previous comment to include some gratitude. Yesterday a friend asked me in a text "If I was watching this" I wasn't. I knew that I would read Heather's letter this morning and I was comfortable being a day behind the action. I have been reading "This Is An Uprising" and coming to understand what it takes to be an activist and wondering if becoming a doctor was really the best use of my time. I do believe it is the money behind the scenes that is the driver of what we are seeing just as it is the money behind the scenes in medicine that is promoting illness for profit rather than actual healing but also I get it that to change this requires deep and sustained activism and even so is unlikely to progress quickly given our place in consciousness evolution. So I appreciate what all those who are activists are doing. Including those like Heather who are informing us with perspective and accuracy.

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Sadly yesterday was a beginning of the violence that 45 began urging even before he was given a title by an antiquated electoral system, not the end, and it's not going to be an easy road.

This is the picture that says it all...I'm not you, Heather Cox Richardson, but enough of history student to know that history is not on the side of peaceful transitions of power. Joe Biden will be President on Jan 21 but that doesn't begin to address the issues that underly the violence we saw yesterday. The demographics are changing permanently in this country (see GA), and the backlash from those currently in power- the white male ruling class (and their cult followers) now soon to be minority is at fever pitch. Add into the mix the gross income disparity, a pandemic, and a justice system that works only for those in power and I believe we are in for some really difficult times.

On the positive side-- I am grateful for the 70% of this country that actually believes in democracy as a way to govern. I am grateful that a Democratic Senate will finally get to vote on John Lewis' Voter Protection Bill so that all Americans will eventually be able to vote without intimidation. I am heartened by the voter turnout across the country in November and in GA on Tuesday. And I am ready to do whatever work is needed to help our Democracy survive.

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Sen. Corey Booker's speech on the Senate floor once Congress had reconvened compared those British loyalists carrying a monarch's flag to the White House in the War of 1812 to today's flag - the Trump flag - flown outside and inside the Capitol by those who invaded it today. "They both were waving flags to a sole sovereign - the one today was to a single person named Donald Trump." https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wtcVbNAstR0

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I never want to hear "We are the party of Lincoln" come from the mouths of the GOP. Had there not been quick action to get the legislatures out to a secured location, we would have seen mock trials and possibly executions by these lunatics. I am sure Giuliani and Don Jr will try to whitewash their remarks but words have consequences and their remarks along with the delusional ramblings of the President were inflammatory, much like yelling "Fire" in a crowded room. I have already seen posts stating that it was "Democrats and Antifa in disguise". Think about the absurdity of these comments. Why would the Democrats want to stop the count? Just to make these "virtuous" people look bad? (Rhetorical question only). And think about the emotional and/or mental health of people who would believe this. Many of us knew who and what Donald Trump was and is. I hold out some small hope that more thinking people now see who he is and who some of his followers are and do not want to be associated with them.

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I am very distressed today to see how quickly Washington is pretending to move past this. The headlines this morning are all Biden will be President, Trump says transition will be orderly, Giuliani says no to violence, etc. I am sorry, but there are 13 days, 2 hours and 45 minutes left for Trump to create further chaos and destruction. We need to continue to call on Congress to remove this man from office right now. #25thamendmentnow

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I’m hearing on the news this morning that it seems unlikely that trump will be removed from power before January 20. Putting aside the strong emotions behind any call to do this, what does this look like to the rest of the world?? That the leader of the United States of America can incite violence against the republic, and congress leaves him in power?!?!? That is reprehensible and inexcusable.

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I am outraged by the abysmally incompetent security protection plan developed by leaders of the Capitol police. The Chief and the executive administrative team MUST be replaced NOW!

The plan appeared to order the front of line of officers to be COMPLIANT rather than protective! Shocking!

The security plan required plans for worse case scenario. If it did, the arrival of additional personnel was too few and too late. The National Guard should have been inside the Capitol buildings not called up after the desecration of our most hallowed national structure.

Why isn't the Capitol building equipped with barriers that can automatically seal off entrance to each main meeting halls of the House and Senate? seal off the hall way leading to the offices of the members of the house?

Years ago during the second Iraqi war, Gen. Petraeus had developed a strategy for an 'insurgency force' using a ratio of combat troops needed to fight an estimated size of enemy forces. Clearly, the planners for yesterdays security were woefully ignorant of such information.

Most glaring is the comparison of crowd control tactics used yesterday with those employed against any Black Lives Matter protest or dispersing the crowd at the phony stunt pulled by trump to pose with a bible in DC.

Homeland security is an oxymoron!

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As always, thank you, Heather. Invoking the 25th must happen. If not after such a blatant act of terrorism incited by the president himself, then when? Yesterday also demonstrated that we are a country with two justice systems: one for whites; the other, for BIPOC. I hope there is as much discussion on that as anything in the months to come. Only that acknowledgement will help move us forward in the fight for equity and true justice.

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