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  • California bill would force lawmakers to start talking about controversial capitol annex project

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    California lawmakers will consider a bill that could force public conversations on the secretive California Capitol Annex project for the first time in years. Assemblyman Josh Hoover, R-Folsom, filed AB 2445 which would invalidate the non-disclosure agreements that have been shielding basic information from the public about the taxpayer funded project. The project includes a new office building and parking garage for state lawmakers and the governor that is expected to be complete by Fall of 2027. Non-disclosure agreements are contracts that legally force people to keep quiet. In September of 2024, KCRA 3 first reported project leaders forced more than 2,000 people and counting to sign them, including some state lawmakers, government officials and members of Gov. Gavin Newsom’s staff. “This comes after years working behind the scenes and across the aisle to get information on the capitol annex,” Hoover said in an interview with KCRA 3 Wednesday. He said those efforts didn’t gain a lot of traction, and project leaders continue to keep information not just from the public, but also lawmakers. “We need to have a public conversation,” he said. Hoover’s bill would also prohibit the construction of a visitor’s center on the state capitol’s iconic west side. Project leaders quietly decided to not move forward with that aspect of the plan but told no one until KCRA 3 pressed for information last summer. Hoover wants the decision put into state law. The California Legislature’s Joint Rules Committee overseeing the project has not held a single hearing on it since 2021 and the group has not updated the estimated cost to taxpayers since 2022, which at the time was set at $1.1 billion. Nearly three months after project leaders Assemblywoman Blanca Pacheco and State Senator John Laird promised to be more transparent, they have yet to update taxpayers on the price tag. They have also rejected KCRA 3’s repeated requests for an interview since the start of this year. Pacheco and Laird would not do an interview for this story and did not have an update on a cost estimate as of Wednesday night. A spokesperson for the project said the project’s new management company was still “crunching the numbers” and would provide an update as soon as possible. Project leaders have been saying this since December. “We are aware of the legislative proposal pending in the Assembly and will let the legislative process run its course,” Pacheco and Laird said in a joint statement. “I see a brave leadership doing the right thing and getting the issue behind them,” said Dick Cowan, the former leader of the now defunct Historic State Capitol Commission who was part of a group that sued over the project. “If the leadership ignores this bill, if they don’t refer it to a committee, if they don’t give it a hearing, that public trust is still at risk.” The projectBack in 2016, California lawmakers and Gov. Jerry Brown agreed to demolish the capitol’s 1950’s annex building and construct a new one citing safety issues. The plan included not just a new building but also a parking garage and visitor’s center on the west side of the state capitol. The 525,000 square foot office building will specifically house the offices of California’s 120 state lawmakers, governor and lieutenant governor. Gov. Gavin Newsom and Lt. Governor Eleni Kounalakis will no longer be in office once it’s complete. In 2021, a group named Save Our Capitol sued over the project citing environmental concerns. A state appellate court sided with the group, agreeing that project leaders did not provide the public with an accurate description of the project or a thorough analysis of how the demolition of the old annex would impact the environment. In 2024, California lawmakers and Gov. Gavin Newsom rushed a bill that exempted the project from the California Environmental Quality Act to halt the litigation. A year after that litigation ended, project leaders continued to use it as an excuse to not update taxpayers on the cost. Even with a price tag of about $1.1 billion, it would still be considered one of the most expensive buildings in the country and cost nearly as much as an NFL stadium. Project leaders said they’ve spent $573.8 million so far and that it was 50% complete as of December of 2025. The secrecy The legislature’s Joint Rules Committee has been keeping basic information about the project confidential since it started.In the fall of 2024 through a series of open records requests, KCRA 3 broke the story that more than 2,000 people signed the broad non-disclosure agreements including five state lawmakers, dozens of government officials, and a handful of people in the governor’s office. With the information protected under NDAs, the estimated price tag of the project doubled between 2018 and 2021. Various legal experts told KCRA 3 they were alarmed by the development noting taxpayers and voters are entitled to the information. While it is legal, some state lawmakers and experts said the use of NDAs like this should be banned. Hoover’s bill attempts to prohibit the use of NDAs in this manner moving forward. “I think when you’re going to spend over a billion dollars, you need to have more transparency than this,” Hoover said. The original legislative architect of the Capitol Annex Project and the establishment of the NDAs was then Assemblyman Ken Cooley, a Democrat from Sacramento. Hoover defeated Cooley in the 2022 election. Cooley has ignored years’ worth of KCRA 3’s requests for information surrounding the decision to use NDAs. Assemblymember Blanca Pacheco replaced Cooley as the leader of the Joint Rules Committee when Cooley lost his seat. She and Vice Chairman of the committee, State Senator John Laird, have defended the use of the NDAs stating they’re meant to protect security and bid information”The NDAs are for public safety. They exist to protect the physical integrity of the building and safeguard everyone – legislators, staff, journalists and the multitude of daily schoolchildren and visitors. Invalidating these standard safety protocols would be a serious security risk.” The project NDAs do not explicitly say the words security and bid information. They protect any and all information related to the project. When pressed about this in an interview in December, Pacheco said, “These were drafted by legal counsel, and I can’t say why legal counsel would draft it in such a manner. Sometimes legal counsel prefers to have broad language.” Cowan has said Hoover’s proposal to get rid of them will be the only way for project leaders to truly know what went wrong. “They have to talk to everyone involved, because at the moment those people are afraid to speak,” Cowan said. Longtime lobbyist and Adjunct McGeorge School of Law Professor Chris Micheli said if lawmakers were to pass the proposal, it could be challenged in court. “States can’t impair existing contracts,” Micheli noted. “However, if there were a legal challenge, how would the courts look at it? Is it reasonable? Is it necessary? Does it serve a significant public purpose? I think if those three tests are viewed favorable then the invalidation could occur.” Project leaders have been making a series of decisions behind closed doors and have a history of withholding public records. KCRA 3 reported in 2024 the secret stonework project leaders quietly approved that involved mining 2 million pounds of rock from Central California, shipping it to Italy to be finished into stone and shipping it back to the state to eventually be placed on part of the facade of the new building. Following the January 6 attacks on the nation’s capitol, project leaders also added millions in new security expenses. State law has given project leaders the ability to meet and decide aspects of the project outside of public view. In addition to the leaders of the Joint Rules Committee, public records show the meetings also include the governor’s Director of Operations, the director of the Department of General Services and a representative with the project’s management company. Neither the governor’s office nor Joint Rules Committee could provide records showing how long these meetings lasted and whether a vote took place.Records provided to KCRA 3 through a Legislative Open Records Request show this group met nine times in 2019, seven times in 2020, one time in 2023 and one time in 2025. The west side visitor’s center The state law that established the capitol annex also established the west side visitor’s center, which has yet to materialize. The west side is the capitol’s main public square where there are often protests, demonstrations, press conferences and major events. Hoover’s bill AB 2445 would change the annex law and prohibit the demolition of the West Steps for a visitor’s center and require any future visitor’s center to be placed anywhere else around the state capitol. The visitor’s center was also at the center of the environmental lawsuit. Project leaders confirmed to KCRA 3 last year that they did not intend to move forward with the visitor’s center. It’s not clear what they plan to do with the money that was meant for it. “During the legal process it was determined that the best path forward to finish the Annex on time, was to no longer pursue the Visitors Center on the West Steps. At this time, we are focused on finishing the Annex and a conversation about building a Visitor’s Center may begin at a later date,” Pacheco and Laird said in a joint statement. “Those words are not as comforting as the words I would want to hear, that ‘we commit, we’ll put in writing,’” Cowan told KCRA 3 in an interview. “Those are nice soft words but they don’t prevent work from starting later.” Records provided to KCRA 3 show on July 31, 2025, project leaders notified Plant Construction Company that the work had not been approved to proceed after stalling since 2023 because of the lawsuit. “We thank you for your work on the Visitor Center and look forward to a future opportunity to work with your team,” wrote the Chief Administrative Officers of the Senate and Assembly, Erika Contreras and Lia Lopez. See more coverage of top California stories here | Download our app | Subscribe to our morning newsletter | Find us on YouTube here and subscribe to our channel

    SACRAMENTO, Calif. —

    California lawmakers will consider a bill that could force public conversations on the secretive California Capitol Annex project for the first time in years.

    Assemblyman Josh Hoover, R-Folsom, filed AB 2445 which would invalidate the non-disclosure agreements that have been shielding basic information from the public about the taxpayer funded project. The project includes a new office building and parking garage for state lawmakers and the governor that is expected to be complete by Fall of 2027.

    Non-disclosure agreements are contracts that legally force people to keep quiet. In September of 2024, KCRA 3 first reported project leaders forced more than 2,000 people and counting to sign them, including some state lawmakers, government officials and members of Gov. Gavin Newsom’s staff.

    “This comes after years working behind the scenes and across the aisle to get information on the capitol annex,” Hoover said in an interview with KCRA 3 Wednesday. He said those efforts didn’t gain a lot of traction, and project leaders continue to keep information not just from the public, but also lawmakers.

    “We need to have a public conversation,” he said.

    Hoover’s bill would also prohibit the construction of a visitor’s center on the state capitol’s iconic west side. Project leaders quietly decided to not move forward with that aspect of the plan but told no one until KCRA 3 pressed for information last summer. Hoover wants the decision put into state law.

    The California Legislature’s Joint Rules Committee overseeing the project has not held a single hearing on it since 2021 and the group has not updated the estimated cost to taxpayers since 2022, which at the time was set at $1.1 billion.

    Nearly three months after project leaders Assemblywoman Blanca Pacheco and State Senator John Laird promised to be more transparent, they have yet to update taxpayers on the price tag. They have also rejected KCRA 3’s repeated requests for an interview since the start of this year.

    Pacheco and Laird would not do an interview for this story and did not have an update on a cost estimate as of Wednesday night. A spokesperson for the project said the project’s new management company was still “crunching the numbers” and would provide an update as soon as possible.

    Project leaders have been saying this since December.

    “We are aware of the legislative proposal pending in the Assembly and will let the legislative process run its course,” Pacheco and Laird said in a joint statement.

    “I see a brave leadership doing the right thing and getting the issue behind them,” said Dick Cowan, the former leader of the now defunct Historic State Capitol Commission who was part of a group that sued over the project.

    “If the leadership ignores this bill, if they don’t refer it to a committee, if they don’t give it a hearing, that public trust is still at risk.”

    The project

    Back in 2016, California lawmakers and Gov. Jerry Brown agreed to demolish the capitol’s 1950’s annex building and construct a new one citing safety issues. The plan included not just a new building but also a parking garage and visitor’s center on the west side of the state capitol.

    The 525,000 square foot office building will specifically house the offices of California’s 120 state lawmakers, governor and lieutenant governor. Gov. Gavin Newsom and Lt. Governor Eleni Kounalakis will no longer be in office once it’s complete.

    In 2021, a group named Save Our Capitol sued over the project citing environmental concerns. A state appellate court sided with the group, agreeing that project leaders did not provide the public with an accurate description of the project or a thorough analysis of how the demolition of the old annex would impact the environment.

    In 2024, California lawmakers and Gov. Gavin Newsom rushed a bill that exempted the project from the California Environmental Quality Act to halt the litigation.

    A year after that litigation ended, project leaders continued to use it as an excuse to not update taxpayers on the cost. Even with a price tag of about $1.1 billion, it would still be considered one of the most expensive buildings in the country and cost nearly as much as an NFL stadium.

    Project leaders said they’ve spent $573.8 million so far and that it was 50% complete as of December of 2025.

    The secrecy

    The legislature’s Joint Rules Committee has been keeping basic information about the project confidential since it started.

    In the fall of 2024 through a series of open records requests, KCRA 3 broke the story that more than 2,000 people signed the broad non-disclosure agreements including five state lawmakers, dozens of government officials, and a handful of people in the governor’s office.

    With the information protected under NDAs, the estimated price tag of the project doubled between 2018 and 2021.

    Various legal experts told KCRA 3 they were alarmed by the development noting taxpayers and voters are entitled to the information. While it is legal, some state lawmakers and experts said the use of NDAs like this should be banned. Hoover’s bill attempts to prohibit the use of NDAs in this manner moving forward.

    “I think when you’re going to spend over a billion dollars, you need to have more transparency than this,” Hoover said.

    The original legislative architect of the Capitol Annex Project and the establishment of the NDAs was then Assemblyman Ken Cooley, a Democrat from Sacramento. Hoover defeated Cooley in the 2022 election. Cooley has ignored years’ worth of KCRA 3’s requests for information surrounding the decision to use NDAs.

    Assemblymember Blanca Pacheco replaced Cooley as the leader of the Joint Rules Committee when Cooley lost his seat. She and Vice Chairman of the committee, State Senator John Laird, have defended the use of the NDAs stating they’re meant to protect security and bid information

    “The NDAs are for public safety. They exist to protect the physical integrity of the building and safeguard everyone – legislators, staff, journalists and the multitude of daily schoolchildren and visitors. Invalidating these standard safety protocols would be a serious security risk.”

    The project NDAs do not explicitly say the words security and bid information. They protect any and all information related to the project. When pressed about this in an interview in December, Pacheco said, “These were drafted by legal counsel, and I can’t say why legal counsel would draft it in such a manner. Sometimes legal counsel prefers to have broad language.”

    Cowan has said Hoover’s proposal to get rid of them will be the only way for project leaders to truly know what went wrong.

    “They have to talk to everyone involved, because at the moment those people are afraid to speak,” Cowan said.

    Longtime lobbyist and Adjunct McGeorge School of Law Professor Chris Micheli said if lawmakers were to pass the proposal, it could be challenged in court.

    “States can’t impair existing contracts,” Micheli noted. “However, if there were a legal challenge, how would the courts look at it? Is it reasonable? Is it necessary? Does it serve a significant public purpose? I think if those three tests are viewed favorable then the invalidation could occur.”

    Project leaders have been making a series of decisions behind closed doors and have a history of withholding public records.

    KCRA 3 reported in 2024 the secret stonework project leaders quietly approved that involved mining 2 million pounds of rock from Central California, shipping it to Italy to be finished into stone and shipping it back to the state to eventually be placed on part of the facade of the new building.

    Following the January 6 attacks on the nation’s capitol, project leaders also added millions in new security expenses.

    State law has given project leaders the ability to meet and decide aspects of the project outside of public view. In addition to the leaders of the Joint Rules Committee, public records show the meetings also include the governor’s Director of Operations, the director of the Department of General Services and a representative with the project’s management company. Neither the governor’s office nor Joint Rules Committee could provide records showing how long these meetings lasted and whether a vote took place.

    Records provided to KCRA 3 through a Legislative Open Records Request show this group met nine times in 2019, seven times in 2020, one time in 2023 and one time in 2025.

    The west side visitor’s center

    The state law that established the capitol annex also established the west side visitor’s center, which has yet to materialize.

    The west side is the capitol’s main public square where there are often protests, demonstrations, press conferences and major events.

    Hoover’s bill AB 2445 would change the annex law and prohibit the demolition of the West Steps for a visitor’s center and require any future visitor’s center to be placed anywhere else around the state capitol.

    The visitor’s center was also at the center of the environmental lawsuit.

    Project leaders confirmed to KCRA 3 last year that they did not intend to move forward with the visitor’s center. It’s not clear what they plan to do with the money that was meant for it.

    “During the legal process it was determined that the best path forward to finish the Annex on time, was to no longer pursue the Visitors Center on the West Steps. At this time, we are focused on finishing the Annex and a conversation about building a Visitor’s Center may begin at a later date,” Pacheco and Laird said in a joint statement.

    “Those words are not as comforting as the words I would want to hear, that ‘we commit, we’ll put in writing,’” Cowan told KCRA 3 in an interview. “Those are nice soft words but they don’t prevent work from starting later.”

    Records provided to KCRA 3 show on July 31, 2025, project leaders notified Plant Construction Company that the work had not been approved to proceed after stalling since 2023 because of the lawsuit.

    “We thank you for your work on the Visitor Center and look forward to a future opportunity to work with your team,” wrote the Chief Administrative Officers of the Senate and Assembly, Erika Contreras and Lia Lopez.

    See more coverage of top California stories here | Download our app | Subscribe to our morning newsletter | Find us on YouTube here and subscribe to our channel

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  • This Jan. 6 plaque was made to honor law enforcement. It’s nowhere to be found at the Capitol – WTOP News

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    Approaching the fifth anniversary of the Jan. 6, 2021, attack on the Capitol, the official plaque honoring the police who defended democracy that day is nowhere to be found.

    A replica plaque commemorating the Jan. 6, 2021 Capitol riot stands outside the office of House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries, D-N.Y, Tuesday, Dec. 30, 2025, at the U.S. Capitol in Washington.
    (AP Photo/Julia Demaree Nikhinson)

    AP Photo/Julia Demaree Nikhinson

    Capitol Riot Anniversary
    A replica plaque commemorating the Jan. 6, 2021 Capitol riot hangs outside the office of Rep. Zoe Lofgren, D-Calif., Tuesday, Dec. 30, 2025, at the Longworth House Office Building on Capitol Hill in Washington.
    (AP Photo/Julia Demaree Nikhinson)

    AP Photo/Julia Demaree Nikhinson

    Capitol Riot Anniversary
    A replica plaque commemorating the Jan. 6, 2021 Capitol riot stands outside the office of House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries, D-N.Y, Tuesday, Dec. 30, 2025, at the U.S. Capitol in Washington.
    (AP Photo/Julia Demaree Nikhinson)

    AP Photo/Julia Demaree Nikhinson

    Capitol Riot Anniversary
    A replica plaque commemorating the Jan. 6, 2021 Capitol riot hangs outside the office of Rep. Jamie Raskin, D-Md., Tuesday, Dec. 30, 2025, at the Rayburn House Office Building on Capitol Hill in Washington.
    (AP Photo/Julia Demaree Nikhinson)

    AP Photo/Julia Demaree Nikhinson

    Capitol Riot Anniversary
    A replica plaque commemorating the Jan. 6, 2021 Capitol riot hangs outside the office of Speaker Emerita Nancy Pelosi, D-Calif., Tuesday, Dec. 30, 2025, at the Longworth House Office Building on Capitol Hill in Washington.
    (AP Photo/Julia Demaree Nikhinson)

    AP Photo/Julia Demaree Nikhinson

    WASHINGTON (AP) — Approaching the fifth anniversary of the Jan. 6, 2021, attack on the Capitol, the official plaque honoring the police who defended democracy that day is nowhere to be found.

    It’s not on display at the Capitol, as is required by law. Its whereabouts aren’t publicly known, though it’s believed to be in storage.

    House Speaker Mike Johnson, a Louisiana Republican, has yet to formally unveil the plaque. And the Trump administration’s Department of Justice is seeking to dismiss a police officers’ lawsuit asking that it be displayed as intended. The Architect of the Capitol, which was responsible for obtaining and displaying the plaque, said in light of the federal litigation, it cannot comment.

    Determined to preserve the nation’s history, some 100 members of Congress, mostly Democrats, have taken it upon themselves to memorialize the moment. For months, they’ve mounted poster board-style replicas of the Jan. 6 plaque outside their office doors, resulting in a Capitol complex awash with makeshift remembrances.

    “On behalf of a grateful Congress, this plaque honors the extraordinary individuals who bravely protected and defended this symbol of democracy on Jan. 6, 2021,” reads the faux bronze stand-in for the real thing. “Their heroism will never be forgotten.”

    Jan. 6 void in the Capitol

    In Washington, a capital city lined with monuments to the nation’s history, the plaque was intended to become a simple but permanent marker, situated near the Capitol’s west front, where some of the most violent fighting took place as rioters breached the building.

    But in its absence, the missing plaque makes way for something else entirely — a culture of forgetting.

    Visitors can pass through the Capitol without any formal reminder of what happened that day, when a mob of President Donald Trump’s supporters stormed the building trying to overturn the Republican’s 2020 reelection defeat to Democrat Joe Biden. With memory left unchecked, it allows new narratives to swirl and revised histories to take hold.

    Five years ago, the jarring scene watched the world over was declared an “insurrection” by the then-GOP leader of the Senate, while the House GOP leader at the time called it his “saddest day” in Congress. But those condemnations have faded.

    Trump calls it a “day of love.” And Johnson, who was among those lawmakers challenging the 2020 election results, is now the House speaker.

    “The question of January 6 remains – democracy was on the guillotine — how important is that event in the overall sweep of 21st century U.S. history,” said Douglas Brinkley, a professor of history at Rice University and noted scholar.

    “Will January 6 be seen as the seminal moment when democracy was in peril?” he asked. Or will it be remembered as “kind of a weird one-off?”

    “There’s not as much consensus on that as one would have thought on the fifth anniversary,” he said.

    Memories shift, but violent legacy lingers

    At least five people died in the riot and its aftermath, including Trump supporter Ashli Babbitt, who was fatally shot by police while trying to climb through a window toward the House chamber. More than 140 law enforcement officers were wounded, some gravely, and several died later, some by suicide.

    All told, some 1,500 people were charged in the Capitol attack, among the largest federal prosecutions in the nation’s history. When Trump returned to power in January 2025, he pardoned all of them within hours of taking office.

    Unlike the twin light beams that commemorated the Sept. 11, 2001, attack or the stand-alone chairs at the Oklahoma City bombing site memorial, the failure to recognize Jan. 6 has left a gap not only in memory but in helping to stitch the country back together.

    “That’s why you put up a plaque,” said Rep. Mary Gay Scanlon, D-Pa. “You respect the memory and the service of the people involved.”

    Police sue over Jan. 6 plaque, DOJ seeks to dismiss

    The speaker’s office over the years has suggested it was working on installing the plaque, but it declined to respond to a request for further comment.

    Lawmakers approved the plaque in March 2022 as part of a broader government funding package. The resolution said the U.S. “owes its deepest gratitude to those officers,” and it set out instructions for an honorific plaque listing the names of officers “who responded to the violence that occurred.” It gave a one-year deadline for installation at the Capitol.

    This summer, two officers who fought the mob that day sued over the delay.

    “By refusing to follow the law and honor officers as it is required to do, Congress encourages this rewriting of history,” said the claim by officers Harry Dunn and Daniel Hodges. “It suggests that the officers are not worthy of being recognized, because Congress refuses to recognize them.”

    The Justice Department is seeking to have the case dismissed. U.S. Attorney Jeanine Pirro and others argued Congress “already has publicly recognized the service of law enforcement personnel” by approving the plaque and displaying it wouldn’t alleviate the problems they claim to face from their work.

    “It is implausible,” the Justice Department attorneys wrote, to suggest installation of the plaque “would stop the alleged death threats they claim to have been receiving.”

    The department also said the plaque is required to include the names of “all law enforcement officers” involved in the response that day — some 3,600 people.

    Makeshift memorials emerge

    Lawmakers who’ve installed replicas of the plaque outside their offices said it’s important for the public to know what happened.

    “There are new generations of people who are just growing up now who don’t understand how close we came to losing our democracy on Jan 6, 2021,” said Rep. Jamie Raskin, D-Md., a member of the Jan. 6 committee, which was opposed by GOP leadership but nevertheless issued a nearly 1,000-page report investigating the run-up to the attack and the attempt to overturn the 2020 election.

    Raskin envisions the Capitol one day holding tours around what happened. “People need to study that as an essential part of American history,” he said.

    “Think about the dates in American history that we know only by the dates: There’s the 4th of July. There’s December 7th. There’s 9/11. And there’s January 6th,” said Rep. Zoe Lofgren, D-calif., who also served on the committee and has a plaque outside her office.

    “They really saved my life, and they saved the democracy and they deserve to be thanked for it,” she said.

    But as time passes, there are no longer bipartisan memorial services for Jan. 6. On Tuesday, the Democrats will reconvene members from the Jan. 6 committee for a hearing to “examine ongoing threats to free and fair elections,” House Democratic Leader Hakeem Jeffries of New York announced. It’s unlikely Republicans will participate.

    The Republicans under Johnson have tapped Rep. Barry Loudermilk of Georgia to stand up their own special committee to uncover what the speaker calls the “full truth” of what happened. They’re planning a hearing this month.

    “We should stop this silliness of trying to whitewash history — it’s not going to happen,” said Rep. Joe Morelle, D-N.Y., who helped lead the effort to display the replica plaques.

    “I was here that day so I’ll never forget,” he said. “I think that Americans will not forget what happened.”

    The number of makeshift plaques that fill the halls is a testimony to that remembrance, he said.

    Instead of one plaque, he said, they’ve “now got 100.”

    Copyright
    © 2026 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, written or redistributed.

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    WTOP Staff

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  • PHOTOS: US Capitol Christmas tree arrives – WTOP News

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    1/10

    The Capitol Christmas Tree, from the Humboldt-Toiyabe National Forest in Nevada, arrives as workers prepare to move it into place on the West Lawn of the Capitol Hill, Friday, Nov. 21, 2025, in Washington.
    (AP Photo/Mariam Zuhaib)



    2/10

    Escorted by U.S. Capitol Police and the National Forest Service, the Capitol Christmas Tree, a 53-foot red fir, arrives to the Capitol from the Humboldt-Toiyabe National Forest in Nevada, Friday, Nov. 21, 2025, in Washington.
    (AP Photo/Julia Demaree Nikhinson)



    3/10

    The Washington Monument is seen beyond the Capitol Christmas Tree, a 53-foot red fir, before its arrival to the U.S. Capitol from the Humboldt-Toiyabe National Forest in Nevada, Friday, Nov. 21, 2025, in Washington.
    (AP Photo/Julia Demaree Nikhinson)



    4/10

    Members of the National Forest Service watch as the Capitol Christmas Tree, a 53-foot red fir, arrives to the U.S. Capitol from the Humboldt-Toiyabe National Forest in Nevada, Friday, Nov. 21, 2025, in Washington.
    (AP Photo/Julia Demaree Nikhinson)



    5/10

    A member of the National Forest Service, center, watches as the Capitol Christmas Tree, a 53-foot red fir, arrives to the U.S. Capitol from the Humboldt-Toiyabe National Forest in Nevada, Friday, Nov. 21, 2025, in Washington.
    (AP Photo/Julia Demaree Nikhinson)



    6/10

    The Capitol Christmas Tree, a 53-foot red fir, arrives to the U.S. Capitol from the Humboldt-Toiyabe National Forest in Nevada, Friday, Nov. 21, 2025, in Washington.
    (AP Photo/Julia Demaree Nikhinson)



    7/10

    The Capitol Christmas Tree, a 53-foot red fir, arrives to the U.S. Capitol from the Humboldt-Toiyabe National Forest in Nevada, Friday, Nov. 21, 2025, in Washington.
    (AP Photo/Julia Demaree Nikhinson)



    8/10

    The Capitol Christmas Tree, a 53-foot red fir, arrives to the U.S. Capitol from the Humboldt-Toiyabe National Forest in Nevada, Friday, Nov. 21, 2025, in Washington.
    (AP Photo/Julia Demaree Nikhinson)



    9/10

    The Capitol Christmas Tree, from the Humboldt-Toiyabe National Forest in Nevada, arrives as workers prepare to move it into place on the West Lawn of the Capitol Hill, Friday, Nov. 21, 2025, in Washington.
    (AP Photo/Mariam Zuhaib)



    10/10

    The Capitol Christmas Tree, from the Humboldt-Toiyabe National Forest in Nevada, arrives as workers prepare to move it into place on the West Lawn of the Capitol Hill, Friday, Nov. 21, 2025, in Washington.
    (AP Photo/Mariam Zuhaib)

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    Abigail Constantino

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  • Trump pardons Jan. 6 rioter for gun offense and woman convicted of threatening to shoot FBI agents

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    President Donald Trump has issued two pardons related to the investigation into the Jan. 6, 2021, riot, including for a woman convicted of threatening to shoot FBI agents who were investigating a tip that she may have been at the Capitol, officials said Saturday.Related video above: BBC leaders resign amid scandal over misleading edit of Trump’s Jan. 6 speechIn a separate case, Trump issued a second pardon for a Jan. 6 defendant who had remained behind bars despite the sweeping grant of clemency for Capitol rioters because of a separate conviction for illegally possessing firearms.It’s the latest example of Trump’s willingness to use his constitutional authority to help supporters who were scrutinized as part of the Biden administration’s massive Jan. 6 investigation that led to charges against more than 1,500 defendants.Suzanne Ellen Kaye was released last year after serving an 18-month sentence in her threats case. After the FBI contacted her in 2021 about a tip indicating she may have been at the Capitol on Jan. 6, she posted a video on social media citing her Second Amendment right to carry a gun, and she threatened to shoot agents if they came to her house. In court papers, prosecutors said her words “were part of the ubiquity of violent political rhetoric that causes serious harm to our communities.”An email seeking comment was sent to a lawyer for Kaye on Saturday. Kaye testified at trial that she didn’t own any guns and didn’t intend to threaten the FBI, according to court papers. She told authorities she was not at the Capitol on Jan. 6 and wasn’t charged with any Capitol riot-related crimes.A White House official said Kaye suffers from “stress-induced seizures” and experienced one when the jury read its verdict. The White House said this is “clearly a case of disfavored First Amendment political speech being prosecuted and an excessive sentence.” The official requested anonymity because they weren’t authorized to publicly discuss the case.In a separate case, Trump pardoned Daniel Edwin Wilson, of Louisville, Kentucky, who was under investigation for his role in the riot when authorities found six guns and roughly 4,800 rounds of ammunition in his home. Because of prior felony convictions, it was illegal for him to possess firearms.Wilson’s case became part of a legal debate over whether Trump’s sweeping pardons for Jan. 6 rioters in January applied to other crimes discovered during the sprawling federal dragnet that began after the attack on the Capitol. The Trump-appointed federal judge who oversaw Wilson’s case criticized the Justice Department earlier this year for arguing that the president’s Jan. 6 pardons applied to Wilson’s gun offense.Wilson, who had been scheduled to remain in prison until 2028, was released Friday evening following the pardon, his lawyer said on Saturday.”We are grateful that President Trump has recognized the injustice in my client’s case and granted him this pardon,” attorney George Pallas said in an email. “Mr. Wilson can now reunite with his family and begin rebuilding his life.”The White House official said Saturday that “because the search of Mr. Wilson’s home was due to the events of January 6, and they should have never been there in the first place, President Trump is pardoning Mr. Wilson for the firearm issues.”Wilson had been sentenced in 2024 to five years in prison after pleading guilty to conspiring to impede or injure police officers and illegally possessing firearms at his home.Prosecutors had accused him of planning for the Jan. 6 riot for weeks and coming to Washington with the goal of stopping the peaceful transfer of power. Authorities said he communicated with members of the far-right Oath Keepers extremist group and adherents of the antigovernment Three Percenters movement as he marched to the Capitol.Prosecutors cited messages they argued showed that Wilson’s “plans were for a broader American civil war.” In one message on Nov. 9, 2020, he wrote: “I’m willing to do whatever. Done made up my mind. I understand the tip of the spear will not be easy. I’m willing to sacrifice myself if necessary. Whether it means prison or death.”Wilson said at his sentencing that he regretted entering the Capitol that day but “got involved with good intentions.”The Justice Department had initially argued in February that Trump’s pardons of the Jan. 6 rioters on his first day back in the White House didn’t extend to Wilson’s gun crime. The department later changed its position, saying it had received “further clarity on the intent of the Presidential Pardon.”U.S. District Judge Dabney Friedrich, who was nominated to the bench by Trump, criticized the department’s evolving position and said it was “extraordinary” that prosecutors were seeking to argue that Trump’s Jan. 6 pardons extended to illegal “contraband” found by investigators during searches related to the Jan. 6 cases.Politico first reported Wilson’s pardon on Saturday.Megerian reported from West Palm Beach, Fla.

    WASHINGTON (AP) —

    President Donald Trump has issued two pardons related to the investigation into the Jan. 6, 2021, riot, including for a woman convicted of threatening to shoot FBI agents who were investigating a tip that she may have been at the Capitol, officials said Saturday.

    Related video above: BBC leaders resign amid scandal over misleading edit of Trump’s Jan. 6 speech

    In a separate case, Trump issued a second pardon for a Jan. 6 defendant who had remained behind bars despite the sweeping grant of clemency for Capitol rioters because of a separate conviction for illegally possessing firearms.

    It’s the latest example of Trump’s willingness to use his constitutional authority to help supporters who were scrutinized as part of the Biden administration’s massive Jan. 6 investigation that led to charges against more than 1,500 defendants.

    Suzanne Ellen Kaye was released last year after serving an 18-month sentence in her threats case. After the FBI contacted her in 2021 about a tip indicating she may have been at the Capitol on Jan. 6, she posted a video on social media citing her Second Amendment right to carry a gun, and she threatened to shoot agents if they came to her house. In court papers, prosecutors said her words “were part of the ubiquity of violent political rhetoric that causes serious harm to our communities.”

    An email seeking comment was sent to a lawyer for Kaye on Saturday. Kaye testified at trial that she didn’t own any guns and didn’t intend to threaten the FBI, according to court papers. She told authorities she was not at the Capitol on Jan. 6 and wasn’t charged with any Capitol riot-related crimes.

    A White House official said Kaye suffers from “stress-induced seizures” and experienced one when the jury read its verdict. The White House said this is “clearly a case of disfavored First Amendment political speech being prosecuted and an excessive sentence.” The official requested anonymity because they weren’t authorized to publicly discuss the case.

    In a separate case, Trump pardoned Daniel Edwin Wilson, of Louisville, Kentucky, who was under investigation for his role in the riot when authorities found six guns and roughly 4,800 rounds of ammunition in his home. Because of prior felony convictions, it was illegal for him to possess firearms.

    Wilson’s case became part of a legal debate over whether Trump’s sweeping pardons for Jan. 6 rioters in January applied to other crimes discovered during the sprawling federal dragnet that began after the attack on the Capitol. The Trump-appointed federal judge who oversaw Wilson’s case criticized the Justice Department earlier this year for arguing that the president’s Jan. 6 pardons applied to Wilson’s gun offense.

    Wilson, who had been scheduled to remain in prison until 2028, was released Friday evening following the pardon, his lawyer said on Saturday.

    “We are grateful that President Trump has recognized the injustice in my client’s case and granted him this pardon,” attorney George Pallas said in an email. “Mr. Wilson can now reunite with his family and begin rebuilding his life.”

    The White House official said Saturday that “because the search of Mr. Wilson’s home was due to the events of January 6, and they should have never been there in the first place, President Trump is pardoning Mr. Wilson for the firearm issues.”

    Wilson had been sentenced in 2024 to five years in prison after pleading guilty to conspiring to impede or injure police officers and illegally possessing firearms at his home.

    Prosecutors had accused him of planning for the Jan. 6 riot for weeks and coming to Washington with the goal of stopping the peaceful transfer of power. Authorities said he communicated with members of the far-right Oath Keepers extremist group and adherents of the antigovernment Three Percenters movement as he marched to the Capitol.

    Prosecutors cited messages they argued showed that Wilson’s “plans were for a broader American civil war.” In one message on Nov. 9, 2020, he wrote: “I’m willing to do whatever. Done made up my mind. I understand the tip of the spear will not be easy. I’m willing to sacrifice myself if necessary. Whether it means prison or death.”

    Wilson said at his sentencing that he regretted entering the Capitol that day but “got involved with good intentions.”

    The Justice Department had initially argued in February that Trump’s pardons of the Jan. 6 rioters on his first day back in the White House didn’t extend to Wilson’s gun crime. The department later changed its position, saying it had received “further clarity on the intent of the Presidential Pardon.”

    U.S. District Judge Dabney Friedrich, who was nominated to the bench by Trump, criticized the department’s evolving position and said it was “extraordinary” that prosecutors were seeking to argue that Trump’s Jan. 6 pardons extended to illegal “contraband” found by investigators during searches related to the Jan. 6 cases.

    Politico first reported Wilson’s pardon on Saturday.

    Megerian reported from West Palm Beach, Fla.

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  • Trump pardons Jan. 6 rioter for gun offense and woman convicted of threatening to shoot FBI agents

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    President Donald Trump has issued two pardons related to the investigation into the Jan. 6, 2021, riot, including for a woman convicted of threatening to shoot FBI agents who were investigating a tip that she may have been at the Capitol, officials said Saturday.Related video above: BBC leaders resign amid scandal over misleading edit of Trump’s Jan. 6 speechIn a separate case, Trump issued a second pardon for a Jan. 6 defendant who had remained behind bars despite the sweeping grant of clemency for Capitol rioters because of a separate conviction for illegally possessing firearms.It’s the latest example of Trump’s willingness to use his constitutional authority to help supporters who were scrutinized as part of the Biden administration’s massive Jan. 6 investigation that led to charges against more than 1,500 defendants.Suzanne Ellen Kaye was released last year after serving an 18-month sentence in her threats case. After the FBI contacted her in 2021 about a tip indicating she may have been at the Capitol on Jan. 6, she posted a video on social media citing her Second Amendment right to carry a gun, and she threatened to shoot agents if they came to her house. In court papers, prosecutors said her words “were part of the ubiquity of violent political rhetoric that causes serious harm to our communities.”An email seeking comment was sent to a lawyer for Kaye on Saturday. Kaye testified at trial that she didn’t own any guns and didn’t intend to threaten the FBI, according to court papers. She told authorities she was not at the Capitol on Jan. 6 and wasn’t charged with any Capitol riot-related crimes.A White House official said Kaye suffers from “stress-induced seizures” and experienced one when the jury read its verdict. The White House said this is “clearly a case of disfavored First Amendment political speech being prosecuted and an excessive sentence.” The official requested anonymity because they weren’t authorized to publicly discuss the case.In a separate case, Trump pardoned Daniel Edwin Wilson, of Louisville, Kentucky, who was under investigation for his role in the riot when authorities found six guns and roughly 4,800 rounds of ammunition in his home. Because of prior felony convictions, it was illegal for him to possess firearms.Wilson’s case became part of a legal debate over whether Trump’s sweeping pardons for Jan. 6 rioters in January applied to other crimes discovered during the sprawling federal dragnet that began after the attack on the Capitol. The Trump-appointed federal judge who oversaw Wilson’s case criticized the Justice Department earlier this year for arguing that the president’s Jan. 6 pardons applied to Wilson’s gun offense.Wilson, who had been scheduled to remain in prison until 2028, was released Friday evening following the pardon, his lawyer said on Saturday.”We are grateful that President Trump has recognized the injustice in my client’s case and granted him this pardon,” attorney George Pallas said in an email. “Mr. Wilson can now reunite with his family and begin rebuilding his life.”The White House official said Saturday that “because the search of Mr. Wilson’s home was due to the events of January 6, and they should have never been there in the first place, President Trump is pardoning Mr. Wilson for the firearm issues.”Wilson had been sentenced in 2024 to five years in prison after pleading guilty to conspiring to impede or injure police officers and illegally possessing firearms at his home.Prosecutors had accused him of planning for the Jan. 6 riot for weeks and coming to Washington with the goal of stopping the peaceful transfer of power. Authorities said he communicated with members of the far-right Oath Keepers extremist group and adherents of the antigovernment Three Percenters movement as he marched to the Capitol.Prosecutors cited messages they argued showed that Wilson’s “plans were for a broader American civil war.” In one message on Nov. 9, 2020, he wrote: “I’m willing to do whatever. Done made up my mind. I understand the tip of the spear will not be easy. I’m willing to sacrifice myself if necessary. Whether it means prison or death.”Wilson said at his sentencing that he regretted entering the Capitol that day but “got involved with good intentions.”The Justice Department had initially argued in February that Trump’s pardons of the Jan. 6 rioters on his first day back in the White House didn’t extend to Wilson’s gun crime. The department later changed its position, saying it had received “further clarity on the intent of the Presidential Pardon.”U.S. District Judge Dabney Friedrich, who was nominated to the bench by Trump, criticized the department’s evolving position and said it was “extraordinary” that prosecutors were seeking to argue that Trump’s Jan. 6 pardons extended to illegal “contraband” found by investigators during searches related to the Jan. 6 cases.Politico first reported Wilson’s pardon on Saturday.Megerian reported from West Palm Beach, Fla.

    WASHINGTON (AP) —

    President Donald Trump has issued two pardons related to the investigation into the Jan. 6, 2021, riot, including for a woman convicted of threatening to shoot FBI agents who were investigating a tip that she may have been at the Capitol, officials said Saturday.

    Related video above: BBC leaders resign amid scandal over misleading edit of Trump’s Jan. 6 speech

    In a separate case, Trump issued a second pardon for a Jan. 6 defendant who had remained behind bars despite the sweeping grant of clemency for Capitol rioters because of a separate conviction for illegally possessing firearms.

    It’s the latest example of Trump’s willingness to use his constitutional authority to help supporters who were scrutinized as part of the Biden administration’s massive Jan. 6 investigation that led to charges against more than 1,500 defendants.

    Suzanne Ellen Kaye was released last year after serving an 18-month sentence in her threats case. After the FBI contacted her in 2021 about a tip indicating she may have been at the Capitol on Jan. 6, she posted a video on social media citing her Second Amendment right to carry a gun, and she threatened to shoot agents if they came to her house. In court papers, prosecutors said her words “were part of the ubiquity of violent political rhetoric that causes serious harm to our communities.”

    An email seeking comment was sent to a lawyer for Kaye on Saturday. Kaye testified at trial that she didn’t own any guns and didn’t intend to threaten the FBI, according to court papers. She told authorities she was not at the Capitol on Jan. 6 and wasn’t charged with any Capitol riot-related crimes.

    A White House official said Kaye suffers from “stress-induced seizures” and experienced one when the jury read its verdict. The White House said this is “clearly a case of disfavored First Amendment political speech being prosecuted and an excessive sentence.” The official requested anonymity because they weren’t authorized to publicly discuss the case.

    In a separate case, Trump pardoned Daniel Edwin Wilson, of Louisville, Kentucky, who was under investigation for his role in the riot when authorities found six guns and roughly 4,800 rounds of ammunition in his home. Because of prior felony convictions, it was illegal for him to possess firearms.

    Wilson’s case became part of a legal debate over whether Trump’s sweeping pardons for Jan. 6 rioters in January applied to other crimes discovered during the sprawling federal dragnet that began after the attack on the Capitol. The Trump-appointed federal judge who oversaw Wilson’s case criticized the Justice Department earlier this year for arguing that the president’s Jan. 6 pardons applied to Wilson’s gun offense.

    Wilson, who had been scheduled to remain in prison until 2028, was released Friday evening following the pardon, his lawyer said on Saturday.

    “We are grateful that President Trump has recognized the injustice in my client’s case and granted him this pardon,” attorney George Pallas said in an email. “Mr. Wilson can now reunite with his family and begin rebuilding his life.”

    The White House official said Saturday that “because the search of Mr. Wilson’s home was due to the events of January 6, and they should have never been there in the first place, President Trump is pardoning Mr. Wilson for the firearm issues.”

    Wilson had been sentenced in 2024 to five years in prison after pleading guilty to conspiring to impede or injure police officers and illegally possessing firearms at his home.

    Prosecutors had accused him of planning for the Jan. 6 riot for weeks and coming to Washington with the goal of stopping the peaceful transfer of power. Authorities said he communicated with members of the far-right Oath Keepers extremist group and adherents of the antigovernment Three Percenters movement as he marched to the Capitol.

    Prosecutors cited messages they argued showed that Wilson’s “plans were for a broader American civil war.” In one message on Nov. 9, 2020, he wrote: “I’m willing to do whatever. Done made up my mind. I understand the tip of the spear will not be easy. I’m willing to sacrifice myself if necessary. Whether it means prison or death.”

    Wilson said at his sentencing that he regretted entering the Capitol that day but “got involved with good intentions.”

    The Justice Department had initially argued in February that Trump’s pardons of the Jan. 6 rioters on his first day back in the White House didn’t extend to Wilson’s gun crime. The department later changed its position, saying it had received “further clarity on the intent of the Presidential Pardon.”

    U.S. District Judge Dabney Friedrich, who was nominated to the bench by Trump, criticized the department’s evolving position and said it was “extraordinary” that prosecutors were seeking to argue that Trump’s Jan. 6 pardons extended to illegal “contraband” found by investigators during searches related to the Jan. 6 cases.

    Politico first reported Wilson’s pardon on Saturday.

    Megerian reported from West Palm Beach, Fla.

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  • Celebrating 175 years of statehood: California birthday block party lights up the Capitol

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    On Tuesday, California celebrated 175 years of statehood.In honor of the anniversary, California State Parks hosted a big block party at the Capitol.Thousands attended California’s big birthday bash, featuring food trucks, California-grown treats, activities, and a laser light display.See updates from the block party around 6 p.m. in the video below:Organizers said the highlight was the laser show featuring 31 laser space cannons in honor of California becoming America’s 31st state in 1850.To start the block party Tuesday evening, the state’s first partner, Jennifer Siebel Newsom, joined the community.There were archive tours, entertainment, and some State Parks workers and volunteers were dressed in period attire as they discussed California’s history.The State Parks director said it’s all about celebrating California’s Indigenous roots in the Golden State.”This is about more than just a block party, the 175th anniversary of California becoming a state is really about belonging. This is where you live, this is your home, the whole state is where you belong,” Armando Quintero said. Watch a livestream of the laser show in the video player below:See more coverage of top California stories here | Download our app | Subscribe to our morning newsletter | Find us on YouTube here and subscribe to our channel

    SACRAMENTO, Calif. —

    On Tuesday, California celebrated 175 years of statehood.

    In honor of the anniversary, California State Parks hosted a big block party at the Capitol.

    Thousands attended California’s big birthday bash, featuring food trucks, California-grown treats, activities, and a laser light display.

    See updates from the block party around 6 p.m. in the video below:

    Organizers said the highlight was the laser show featuring 31 laser space cannons in honor of California becoming America’s 31st state in 1850.

    To start the block party Tuesday evening, the state’s first partner, Jennifer Siebel Newsom, joined the community.

    There were archive tours, entertainment, and some State Parks workers and volunteers were dressed in period attire as they discussed California’s history.

    The State Parks director said it’s all about celebrating California’s Indigenous roots in the Golden State.

    “This is about more than just a block party, the 175th anniversary of California becoming a state is really about belonging. This is where you live, this is your home, the whole state is where you belong,” Armando Quintero said.

    Watch a livestream of the laser show in the video player below:

    This content is imported from YouTube.
    You may be able to find the same content in another format, or you may be able to find more information, at their web site.

    See more coverage of top California stories here | Download our app | Subscribe to our morning newsletter | Find us on YouTube here and subscribe to our channel

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  • First rioter to enter Capitol during Jan. 6 attack is sentenced to over 4 years in prison

    First rioter to enter Capitol during Jan. 6 attack is sentenced to over 4 years in prison

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    A Kentucky man who was the first rioter to enter the U.S. Capitol during a mob’s attack on the building was sentenced on Tuesday to more than four years in prison.A police officer who tried to subdue Michael Sparks with pepper spray described him as a catalyst for the Jan. 6 insurrection. The Senate that day recessed less than one minute after Sparks jumped into the building through a broken window. Sparks then joined other rioters in chasing a police officer up flights of stairs.Before learning his sentencing, Sparks told the judge that he still believes the 2020 presidential election was marred by fraud and “completely taken from the American public.”“I am remorseful that what transpired that day didn’t help anybody,” Sparks said. “I am remorseful that our country is in the state it’s in.”U.S. District Judge Timothy Kelly, who sentenced Sparks to four years and five months, told him that there was nothing patriotic about his prominent role in what was a “national disgrace.”“I don’t really think you appreciate the full gravity of what happened that day and, quite frankly, the full seriousness of what you did,” the judge said.Federal prosecutors recommended a prison sentence of four years and nine months for Sparks, a 47-year-old former factory worker from Cecilia, Kentucky.Defense attorney Scott Wendelsdorf asked the judge to sentence Sparks to one year of home detention instead of prison.A jury convicted Sparks of all six charges that he faced, including a felony count of interfering with police during a civil disorder. Sparks didn’t testify at his trial in Washington, D.C.In the weeks leading up to the Jan. 6 attack, Sparks used social media to promote conspiracy theories about election fraud and advocate for a civil war.“It’s time to drag them out of Congress. It’s tyranny,” he posted on Facebook three days before the riot.Sparks traveled to Washington, D.C, with co-workers from an electronics and components plant in Elizabethtown, Kentucky. They attended then-President Donald Trump’s “Stop the Steal” rally near the White House on Jan. 6.After the rally, Sparks and a friend, Joseph Howe, joined a crowd in marching to the Capitol. Both of them wore tactical vests. Howe was captured on video repeatedly saying, “we’re getting in that building.”Off camera, Sparks added: “All it’s going to take is one person to go. The rest is following,” according to prosecutors. Sparks’ attorney argued that the evidence doesn’t prove that Sparks made that statement.“Of course, both Sparks and Howe were more right than perhaps anyone else knew at the time — it was just a short time later that Sparks made history as the very first person to go inside, and the rest indeed followed,” prosecutors wrote.Dominic Pezzola, a member of the far-right Proud Boys extremist group, used a police shield to break a window next to the Senate Wing Door. Capitol Police Sgt. Victor Nichols sprayed Sparks in the face as he hopped through the shattered glass.Nichols testified that Sparks acted “like a green light for everybody behind him, and everyone followed right behind him because it was like it was okay to go into the building.” Nichols also said Sparks’ actions were “the catalyst for the building being completely breached.”Undeterred by pepper spray, Sparks joined other rioters in chasing Capitol Police Officer Eugene Goodman as he retreated up the stairs and found backup from other officers near the Senate chamber.“This is our America!” Sparks screamed at police. He left the building about 10 minutes later.Sparks’ attorney downplayed his client’s distinction as the first rioter to enter the building.“While technically true in a time-line sense, he did not lead the crowd into the building or cause the breach through which he and others entered,” Wendelsdorf wrote. “Actually, there were eight different points of access that day separately and independently exploited by the protestors.”But the judge said when and where Sparks entered the Capitol was an important factor in his sentencing.“I think it’s undeniable that the first person” to enter the Capitol “would have an emboldening and encouraging effect on everyone who was at least in your vicinity,” Kelly told Sparks. “To say it wasn’t a material, key point in the mob’s taking of the Capitol, I think, is just ignoring the obvious.”Sparks was arrested in Kentucky less than a month after the riot. Sparks and Howe were charged together in a November 2022 indictment. Howe pleaded guilty to assault and obstruction charges and was sentenced last year to four years and two months in prison.More than 1,400 people have been charged with Capitol riot-related federal crimes. Approximately 950 riot defendants have been convicted and sentenced. More than 600 of them have received terms of imprisonment ranging from a few days to 22 years.

    WASHINGTON —

    A Kentucky man who was the first rioter to enter the U.S. Capitol during a mob’s attack on the building was sentenced on Tuesday to more than four years in prison.

    A police officer who tried to subdue Michael Sparks with pepper spray described him as a catalyst for the Jan. 6 insurrection. The Senate that day recessed less than one minute after Sparks jumped into the building through a broken window. Sparks then joined other rioters in chasing a police officer up flights of stairs.

    Before learning his sentencing, Sparks told the judge that he still believes the 2020 presidential election was marred by fraud and “completely taken from the American public.”

    “I am remorseful that what transpired that day didn’t help anybody,” Sparks said. “I am remorseful that our country is in the state it’s in.”

    U.S. District Judge Timothy Kelly, who sentenced Sparks to four years and five months, told him that there was nothing patriotic about his prominent role in what was a “national disgrace.”

    “I don’t really think you appreciate the full gravity of what happened that day and, quite frankly, the full seriousness of what you did,” the judge said.

    Federal prosecutors recommended a prison sentence of four years and nine months for Sparks, a 47-year-old former factory worker from Cecilia, Kentucky.

    Defense attorney Scott Wendelsdorf asked the judge to sentence Sparks to one year of home detention instead of prison.

    A jury convicted Sparks of all six charges that he faced, including a felony count of interfering with police during a civil disorder. Sparks didn’t testify at his trial in Washington, D.C.

    In the weeks leading up to the Jan. 6 attack, Sparks used social media to promote conspiracy theories about election fraud and advocate for a civil war.

    “It’s time to drag them out of Congress. It’s tyranny,” he posted on Facebook three days before the riot.

    Sparks traveled to Washington, D.C, with co-workers from an electronics and components plant in Elizabethtown, Kentucky. They attended then-President Donald Trump’s “Stop the Steal” rally near the White House on Jan. 6.

    After the rally, Sparks and a friend, Joseph Howe, joined a crowd in marching to the Capitol. Both of them wore tactical vests. Howe was captured on video repeatedly saying, “we’re getting in that building.”

    Off camera, Sparks added: “All it’s going to take is one person to go. The rest is following,” according to prosecutors. Sparks’ attorney argued that the evidence doesn’t prove that Sparks made that statement.

    “Of course, both Sparks and Howe were more right than perhaps anyone else knew at the time — it was just a short time later that Sparks made history as the very first person to go inside, and the rest indeed followed,” prosecutors wrote.

    Dominic Pezzola, a member of the far-right Proud Boys extremist group, used a police shield to break a window next to the Senate Wing Door. Capitol Police Sgt. Victor Nichols sprayed Sparks in the face as he hopped through the shattered glass.

    Nichols testified that Sparks acted “like a green light for everybody behind him, and everyone followed right behind him because it was like it was okay to go into the building.” Nichols also said Sparks’ actions were “the catalyst for the building being completely breached.”

    Undeterred by pepper spray, Sparks joined other rioters in chasing Capitol Police Officer Eugene Goodman as he retreated up the stairs and found backup from other officers near the Senate chamber.

    “This is our America!” Sparks screamed at police. He left the building about 10 minutes later.

    Sparks’ attorney downplayed his client’s distinction as the first rioter to enter the building.

    “While technically true in a time-line sense, he did not lead the crowd into the building or cause the breach through which he and others entered,” Wendelsdorf wrote. “Actually, there were eight different points of access that day separately and independently exploited by the protestors.”

    But the judge said when and where Sparks entered the Capitol was an important factor in his sentencing.

    “I think it’s undeniable that the first person” to enter the Capitol “would have an emboldening and encouraging effect on everyone who was at least in your vicinity,” Kelly told Sparks. “To say it wasn’t a material, key point in the mob’s taking of the Capitol, I think, is just ignoring the obvious.”

    Sparks was arrested in Kentucky less than a month after the riot. Sparks and Howe were charged together in a November 2022 indictment. Howe pleaded guilty to assault and obstruction charges and was sentenced last year to four years and two months in prison.

    More than 1,400 people have been charged with Capitol riot-related federal crimes. Approximately 950 riot defendants have been convicted and sentenced. More than 600 of them have received terms of imprisonment ranging from a few days to 22 years.

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  • NC Proud Boy was in ‘front ranks’ of Jan. 6 violence at Capitol, feds say

    NC Proud Boy was in ‘front ranks’ of Jan. 6 violence at Capitol, feds say

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    The FBI arrested a 46-year-old Concord man in Charlotte on Tuesday, accusing him of participating in the violent breach of the Capitol on Jan. 6, 2021.

    Jay Robert Thaxton joined other members of the Proud Boys in storming the Capitol to disrupt a joint session of Congress, according to a U.S. Department of Justice news release.

    Congress convened the session to count electoral votes, certifying Joe Biden as the winner of the 2020 presidential election over Donald Trump.

    Publicly available footage shows Jay Robert Thaxton, 46, of Concord, at “the front ranks of the rioters” as they neared the Lower West Plaza of the Capitol, according a criminal complaint filed against Thaxton in the District of Columbia.
    Publicly available footage shows Jay Robert Thaxton, 46, of Concord, at “the front ranks of the rioters” as they neared the Lower West Plaza of the Capitol, according a criminal complaint filed against Thaxton in the District of Columbia. SCREEN SHOT OF PHOTO in FBI AFFIDAVIT

    ‘Grabbed, pushed and pulled’ barricades

    Publicly available footage shows Thaxton heading to “the front ranks of the rioters” as they neared the Lower West Plaza of the Capitol, according to a criminal complaint filed against Thaxton in U.S. District Court in the District of Columbia.

    The FBI charged Thaxton with the felony offense of obstruction of law enforcement during a civil disorder. He also was charged with: Misdemeanor counts of entering and remaining in a restricted building or grounds; disorderly and disruptive conduct in a restricted building or grounds; disorderly conduct in a Capitol building or grounds; and obstructing or impeding passage in a Capitol building or grounds.

    According to an FBI affidavit, Jay Robert Thaxton, a 46-year-old Concord, N.C., resident, is shown grabbing black fencing that rioters destroyed at the Capitol on Jan. 6, 2021.
    According to an FBI affidavit, Jay Robert Thaxton, a 46-year-old Concord, N.C., resident, is shown grabbing black fencing that rioters destroyed at the Capitol on Jan. 6, 2021. SCREEN SHOT OF PHOTO IN FBI AFFIDAVIT

    Thaxton and other members of the Proud Boys, a far-right extremist group, marched along the west, north and east sides of the Capitol before breaching it, an FBI agent said in an arrest warrant affidavit.

    On the Lower West Plaza, Thaxton “grabbed, pushed and pulled” police bike racks that served as temporary barricades against the rioters, according to court documents.

    Rioters eventually breached the police line on the Lower West Plaza, court records show.

    According to an FBI affidavit, Jay Robert Thaxton, a 46-year-old Concord, N.C., resident, is shown in this photo grabbing, pushing and pulling police bike racks that served as temporary barricades against rioters at the Capitol on Jan. 6, 2021.
    According to an FBI affidavit, Jay Robert Thaxton, a 46-year-old Concord, N.C., resident, is shown in this photo grabbing, pushing and pulling police bike racks that served as temporary barricades against rioters at the Capitol on Jan. 6, 2021. SCREEN SHOT OF FBI AFFIDAVIT

    Thaxton was arrested in Washington that night on a curfew violation charge, prosecutors said. He couldn’t be reached by The Charlotte Observer on Tuesday.

    Thaxton joins at least 1,423 others from nearly all 50 states to be charged in connection with the violence.

    Members of the U.S. House committee that investigated the Jan. 6 attack found that Trump provoked his supporters to violence through his false allegations of fraud in the election.

    Related stories from Charlotte Observer

    Joe Marusak has been a reporter for The Charlotte Observer since 1989 covering the people, municipalities and major news events of the region, and was a news bureau editor for the paper. He currently reports on breaking news.
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  • PHOTOS: Rolling to Remember brings thousands to DC ahead of Memorial Day – WTOP News

    PHOTOS: Rolling to Remember brings thousands to DC ahead of Memorial Day – WTOP News

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    Remembrance along the route

    Along the main route in D.C., Tim Chambers, a retired Marine veteran who refers to himself as the “Saluting Marine,” said that Memorial Day events like Rolling to Remember began as a demonstration to remind people of those soldiers who went missing in action, those who succumbed to their injuries, PTSD and other tragic outcomes from their service to the nation.

    “We need to mourn a little bit more as a society, because there’s a lot of families that are hurting, there’s a lot of families that were destroyed, there’s a lot of families that don’t know what happened to their loved one, and we didn’t get them the accountability or closure that they deserve,” Chambers said. “Veteran suicide, that’s still happening. It’s so out of sight out of mind, and then you need to be reminded that it’s happening.”

    April Lamie, who came up from North Carolina with a group called TAPS (Tragedy Assistant Programs for Survivors), lost her husband nine years ago. This is the sixth year she has been coming to D.C. for Memorial Day.

    “It’s just in the sound of the bikes. It’s very inspiring,” Lamie said. “It has such depth and meaning and you can literally feel the vibrations of the caring and the thoughtfulness and the support as they as they roll by you.”

    Asked what she wanted people to remember about the holiday, she said, “Their lives are not to be mourn but to be celebrated because they are all someone we loved.”

    Tom Kreutzer’s uncle was killed in World War II. He’s an employee with the Department of State and has worked with military commands in the past. He said this ride is a small way to show his appreciation for the people who sacrifice their lives.

    “There’s usually a really good community, especially with Harley riders,” Kreutzer said. “Generally, when I’ve been with Harley guys, they’re a certain kind of person and I respect that. So, they’re good to hang around with.”

    John De Pasquale has been riding in the event for about 20 years. He said this year in particular is special for him because it’s the first year his son Mike is riding alongside. Mike, the grandson of a World War II veteran, says he’s most excited “to actually be in it, not standing on the side of the road waving at everybody.”

    Get breaking news and daily headlines delivered to your email inbox by signing up here.

    © 2024 WTOP. All Rights Reserved. This website is not intended for users located within the European Economic Area.

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  • This Capitol rioter’s own messages helped the feds convict him of attacking police

    This Capitol rioter’s own messages helped the feds convict him of attacking police

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    David Gietzen of Sanford, N.C., was seen on U.S. Capitol grounds. He attacked Capitol police with a metal pole and was sentenced on Tuesday.

    David Gietzen of Sanford, N.C., was seen on U.S. Capitol grounds. He attacked Capitol police with a metal pole and was sentenced on Tuesday.


    FBI document

    A North Carolina man who struck Capitol police with a metal pole after being one of the first to breach U.S. Capitol grounds on Jan. 6, 2021, was sentenced to six years in prison Tuesday.

    After slamming and grabbing officers’ face masks, David Joseph Gietzen, 30, told friends and family it was “a beautiful day” spent with thousands of people ascending the Capitol after former president Donald Trump’s “Stop the Steal” rally.

    An armed civil war would come next, he hoped.

    The Sanford man was arrested one year and four months later. He was one of several thousand Trump supporters — and at least 16 now-convicted North Carolinians — who stormed the Capitol, where a crowd broke through police barricades, breached the building and attempted to stop the joint session of Congress where electoral votes were being counted in the 2020 presidential election.

    “Never been prouder to be an American,” Gietzen wrote in another message someone later shared with FBI agents.

    Court documents lay out Gietzen’s movements around Washington D.C., both on the day of the Capitol riots and his return two weeks later on the day of President Joe Biden’s inauguration.

    While Gietzen was the first publicly-identified N.C. defendant to have been in Washington for both Trump’s “Stop the Steal” rally and the inauguration, he has not been charged with any crimes connected to his inaugural visit.

    U.S. District Judge Carl J. Nichols sentenced Gietzen to 72 months – or six years – in prison and 36 months of supervised release after a federal jury found him guilty of seven felonies and one misdemeanor for his actions at the Capitol.

    Members of the U.S. House committee that investigated the Jan. 6 attack found that Trump provoked his supporters to violence through his false allegations of fraud in the 2020 election. The U.S. Supreme Court on Thursday will hear arguments over whether Trump is immune from prosecution in a criminal indictment charging him with trying to overturn the election result.

    David Gietzen’s Capitol riot route

    Gietzen —who wore a helmet, goggles, and knee pads on Jan. 6 — consistently pushed his way to the front of the Capitol’s crowds, documents filed by the FBI show.

    Cameras fastened to the building above show him lined at the barriers in front of the Capitol around 2 p.m. His white helmet and green jacket set him aside from the crowd of red MAGA-hat wearers and police officers uniformed in black helmets and vests.

    Screenshots of surveillance videos soon show Gietzen pushing through the barrier as a crowd of others follow.

    “F— disgrace,” he yells at officers. “We Want Trump!” he chants.

    By 2:30 p.m., Gietzen is carrying a long metal pipe, which he later uses to assault officers after they were toppled by a door-sized piece of plywood. He leaves the area — and his helmet — and appears at the front of a tunnel entrance by 4 p.m.

    That’s the last time Gietzen was captured on camera that day.

    He later sent a message to friends saying: “Btw they are trying to give credit to storming congress on the news to Antifa….BULLSHIT, I was there in a hallway helping to push the line of guards back. Today was 100 what happens when you piss of normal people, and the next protest is going even further.”

    FBI agents contacted Gietzen by phone on Jan. 19, 2021, and he told them that he and his brother were en route to D.C., but that “he had no intentions of committing any acts of violence.”

    A friend in one of Gietzen’s group chats contacted the FBI in May 2021 after Gietzen’s college acquaintance did the same in February. A year later, police arrested him.

    Gietzen does not regret his actions, he said at both the trial and sentencing, according to a news release by the U.S. District Attorney for the District of Colombia.

    Gietzen was suspect No. 217 on the FBI’s page of Jan. 6 participants. Agents learned of his identity in February 2021 after receiving a tip from an N.C. resident who knew Gietzen from college, according to court records.

    More than 1,230 people — including 34 North Carolinians — have been charged with federal crimes in the riot, ranging from misdemeanor offenses like trespassing to felonies like assaulting police officers and seditious conspiracy.

    At least five deaths have been linked to the violence. More than 140 police officers were injured, while the Capitol was left with an estimated $1.5 million in damages.

    This story was originally published April 24, 2024, 3:28 PM.

    Related stories from Charlotte Observer

    Julia Coin overs local and federal courts and legal issues after previously working as a breaking news reporter for the Observer. Julia has reported on fentanyl in local schools, the aftermath of police shootings and crime trends in Charlotte. Michigan-born and Florida-raised, she studied journalism at the University of Florida, where she covered statewide legislation, sexual assault on campus and Hurricane Ian’s destruction.
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  • New York State lawmakers pass 2024-2025 budget

    New York State lawmakers pass 2024-2025 budget

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    ALBANY, N.Y. (NEWS10) — New York lawmakers have passed the 2024-2025 state budget. The state Assembly and Senate enacted the nearly $237 billion spending plan after final deliberations on numerous state bills on Saturday.

    The budget will now head to the desk of Governor Kathy Hochul to be approved. The Governor, as well as several state lawmakers, issued statements on the budget being passed by the legislature.

    “This budget agreement represents the most significant improvement in housing policy in three generations. It includes transformative investments in health care and education that will put our State on the path to fiscal stability. It will end co-pays for insulin, establish first-in-the-nation paid prenatal leave, and launch the EmpireAI consortium. This budget cracks down on retail theft and gives us new tools to shut down illicit cannabis storefronts. It helps the children of New York City by extending mayoral accountability for public schools,” Gov. Hochul said. “And we got it all done without raising income taxes by a single cent. I’m grateful to Speaker Heastie, Leader Stewart-Cousins and my colleagues in the Legislature for their collaboration on this agreement, and look forward to continuing to work together.”

    “When we talk about the Assembly Majority’s Families First agenda, we’re talking about crafting thoughtful legislation that makes our state more affordable, more accepting and better place to live,” said Assembly Speaker Carl Heastie. “In this year’s budget we were able to include critical funding for affordable housing across the state, increases in TAP funding to put higher education in reach for more students, restoring education funding, investments in our hospitals and nursing homes, and provisions that help new parents and working families. We will continue working with our partners in government to craft thoughtful legislation to uplift New Yorkers.”

    While state democrats have expressed enthusiasm for the plan, some state republicans have issued criticisms of the budget. Assembly Republican Leader Will Barclay said “After six budget extenders and three weeks past the statutory deadline, the 2024-25 state budget has been delivered to New Yorkers. Hardworking taxpayers will subsidize a record-high $237 billion spending plan. While the process is now final, it will take time before the public knows exactly what it’s paying for. Yet again, the basic standards of public input, open government and transparency continue to erode in Albany.”

    Stay with NEWS10 on air and online as we continue to bring you coverage of the passing of the budget as this story continues to develop.

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    Jackson Tollerton

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  • NYS lawmakers continue to work on 2025 state budget

    NYS lawmakers continue to work on 2025 state budget

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    ALBANY, N.Y. (NEWS10) — As the original deadline has passed, New York State lawmakers continue to work on a 2025 state budget. The budget was originally due on April 1, but an extender was put in place through April 4.

    Assembly Speaker Carl Heastie said Tuesday he believes both the state senate and assembly are close to approving a state budget. He said they are close on several factors, including Medicaid, housing and education.

    Other issues being discussed include AI and closing down illegal pot shops.

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  • Mike McGuire is everywhere. Can he harness his energy as California’s new Senate leader?

    Mike McGuire is everywhere. Can he harness his energy as California’s new Senate leader?

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    HEALDSBURG, Calif. — 

    On a foggy January morning in his hometown nestled in Northern California wine country, state Sen. Mike McGuire was at an elementary school doing a dance called the “wheelbarrow” and explaining insurance policy to children who were more eager to talk about their 4-H pigs.

    The Sonoma County Democrat then rushed off, driving past rolling green hills and dewy vineyards, to have coffee with firefighters who are banking on him to help a region that has been repeatedly devastated by wildfires and often feels overlooked by state leaders.

    At the Healdsburg Fire Department, a staffer struggled to get McGuire out the door in time so that he could make it to a Chamber of Commerce event three hours north in Eureka. There, he would partake in a hobby perfectly suited to his sense of urgency and penchant for squeezing as much as he can into the time he has: auctioneering.

    New California Senate leader Mike McGuire dances with children at Alexander Valley School in Healdsburg on Jan. 26. (Mackenzie Mays)

    “Mike is the Energizer Bunny of California politics. He gets around, he walks the district. It is a hallmark of his approach,” said David McCuan, a political science professor at Sonoma State who taught McGuire there more than 20 years ago. “He believes that hard work and perseverance can offset any challenges he might have.”

    Now, McGuire, who was sworn in as the new leader of the California Senate on Monday, will need to harness that energy as he takes on his biggest challenge yet — guiding the Legislature’s upper house as the state grapples with an estimated $38-billion budget deficit. The Senate leader plays a powerful role negotiating the state budget with the governor and the Assembly speaker, making it one of the most influential positions in state government.

    At a swearing-in ceremony at the Capitol on Monday, McGuire vowed to “buckle down” and right the budget in the same way that Californians struggling financially are forced to “live within their means” and make sacrifices in their personal spending.

    “We know that tough decisions lie ahead,” McGuire said in an emotional speech on the Senate floor that at times drove him to tears. “We are going to protect our progress.”

    McGuire was sworn in as he held his squirmy 2-year-old son and stood alongside his wife, a school principal in Healdsburg. Monday’s event played up the small-town hospitality of McGuire’s rural district, with signs that welcomed attendees to “come on in and stay awhile.”

    Gov. Gavin Newsom, former Gov. Jerry Brown, California Supreme Court Chief Justice Patricia Guerrero and past Senate leaders including John Burton attended the ceremony. Many from McGuire’s district were also in attendance, including his eighth-grade math teacher.

    Despite the budget woes on the horizon, McGuire painted a picture of a resilient California that leads the nation in several policy areas, including climate change and abortion access, even in bad financial times.

    “No matter what you watch on cable news, we are America’s economic engine,” he said Monday.

    Time is of the essence. McGuire has until 2026 to make his mark as Senate president pro tem; at that time he will be forced out of the Legislature by term limits.

    At the top of his to-do list is responding to the state’s far-reaching homelessness crisis.

    A general view of Healdsburg, Calif.

    In 1998, when he was 19 years old, Mike McGuire became the youngest person elected to the school board in Healdsburg, the bucolic Sonoma County town where he grew up. He later became the city’s youngest mayor.

    (Josh Edelson / For the Times)

    He said to expect the Senate to prioritize counties’ “successful implementation” of CARE Court, Gov. Gavin Newsom’s mental health reform plan that could force some people living on the streets to receive treatment.

    “No matter if you live in Crescent City, or in downtown L.A., you want the homelessness crisis solved. It’s unacceptable, and the state and our communities must do better,” McGuire said.

    But speaking to reporters at the Capitol after Monday’s ceremony, McGuire declined to give details on the plan or signal what is to come otherwise from the Senate this year, saying he still needs to meet with his fellow lawmakers.

    Often seen jogging through Capitol corridors to make it to one of several committees he sits on and wearing headphones on the Senate floor so as not to miss a call, McGuire is vowing to pare down his trademark multi-tasking and “laser focus” on issues including affordable housing, fentanyl and retail theft.

    His fellow lawmakers from both political parties joked Monday about his stamina, saying they didn’t know he had a desk on the Senate floor because he never sits.

    For six months, McGuire has been on the road, traveling to speak with voters beyond his coastal district, which spans seven counties from the Bay Area to the Oregon border. In the month of December alone, he met with climate activists in Sacramento, public transit advocates in San Francisco, business owners in Fresno, wine experts in Sonoma County and homeless advocates in Humboldt County.

    “If I have to eat another gas station hot dog, I don’t know what I’m going to do,” he joked.

    He’s not up for reelection. It’s just what he does.

    “He feeds off of this. It’s not a game, it’s authentic,” said James Gore, a Democratic member of the Sonoma County Board of Supervisors who plans to run for McGuire’s seat when his time is up in 2026.

    California Sen. Mike McGuire hugging a firefighter

    California Sen. Mike McGuire hugs a firefighter in Healdsburg, where he lives.

    (Josh Edelson / For The Times)

    His breakneck pace started decades ago with a string of record firsts. In 1998, he became the youngest person elected to the Healdsburg School Board at age 19 in the bucolic town where he grew up. Then he became the city’s youngest mayor. He went on to serve on the Sonoma County Board of Supervisors and by 2014, he was in the state Senate.

    McGuire started working in high school at a radio station to help his family make ends meet. He was raised by his mother and grandmother — a hard-nosed prune farmer whom McGuire credits for his career.

    “She taught me to be the hardest-working person in the room,” he said of his grandmother. “She told me that there are smarter people than you out in this world and you’ve got to work together.”

    His unanimous appointment by Democrats as Senate leader came with the blessing of his predecessor, Sen. Toni Atkins (D-San Diego), who is running for governor in 2026, and without the drama of the competitive leadership campaign that played out on the other end of the Capitol in the state Assembly.

    But in some ways, McGuire’s appointment comes as a surprise. He represents a rural district in a powerful position long held by senators from major cities. He is a straight white man helping lead a state that is predominantly Latino amid calls for more diversity in Democratic politics.

    Toni Atkins hugging Mike McGuire

    Former California Senate President Pro Tem Toni Atkins (D-San Diego), left, hugs her successor, Sen. Mike McGuire (D-Healdsburg).

    (Rich Pedroncelli / Associated Press)

    “It speaks to his leadership,” said Sen. Lena Gonzalez (D-Long Beach), vice chair of the California Latino Legislative Caucus. “Regardless of the identity politics, I really think that he supersedes that with his policies. More than anything, it’s his style of collaboration that is appreciated.”

    McGuire nodded to progressive ideals for greater diversity in political representation in his inaugural speech Monday, as both legislative houses — and the governor’s office — are currently led by men.

    “Here in the Senate, we look more like the communities we proudly represent,” McGuire said, noting that there are more women and more people of color serving in state office than ever before and vowing to work with minority caucuses to promote their issues.

    McGuire gave labor unions credit on Monday, saying that “in California, we go to the mat for the rights of workers.” But in a Democratic supermajority Legislature where unions have a lot of sway, McGuire has not always voted with organized labor. In 2016, he did not support a bill that expanded overtime pay for farmworkers, voicing concerns about the impact on small farmers.

    Republicans, too, describe McGuire as a fierce collaborator, negotiator and moderator with no off switch.

    “He’s just very hardworking and he’s always on the move. I would say if there was competition for the position, whoever that was wouldn’t have been able to keep up with him in the first place,” Senate Minority Leader Brian Jones (R-Santee) said, noting that he “vigorously” disagrees with many of his policy stances.

    Last year, McGuire authored bills to expedite offshore wind development and to support small-scale cannabis farmers. He supported controversial bills to decriminalize psychedelic drugs and give striking workers unemployment benefits — both of which failed to get Newsom’s approval.

    McGuire, who warns he sounds “hokey” when he talks about loving his work, said “I’m not big on labels” when asked about being considered a moderate on some issues in the liberal California Legislature. “I’m all about action. My only focus is on delivering results,” he said.

    As for what happens when his term is over, McGuire has raised more than $800,000 for a campaign for state insurance commissioner in 2026.

    Mike McGuire is congratulated after being sworn in as Senate President Pro Tempore

    Mike McGuire, D-Healdsburg, holds his son Conner as he is congratulated by state Supreme Court Chief Justice Patricia Guerrero after being sworn in as Senate President Pro Tempore, Monday, Feb. 5, 2024, at the Capitol in Sacramento, Calif. McGuire was joined on the dais by his wife, Erika, left, and Calfornia Gov. Gavin Newsom, right.

    (Hector Amezcua / Sacramento Bee via Associated Press)

    But his supporters back in his hometown of Healdsburg are certain that his aspirations are bigger than that.

    McGuire dodged a question about his plans after the state Senate, saying, “It’s not what’s keeping me up at night.”

    As someone who seemingly fills every hour of his calendar, two years is “an eternity.”

    Back at Alexander Valley School in Healdsburg, McGuire was speedily teaching 10- and 12-year-olds accustomed to wildfires about “home hardening” and public risk insurance models in his auctioneer voice. He demanded a countdown while he packed in his answers to the children’s questions.

    “Time me 60 seconds,” he said. “I want to beat the recess bell.”

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  • Jussie Smollett Trends On X After Dem. Barbara Lee Tells Story About A 'White Guy' Stopping Her At The Capitol

    Jussie Smollett Trends On X After Dem. Barbara Lee Tells Story About A 'White Guy' Stopping Her At The Capitol

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    Opinion

    Custom: Screenshots – Kaitlan Collins X Video

    Representative Barbara Lee (D-CA) and Jussie Smollett were both trending on X after the former claimed a “white guy” had stopped her from getting on the ‘members-only’ elevator in the Capitol building.

    Lee made the comments during an interview with CNN’s Kaitlan Collins. She began by asserting that “institutional racism is in the DNA of this country.”

    She then pivoted to a story that she claimed is an example of “personal racism” she had suffered as a member of Congress.

    “I was walking … to the Capitol and a man, a white guy, stopped me and told me I could not get into the members’ elevator,” she claimed without evidence.

    “And he blocked me from getting into the elevator and told me I was not a member of Congress and it was for members only. I said, ‘Sir, I’m a member of Congress,’” she continued. “And I showed him my pin and he said, ‘Whose pin did you steal?’”

    RELATED: Jussie Smollett Likely Heading Back To Prison As Conviction Is Upheld By Illinois Appeals Court

    People Were Skeptical Of Barbara Lee’s Claim

    Now, as far as we know, Barbara Lee didn’t embellish her story with a mention that she was heading to Subway at 2 am in a -20-degree windchill when a “white guy” suddenly yelled, “This is MAGA country!”

    But it kind of felt like she was one step away from doing so. And social media users on X noticed, with Jussie Smollett trending alongside the congresswoman.

    “I’m gonna go with this never actually happened. How very Jussie Smollett of you,” one person wrote.

    Conservative documentary filmmaker Dinesh D’Souza noted that Lee’s story “has that Jussie Smollett ring of inauthenticity” and added that Collins’ “uncritical reaction adds to the atmosphere of political fakery.”

    Others suggested that had the incident actually taken place, it’s highly unlikely that Lee wouldn’t report it to somebody in the building and even less likely that they wouldn’t be able to pull video of the exchange.

    In order to access members’ elevators, one needs to get through various security checkpoints with a staff I.D. or Members’ pin, so it should be easy to root out the alleged racist. It’s someone who works at the Capitol.

    RELATED: AOC Tears Up Having To Relive January 6 Footage: ‘I Am So Angry’

    Lee Tried To Crash A Congressional Hearing

    When she’s not channeling her inner Jussie Smollett, Barbara Lee is busy channeling her inner Hunter Biden. No, not ‘crackhead’ Hunter. ‘Crashing congressional hearings for attention’ Hunter.

    Lee tried to disrupt the Western Hemisphere Subcommittee of the House Foreign Affairs Committee on Thursday, only to be turned away by Rep. María Elvira Salazar (R-FL).

    “Today, I exercised my authority as Subcommittee Chairwoman to not allow an off-Committee Member to spread communist propaganda during my Cuba hearing,” Salazar wrote on X. “Members are not entitled to join any Committee proceedings without full consent of the Committee Members.”

    Lee posted video of her getting the boot after she tried to interrupt official congressional business or, as some have called it, staged an insurrection.

    The committee hearing was called to discuss the Biden administration’s lenient policies on Cuba.

    Lee has been a noted sympathizer of the late Cuban dictator, Fidel Castro. The congresswoman took the occasion of his death to praise Castro, calling him a global leader who deserves to be mourned.

    “We need to stop and pause and mourn his loss,” she said, adding he was a “smart man” who “led a revolution in Cuba that led social improvements for his people.”

    Follow Rusty on X

    Biden Told Obama He Was Right And Barack Was Wrong After Hillary Lost In 2016 – ‘People Just Don’t Like Her’: Report

    Rusty Weiss has been covering politics for over 15 years. His writings have appeared in the Daily Caller, Fox… More about Rusty Weiss

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  • Pro-Palestinian protesters wanted Newsom to hear them at tree lighting. He moved the event online

    Pro-Palestinian protesters wanted Newsom to hear them at tree lighting. He moved the event online

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    In an abrupt shift of plans, California’s annual holiday tree lighting at the Capitol was postponed a day and moved online, a change state officials attributed to potential protests.

    The event had been planned as a public gathering Tuesday night but was rescheduled to a pre-recorded, virtual ceremony that will be streamed Wednesday evening, according to a statement from Gov. Gavin Newsom’s office.

    “As we continue to see protests across the country impacting the safety of events of all scales — and for the safety and security of all participating members and guests including children and families — the ceremony this year will be virtual,” a spokesperson for the governor’s office said in a statement.

    It wasn’t immediately clear which protests were a concern or whether there were any threats, but KCRA reported that the Sacramento Regional Coalition for Palestinian Rights had planned a protest and march to the Capitol for California’s 92nd annual tree lighting. The group’s Instagram promoted a rally for a cease-fire in the Gaza Strip during the original in-person event, calling for “no celebrations while silent on genocide.”

    About 200 people protested outside the Capitol on Tuesday evening despite the cancellation of the in-person ceremony, KCRA reported.

    “He has chosen to keep [the tree lighting] behind closed doors with select people only and not enjoy it with the public,” Makeez Sawez, a member of Youth for Palestine and an organizer of Tuesday’s rally, told KCRA. “Our goal was originally to come and have conversations and have the governor see us.”

    Newsom has largely followed President Biden’s pro-Israel stance; in October, he visited Israel and met with Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, as well as Israelis who were injured in Hamas’ Oct. 7 attack. California sent medical aid to Israel, though Newsom said officials were also working to do so for Gaza.

    Earlier this week, pro-Palestinian protesters disrupted New York’s tree lighting ceremony, with some demonstrators clashing with police. Other ceremonies across the country, including in Boston and Seattle, have also seen protests, though no issues were reported in those cities.

    Newsom and First Partner Jennifer Siebel Newsom, joined by honored guest 5-year-old Harley Goodpasture, will now light the 60-foot red fir tree in a streamed video shared Wednesday at 6 p.m.

    Harley is the first Native American child to assist with the annual ceremony, the governor’s office said. Her presence will also continue the state’s tradition that the governor’s special guest is chosen from one of the Department of Developmental Services’ nonprofit regional centers, which provide local services for people with intellectual and developmental disabilities. Ornaments for this year’s tree were made by people with disabilities from across the state’s 21 regional centers.

    Harley’s parents, Season and James Goodpasture, founded Acorns to Oak Trees, the first service provider utilized by a regional center on tribal land.

    Despite the new schedule and shift to a virtual event, the ceremony will be otherwise unchanged, officials said, and will still feature the Oakland Interfaith Gospel Choir and the Wilton Rancheria.

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    Grace Toohey

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  • California Assembly: Who’s in and who’s out for the most powerful posts

    California Assembly: Who’s in and who’s out for the most powerful posts

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    SACRAMENTO — 

    California Assembly Speaker Robert Rivas (D-Hollister) announced new legislative leadership on Tuesday, a key decision in his first year as leader of the lower house that could shape what becomes law in the nation’s most populous state.

    Among the most significant changes is the announcement of a new majority leader: Assemblymember Cecilia Aguiar-Curry (D-Davis). She replaces Assemblymember Isaac Bryan (D-Los Angeles) who was a key lieutenant to Rivas in his contentious year-long battle to become speaker that ended when he was sworn in this summer. Bryan now takes over as chair of the Natural Resources committee, a key panel on environmental policy.

    Committee chairs have significant power to determine which bills live or die at the Capitol. New influential committee leaders announced Tuesday include Assemblymember Buffy Wicks (D-Oakland), who will chair the powerful appropriations committee, and Assemblymember Jesse Gabriel (D-Encino), who will oversee the budget committee. Both Wicks and Gabriel hold power over the state’s purse strings in their new roles, and are allies of Rivas, helping him secure the speakership during chaotic jockeying in the Capitol.

    The tweaks to leadership could mean changes to come in Sacramento policymaking, with a renewed focus on affordability, safety and “strong public services,” said Rivas, who was sworn into the leadership role this summer after a contentious battle with former Speaker Anthony Rendon (D-Lakewood) who reluctantly gave up the position after seven years at the helm.

    “The Assembly is unified and ready to deliver,” Rivas said in a statement. “That’s what Californians expect from their Legislature and that’s what this team will achieve.”

    But not every recipient of a new leadership role supported Rivas, signaling that he and state lawmakers are willing to forgive and forget after this year’s political drama.

    Assemblymember Kevin McCarty, a Democrat and longtime Rendon ally who is running for mayor of Sacramento, was named chair of the high profile public safety committee as California grapples with its crime response and leads the nation on issues like gun regulation. Tensions over how to respond to fentanyl and child sex trafficking split Democrats at the Capitol earlier this year.

    Assemblymember Chris Ward (D-San Diego) also supported Rendon over Rivas and was named leader of the housing committee on Tuesday, now overseeing policy decisions on one the state’s top issues.

    “We have transitioned and we are about looking forward,” Ward said in an interview Tuesday, adding that Rivas told him he was chosen in the role because of his background working on housing and homelessness issues as a member of the San Diego City Council.

    Ward said in his new role, he will focus on removing barriers to housing production and making options more affordable for prospective homeowners and renters.

    “There’s tension between state and local roles on housing. We do need to have stronger partnerships with local governments,” Ward said.

    Freshman lawmaker Liz Ortega (D-San Leandro) will helm the labor and employment committee on the heels of a remarkable year for union backed policy. She was elected last year after working for years as a labor union leader.

    Some of Rivas’ picks are newly-elected lawmakers with the potential to stay in office for another decade.

    “I think it speaks to Speaker Rivas’ leadership to say we respect the people who have come before us, and now it’s time to build on that work and to think long-term about people who can be here in these positions for quite a number of years,” said Assemblymember Lori Wilson (D-Suisun City) who was elected last year and was named chair of the transportation committee Tuesday.

    Other new appointments include:

    • Assemblymember Jim Wood (D-Healdsburg) as speaker pro tem.
    • Assemblymember Miguel Santiago (D-Los Angeles) as assistant majority leader.
    • Assemblymember Ash Kalra (D-San Jose) as chair of the judiciary committee.
    • Assemblymember Blanca Rubio (D-Baldwin Park) as chair of governmental organization.
    • Assemblymember Alex Lee (D-San Jose) as the chair of human services.
    • Assemblymember Rebecca Bauer-Kahan (D-Orinda) as chair of privacy and consumer protection.
    • Assemblymember Diane Papan (D-San Mateo) as chair of water, parks and wildlife.
    • Assemblymember Mia Bonta (D-Alameda) as chair of the health committee.

    This story will be updated.

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    Mackenzie Mays

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  • Review: ‘Trump: Triumph of the MAGA Will’ – Bill Tope, Humor Times

    Review: ‘Trump: Triumph of the MAGA Will’ – Bill Tope, Humor Times

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    Trump: Triumph of the MAGA Will — a movie review by Llib Epot, Conservative Capitol Correspondent.

    A new documentary promoting the candidacy of former President Donald J Trump for reelection will be released to media outlets on Friday. Our Capitol correspondent previewed the 20-minute film; following is his exclusive review of “Trump: Triumph of the MAGA Will.”

    Triumph of the MAGA Will poster
    Adapted from original poster by Erich Ludwig Stahl (1887–1943), Public Domain.

    The film opens with a vast audience — bigger than any audience ever before assembled — gathered before the Capitol at the eastern end of the National Mall. Soon-to-be-elected President Donald J. Trump is onstage and shaking a clenched fist at the crowd. The camera moves in and catches the noble president up close and in all his orange glory. Audio now comes up:

    “I am,” thunders Trump, “your retribution!” At least three million crazed citizens cheer wildly.

    The onlookers begin chanting, “Trump, Trump, Trump!”

    Trump lifts his chin, looking for all the world like an orange Mussolini, another law & order paragon from the past. He lifts a finger and the huge crowd grows instantly silent.

    “This nation,” says Trump gravely, “is infected, infested, and overrun with vermin from shithole countries.”

    The screen then shows thousands of shrieking rodents scurrying through ratholes in an unidentified ghetto housing project. African American babies sit on the wood plank floor, eating gruel with their fingers. Hypodermic syringes and lines of dubious-looking powder litter the floor.

    Focus back on Trump. “Shithole countries,” repeats the president. “Rapists, killers, miscreants, thieves, bent on poisoning our blood line and replacing us in society and at the polls. Caravans marching over our open-borders, pillaging, raping and voting…” He shakes his head sadly. “I will close the borders, shoot the immigrants in the leg, build a 50-foot wall,” he continues in a sing-song voice. “And,” he goes on, “Mexico and Western Europe and NATO will pay for it.” The crowd roars.

    The crowd magically splits in two, allowing a magnificent military parade to pass through its ranks. Tanks, cannon, missiles, are proudly displayed by losers, suckers, and other military types.

    Abruptly the gigantic crowd starts chanting, “Hang Mike Pence, Hang MIke Pence, Hang Mike…” On stage, Trump grins broadly and nods his head in approval.

    Closeup on the crowd: they are all clad in brown shirts, with Trumpian extra-long red silk ties, and jackboots, and are clutching AR-15s. As a group, they spontaneously lift their right arms in salute.

    Next, the camera pans over the national landmarks,: the Trump Monument, the Trump Ellipse, the Trump Memorial, the Trumpsonian Institution, the Trump National Cathedral, the Trump Museum, and Trump’s Theater.

    Across the crowded grounds, vendors sell signature Trump merchandise, including Trump t-shirts, slabs of Trump BBQ ribs, Trump lemonade, and on and on. A good time is had by all.

    Toward the end of the film, the camera flashes on a cluster of scaffolds, with corpses slowly twisting in the wind. One of the victims wears a military uniform and another a dress. Emerging on the screen in large red letters is the phrase, “Retribution: Count on it!”
    The film ends with a closeup of the now and future president, lifting his fist and shaking it again. A web site appears on-screen to provide access for making a love offering to the Trump PAC.

    Screen fades to black.

    Credits roll, indicating that “Trump: Triumph of the MAGA Will” was produced by the Heritage Foundation and directed by acclaimed director 121-year-old Leni Riefenstahl.

    Bill TopeBill Tope
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  • Conspiracy theory target Ray Epps charged in Jan. 6 attack on Capitol

    Conspiracy theory target Ray Epps charged in Jan. 6 attack on Capitol

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    Ray Epps, the MAGA activist at the center of a widespread Jan. 6 conspiracy theory, has been charged in connection with the 2021 attack on the U.S. Capitol.

    The former Marine was hit Tuesday with a misdemeanor count of disorderly or disruptive conduct on restricted grounds. A plea agreement hearing is slated for Wednesday.

    Epps said he was forced from his home after conspiracy pushers, including former Fox News host Tucker Carlson, suggested he worked with the U.S. government to entrap Donald Trump loyalists trying to violently stop the certification of President Joe Biden’s 2020 election win.

    On the night before the attack, the 62-year-old veteran was recorded telling protesters in Washington D.C. that “we need to go into the Capitol!” He then participated in the Jan. 6 “Stop the Steal” rally, during which some Trump supporters fought police and stormed the halls of congress. He, however, was not seen entering the building.

    The fact that Epps wasn’t previously charged caused suspicion among prominent right-wing figures including Carlson, Georgia Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene and Texas Sen. Ted Cruz.

    Epps sued Fox News in July over “nonsensical fantasies” reported by Carlson.

    Epps testified to the Jan. 6 House Committee in 2022 about having no involvement with the FBI. FBI Director Christopher Wray also told lawmakers he was unaware of Epps having any involvement with federal agents and dismissed claims of a government conspiracy as “ludicrous.”

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    Brian Niemietz

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  • ‘We are losing our democracy. This is not OK.’: Tennessee lawmakers oust 2 Democrats over gun protest

    ‘We are losing our democracy. This is not OK.’: Tennessee lawmakers oust 2 Democrats over gun protest

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    NASHVILLE, Tenn. — In an extraordinary act of political retaliation, Tennessee Republicans on Thursday expelled two Democratic lawmakers from the state Legislature for their role in a protest that called for more gun control in the aftermath of a deadly school shooting in Nashville. A third Democrat was narrowly spared by a one-vote margin.

    The split votes drew accusations of racism, with lawmakers ousting Reps. Justin Jones and Justin Pearson, who are both Black, while Rep. Gloria Johnson, who is white, survived the vote on her expulsion.

    Banishment is a move the chamber has used only a handful times since the Civil War. Most state legislatures possess the power to expel members, but it is generally reserved as a punishment for lawmakers accused of serious misconduct, not used as a weapon against political opponents.

    Jones, Pearson and Johnson joined in protesting last week as hundreds of protesters packed the Capitol to call for passage of gun-control measures. While demonstrators filled galleries, the three Democrats approached the front of the House chamber with a bullhorn and participated in a chant.

    The protest unfolded days after the shooting at the Covenant School, a private Christian school where six people were killed, including three children.

    “We are losing our democracy. This is not normal. This is not OK,” Pearson told reporters as he waited to learn whether he would be banished too. The three “broke a House rule because we’re fighting for kids who are dying from gun violence and people in our communities who want to see an end to the proliferation of weaponry in our communities.”

    Johnson, a retired teacher, said her concern about school shootings was personal, recalling a day in 2008 when students came running toward her out of a cafeteria because a student had just been shot and killed there.

    “The trauma on those faces, you will never, ever forget. I don’t want to forget it,” she said.

    Thousands of people flocked to the Capitol on Thursday to support the Democrats, cheering and chanting outside the House chamber so loudly that the noise drowned out the proceedings.

    The trio held hands as they walked onto the House floor, and Pearson raised his fist to the crowd during the Pledge of Allegiance.

    Offered a chance to defend himself before the vote, Jones said the GOP responded to the shooting with a different kind of attack.

    “We called for you all to ban assault weapons, and you respond with an assault on democracy,” he said.

    If expelled, Jones vowed that he would continue pressing for action on guns.

    “I’ll be out there with the people every week, demanding that you act,” he said.

    Republican Rep. Gino Bulso said the three Democratic representatives “effectively conducted a mutiny.”

    “The gentleman shows no remorse,” Bulso said, referring to Jones. “He does not even recognize that what he did was wrong. So not to expel him would simply invite him and his colleagues to engage in mutiny on the House floor.”

    The two expelled lawmakers may not be gone for long. County commissions in their districts get to pick replacements to serve until a special election can be scheduled. They also would be eligible to run in the special election.

    Under the Tennessee Constitution, lawmakers cannot be expelled for the same offense twice.

    Republican Rep. Sabi Kumar advised Jones, who is Black, to be more collegial and less focused on race.

    “You have a lot to offer, but offer it in a vein where people are accepting of your ideas,” Kumar said.

    Jones said he did not intend to assimilate in order to be accepted. “I’m not here to make friends. I’m here to make a change for my community,” he replied.

    Fielding questions from lawmakers, Johnson reminded them that she did not raise her voice nor did she use the bullhorn as did the other two, both of whom are new lawmakers and among the youngest members in the chamber.

    But she also suggested that race was likely a factor on why Jones and Pearson were ousted but not her, telling reporters that it “might have to do with the color of our skin.”

    That notion was echoed by state Sen. London Lamar, a Democrat representing Memphis.

    Lawmakers “expelled the two black men and kept the white woman,” Lamar, a Black woman, said via Twitter. “The racism that is on display today! Wow!”

    After sitting quietly for hours and hushing anyone who cried out during the proceedings, people in the gallery erupted in screams and boos following the final vote. There were chants of “Shame!” and “Fascists!”

    Lawmakers quickly adjourned for the evening.

    Outrage over the expulsions underscored not only the ability of the Republican supermajority to silence opponents, but its increasing willingness to do so.

    In Washington, President Joe Biden blasted the GOP’s priorities.

    “Three kids and three officials gunned down in yet another mass shooting. And what are GOP officials focused on? Punishing lawmakers who joined thousands of peaceful protesters calling for action. It’s shocking, undemocratic, and without precedent,” Biden tweeted.

    Many of the protesters traveled from Memphis and Knoxville, areas that Pearson and Johnson represent, and stood in a line that wrapped around the Capitol to get inside.

    Protesters outside the chamber held up signs that said, “School zones shouldn’t be war zones,” “Muskets didn’t fire 950 rounds per minute” with a photo of George Washington, and “You can silence a gun … but not the voice of the people.“

    Before the expulsion vote, House members debated more than 20 bills, including a school safety proposal requiring public and private schools to submit their building safety plans to the state. The bill did not address gun control, sparking criticism from some Democratic members that lawmakers were only addressing a symptom and not the cause of school shootings.

    Past expulsion votes have taken place under distinctly different circumstances.

    In 2019, lawmakers faced pressure to expel former Republican Rep. David Byrd after he faced accusations of sexual misconduct dating to when he was a high school basketball coach three decades earlier. Republicans declined to take any action, pointing out that he was reelected as the allegations surfaced. Byrd retired last year.

    Last year, the state Senate expelled Democrat Katrina Robinson after she was convicted of using about $3,400 in federal grant money on wedding expenses instead of her nursing school.

    Before that case, state lawmakers last ousted a House member in 2016 when the chamber voted 70-2 to remove Republican Rep. Jeremy Durham after an attorney general’s investigation detailed allegations of improper sexual contact with at least 22 women during his four years in office.

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  • Pence Says He Was ‘Angered’ By Trump’s Comments On Jan 6 Which Endangered Him And Everyone At The Capitol

    Pence Says He Was ‘Angered’ By Trump’s Comments On Jan 6 Which Endangered Him And Everyone At The Capitol

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    Topline

    Former Vice President Mike Pence said the he, his family and everyone at the Capitol’s safety was endangered by former President Donald Trump’s “reckless” comments on January 6 last year, marking his latest public criticism of Trump at a time when some Republicans are beginning to ask if his election denial played a role in the party’s poor midterm performance.

    Key Facts

    In an excerpt of an ABC News interview that aired Sunday evening, Pence said he was “angered” by Trump’s tweet which blamed the former vice president for not having the “courage” to overturn the election results.

    After seeing the tweet Pence said he turned to his daughter and told her that it “doesn’t take courage to break the law” but courage was needed to uphold it.

    Pence also condemned Trump’s “reckless” comments and actions at the “Stop the Steal” rally in Washington hours before the capitol riots, adding “it was clear he decided to be part of the problem.”

    Pence is set to release his memoir “So Help Me God” on Tuesday, the same day Trump has promised a “very big announcement”—widely expected to be his formal announcement for a 2024 Presidential Run.

    Crucial Quote

    In his memoir Pence writes after he told Trump he doesn’t have the power under the constitution to choose which votes to accept or reject, to which the former president responded: “You’re too honest…Hundreds and thousands are gonna hate your guts… People are going to think you are stupid.” Pence adds that he said the same thing once again on January 6 to which Trump responded: “You’ll go down as a wimp…If you do that, I made a big mistake five years ago!”

    Key Background

    Speaking at a ‘Stop the Steal’ rally in Washington hours before the Capitol riots Trump called out Pence saying his vice president “is going to have to come through for us.” After Pence did not make an effort to stop the certification, Trump tweeted “Mike Pence didn’t have the courage to do what should have been done.” As thousands of Trump’s supporters stormed into the Capitol premises that day many chanted “Hang Mike Pence,” as he had to be scurried away to a safe location. In the past few days several other Republican leaders have begun to question Trump’s influence on the party amid concerns that his election denialism may have played a key role in the party’s poor midterm performance.

    Further Reading

    Trump’s words on 1/6 ‘endangered me and my family and everyone at the Capitol’ (ABC News)

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    Siladitya Ray, Forbes Staff

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