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Rioters near Evyatar outpost put up flaming swastika

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Palestinian rioters near the evacuated Evyatar outpost put up a flaming wooden Star of David with a swastika inside it during riots on Saturday night that have occurred on a nightly basis in recent months, according to Palestinian media.

The rioters have thrown explosives, burnt tires and pointed laser lights at the abandoned outpost during the nightly riots, which the Palestinians refer to as the “night confusion.” In the past, night confusion units along the Gaza border have used burning tires and throwing explosives to cause nightly disturbances.

Video reportedly from the scene on Saturday night showed Palestinians surrounding the swastika holding flaming torches.

Additional video shared on Saturday night showed a fire and a large explosion, with Palestinian media reporting that a sound barrel had been detonated.

Palestinians call the site of the Evyatar outpost “Jabal Al-Sabih” or “The Morning Mountain,” because the sunlight strikes it early.

In early July, residents of Evyatar evacuated the outpost after reaching an agreement with the government, in which an army base will be placed on the rocky hilltop.

Ahmed al-Haj Ali, a senior Hamas official from Nablus, said the evacuation of the Evyatar outpost was a victory for the Beita residents and the Palestinian “resistance.” The settlers were forced to leave the outpost because of the “resistance,” he added.

All of the structures constructed by the residents will remain at the site while the Civil Administration evaluates whether the hilltop, whose ownership status is unclear and is thus considered survey land, can be classified as state land.

Palestinians from the village of Beita and Yatma claim it belongs to them. But the Samaria Regional Council and the Nahala Movement, which spearheaded the Evyatar initiative, have disputed that claim and have argued that it can be classified as state land.

Should the Civil Administration investigation determine that the Evyatar hilltop can be classified as state land, a yeshiva will be placed at the site and plans to legalize the outpost as a neighborhood of the Kfar Tapuah settlement and/or as an entirely new settlement will be advanced.

Tovah Lazaroff contributed to this report.



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Ron Johnson says he might have been concerned for safety had Capitol rioters been BLM and Antifa

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“Even though those thousands of people that were marching to the Capitol were trying to pressure people like me to vote the way they wanted me to vote, I knew those were people that love this country, that truly respect law enforcement, would never do anything to break the law, and so I wasn’t concerned,” Johnson said during the radio talk show “The Joe Pags Show.” He was discussing his recent comments downplaying the danger that day and he has said he “never really felt threatened.”

“Now, had the tables been turned — Joe, this could get me in trouble — had the tables been turned, and President Trump won the election and those were tens of thousands of Black Lives Matter and Antifa protesters, I might have been a little concerned,” Johnson continued.

CNN has reached out to Johnson’s office for comment.

Some conservatives have sought to draw a false equivalency between the events of January 6 and the unrest that took place over the summer in the wake of several high-profile police killings of Black Americans. Although there were incidents of violence and property destruction last summer, the January riot at the Capitol resulted in five deaths, including a Capitol Police officer, and more than 100 other police officers were injured.
The Justice Department is preparing some of the first guilty plea offers for people who were subsequently charged in the investigation, which has been called one of the “largest in American history,” with more than 400 possible defendants.
Johnson has repeatedly made incendiary comments mischaracterizing the riots. Last month, Johnson said that he didn’t believe that what had happened at the Capitol was an “armed insurrection,” despite court records indicating that supporters of then-President Donald Trump had brought dozens of weapons to Washington on the day of the insurrection, according to the Justice Department.
Later in February, Johnson advanced the conspiracy theory that there had been professional provocateurs within the mob at the Capitol. The FBI has said there is no evidence that Antifa or any other groups of leftist instigators were part of the January 6 crowd — much less were the ones inciting violence — and nearly a dozen Trump supporters charged in connection with the insurrection have said that such groups weren’t involved in the attack. Many of the people arrested identify with far-right groups like the Oath Keepers, not with any groups on the far left.

CNN’s Marshall Cohen, Zachary Cohen and Evan Perez contributed to this report.

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New details about Trump-McCarthy shouting match show Trump refused to call off the rioters

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“Well, Kevin, I guess these people are more upset about the election than you are,” Trump said, according to lawmakers who were briefed on the call afterward by McCarthy.

McCarthy insisted that the rioters were Trump’s supporters and begged Trump to call them off.

Trump’s comment set off what Republican lawmakers familiar with the call described as a shouting match between the two men. A furious McCarthy told the then-President the rioters were breaking into his office through the windows, and asked Trump, “Who the f–k do you think you are talking to?” according to a Republican lawmaker familiar with the call.

The newly revealed details of the call, described to CNN by multiple Republicans briefed on it, provide critical insight into the President’s state of mind as rioters were overrunning the Capitol. The existence of the call and some of its details were first reported by Punchbowl News and discussed publicly by McCarthy.

The Republican members of Congress said the exchange showed Trump had no intention of calling off the rioters even as lawmakers were pleading with him to intervene. Several said it amounted to a dereliction of his presidential duty.

“He is not a blameless observer, he was rooting for them,” a Republican member of Congress said. “On January 13, Kevin McCarthy said on the floor of the House that the President bears responsibility and he does.”

Speaking to the President from inside the besieged Capitol, McCarthy pressed Trump to call off his supporters and engaged in a heated disagreement about who comprised the crowd. Trump’s comment about the would-be insurrectionists caring more about the election results than McCarthy did was first mentioned by Rep. Jaime Herrera Beutler, a Republican from Washington state, in a town hall earlier this week, and was confirmed to CNN by Herrera Beutler and other Republicans briefed on the conversation.

“You have to look at what he did during the insurrection to confirm where his mind was at,” Herrera Beutler, one of 10 House Republicans who voted last month to impeach Trump, told CNN. “That line right there demonstrates to me that either he didn’t care, which is impeachable, because you cannot allow an attack on your soil, or he wanted it to happen and was OK with it, which makes me so angry.”

“We should never stand for that, for any reason, under any party flag,” she added, voicing her extreme frustration: “I’m trying really hard not to say the F-word.”

“I think it speaks to the former President’s mindset,” said Rep. Anthony Gonzalez, an Ohio Republican who also voted to impeach Trump last month. “He was not sorry to see his unyieldingly loyal vice president or the Congress under attack by the mob he inspired. In fact, it seems he was happy about it or at the least enjoyed the scenes that were horrifying to most Americans across the country.”

As senators prepare to determine Trump’s fate, multiple Republicans thought the details of the call were important to the proceedings because they believe it paints a damning portrait of Trump’s lack of action during the attack. At least one of the sources who spoke to CNN took detailed notes of McCarthy’s recounting of the call.

Trump and McCarthy did not respond to requests for comment.

It took Trump several hours after the attack began to eventually encourage his supporters to “go home in peace” — a tweet that came at the urging of his top aides.

At Trump’s impeachment trial Friday, his lawyers argued that Trump did in fact try to calm the rioters with a series of tweets while the attack unfolded. But his lawyers cherry-picked his tweets, focusing on his request for supporters to “remain peaceful” without mentioning that he also attacked then-Vice President Mike Pence and waited hours to explicitly urge rioters to leave the Capitol.

A source close to Pence said Trump’s legal team was not telling the truth when attorney Michael van der Veen said at the trial that “at no point” did the then-President know his vice president was in danger.

Asked whether van der Veen was lying, the source said, “Yes.” Former Pence aides are still fuming over Trump’s actions on January 6, insisting he never checked on the vice president as Pence was being rushed from danger by his US Secret Service detail.

It’s unclear to what extent these new details were known by the House Democratic impeachment managers or whether the team considered calling McCarthy as a witness. The managers have preserved the option to call witnesses in the ongoing impeachment trial, although that option remains unlikely as the trial winds down.

The House Republican leader had been forthcoming with his conference about details of his conversations with Trump on and after January 6.

Trump himself has not taken any responsibility in public.

This story has been updated with additional reporting.

CNN’S Jim Acosta and Gloria Borger contributed to this report.

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Woman seen directing rioters with megaphone had ‘go bags,’ smashed cell phones and firearms paraphernalia at home, prosecutor says

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The Justice Department detailed the investigators’ findings in a new request to keep the woman, Rachel Powell, in jail before her trial. A federal magistrate judge in Pennsylvania previously decided to release her shortly after her arrest, but federal prosecutors have appealed that ruling to the federal district court for the District of Columbia where Powell is being prosecuted, saying that she is both a “danger to the community and a flight risk.”

Powell, of Sandy Lake, Pennsylvania, has been charged with obstruction, depredation of government property, entering a restricted building or grounds with a dangerous weapon, entering a restricted building or grounds, and violent entry or disorderly conduct. She admitted in an interview with the New Yorker that she was present at the riot, and used a megaphone to direct rioters trying to reenter the Capitol building.

When agents searched Powell’s home, prosecutors write that they found, “several smashed cell phones,” in addition to “firearms paraphernalia.” They also found what prosecutors said, “law enforcement described as ‘go bags’ because they appeared to be prepacked for a forthcoming departure.”

Prosecutors submitted photos to the court, which were obtained by CNN affiliate WTAE, that showed what agents found at the home. The photos show what prosecutors say they found inside the “go bags,” including throwing knives and survival gear like tape, lighters and tarps.

Investigators also say they found what appear to be used shooting targets with messages written on them: “Guns don’t kill people. I do.”; “Better shot than my ex.”; “Prayer is a good way to meet the lord but trespassing is faster!”

On February 4, CNN and other outlets reported that the FBI had searched her house, but were still searching for Powell. Prosecutors acknowledge that, saying it took 11 hours to detain her despite them informing Powell’s defense attorney, Michael Engle, at 7 a.m. on February 4 of the warrants.

“Midday, (Engle) told law enforcement that the defendant was near Harrisburg, Pennsylvania, but would not give a precise location,” prosecutors said.

When she was arrested, Powell did not have her cell phone; Engle, prosecutors say, said at the detention hearing that, “she may have been instructed not to bring it with her.”

CNN reached out to Engle about the appeal but has not yet received a response.

Prosecutors note that Powell is a mother of eight; two of them are adults and she shares custody of the remaining six — ages 4 to 17 — with her ex-husband. They allege that Powell, “left the children at home, unattended,” on January 6.

On January 30, the day before the New Yorker article was published, prosecutors say she “dropped off the children at her ex-husband’s house with no explanation and no indication of when she would return.” Prosecutors say that the ex-husband is seeking full custody of the children.

US Attorney’s spokesperson Margaret Philbin confirmed to CNN that Powell remains detained ahead of a court hearing today in the District of Columbia, where a judge will decide on the prosecutor’s appeal.

CNN’s Patrick Cornell contributed to this report.

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Rioters flaunt involvement in Capitol siege

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WASHINGTON (AP) — These suspects weren’t exactly in hiding.

“THIS IS ME,” one man posted on Instagram with a hand emoji pointing to himself in a picture of the violent mob descending on the U.S. Capitol. “Sooo we’ve stormed Capitol Hill lol,” one woman texted someone while inside the building. “I just wanted to incriminate myself a little lol,” another wrote on Facebook about a selfie he took inside during the Jan. 6 riot.

In dozens of cases, supporters of President Donald Trump downright flaunted their activity on social media on the day of the deadly insurrection. Some, apparently realizing they were in trouble with the law, deleted their accounts only to discover their friends and family members had already taken screenshots of their selfies, videos and comments and sent them to the FBI.

Their total lack of concern over getting caught and their friends’ willingness to turn them in has helped authorities charge about 150 people as of Monday with federal crimes. But even with the help from the rioters themselves, investigators must still work rigorously to link the images to the vandalism and suspects to the acts on Jan. 6 in order to prove their case in court. And because so few were arrested at the scene, the FBI and the U.S. Marshals Service have been forced to send agents to track suspects down.

“Just because you’ve left the D.C. region, you can still expect a knock on the door if we find out that you were part of criminal activity inside the Capitol,” Steven D’Antuono, the assistant director in charge of the FBI’s Washington office, said earlier this month. “Bottom line — the FBI is not sparing any resources in this investigation.”

In the last few weeks, the FBI has received more than 200,000 photos and video tips related to the riot. Investigators have put up billboards in several states with photos of wanted rioters. Working on tips from co-workers, acquaintances and friends, agents have tracked down driver’s license photos to match their faces with those captured on camera in the building. In some cases, authorities got records from Facebook or Twitter to connect their social media accounts to their email addresses or phone numbers. In others, agents used records from license plate readers to confirm their travels.

More than 800 are believed to have made their way into the Capitol, although it’s likely not everyone will be tracked down and charged with a crime. Federal prosecutors are focusing on the most critical cases and the most egregious examples of wrongdoing. And they must weigh manpower, cost and evidence when charging rioters.

A special group of prosecutors is examining whether to bring sedition charges against the rioters, which carry up to 20 years in prison. One trio was charged with conspiracy; most have been charged with crimes like unlawful entry and disorderly conduct.

Many rioters posted selfies inside the Capitol to their social media accounts, gave interviews to news outlets describing their experience and readily admitted when questioned by federal investigators that they were there. One man created a Facebook album titled “Who’s House? OUR HOUSE” filled with photos of himself and others on Capitol grounds, officials said.

“They might have thought, like so many people that work with Trump, that if the president tells me to do it, it’s not breaking the law,” said Michael Gerhardt, an expert on impeachment and professor at the University of North Carolina School of Law.

Others made blunders, like a Houston police officer, who denied he went into the Capitol, then agreed to let agents look at the pictures on his phone. Inside his deleted photos folder were pictures and videos, including selfies he took inside the building, authorities said. Another man was wearing a court-ordered GPS monitor after a burglary conviction that tracked his every movement inside the building.

A retired firefighter from Long Island, New York, texted a video of himself in the Capitol rotunda to his girlfriend’s brother, saying he was “at the tip of the spear,” officials said. The brother happened to be a federal agent with the State Department’s Diplomatic Security Service, who turned the video over to the FBI. A lawyer for the man, Thomas Fee, said that he “was not part of any attempt to take over the U.S. Capitol” and that “the allegation is that he merely walked through an open door into the Capitol — nothing more.”

Another man who was inside the Capitol was willing to rat out another rioter who stole House Speaker Nancy Pelosi’s lectern and emailed the video to an FBI agent, even signing his own name to it. “Hello Nice FBI Lady,” he wrote, “Here are the links to the videos. Looks like Podium Guy is in one of them, less the podium. Let me know if you need anything else.”

In another case, a man was on a flight leaving D.C. two days after the riot when he kept shouting “Trump 2020!” and was kicked off. An airport police officer saw the man get off the plane and the man was booked on another flight. Forty-five minutes later, the officer was watching a video on Instagram and recognized the man in a group of rioters. The man, who was wearing the same shirt as the day he stormed the Capitol, was arrested at the airport, authorities said.

Even defense attorneys have acknowledged that the evidence poses a problem for them.

“I’m not a magician,” said an attorney for the man seen in a photo carrying Pelosi’s lectern. “We’ve got a photograph of our client in what appears to be inside a federal building or inside the Capitol with government property.”

Police at the Capitol planned only for a free-speech demonstration and were overwhelmed by the mob that broke through and roamed the halls of the Capitol for hours as lawmakers were sent into hiding. Five people died in the melee, including a Capitol police officer who was struck in the head with a fire extinguisher.

Trump was impeached after the riot on a charge of “inciting violence against the government of the United States.” Opening arguments will begin the week of Feb. 8. He is the first president to be twice impeached and the first to face a trial after leaving office.

Unlike criminal cases, impeachment trials do not have specific evidence rules so anything said and done that day can be used. And several of the people charged have said in interviews with reporters or federal agents that they were simply listening to the president when they marched to the Capitol.

___

Richer reported from Boston.

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Seattle police chief vows to be tougher on rioters after some crimes not prosecuted

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Seattle police will start cracking down on rioters who damage businesses, the city’s interim police chief warned Saturday.

Chief Adrian Diaz’s pledge came days after anti-Biden rioters left Pike Place Market’s original Starbucks coffee shop with its windows smashed and numerous downtown business owners feeling abandoned by the city, according to reports. 

Like his predecessor, Carmen Best — who departed last September, claiming a lack of support for police from some city officials — Diaz said he doesn’t believe rioters who smash windows and tag businesses are promoting a cause. 

“On January 20th, the events at a variety of locations had no meaning. There was no discussion about what they were fighting for, or what type of social justice message. That cannot happen,” Diaz told reporters at a news conference, according to the Seattle Times.

SEATTLE ANTIFA RIOTER CLAIMS DESTRUCTION OF PROPERTY ISN’T VIOLENCE

He added that rioters seeming more focused on “lighting fires” and “breaking windows.”

“These are things we need to work on,” he added.

The first Starbucks location was damaged during an anti-Biden protest in Seattle on Wednesday.
(Seattle Police Department)

On Wednesday, left-wing militants vandalized numerous buildings, used smoke canisters and moved objects into the roadway to create barriers, authorities said. At one point, a group dressed in all black set a large American flag ablaze and smashed several windows. The first Starbucks at the famous Pike Place Market also had its windows smashed. 

BROADCAST NETWORKS BARELY MENTION POST-BIDEN INAUGURATION ANTIFA RIOTS IN PORTLAND, SEATTLE

Three rioters were arrested for crimes that included burglary, assault and property damage. 

“Over Wednesday’s events, it doesn’t matter who is in the presidential office, it really is a matter of understanding that people are just out there for destruction,” Diaz said, Q13 FOX reported. 

While he said around 600 protesters and rioters have been arrested since the unrest started last summer, many of the misdemeanors haven’t been prosecuted mainly out of concern of spreading the coronavirus, the Times reported. 

“I have been in conversation with the city attorney’s office, Pete Holmes, and he will be prosecuting these cases, from now on,” Diaz said. “He has actually allowed us to have the support of his staff, to assist and review of those cases as they occur, so they can be prosecuted to the fullest extent.”

SEATTLE ANTIFA RIOTERS DAMAGE FIRST STARBUCKS IN BIDEN PROTEST

However, Holmes, in a statement, said the city attorney’s office wasn’t aware of the new policy and said through a spokesperson that misdemeanor policies would stay the same, the Times reported. 

He said the department will take an especially hard line with vandals arrested more than once.

“When we don’t have any form of accountability for people — and many of them that are coming from outside the city — they will continue to do that destruction, and we can’t have that,” he said.

Downtown residents and business owners had voiced their frustration over the lack of consequences for vandals.

“To me, it’s a complete mystery why we’re not having more response,” Stephanie Tschida, of the East Precinct Advisory Council, told KOMO-TV. 

Diaz’s news conference came before a planned protest at a nearby park that ended up being peaceful.

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He said the new policy would go into effect Saturday.

In September, then-Chief Carmen Best stepped down, following incidents that included a hole being blown into a wall of a police precinct by an explosive device.

“What we saw today was not peaceful,” Best said at the time, according to the Seattle Times. “The rioters had no regard for the public’s safety, for officers’ safety or for the businesses and property that they destroyed.”

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