The GOP Rule of Law and Back the Blue. Omertà you’ve done enough damage
Hence forth the Grand Ol’d Party has lost the privilege to ever run on a platform of “the party of”; the rule of law, Law Enforcement Allies, Military Advocates and Guardians of our Constitution
♦️Trigger warning- the videos embedded and quotes from articles contain graphic details of violence and offensive language
The Republican Party now fully supports Domestic Terrorism. Period.
On January 29, 2021 the United States Attorneys Office, in the District of Columbia entered the following body camera footage as evidence in support of their Motion to Detain, pending trial of an Insurrectionist in Michigan. Again the video is incredibly difficult to watch. If you have children or coworkers near by, please consider who your viewing audience might be. Viewer discretion is advised
This Police Body Cam video is from the perspective of a Metropolitan Police Department Officer, again it is disturbing to watch:
Three Police Officers deaths:
Law Enforcement takes an oath - to protect and serve. United States Capitol Police take an oath to (see 5 U.S.C. §3331 oath of office)
“…do solemnly swear (or affirm) that I will support and defend the Constitution of the United States against all enemies, foreign and domestic; that I will bear true faith and allegiance to the same…”1
Capitol Police Officer Brian Sicknick, died from injuries he sustained during the Capitol Insurrection. There is a Federal Murder Investigation/Case and the narrative that Officer Sicknick died due to being hit with a fire extinguisher is not at all accurate. Investigators are re-examining footage that focuses on “bear stray” and that could be a contributing factor of Officer Sicknick’s death. In the days and weeks following the deadly January 6, 2021 Insurrection, Metropolitan Police officer, Jeffery Smith, died by suicide. U.S. Capitol Police Officer Howard Liebengood also died by suicide.
During a recent closed door, House Appropriations Committee briefing. Which heard testimony from; Acting Chief of the U.S. Capitol Police, the Acting Sergeant at Arms of the U.S. House of Representatives, the former Secretary of the Army, the Commanding General of the D.C. National Guard, the Acting Chief of the DC Metropolitan Police Department, the Deputy Chief of the U.S. Park Police, the Assistant Director of the U.S. Secret Service, the Assistant Attorney General for National Security, the Acting United States Attorney for the District of Columbia, and the Assistant Director in Charge of the Washington Field Office (WFO) of the Federal Bureau of Investigation.
During the Committee Hearing Acting US Capitol Police Chief, Pittman told lawmakers:
“had just 1,200 sworn personnel working on site — no match for the tens of thousands of insurrectionists (many armed) attacking the Capitol and refusing to comply with lawful orders,”
And in Police Chief Pittman’s written testimony, she also disclosed several previously unknown facts. Her statement/written testimony reads in part:2
we have been told by the Union and other employees that our communications were difficult to hear on their radios over the ruckus of the attack. Without a clear line of communication, officers were operating with limited information about what was occurring and with little instruction from leadership.
House Managers Detailing what Law Enforcement Encountered and Endured
During the hours long violent and deadly January 6, 2021 Insurrection, both US Capitol Police and Metropolitan Police Officers, 140 officers were injured, some permanently. Some of the injuries sustained included, but not limited to;
concussions, broken ribs, permanent loss of an eye, stabbed with a metal fencing stake, contusions, lacerations, loss of a finger tip, smashed spinal discs
contracted COVID-19 and many US Capitol Police officers are now dealing with PTSD
the invisible wounds, the impact to the mental health of US Capitol and Metropolitan Police Officers is hard to quantify, but just because you can’t see the injury does not mean that injury isn’t real. It is.
Rep Cicilline: “Trump's mob verbally denigrated their patriotism, questioned their loyalty, and yelled racial slurs. They called them traitors, Nazis, un-American…” Towards the end of House Impeachment Manager, Rep Cicilline‘s four plus minute long recitation of facts, he acknowledged the impact of PTSD on the US Capitol Police Force, that many officers have contemplated acts of self harm and in one case an Officer voluntarily turned in her firearm because she was afraid of what she might do with it after hours.
The Architect of the Capitol
“Despite the comments made today by the U.S. Capitol Police (USCP) Acting Chief before the House Appropriations Committee, then-Chief [Steven] Sund did not reach out to the Architect of the Capitol (AOC) with a request for an emergency declaration or seeking National Guard support. While then-Chief Sund may have engaged in conversations with other members of the Board, no such conversation occurred with the Architect or any AOC employee involved in Board matters." J. Brett Blanton a Trump appointee and a loathsome individual.
He essentially called the Acting US Capitol Police Chief a liar, after she told the House Committee “Capitol police board denied a request on Jan. 4 for additional support from the National Guard…” by January 8, 2021 the US Capitol Police Board only had one member left, that Board member was/is Trump’s appointee J. Brett Blanton the current Architect of The Capitol. In the wake of the insurrection, the House sergeant-at-arms, Senate sergeant-at-arms and U.S. Capitol Police chief. Three were forced to resign, except Blanton.
The US Capitol Police Fallout:
On February 10, 2021 the US Capitol Police issued this statement, which reads in part:
A vote of no confidence is expected this week regarding multiple U.S. Capitol Police Department officials, including Acting Chief Yogananda Pittman. Though the vote does not compel any specific action, it does speak to the sentiment and concerns of some of our officers that our senior commanders are working to address. We do appreciate the letters of support we have received from the immediate past president of our fraternal order of police as well as the local Teamsters union.
This Video, which was uploaded less than a week ago, to the US Capitol Police’s YouTube Channel. I believe is the first public comments acting US Capitol Police Chief Pittman has made:
The US Capitol Police FOP-Labor Union Statement
On January 27, 2021 the USCP-FOP Labor Union President issued this scathing statement3 which reads in part:
“The disclosure that the entire executive team ... knew what was coming but did not better prepare us for potential violence, including the possible use of firearms against us, is unconscionable…The fact they did not relay this information to the officers on duty prior to the insurrection is inexcusable,"
Speaker Pelosi Dear Colleague to All Members:
Co-Sponsor Legislation to Award Gold Medal to U.S. Capitol Police
“The outstanding heroism and patriotism of our heroes deserve and demand our deepest appreciation, which is why I am honored to introduce legislation to pay tribute to the Capitol Police and other law enforcement personnel who protected the U.S. Capitol on January 6 with the Congressional Gold Medal…”
The Draft legislation of awarding the Gold Medal to US Capitol Police can be found here
Summary:
If the Senate Republicans vote to acquit Trump. Then forevermore they have forfeited the privilege of saying they are the party of “the Rule of Law” and that they are the only party that supports Law Enforcement and our Military. No the Republican Party is the Party of Donald J Trump. A National Security Risk that called upon his radical murderous mob to commit “the most grievous violation against our Constitution and Democracy”.
The individuals who honored their oath of Office are not the one’s sitting in the Senate Chamber. The real patriots are the ones who valiantly put their bodies between Trump’s Murderous-Mob and Lawmakers and Hill Staffers. Those who kept their oath by taking blow after blow, punch after punch, and had the pretense of mind ti assist lawmakers to safety… they supported and defended our Constitution.
Again the House and Senate Republicans no longer have the privilege to say “they support the blue”. Nearly all of the Republican members of both Chambers of Congress enabled Trump’s dangerous lies. One hundred and forty members of the House Republicans and seven Republican Senators voted to object, even after the deadly insurrection.
By the Grace of a higher being, it is nothing short of a miraculous that no lawmakers or their staff were murdered by Trump’s Mob. At the time I remember tweeting, “do you comprehend how closely we came to a mass casualty event” because that is how close we all came.
And what did Trump do?
Oh Trump & his surrogates did a lot. They fed their supporters an all you can eat diet of “the big lie”, Trump then whipped up his mob into a frenzy. He then told his mob where to go, he told his mob who to hunt down and then that dangerous sociopath basked in the glory of his creation. At no time did Trump tell his Murderous Mob to stand down (the hostage-esq video does not count), he waited a week to fully repudiate what he created, he did not authorize the deployment of either the DC National Guard, the National Guard or the deployment of neighboring Maryland and Virginia National Guard until hours later.
And lastly to the Senate Republicans that will vote to acquit Trump, be prepared to lose at least thirteen of the twenty senate seats you are defending in 2022
XO -Filey
Acting US Capitol Police Chief Pittman’s written congressional testimony