The Grand Theft Golf Cart Conspiracy: DOJ Backed Off Charges against Roberto Minuta

Yesterday, DOJ added Roberto Minuta and Joshua James — both of whom provided security to Roger Stone in advance of the insurrection — to the Oath Keepers conspiracy indictment, making a third superseding indictment (S3) against the militia. The showiest part of the indictment describes how Minuta and James rode in golf carts (from where, it doesn’t say, nor does it explain how it knows exactly what Minuta said while on the golf cart escapade) to the Capitol to join in the insurrection.

Between 2:30 and 2:33 p.m., MINUTA, JAMES, and others rode in a pair of golf carts towards the Capitol, at times swerving around law enforcement vehicles, with MINUTA stating: Patriots are storming the Capitol building; there’s violence against patriots by the D.C. Police; so we’re en route in a grand theft auto golf cart to the Capitol building right now … it’s going down, guys; its literally going down right now Patriots storming the Capitol building … fucking war in the streets right now … word is they got in the building … let’s go.

At about 2:33 p.m., MINUTA, JAMES, and the others in their group parked the golf carts near the intersection of Third Street and Pennsylvania Avenue, Northwest. They then continued on foot towards the Capitol.

But the golf cart vignette is not the most interesting detail in the S3 indictment. The additions on the most recent superseding indictment (S2) are interesting for what the government did and did not add with the inclusion of the two Oath Keepers who were not part of The Stack that breached the Capitol, Minuta and James.

The crimes not charged

In spite of Minuta’s self-description, the government did not charge Minuta with Grand Theft Golf Cart. It’s never actually explained where they got the carts, but the Oath Keepers had been using carts as part of their protection detail for people like Roger Stone. If they used golf carts owned or rented by Stop the Steal or some other organizer for the rally, however, it might implicate those owners in the conspiracy if they didn’t report the golf carts as being stolen as part of an effort to breach the Capitol.

But Grand Theft Golf Cart is only the beginning of crimes not charged against the newest additions to the conspiracy.

In the complaint against Minuta, the government had shown probable cause that Minuta obstructed the investigation by deleting his Facebook account on January 13.

Finally, on January 13, 2021, the week after he attacked the Capitol and after much media reporting on law enforcement’s investigation to bring the Capitol rioters to justice, Minuta deleted his Facebook account of over thirteen years.

[snip]

Evidence also demonstrates that one week after he participated in forcibly storming the Capitol, Minuta deleted a Facebook account he had maintained for 13 years to conceal his involvement in these offenses.

[snip]

On January 6, 2021, the FBI opened an investigation into the attack on the Capitol, and a grand jury of the United States District Court for the District of Columbia subsequently opened an investigation. Within the first week of the investigation, a number of subjects were arrested and many more subjects’ photographs were shared over the Internet by both the FBI and regular citizens who took it upon themselves to publicize and seek information about the Capitol attackers.

Records indicate that Roberto Minuta opened a Facebook account associated with phone number XXX-XXX-4147 (known to be associated with Minuta) on November 24, 2007. On January 13, 2021—one week after Minuta and others attacked the Capitol on January 6— Minuta deleted his account.

From the first iteration of this conspiracy indictment, the government had charged others for deleting their Facebook accounts — first Thomas Caldwell, and then Graydon Young. So it would have followed the pattern already set to include a Count 7 against Minuta for his deletion of Facebook.

It’s not in there.

But that’s not the only crime not charged.

The complaint against Minuta focused closely on his taunts against cops in the minutes before The Stack arrived (the government may suspect that Minuta did this to occupy the police while insurrectionists breached the Capitol from the west side, to ensure officers guarding the east side of the building could not go assist those being overrun on the west side).

The indictment adds this further interaction between the cops and Minuta.

At 3:15 p.m., inside the Capitol building, MINUTA and JAMES pushed past U.S. Capitol Police Officers who physically placed their hands on MINUTA and JAMES in an unsuccessful attempt to stop them from progressing toward the Capitol Rotunda.

Other January 6 defendants (not part of this Oath Keeper conspiracy) got charged with obstructing the police during a civil disorder for such physical interactions. Not Minuta and James.

Minuta and James got charged, along with the other members of the conspiracy, with one (but not both) of the trespassing charges used against virtually all the January 6 defendants. But Minuta entered the Capitol with a holster of bear spray (visible on his hip in the picture above). Others who entered the Capitol similarly armed had an enhancement added for carrying a deadly weapon, an enhancement that increases the potential sentence to 10 years. Minuta was not similarly charged (meaning, too, that the Oath Keepers who conspired with him were not charged with abetting his armed entry to the Capitol).

Finally, all the other conspirators, including Thomas Caldwell (who never entered the Capitol and was on the other side of it from where The Stack entered) were charged with abetting the destruction of the Capitol door through which The Stack entered. This is the charge that counts as a crime of violence for detention purposes, and also can merit (and is being treated as meriting, for the Proud Boy conspiracy cases) a terrorism enhancement. But neither Minuta nor James were charged with it, even though the indictment notes they entered the same door that The Stack went through.

At 3:15 p.m., inside the Capitol building, MINUTA and JAMES, together with others known and unknown, forcibly entered the Capitol building through the same east side Rotunda doors through which members of the stack had entered about 25 minutes earlier.

It’s unclear why DOJ wouldn’t treat Minuta and James the same way they treated Caldwell (and Kenneth Harrelson, who went in with The Stack but not part of it). I can think of several possible explanations. But they didn’t, which is notable (particularly in the wake of the DC Circuit decision that led to the release of Zip Tie Guy Eric Munchel and his mother).

In short, if Minuta (and James) were treated the same way other January 6 defendants were, they would be facing significantly more serious charges and significantly more prison time. They’re not.

One other, potentially related detail: The complaint that Minuta was charged with — which was obtained on February 24 but not executed until weeks later, seemingly in conjunction with the Joshua James arrest — is titled, “Affidavit in Support of Complaint Minuta (non conspiracy) 2021 02 23,” almost as if at that point DOJ wasn’t sure whether they were going to treat him separately from the rest of the Oath Keepers or not. They appear to have decided to do so, and along the way, thereby limit his potential criminal exposure.

Who is Person Ten and what role did he play with Stewart Rhodes?

Minuta and James complaints included new details about the role of Oath Keepers heard, Stewart Rhodes, described as Person One in all the Oath Keeper filings. Their addition to the conspiracy effectively added more on Rhodes to the conspiracy indictment.

At least as interestingly, the S3 indictment added a Person Ten. Minuta had been Person Five in the James complaint, it’s not clear who Person Four is, and Persons Six, Seven, Eight, and Nine are not described at all, but — along with Person Ten — are likely some of the people in this picture.

Rhodes paid for Person Ten’s hotel room in the Hilton Garden Inn in DC, but Person Ten arrived the day before Minuta and Rhodes, who also stayed at the Hilton Garden Inn in Vienna.

Curiously, the S3 indictment leaves out some key communications, especially those from a leadership Signal chat that showed up in earlier filings. Between a Caldwell detention motion, a Watkins detention motion, James’ complaint, and the superseding indictment, this partial list of known Oath Keepers communications suggest that Person Ten might be the person coordinating deployments that day. Consider two details from the partial list of the known communications among Oath Keepers below (I’ll update this later, once I catch up on the week of filings).

Highlighted in yellow, Person Ten has a series of calls back and forth with Joshua James, pre-Golf Cart Grand Theft. Right in the middle of it all, someone — not described in this indictment — informs the Signal group as a whole that “the[y] have taken ground” and “we need to regroup any members who are not on mission.” Shortly thereafter, James and Minuta launch the Grand Theft Golf Cart to get to the Capitol, where Minuta taunts the police, preventing them from moving to reinforce the overrun Capitol on the other side, and the members of The Stack leave Trump’s speech prematurely and go to the Capitol. That is, Person Ten calls for reinforcements (Rhodes repeats his Signal text), and then Minuta and James in the golf carts and The Stack converge on the northeast side of the Capitol to breach a new entry point.

Now consider the pink highlight: Unless the government or I have made a mistake in the timing, Person Ten and Kelly Meggs are both on the phone with Stewart Rhodes together. Because of the length of Person Ten’s calls, it overlaps entirely with Rhodes’ call with Meggs (which — again, unless there’s an error of timing — means Rhodes either has two phones or either via conferencing or a hold, had both on the same phone at the same time).

In either case, Person Ten seems to have a key role as a communication pivot between different groups of Oath Keepers.

The communications not included

Finally, consider this: I have not included all known texts in the table above (most obviously missing are Watkins’ Zello texts). But after suggesting strong ties between James and Minuta, the government has included none of their multiple communications, neither on January 6 nor before that, in the superseding indictment. Similarly, the government has left out the Signal chats showing minute to minute deployments as the Oath Keepers launched a second front on the Capitol.

All these communications are tantalizing and hint at a good deal more coordination during the insurrection. And remember: Both Minuta and James were with Roger Stone for part of the day (earlier in the day, I think). But the government is still including just a fraction of the communications it knows about.

Update: Correct that the indictment said Minuta and James rode in the golf carts, didn’t drive and that the Meggses stayed at a different Hilton Garden than Rhodes and Minuta and Person Ten. Thanks to BB.

Update: I want to make clear that the reasons why DOJ backed off charges with Minuta may not all stem from the same reason, nor does this necessarily indicate he is cooperating. For example, in the wake of the DC Circuit decision in Munchel, the chances that DOJ could get pre-trial detention for either Minuta or James, are much lower. So charging them with abetting the damage doesn’t serve an investigative purpose at this time. And it’s possible after they seized Minuta’s phone, they discovered something to indicate he had deleted Facebook in response to Facebook’s decision to shut down Trump on the platform. To be honest, Minuta and James are an odd fit for this conspiracy as currently laid out, which suggests it’s likely to change in the near future.

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112 replies
  1. harpie says:

    Marcy, I’m still reading, but I think the Hilton Garden Inn Rhodes, Person 10, Minuta and the Meggs stayed at is in Vienna, Virginia. [edited]

        • stan says:

          I believe Rhodes is actually holding a phone and an “ANKER” battery pack. If you look closely you can see the last two letters “ER” that appear on the backs of Anker’s charging products. (I own two such battery packs.)

            • Peterr says:

              Well, his name *is* Stewie.

              From wiki (emphasis added):

              Stewart Gilligan Griffin[1] is a fictional character from the animated television series Family Guy. He is voiced by series creator Seth MacFarlane and first appeared on television, along with the rest of the Griffin family, in a 15-minute short on December 20, 1998. Stewie was created and designed by MacFarlane himself, who was asked to pitch a pilot to the Fox Broadcasting Company, based on The Life of Larry and Larry & Steve, two shorts made by MacFarlane featuring a middle-aged man named Larry and an intellectual dog, Steve. After the pilot was given the greenlight, the Griffin family appeared in the episode “Death Has a Shadow”.

              A highly precocious toddler who talks and acts as an adult, Stewie began the series as a Megalomaniacal sociopath, initially obsessed with violence, matricide and world domination. . . .

              Checks out.

      • subtropolis says:

        Yeah, I was pretty sure that it was you who’d pointed out the photo of him holding two mobiles.

        Could the limited charges against Minuta suggest that he is cooperating?

        I wonder whether the golf cart quote comes from a video he’d streamed while they were making their way to the Capitol. It’s strange that it isn’t clear where they got that from.

        • timbo says:

          It certainly suggests somethings not yet settled somewhere. My guess is that there’s grand jury testimony, indictment paperwork prioritization, and witness management before grand jury/ies going on here. In an investigation this large, there’s got to be prioritized indictments based on how the investigation is unfolding. Some of those indictments and testimony will be aimed at arresting as yet unidentified conspirators, which would most likely take precedence over adding additional charges to suspects already identified, already lawyered up, and possibly already in plea negotiations/agreements. (DOJ and the legal system, the FBI, etc, do not have infinite bodies and time to throw at this investigation—always good to bear that in mind when speculating about what is going on in a case this sprawling.)

  2. harpie says:

    I’d like to bring this question here from bmaz’s post:

    wrt: K. MEGGS:
    GOVERNMENT’S OPPOSITION TO DEFENDANT’S RENEWED REQUEST FOR PRETRIAL RELEASE
    https://www.courtlistener.com/recap/gov.uscourts.dcd.227815/gov.uscourts.dcd.227815.98.0_1.pdf

    Here Ken Bensinger links to a photo from page 20:
    https://twitter.com/kenbensinger/status/1374617638161195008/photo/1

    There is a person just behind and to the left of RHODES, where many are grouped near him by the east front of the CAPITOL on 1/6. This is after those who breached the Capitol building returned.

    Do we know WHO that person is?
    Stature and stance of that person caught my attention.

  3. anaphoristand says:

    I’m not sure if you’re just hedging with, “Person Ten might be the person coordinating deployments that day,” but I feel like the indictment’s introduction of that individual more or less confirms as much:

    13. PERSON ONE named PERSON TEN to be the leader of his group’s operations in Washington, D.C., on January 6, 2021.

    • harpie says:

      QRF
      1:02 PM Person attacks CAPITOL POLICE and building
      1:15 PM Park Police helicopter arrives at CAPITOL

      …just saying…

    • scribe says:

      Those barriers that rise up out of the ground are pretty common around government buildings. They have some issues – they’re heavy steel and the free end has a sill. Those sills have something of an edge to them. They’re built heavy enough to stop a fast-moving vehicle. How fast and how big, IDK, but surely intended for panel trucks loaded with stuff.
      You don’t want to get between a car and that edge. You’ll be cut in half, either entirely or just the equivalent in internal injuries.
      My condolences.

      • posaune says:

        I reviewed a CD set for federal-spec bollard installation at NIH.
        The foundation design is more than robust, at least 48 inches in a concrete sleeve. Not many turning moments there.

  4. JAMES SCAMINACI says:

    Since Oath Keepers is a paramilitary organization composed of ex-military members, they organized themselves as a military unit for the “DC Op.”

    What the government has released in the Third Superseding Indictment is the first reveal of the command-and-control network without really saying what it was. But, if you have ever done network analysis, you can put together the network diagram and draw some inferences as to what the conversation is about without knowing the content of the conversations.

    PERSON ONE is RHODES. He represents the national headquarters.
    PERSON TEN is unknown. In para 13, RHODES “named PERSON TEN to be the leader of his group’s operations.” In other words, Person Ten is the theater combat commander, with the theater being Washington, D.C.

    To really understand command-and-control in a military sense, you have to know who is talking to whom and, hopefully, what are they saying. In this case, we don’t know what they are saying, but the duration of the calls and the direction of the calls indicate the nature of the communications.

    Let’s start with the basics of who is talking to whom.

    What is the relationship between Person One (Rhodes) and Person Ten?
    Person Ten calls Person One two times, at 1401h for 1:41m and 1431h for 5:25m. Both of those calls suggest that Person Ten is updating Rhodes on the situation and getting his further guidance for a future course of action.

    Who else does Person Ten communicate with?

    Person Ten only communicates with Joshua JAMES. In fact, they have 10 calls. JAMES initiates 6 calls. Three of the calls are short: 30s, 55s, and 49s. This suggests they are Situation Reports (SITREP). Three of the calls are longer.

    At 1400h James calls Person Ten for 1:12m. This is probably a longer SITREP and Person Ten has probably asked for more information.

    At 1404h, James calls Person Ten for 3:36m with a much longer SITREP, probably in response to a tasking from Person Ten.

    At 1540h, as the operation is winding down, James calls Person Ten for 3:04m. This is probably a very long SITREP and further guidance from Person Ten.

    So, we know that Person Ten is James’ superior. Since we know that James and Minuta are always together, we know that Minuta is subordinate to James.

    What role does James play? He is most likely the Quick Reaction Force commander, or some similar title. Whatever his actual title, he only communicates with the Person Ten, the combat commander. And Person Ten only communicates with Person One (Rhodes), the national commander.

    Person One, Rhodes, also communicates with two other people. It is not really clear why the national commander would be communicating with other subordinates, but it appears that while Person Ten was the theater commander, Rhodes had a much more involved role.

    Rhodes communicates 4 times with Kelly MEGGS, the FL Oath Keepers leader and the one who before January 6th had put together an alliance with FL III&ers and Proud Boys.

    Rhodes initiates 2 calls: at 1121h for 51s and at 1415h for 15s. The call at 1415h is probably Rhodes telling Meggs to stand by for an upcoming call. At 1424h, Meggs calls for Rhodes for 2 seconds. Not clear what this is. But, it might have been Rhodes hanging up on Meggs because he was not ready for his incoming call.

    Rhodes also has communications with MINUTA. Now, Minuta appears to be subordinate to James in the QRF, but he has rather lengthy conversations with Rhodes.

    Minuta calls Rhodes at 1258h for 1:11m. Probably a status report. At 1302h, Rhodes calls Minuta for 1:48m. These two calls suggest exchanges of information and perhaps guidance.

    Minuta also calls Rhodes at 1604h for 42 seconds and then receives a call from Rhodes at 1605h lasting 2:56m. These calls are probably a long SITREP and conveying of new orders that Minuta will probably transmit verbally to James, the QRF leader.

    At 1400h, James initiates his first call to Person Ten for 1:12m.

    Person Ten at 1401h then calls Rhodes for 1:41m, probably a clarification/coordination call, and then Person Ten calls James at 1403h for 39 seconds, probably conveying the clarification.

    Here you have the clearest evidence of the national, theater, and QRF commanders coordinating. Or, in plain English: Rhodes, Person Ten, and Joshua James.

    This first leadership coordination calls is then followed by a second leadership call involving Rhodes, Person Ten, and Kelly Meggs.

    At 1431h, Person Ten calls Person One (Rhodes) for a call that will last 5:25m. Within the last 30 minutes, Person Ten had already completed coordination with James, the QRF commander.

    At 1432h, Meggs calls Rhodes, who had already started talking with Person Ten at 1431h for a call that will last 5:25m.

    LIke Wheeler, it appears either to be a government mistake or a conference call. I’m guessing it is a conference call. This suggests that 3 commanders have developed a common picture of the battlefield and formulated a future course of action. We have Rhodes, Meggs, and Person Ten getting on the same sheet of music.

    If you do a network analysis and put names to roles, you get the outline of the command-and-control network.

    The government indictment suggests that there are four key leaders in a decision-making role: Person One (Rhodes), Person Ten, Joshua James, and Kelly Meggs. Minuta is subordinate to James, but communicates with Rhodes and no one else (as far as the public data indicate). But, the communications network analysis suggests that Minuta is not in a leadership role. He apparently provides situation updates to Rhodes and conveys Rhodes’ guidance to James.

    • subtropolis says:

      That’s a lot of speculative filling in the blanks, although not wildly unlikely. Except for the part about James and Minuta being the quick reaction force. That, if it existed, was parked outside DC limits.

      • JAMES SCAMINACI says:

        After I wrote the comment, I had second thoughts on the QRF. James is the commander of some element. It would not be unheard of to have a commander, even of the QRF, forward-deployed. But, I doubt he is the commander of the QRF. I would take that back.

        Even as I wrote it, I had doubts writing, “whatever his actual title.”

        I do think James was leading some Oath Keeper element that may have been intended to divert law enforcement away from the “stack.” The James/Minuta engagement with law enforcement and the movement of the “stack” certainly appears coordinated and intended.

        Curiously, James and Minuta enter the Capitol Building and exits after 4 minutes. James and Minuta enter at 1515h and Minuta exits at 1519h. I would speculate that he just went in to have a look-see, or, he could no longer pass through police lines and turned around.

        What I think is probably true is that James commanded another element that was directly subordinate to Person Ten. What that element was and what its actual task was, I am not sure. But, I am sure that the data released in the 3rd superseding indictment shows James only communicating with Person Ten. And Minuta, his probable subordinate, communicating at the start and the end of the operation only with Person One.

        But, what I did was not speculative filling in the blanks.

        It is called network analysis. An analyst may only have metadata, but you can put together the network analysis and draw inferences from the duration of the calls as to the nature of the calls–without knowing what was exactly said.

        For example, General Michael Hayden, former head of the National Security Agency, stated in an interview, “We will kill people based on metadata.” Metadata is not very much. There is no substantive content to metadata. But, it will get you killed.

        I object to the word “speculative.” There is firm evidence. I am not speculating that there was a command-and-control element. You just have to know how to look and find it. That’s what intelligence analysis is. I worked against domestic terrorists in Bosnia. A terrorist group is not going to give you their command-and-control network. They do not identify themselves. You piece it together from intercepted communications and other reporting–even if you do not know what they are saying.

        In these indictments the information is concrete, though some things are vague.

        We know four things in the indictments related to Oath Keepers. One, Person One is Stewart Rhodes. He is the national leader. Two, Rhodes designated Person Ten as the leader of the DC operation. Three, Kelly Meggs was the leader of the Florida Oath Keepers and took the lead of organizing various online meetings–national and southeast–for the DC operation. Four, Joshua James and Robert Minuta operated together. In the James criminal complaint, Minuta is Person Five.

        Those are four things we know before examining the call records. The call records give us the who called whom, time of call, and duration of call.

        Is it speculative that a short duration call is a situation report? Sure. But, this is a paramilitary organization with a hierarchy. Subordinates do not give orders to superiors. Subordinates respond to taskings, receive guidance, and report their tactical situation.

        James initiates 3 calls to Person Ten that last between 30 seconds and 55 seconds. He receives 4 calls from Person Ten that last between 30 seconds and 43 seconds. James initaties 3 calls that are of much longer duration: 1:12m, 3:36m, and 3:04m. This suggests that Person Ten, the overall commander, and James, the head of an unidentified element, are conferring. There is something more to discuss than a simple situation report.

        Longer phone calls between a superior and a subordinate suggest more discussion perhaps related to discussing the situation and getting guidance as to what to do next. Is that speculative? Maybe. But, look at the sequence calls, who is calling, and the duration of the calls.

        I would just add that Oath Keepers is not the Proud Boys. Oath Keepers are former military members. Some of them had tours in Iraq and Afghanistan. This is not the first time they have been on an operation. They come with memories. They still to refer to some members before January 6th with their former ranks.

        I understand that what a lawyer can prove in a court of law and what an intelligence analyst can determine are two different things. I am not trying to prove anything beyond a reasonable doubt. I am trying to put together the intelligence which then makes the legal case more understandable.

        Eventually, federal prosecutors are going to have to convince a jury that the charged Oath Keepers are guilty beyond a reasonable doubt. This jury may never have served in the military. But, the prosecutors are going to have to convince this jury that there was a “plan” that they were sticking to and some people were more responsible for conceiving and implementing that plan more than others.

        They may have to convince this jury that Person One initiated the operation, controlled the operation, and made critical decisions during the operation. One way to convince a jury of that is to show how Person One figures in the command-and-control network. Otherwise, Person One may claim, as preposterous as it might sound, that all he was doing was taking pizza orders for later that night.

        In my opinion, the Oath Keepers indictments are themselves filling in the blanks on the command-and-control mechanism.

        • bmaz says:

          Alright, I am done with you. Curb your bullshit run on comments, or else they will be curbed for you. Last warning Mr. Loquacious Conspiracy Theory Level run on garbage.

    • bmaz says:

      Subtropolis notes the mass amount of speculation in this comment. All your comments have that, ahem, quality.

      Secondly, her name is Marcy or Ms. Wheeler, not “Wheeler”. I thought we had had this discussion previously. You do not appear to have listened or care.

      Thirdly, you need your own blog; this one is not going to be it for you. Every comment you leave is ramble on mostly conspiracy level bullshit in its own right, that is longer than many of our own front page blog posts. That is not going to work here. Your always wildly overlong comments are death to the ability of our readers to keep up on mobile devices, and, frankly, are annoying even on a full computer. Give it a rest, or you will be given a rest.

      • Bobby Gladd says:

        Just as we now have brief public half-lives known as “Scaramuccis,” might we soon have an even shorter one here at EW known as the “Scaminaci?” ;)

      • Thomas says:

        He’s correct about network analysis. Using network metadata to identify leadership structures is routine in intelligence investigations.

        • bmaz says:

          Oh, that’s how “intelligence investigations” work? He is still abusing this forum with run on comments that are self serving and are a problem for people on mobile devices.

          • Thomas says:

            I would have hoped that Marcy would cultivate someone with SNA skills, rather than trying to chase him off. SNA is at least as useful and relevant as timelines, lengthy versions of which are often posted in these pages. You can be certain the FBI is using SNA for this investigation.

            • bmaz says:

              And I “would have hoped” that people did not drop in and consider this their own personal run on this blog when they do not have one of their own, as Mr. Scamanici has relentlessly done.

              By the way, what is “SNA”? Is it John Wayne Airport, which is the code I know? Is it the School Nutrition Association? Seriously, you roll in as some kind of critic, what are you even talking about? Edify us Thomas!

            • timbo says:

              Whatever “SNA” skills are (situational network analysis? ;D ), what makes you believe that Dr. Wheeler does not have someone to turn to help out there already…?

  5. Savage Librarian says:

    WAG, maybe Steve Bannon is #10. After all, he did wrangle a last minute pardon, for some reason DT thought useful. (Interestingly, Bannon supported Hawley in 2017, btw.)

    Ali Alexander had Stewart Rhodes as a speaker at a rally. So, Alexander knows Rhodes. But Alexander seems a less likely candidate for #10.

    “Insurrectionist in Chief
    How Steve Bannon led the vanguard of the Capitol riots” – Adele M. Stan, March 10, 2021

    https://newrepublic.com/article/161574/steve-bannon-capitol-riots-insurrectionist-chief

    • subtropolis says:

      There is no way that Bannon was in the thick of it on Jan. 6 organizing the OathKeepers. Ditto for that dipshit Alexander. Both of those assholes may have their places in this multifaceted, gong show conspiracy, but as rabble rousers, not tactical commanders.

      • Savage Librarian says:

        Yeah, probably true. But remember, Bannon’s title was Chief Strategist in the DT administration. Maybe he was in disguise, lol. After all, Matt Gaetz caught some people by surprise. Still, my logic says you’re right. But all the crazy has me doubting logic, lately.

    • cavenewt says:

      The New Republic article is pretty interesting, but it does make clear that Bannon was more of a philosophical and quasi-religious leader than logistical participant. Not to mention Bannon’s too canny to expose himself legally in such a direct way, IMO. Most of those political high-profile people (Giuliani etc.) were careful to establish their location on January 6 well away from the Capitol ruckus.

      • bmaz says:

        Not sure how “canny” Bannon is. Without Breitbart himself alive, Bannon drove Breitbart into the ground and then there was his deaf and blind involvement in the misuse of the wall fund.

      • timbo says:

        “were careful to establish their location on January 6 well away from the Capitol ruckus”??? You mean by hanging out with at the hotel with their “security details” or at the White House with the Liar In Chief? I…wow. Fact is, most of these folks were in Washington the day before and the day of this breaching of the US Capitol Building, not far away in some distant locale oblivious and/or unassociated from what was going on in DC. Were they also not associated with and distant from the promulgation of all the lies about the 2020 election that was used to gin up the crowd on Jan 6 too?

  6. harpie says:

    Marcy, I thought you might want to know that indictment #76 isn’t reflected in the chart:

    76. At 12:58 p.m., MINUTA placed a phone call to PERSON ONE, which lasted approximately 1 minute and 11 seconds.

    Also, at 3:19 MINUTA enters exits the building

  7. MMVA says:

    Dr. Wheeler,
    You wrote: “Finally, all the other conspirators, including Thomas Caldwell (who never entered the Capitol and was on the other side of it from where The Stack entered) were charged with abetting the destruction of the Capitol door through with The Stack entered.”
    1. I may not be looking at the latest documents, but Caldwell, along with Crowl, Watkins, and others, did enter the Capitol according to Count 4 of the Second Superseding Indictment. At 3:05 p.m., CALDWELL wrote in a Facebook message, “Inside.” https://www.justice.gov/usao-dc/case-multi-defendant/file/1378526/download
    2. I think the last part of the sentence above “…through with The Stack entered” should read “…through which The Stack entered.”
    Many thanks.

    • Eureka says:

      I too was going to add that I thought Caldwell had entered as well (that FB video where he says he and Sharon stormed the Capitol/ she took the gas well), with same caveat (perhaps this was disproved/disputed in a later document).

      Caldwell is also of note due to 2:48 PM comment on the west side (where party including PB leader Rehl states at 2:47 PM “you guys wanna go in” — and they do, on the west, while Biggs/OKs go to breach East):

      https://www.emptywheel.net/2021/03/18/86-minutes-two-arrests-thwarted-and-three-cops-disabled-by-bear-shit/#comment-886475 (and downthread)

      2:47 PM “You guys wanna go in?” [ProPublica Parler video above — person with REHL after REHL and another PB summon the filmer towards them, closer to the building]

      2:48 PM OATH KEEPER CALDWELL, on the WEST side of the Capitol, writes to his Facebook contacts: “We are surging forward. Doors breached.” [B]

      2:53 PM REHL entered the Capitol at approximately 2:53 PM through the same door first entered by BIGGS on the west side of the building [A para. 67]

      3:38 PM “as some rioters were leaving the Capitol”, PROUD BOY DONOHOE announces on the PROUD BOY “Boots on the Ground” channel “[W]e are REGROUPING with a second force.” [A]

      4:00 PM “as many rioters were exiting the Capitol”—a large group of OATH KEEPERS gather around RHODES on the EAST side of the Capitol, and stand around waiting for at least ten minutes [B]

      [more to add / mix-in from Marcy’s chart … ]

      • harpie says:

        Thanks for linking to that, Eureka…I could NOT find it…I really need to catch up collating stuff. aaaaaaack!!!!

  8. Adam Lang says:

    “Grand Theft Golf Cart” could well have simply been a reference to the game and how he was driving the thing, rather than a specific reference to stealing it.

    • Lawnboy says:

      Way before “Grand Theft Auto” , say 1973, Lampoon Mag had a side splitting spread on “How to drive a rental”. Tips included:
      1. Anything that makes your mother cry….is fun.
      2. A rental (car/golfcart) will shift in to reverse at a much higher forward speed than your own personal vehicle.
      3. A complete step by step guide on the Boot-legger turn!!!

      Trashing the Capitol would make my Mom cry!

    • cavenewt says:

      ‘“Grand Theft Golf Cart” could well have simply been a reference to the game and how he was driving the thing, rather than a specific reference to stealing it.’

      That’s what I thought too.

  9. Eureka says:

    Might be a stretch but I wonder if Joshua Macias could be Person 10 (Vets for Trump cofounder who FB livestreamed some trouble-stirring with Rhodes, Chase, and others on the 5th) . Timeline-place-related videos of him have since been deleted (at least the urls I had — he was at some musical performance); as I recall he was never seen in the Capitol-adjacent OK fray (later, he and Antonio LaMotta were filmed leaving the Capitol with the OK group in CNN video).

    I call it a stretch because he, with LaMotta, was already under weapons charges* in Philadelphia related to their later-also-charged elections interference (aka “Qanon Hummer” guys), so you’d think they’d lay extra low. And yet the go-getters were present 1/6 in some capacity(ies).

    He’d be a trusted-enough insider to play such a role, at any rate.


    *the weapons charges were dropped against Macias as he had a VA permit; prosecutors intended to (did) refile. Dates for those actions not handy atm.

  10. harpie says:

    More from the WILLARD Hotel [via Marcy]

    https://twitter.com/emptywheel/status/1378241045490716673
    3:00 AM · Apr 3, 2021

    Daniel Egdtvedt, accused of serially assaulting several police as they were trying to get him out of the Capitol, cited Women for America First as his “company” to get their group discount at the Willard. Ties them to one of the more violent assailants.
    https://courtlistener.com/recap/gov.uscourts.dcd.228294/gov.uscourts.dcd.228294.18.0.pdf

    • harpie says:

      This was a very interesting recent story which includes the WILLARD hotel as THE place to be:

      Manhattan Madam Kristin DAVIS stayed there with Roger STONE.
      CURRENT NYPD cop Sal GRECO was [maybe stayed] there.

      Social media reveals ties between NYPD cop Sal Greco, Oath Keepers and Roger Stone
      https://www.nydailynews.com/new-york/ny-nypd-sal-greco-oath-keepers-roger-stone-20210322-huunsm425veabegvdvavzbsdve-story.html 3/21/21

      [DAVIS]There were literally 50 of us staying at The Willard hotel. I think all the guys, when things were done, just kind of hung out a bit,” Davis said.

      Rudy GIULIANI stayed there.
      John EASTMAN stayed there.

          • bmaz says:

            Let’s put it this way, it started out in a rather famous SCOTUS case, and was the origin of the term “lobbying” from meetings took in its lobby.

                • P J Evans says:

                  usually it’s the official (government-issued) currency. (The phrase is old, as you might expect.)

                • John Lehman says:

                  Ahh…19th century American decadence….

                  Same snakes today they’ve just shed there skins several times through the years.

                  • John Lehman says:

                    proof read edit, should be
                    “their” skins
                    not
                    “there” skins
                    To whom it may concern (not the snakes):
                    sorry.

                    Smile

                    Had a sister who ran an Illinois small town newspaper

                • earlofhuntingdon says:

                  I thought he was joking. It is an archaic term for legal tender, official currency, a term originally used by the British monarchy.

                  Comes from a time when a coin’s weight represented its face value in bullion in gold, silver, or copper. And from when it was profitable to counterfeit it by hand-stamping your own, underweight coins or by disguising cheaper metal as gold or silver.

                  • earlofhuntingdon says:

                    The sides of more valuable coins have ridges to prevent counterfeiters from shaving the edges, to sell the bullion or use it to make underweight coins. For decades, Isaac Newton was head of the Royal Mint, an important and profitable government post.

            • earlofhuntingdon says:

              As a competitor for the sleaziest high-priced hotel for the oversexed and power hungry might rhyme, April showers bring Mayflowers.

    • harpie says:

      2:00 PM and “shortly after”

      1]

      1:59 PM Person Ten to James Call :30
      2:00 PM James to Person Ten Call 1:12
      2:01 PM Person Ten to Rhodes Call 1:41
      2:03 PM Person Ten to James Call :39
      2:04 PM James to Person Ten Call 3:36
      2:06 PM Caldwell to Watkins Text “Pence has punked out”
      2:07 PM James to Person Ten Call :30
      2:10 PM James to Person Ten Call :55
      2:13 PM Person Ten to James Call :43

      2a] TRUMP phones TUBERVILLE via Mike LEE
      2b] 2:24 PM TRUMP tweets:

      Mike Pence didn’t have the courage to do what should have been done to protect our Country and our Constitution, giving States a chance to certify a corrected set of facts, not the fraudulent or inaccurate ones which they were asked to previously certify. USA demands the truth!
      [Twitter: This claim about election fraud is disputed]

    • harpie says:

      2:13 PM PROUD BOY Dominic PEZZOLA breaks the first window on the NORTHWEST side of the Capitol; insurrectionists enter and open adjacent door.
      2:14 PM BIGGS and other PROUD BOYS enter the Capitol building through the adjacent door on the NORTHWEST side by 2:15 PM.
      2:14 PM Unknown to Leaders; Signal >

      [OATH KEEPER who leads the coordination of the OK security details writes] “The[y] have taken ground at the capital[.] We need to REGROUP any members who are not on mission.

      RHODES then reposts that message and instructs the group: “Come to South Side of Capitol on steps”; sends a photo of the SOUTHEAST side of the Capitol.

      2:15 PM Rhodes to K Meggs Call :15
      2:16 PM Person Ten to James Call :42
      2:19 PM PROUDBOY “Boots on the Ground” channel member posts: “We just stormed the capitol.”

    • harpie says:

      2:24 PM K Meggs to Rhodes; Call :02
      2:30 PM James and Minuta Start Grand Theft Golf Cart
      2:31 PM Person Ten to Rhodes; Call 5:25
      2:32 PM Rhodes and Meggs; Call 1:37
      2:33 PM Minuta and James End Grand Theft Golf Cart
      2:33 PM Minuta to Person Ten; Call :49
      2:33 PM Minuta taunts police
      2:35 PM Stack forms
      2:38 PM TRUMP tweets:

      Please support our Capitol Police and Law Enforcement. They are truly on the side of our Country. Stay peaceful!

      2:38 PM Unknown to Leaders; Signal “QRF standing by at hotel. Just say the word…”
      2:40 PM [approx.] PROUD BOY BIGGS exits the Capitol on the EAST side. BIGGS and several PROUD BOYS pose for a photo at the top of the steps.
      2:40 PM Stack enters Capitol
      2:40 PM Rhodes to Leaders; Signal “Trump better do his damn duty”
      2:40 PM Unknown Leaders; Signal “SWAAT should stand down and abide by their oath”
      2:40 PM Unknown Leaders; Signal “Hopefully anyone inside the capitol is barricading themselves in and continually reinforce their positions for the long haul”
      2:41 PM RHODES posts another photograph showing the SOUTHEAST side of the Capitol with the caption: “South side of US Capitol. Patriots pounding on doors[.]”
      2:44 PM

      BIGGS with other PROUD BOYS and OTHERS forcibly re-enter the Capitol through the Columbus Doors on the EAST and enter the Capitol directly in front of a group [“stack”] of individuals affiliated with the OATH KEEPERS.
      OATH KEEPER “stack” forcibly enters the Capitol through the Rotunda door in the CENTER of the EAST side of the building.

      2:47 PM PROUD BOY REHL et al: “You guys wanna go in?” [WEST side]
      2:48 PM OATH KEEPER CALDWELL, on the WEST side of the Capitol [FB] “We are surging forward. Doors breached.”
      2:53 PM REHL enters the Capitol through the same door first entered by BIGGS on the WEST side of the building
      3:15 PM Minuta enters building [EAST side]
      3:19 PM Minuta exits building [EAST side]

      • harpie says:

        ERROR NOTE:
        [I read the indictment wrong.]

        2:40 PM [approx.] PROUD BOY BIGGS exits the Capitol on the EAST side. BIGGS and several PROUD BOYS pose for a photo at the top of the steps on the EAST side of the Capitol.

      • Eureka says:

        There’s something buggy about these times.

        How can 2:40 PM be “stack enters Capitol” and “Biggs exits” while at 2:44 PM Biggs re-enters ahead of and with the stack/ stack enters.

        Did the stack enter at 2:40 or 2:44 (with Biggs entering with them, 2:44 seems more plausible).

        And how’d Biggs get around outside and up new (East) steps in four minutes. Doesn’t strike me as a speedster fitness buff, plus weren’t there crowds to navigate?.

        {The issue of mixed sources for timestamps — video upload times vs. security cam / realtime stamps, etc. — remains in mind as a background bug.)

        • Eureka says:

          unless Biggs is already on the East taking his stair selfie at 2:40p (having exited west at earlier unlabeled time), which would just leave the 2:40 PM entry for “stack enters” discrepant with that being instead 2:44 PM.

        • harpie says:

          Yeah…wonky…
          Things that seem fairly sure, I think…

          1] Biggs entered on the West side at [or close to] 2:14 PM
          2] Biggs exited the Capitol at some point [presumably at one of the west side breaches]
          3] Biggs and his friends take photos on the East steps
          4] Biggs re-entered on the East side at 2:44 PM just before the stack.

    • harpie says:

      3:38 PM Proud Boy Donohoe announces on the “Boots on the Ground” channel: “[W]e are regrouping with a second force.”
      3:40 PM James to Person Ten; Call 3:04
      4:00 PM Meeting with Rhodes on EAST side of Capitol “for at least ten minutes”
      4:04 PM Minuta to Rhodes; Call :42
      4:05 PM Rhodes to Minuta; Call 2:56
      4:10 PM Unknown Leaders Signal; “Fight the good fight. Stand your ground.”
      4:13 PM Acosta tweets:

      A source close to the White House who is in touch with some of the rioters at the Capitol said it’s the goal of those involved to stay inside the Capitol through the night.

      4:17 PM TRUMP releases Twitter video statement:

      [TRUMP:] This was a fraudulent election but we can’t play into the hands of these people. We have to have peace. So go home. We love you. You’re very special. You’ve seen what happens. You’ve seen the way others are treated that are so bad and so evil. I know how you feel, but go home, and go home in peace.

      5:50 PM Rhodes to Leaders; Signal “Leaders check to be sure you have all your team members. If anyone is missing, post here.”
      5:50 PM Watkins to Leaders; Signal “We were in there. Flashbangs, teargassed us. We are taking our senior citizen members back to the hotel now”
      6:01 PM TRUMP tweets:

      These are the things and events that happen when a sacred landslide election victory is so unceremoniously & viciously stripped away from great patriots who have been badly & unfairly treated for so long. Go home with love & in peace. Remember this day forever!

      7:41 PM Rhodes to Leaders; Signal Long Sons of Liberty text

      The founding generation Sons of Liberty stormed the mansion of the corrupt Royal Governor of Massachusetts, and trashed the place. They also jumped on board a ship carrying East India Tea, and dumped it in the harbor. We are actually in a far more deadly situation given the FACT that enemies foreign and domestic have subverted, infiltrated, and taken over near every single office and level of power in this nation. We have one FINAL chance to get Trump to do his job and his duty. Patriots entering their own Capitol to send a message to the traitors is NOTHING compared to what’s coming if Trump doesn’t take decisive action right now. It helped to send that message to HIM. He was the most important audience today. I hope he got the message.

      1/7/21 7:34 AM James; Signal “Trump conceded…its over. We lose.”

    • Eureka says:

      Re-adding this here which we’ve consulted before, foci on different events:

      Timeline of the 2021 storming of the United States Capitol – Wikipedia
      https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Timeline_of_the_2021_storming_of_the_United_States_Capitol

      Looking again with fresh context/info re the PB-OK coordinated assaults, things like these stand out — news of which reverberated thru the crowd. They had enough people deep inside and got one of their normies killed as they remounted in the East while other PBs helped reinforce the West-entering crowd and their pathways:

      2:44 p.m.: Insurrectionist Ashli Babbitt is shot by Capitol Police while attempting to force entry into the Speaker’s Lobby adjacent to the House chambers.[87]

      2:45 p.m.: Federal Protective Service officers report, “Shots fired 2nd floor house side inside the capitol.”[57]

      Etc…

      ETA: and to be more explicit, the East breachers were headed for the Senate where Pence had just been evacuated (in two movements) — see Marcy’s next post. All tactical-like.

      • Eureka says:

        …and at least some of those entering West as Biggs/OKs entered East also headed to Senate side/offices.

        • Ginevra diBenci says:

          ” . . . We are taking our senior citizen members back to the hotel now”

          This is bugging me. Who are “we,” as differentiated (by WATKINS) from “our senior citizen members”? The more I think about it the less sense it makes, which is pushing me toward the conclusion that it’s some kind of code. No one I saw in that mob looked so elderly or frail as to need chaperoning back to “the hotel,” whatever that denotes. Hey, harpie? Eureka? Can one of you explain this?

          • harpie says:

            All I know is that Sandra Parker is 62, and Bennie Parker is 70.

            They stayed at the Comfort Inn, Ballston (Va), as did Watkins. Sandra paid for two rooms.

          • Eureka says:

            Thomas and Sharon Caldwell, too. (He’s 65, forget her age.)

            And perhaps the “broken down” (~ aged/by life) person who went with the QRF.

            If more names come to mind I’ll add, but for what it’s worth this statement of Watkins’ never struck me as off.

            ETA seeing harpie’s adds particular to the hotel: I know Caldwell was referring people to that one but don’t recall where the couple stayed. (Though it’s possible folks gathered/rested at “the hotel” that were not staying there.)

            • Eureka says:

              See para 48 a. the Caldwells were staying there the night before:

              https://www.justice.gov/opa/page/file/1360991/download

              48 e & g, recommending it to others, “setting up shop there”, pissed at Stewie’s laziness (a theme; one I find ironic and reificatory of ‘mirror’ theory in that Stewie, in turn, griped about Trump’s inaction): here’s 48 a, e, g respectively:

              On December 24, 2021, CALDWELL responded to a Facebook post by writing, “Driving in with my wife from Berryville VA but am soending night before at Comfort Inn Arlington/Ballston on Glebe Road. Meeting up with Oathkeepers from North Carolina and Patriot group from the Shenandoah Valley.”

              Also on January 1, 2021, CALDWELL sent a Facebook message to CROWL recommending a room at the Comfort Inn Ballston for January 5-7, 2021. CALDWELL wrote: “This is a good location and would allow us to hunt at night if we wanted to. I don’t know if Stewie [an apparent reference to Oath Keepers leader Elmer Stewart Rhodes] has even gotten out his call to arms but its a little friggin late. This is one we are doing on our own. We will link up with the north carolina crew.” The investigation revealed that an individual who presented herself as “Jessica Wagkins”, whom I believe to be WATKINS, rented a room at the Comfort Inn Ballston from January 5-7, 2021.

              On January 2, 2021, CALDWELL wrote to CROWL, “Check with Cap. I recommended the following hotel to her which STILL has rooms (unbelieveble).” CALDWELL then sent a link to the Comfort Inn Ballston, the same hotel that he recommended to others on January 1. CALDWELL continued, “Sharon and I are setting up shop there. Paul has a room and is bringing someone. He will be the quick reaction force. Its going to be cold. We need a place to spend the night before minimum. Stewie never contacted me so Sharon and I are going our way. I will probably do pre-strike on the 5th though there are things going on that day. Maybe can do some night hunting. Oathkeeper friends from North Carolina are taking commercial buses up early in the morning on the 6th and back same night. Paul will have the goodies in case things go bad and we need to get heavy.”

            • Eureka says:

              …So I took “we” to be among Watkins, Crowl, whatshisname, perhaps, and maybe the elders (to them) were tuckered out from insurrecting. Watkins also tends to speak “respectfully” of certain ~ old-fashioned norms and take her leadership role seriously (like she might have cared for their welfares and felt responsible). Self-importance, maybe? Also, given the timestamp I’m not seeing anything hinky, except _perhaps_ to signal that some parties would be staying longer than anticipated at the hotel instead of getting on the road.

              • Eureka says:

                She (and Crowl) also had some affection-trust/closeness with Caldwell(s), staying with them after the insurrection. (Hiding from press, I thought she’d said.)

                Some may have left their vehicles at the hotel and carpooled (or taken public transit — IIRC Watkins was the one who’d said beforehand that that was safer).

                • Ginevra diBenci says:

                  Thanks for all of that background, and especially for that humanizing detail about Watkins’ respect for elders. I may be hypersensitive, having just breached Medicare age myself but feeling in the moment like I’m 25 (those moments don’t last very long). I just couldn’t recall seeing anyone in that crowd who appeared as if they’d need assistance returning to hotel. But what you’re telling me about Watkins helps me understand it. As always, I deeply appreciate the insights and the effort.

                  • Ginevra diBenci says:

                    As you must have guessed by now, I dread hearing someone refer to me as a “senior citizen.”
                    Old? I think I can handle that. Just not “senior citizen.”

                  • P J Evans says:

                    My brain insists I’m about 30. My 70-year-old body humors it; it knows better.
                    My grandmother, in her 80s, refused to be called a “senior citizen”. She insisted she was *old*.

                    • Ginevra diBenci says:

                      I’m with your grandma, PJ. I’d rather remain a citizen of my country, thank you very much, than of some nebulous and unsexy “senior” annex. Call me old if you must–it might sting a little, at first. I have but one old life to give, but the cause remains the same.

                  • Eureka says:

                    I remember you were doing/had recently done the Medicare tango — I’m in that and related dances on someone else’s behalf and hope it all goes well. [*Hoping hard*]

                    Probably all of us are old enough to imagine that that would have been a long day for them, wearing gear dawn to dusk and fighting and all — also prolly not enough protein bars in the world (and it’s trendy to forget the carbs) to have felt whole at the end of that day after the adrenaline plug was pulled.

                • Eureka says:

                  To be clear, Watkins and them ultimately took a van to insurrection. Not knowing the universe of who she was talking about, though, IDK if others to whom she referred arrived via other means.

                  • Ginevra diBenci says:

                    ” . . . took a van to the insurrection.”
                    Only in America–Trump’s America.

  11. dadidoc1 says:

    My only thought was Robert “the songbird” Minuta started to sing and charges were reduced.

    • bmaz says:

      Maybe. But that is not how it usually works. Normally, you cooperate and get a direct complaint, or charges are what they are while you get used, until time for a limited plea and then sentencing.

  12. madwand says:

    Brian Kemp whining on Fox this AM over MLB’s decision to pull All Star Game and draft out of Ga because of the recent extreme voting laws passed entirely along party lines, the intent which is obvious to impede black and brown voters in casting their ballots. Seems Kemp thinks this is cancel culture endangering the southern way of life, presumably keeping black and brown folks from voting is fine with him as long as his ilk remain in power. Kemp can whine all he wants, expanding the right was fine in 2005 under Nathan Deal when it worked for Republicans, and when it failed to, as in 2020, limiting the franchise becomes the order of the day. Despite the obvious hypocrisy, Kemp and the six witnesses with the Picture of the Southern plantation behind them as they signed the bill, are anachronisms of another day which will come to an end soon.

    • earlofhuntingdon says:

      Your triumphalism elides agency and seems a trifle premature. The point for organizers and others is that Kemp & Co. are NOT anachronisms. They are the tip of today’s spear, advocating neoliberalism and one-party authoritarian rule as sweeteners for their racism and misogyny.

      • madwand says:

        No triumphalism or agency here and not an organizer, just a voter with an opinion. Georgia is slowly, ever so slowly turning blue, the more people like Kemp fight for inclusion in the normal world while at the same time espousing and exposing their racism and misogyny to the rest of us, the faster that happens. You can try on the one hand to attract world class corporations and events and people in order to make a great, show place, metropolitan city, that’s on one hand, the racism and misogyny are on the other, and at some point come into direct conflict with the ideas and values of those same world class corporations, events and peoples.

        The fight is over access to voting, and whether one party has the right to rule over the other. I don’t view the response of corporations and MLB as a fait accompli by any stretch. The battle is ongoing.

  13. Ravenclaw says:

    I would *LOVE* to hear (from Ms. Wheeler, BMAZ, whomever) the “several” reasons for leaving out multiple charges on the indictment. I did think of the possibility that this is a cooperating witness, but then wouldn’t the feds either file charges (as ammunition, to be dropped later) or not file any at all? My only other thought – and this may reflect a lack of imagination – was that if charges aren’t filed, defense attorneys can’t access the evidence – which would pertain to multiple cases – and at some point there may be a coordinated group of defense attorneys sharing information (legally or otherwise) across cases…

    • timbo says:

      A simple explanation is that there isn’t enough time in each DOJ day to keep up with getting new grand jury indictments for folks already arrested earlier when there are as yet many as yet unarrested rioters et al out there that have not yet been charged by any grand jury. A grand jury must be presented with evidence before these new suspects can be indicted. The DOJ and the Federal court system are finite in their ability to move things through grand juries when there are maybe a hundred or more individuals who could and/or should be charged in relationship to the disruption of the Congress on Jan 6.

      • bmaz says:

        Naw, the GJ time is not the major delimitation. They have pros that do it and it usually takes very little time. More likely it is DOJ deciding how they want to organize and deal with it, especially now that they have a confirmed AG.

  14. NORMAN says:

    PERSON 10, per Washington Post, is nicknamed “Whip” with first name “Mike” and is former Indianapolis Police Department, former Army explosives, and (to complete the trifecta) former Blackwater.

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