The Crimes of Violence Ashli Babbitt’s Mob Allegedly Committed

In the Oversight Hearing on January 6 the other day, Paul Gosar suggested that Ashli Babbitt, who was shot while jumping through the last door protecting House members, had been executed.

Paul Gosar: Do you know who executed Ashli Babbitt? … The Capitol Police officer that did that shooting, Ashli Babb — appeared to be hiding, lying in wait, and he gave no warning before killing her.

As it happens, the day after Gosar made these comments, yet another insurrectionist who was standing with Babbitt when she was killed, Kurt Peterson, was arrested in Abraham Lincoln’s birthplace of Hodgenville, KY. According to his arrest warrant, prior to the insurrection, Peterson had accused Democratic lawmakers of treason that should be penalized with death. Peterson claimed to have been at the insurrection with three former Special Forces guys, all in their sixties.

After the insurrection, on January 10, Peterson posted an account on Facebook almost certainly intended to minimize his actions. He claimed, for example, to have entered through a back door that had been opened, and further claimed that when he entered, he told people not to hurt anyone or anything. (He recorded this on voice recognition software so the bracketed corrections are my own.)

When at the back door that we were at open[ed] and there and there were no police to restrain the crowd many people entered at that time. I stood at the door and told everyone that we were not there to hurt anybody or damage anything but as a show of solidarity to right the wrongs of the past election.

In fact, a video cited in his arrest warrant shows someone the government alleges to be him breaking an exterior window to the Capitol screaming, “This is our house. Let us in.”

Peterson is accused of breaking that window, which cost $2,700 to repair. Causing more than $1,000 of damage under 18 U.S.C. §1361 can (and has been invoked to, in this investigation) carry a terrorism enhancement under 18 U.S.C. §2332(b)(g)(5). While it’s unlikely the government will do so with Peterson (they have done so primarily with militia members), given his politicized threats of violence in advance of the insurrection, Peterson could be charged with terrorism for breaking that window.

In the same self-serving account of the day, Peterson gave this account of witnessing Ashli Babbitt’s death.

I did stop men from trying to break down the large wooden doors to the house chamber. Then I saw chairs being brought into the corridor going to the speaker’s lobby. They also grabbed a large sign with a heavy metal base stating no photography. I pushed into the corridor yelling for them to stop trying to break through the doors into the speaker’s lobby. The woman who was shot used the leg of a chair to hit a glass panel on in the door. There were numerous police officers in the stair tower and hallway that I was in.

Before I could get to her the shot rang out from behind the doors in the speaker’s lobby through the glass which shattered hitting many [police] officers and people there. It was a young man in a suit who was supposedly a bodyguard for Chuck [S]chumer.

The bullet hit the woman in the neck which caused her to fall backwards [im]mediately. It could have hit numerous [police] officers that were there. Non lethal force could have been use[d] with out the lethal shot that was made by this body guard in the speaker’s lobby.

I had my 1st aid [gear] with me and asked numerous times to be allowed to render 1st aid to this woman. I was told that they were waiting for the fire department to [respond] and they would not let me give her 1st aid. She died on the floor within 10 minutes of the shot being made.

On the John Sullivan video, there’s no sound of Peterson warning anyone. Rather, there are cries of “Break it down!” with multiple calls before the shot that there was a gun just behind the door the mob was threatening to break down. Everyone in the front line, including Babbitt, should have heard warnings about, if not seen, the gun carefully aimed at the mobsters at the door.

Had non-lethal force been used, the mob might have become more inflamed than they already did. Indeed, many January 6 defendants excuse their behavior, including multiple people accused of assault, as retaliation to the use of non-lethal force.

Peterson suggests that police attending to Babbitt weren’t already giving her First Aid even as they were trying to clear the mob. It appears that another of the rioters, someone with a camera, responded even more quickly than Peterson, along with some of the cops. It is true that Peterson fumbled in his chest as if grabbing for gear. It’s also true that even before that, police were yelling at him to clear out so first responders could get to her. Another video shows that even more closely — as a long line of rioters were clearing a path, Peterson kept talking to the cops.

If the government’s accusations are true, one of the people accusing cops was, himself, dramatically understating his own involvement that day, including his alleged assault on the Capitol that could be (but has not) charged as terrorism.

Breaking down the door

But Peterson is not the only one. While DOJ has thus far charged only a relative handful of people who made up the mob screaming “Break it down!” who were present when Babbitt died, those present range from people accused of trespass to others whose damage to the Capitol could be charged with a terrorism enhancement.

Zach Alam: Zach Alam was the most determined of several men who broke the glass in the door through which Babbitt was trying to enter. Like Peterson, he is accused of damaging the building and obstructing the vote count. In addition, he is charged with assaulting police and civil disorder. A filing opposing his pre-trial release describes his action of the day as “agitated” and rightly notes he stood out among the mob during multiple confrontations with police (including one minutes earlier at the doors to the House Chamber). The video from the Speaker’s Lobby door shows him punching and then kicking the door, then using Christopher Grider’s helmet to hit the panes.

Alam went on the run after January 6 because — as he told a family member — he didn’t want to go back to jail again (he has some recent arrests in DC). During this period on the lam, Alam used at least one assumed name, stolen license plates, and false identification.

Lawfully obtained records show that the defendant has provided multiple false names to service providers, including at least one false name – “Zachary Studabaker” – for services since the events of January 6, 2021.

In addition, according to the government’s information, the defendant was at the time of his arrest driving a vehicle that he had purchased around September 2020 but never registered, and for which the defendant had used multiple license plates, including in recent months. These include a Washington, D.C. license plate, found inside the defendant’s vehicle in Pennsylvania, which was reported stolen in 2018 by an individual who indicated that the front license plate was taken off his vehicle while parked in Northwest D.C. D.C. traffic cameras captured a black Chevy truck matching the description of the defendant’s vehicle bearing this license plate as recently as January 4, 2021. Moreover, when agents located the defendant at the motel in Pennsylvania, they observed the defendant’s black Chevy truck parked outside and noted that it bore Pennsylvania license plates for a Mazda vehicle.

Upon arrest, moreover, the defendant had multiple identification cards in his wallet, including a D.C. driver’s license and a D.C. identification card for one male, a Permanent Resident card for a second male, and University student identification card for a female. Among the items agents seized from the defendant’s motel room nightstand, moreover, were two mobile phones – a Verizon flip phone as well as an iPhone.

Per the same filing, Pennsylvania state authorities are also investigating Alam in conjunction with the January 29, 2021 burglary of an antique store.

This is the kind of defendant whose violence Babbitt was part of. Had Babbitt survived, she might have been on the hook for abetting Alam’s actions at the Speaker’s Lobby.

Chad Jones: Along with Alam, Chad Jones helped to break the panes of the Speaker’s Lobby door. In his case, he hit the window with a flag pole holding a wrapped up Trump flag. Jones was charged with resisting officers and civil disorder on top of the damage to the door.

Christopher Grider: Like Alam, Christopher Grider ran to the Speaker’s Lobby after being turned back at the House Chamber. Like Alam, he is charged helping to break through the Speaker’s Lobby doors through which Babbitt jumped. He handed Alam his own helmet, which Alam used to continue beating on the doors. Even after handing Alam the helmet, Grider allegedly pushed and kicked on the doors himself.

Grider backed away from the door when people started to call out about the gun. But like Peterson, he didn’t leave the scene to let officers respond.

Grider is charged for the destruction to the door, obstruction, and trespassing.

Assault

Brian Bingham: Brian Bingham was arrested June 22 in Alabama (which is neither of the states in which he was known to be living in his arrest warrant, Florida and New Jersey). He had been IDed by people who knew him from the Army with days after the insurrection and posted this photo from minutes after Babbitt’s death to his Facebook account (it’s unclear from the arrest warrant how Bingham’s attempts to shut down his Facebook account failed; possibly they obtained a preservation order).

Bingham appears to have been loitering around the East door as if knowing it would open before it did.

Minutes after Babbitt’s shooting, Bingham got in a tussle with two cops trying to expel him (the best footage of which was captured from another rioter’s phone, which may explain the delay in arresting him).

He yelled at them,

“You won’t hurt ANTIFA, but you’ll murder innocent girls!” “Where do you want me to move? Push me again!”

He bragged about the interaction later in the day.

Individual-5: Are you ok?

BINGHAM: I got to manhandl[e] 5 cops and live to tell

Individual-5: Lol… All of this does not surprise me! Stay safe. Trump2020

Bingham is not charged with obstructing the vote (which is surprising for a number of reasons, but may be consistent with an approach of undercharging those present at Babbitt’s death). But he is charged for the interaction with police.

Obstruction

Alex Sheppard: Like many others, Alex Sheppard ran from the stand-off at the House Chamber to the Speaker’s Lobby door, where he was picked up on Sullivan’s video. Presumably because he explained on social media he was driving from Ohio to DC to protest the RIGGED election, he was also charged with obstruction.

Trespass

Most of the others who directly witnessed Babbitt’s death have been charged with trespass, even though several badgered cops in ways that has gotten others charged with civil disorder or took affirmative steps to halt the vote count that has gotten others charged with obstruction.

Thomas Baranyi: Unlike some others, Thomas Baranyi (who was standing just behind her when she died) admitted that Babbitt died while attempting to breach a heavily guarded door.

We had stormed into the chambers inside and there was a young lady who rushed through the windows. A number of police and Secret Service were saying get down, get out of the way. She didn’t heed the call and as we kind of raced up to try to grab people and pull them back, they shot her in the neck, and she fell back on me.

Like many of the people at the door of the Speaker’s Lobby, he had recently been part of a mob that tried to storm the House side itself, only to try the Speaker’s Lobby next. Baranyi is charged with misdemeanor trespassing.

Ryan Bennett: Bennett was shouting “Break it down” while live-streaming the event as Babbitt was shot.

In Live Video 2, shot from inside the Capitol Building, at approximately the 1:40 minute mark, Bennett seemingly yells “no!” in the direction of a banging noise. In Live Video 4, Bennett seemingly yells “no destruction!” at approximately the 0:40 second mark when someone is seen kicking a door. However, in Live Video 3, Bennett seemingly chants “break it down!” along with the crowd at approximately the 2:47 and 3:54 minute marks. Based on my knowledge of the investigation and the events at the Capitol building, I believe the “break it down” chant was in relation to a door located in the Speaker’s Lobby that was barricaded by USCP and where a woman was later shot. A gunshot can be heard at approximately the 2:42 minute mark of Live Video 4.

Though he wore a Proud Boys hat the day of the riot, which was found when the FBI searched his home, he was charged only with misdemeanor trespass.

Phillip Bromley: According to his arrest affidavit, Bromley witnessed the shooting, and then appeared in a video posted to Parler describing it and stating he was 8 feet away.

In his narrative of events on Video 1, BROMLEY states: “listen…everybody needs to know the truth.” BROMLEY proceeds to describe how he “breached the right side,” “went in,” and “came to two large glass doors.” When he reached the doors, BROMLEY continues by stating he was talking with SWAT officers and reminding them “of their oath,” at which time “a gunshot went off” and a woman was “shot her in the neck.” BROMLEY continues by stating it “did not look like a survivable wound” and that “she [the woman who was shot] was eight feet in front of me on a line.” BROMLEY further describes the clothing he observed the woman to be wearing when she was shot and states “they shot her and she is dead.”

He was charged with misdemeanor trespass.

David Mish: David Mish called cops himself, on January 7, to describe what he knew about Babbitt’s shooting.

According to Mish, Babbitt was telling the cops to open the door before she died.

On approximately January 7, 2021, David Mish contacted the Washington, D.C. Metropolitan Police Department (“MPD”) stating that he had information to provide about the fatal shooting of Ashli Babbitt, who was shot inside the U.S. Capitol during the civil unrest. On January 8, 2020, Detective John Hendrick of the MPD contacted MISH by phone and recorded the ensuing conversation regarding the Babbitt shooting. MISH stated that he, together with several others, had entered the United States Capitol on January 6, 2021. MISH asked “[b]ecause I entered the Capitol Building are you guys gonna take me to jail? I didn’t break anything. . . . I went in, yes.”

[snip]

In his interview with Detective Hendrick, MISH stated that a group of several individuals went into a bathroom adjacent to the Speaker’s Lobby and he objected when one of the group broke a mirror, stating, “we’re trying to get to the politicians because we wanna voice our . . . we wanna voice to ‘em.” MISH described Babbitt saying to the officer who was at the doorway, “Just open the door. They’re not gonna stop,” or words to that effect, referring to the crowd gathered at the doorway. MISH further stated that he had used his cell phone to record some of the activity that occurred within the United States Capitol. MISH told the detective, “from my video you can tell that I was one of the, I was the first group of people to hit that doorway,” referring again to the locked doorway leading to the Speaker’s Lobby that the rioters were attempting to breach.

That said, perhaps because he reached out to cops himself, perhaps because he claims to have tried to talk others out of damaging the Capitol, DOJ only charged Mish with misdemeanor trespass.

The videographers

Brian McCreary: Brian McCreary self-reported his presence in the riot by sharing video he had taken of the day, including from the Babbitt shooting.

After taking this picture; I decided to leave the building. Walking around the building, found a place to take a nice overhead shot of the crowd. Shortly after I made my way there and managed to take one clip of the crowd; people broke into that very side – so I followed them to see what they were doing. -Clip 20210106_144223 Following said crowd. -Clip 20210106_144434 Crowd breaks glass to Speakers Library, hear a shot fired. -Clip 20210106_144544 Crowd begins a game of telephone with Shot and killed a girl over here. At that point; I decided to leave the site. Walked to parking garage; jumped in my car and drove home. Im now just noticing that I am limited to 4 uploads; I will call and follow-up to provide the rest.

Perhaps because he reentered the building after leaving once, the government charged him with obstruction as well as trespassing.

Sam Montoya: Like John Sullivan, Infowar’s Sam Montoya’s video leads up to the Babbitt shooting. Like John Sullivan, Montoya eggs on the crowd as he films it. “We have had enough! We’re not gonna take your fucking vaccines! We’re not gonna take all your bullshit! The people are rising up!” But unlike Sullivan (and perhaps because of his tie to an actual media outlet), Montoya was charged only with misdemeanor trespass.

John Earle Sullivan: John Sullivan, whose name came up in texts between his brother and Rudy Giuliani, is the most enigmatic of January 6 defendants. Banned by lefty activists as a provocateur in the months leading up to the insurrection, Sullivan showed up on January 6 and caught key confrontations on video, while he could be heard egging on rioters in his own recording. At first, he was charged with trespass and civil disorder. His first indictment added obstruction and abetting. A second indictment enhanced his charges for carrying a knife during the protest (which he repeatedly asserted on his own video), false statements for denying it to the FBI, and a forfeiture allegation tied to the $90K he made by selling his video of the day (including Babbitt’s shooting). While Sullivan has been given a damage estimate in discovery — possibly tied to a window he seems to describe himself breaking in an office — he has not yet been charged for doing that damage.

The defendant approaches a window and states, “We did this shit. We took this shit.” The defendant also appears to break a window and says, “I broke it. My bad, my apologies. Well they already broke a window, so, you know, I didn’t know I hit it that hard. No one got that on camera.”

Sullivan used his knife — which the government claims he showed publicly in the mob before the House Chamber — both in that mob and later the Speaker’s Lobby to get others to let him up near the front of the mob.

In the moments before Babbitt’s shooting, Sullivan was, just as Babbitt was, cajoling the police to step away from their posts.

After Babbitt’s death, according to the government’s support of seizure of Sullivan’s funds, Sullivan repeatedly boasted both of riling up the mob and of having video he could — and in fact did — monetize.

The defendant also spoke to someone on speakerphone, stating, “I brought my megaphone to instigate shit. I was like, guys we’re going inside, we’re fucking shit up…. I’m gonna make these Trump supporters f—all this shit up…. But I mean you’ll see. I have it all, I have everything, everything on camera, everything I just told you, and I mean everything. Trust me when I say my footage is worth like a million of dollars, millions of dollars. I’m holding on to that shit.”

So while Sullivan has not been charged for breaking a window — which if he were, would make a fifth person present who could be charged with a terrorism enhancement — he was charged with wielding a knife, lying about it, and inciting those around him to riot.

Update, June 24: I’ve added Bingham.

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45 replies
  1. Bobby Gladd says:

    Just another routine tourist visit in the Capitol building.

    One of my favorite 1/6 audio clips is from video showing one of the rioters entering one of the Capitol chambers, whereupon he says “well, I guess while we’re here, we might as well set up a government.”

    The Stupid. Lordy.

    • Michael Schmitt says:

      Wheeler is the go-to site for deep information about individual events during the insurrection.

  2. GKJames says:

    Do we know the official details about the Babbitt case? What’s always seemed strange is the fact that, with all those people, only one person was targeted with deadly force. What was she doing that was materially different from what the others were doing?

    • P J Evans says:

      She may not even have been targeted. We don’t know that they were aiming at people. But they were trying to stop the insurrectionists, and those who insisted on breaking doors….

      • Raven Eye says:

        When you bring that weapon into firing position it is for a reason. This is from CBP’s Policy Handbook and reflects use of force policy across federal LE agencies:

        “Authorized Officers/Agents may use deadly force only when necessary, that is, when the officer/agent has a reasonable belief that the subject of such force poses an imminent danger of serious physical injury or death to the officer/agent or to another person.”

        Also: “Except in limited circumstances during air or marine enforcement operations, discharging a firearm as a warning or signal is prohibited. Discharging a firearm at a person shall be done only with the intent of stopping that person from continuing the threatening behavior that justifies the use of deadly force.”

        …And much more.

        They really hammer home the message that this is serious shit. Recurring training includes marksmanship and scored “shoot-no shoot”. If you don’t pass both, you don’t carry.

        • bmaz says:

          “When you bring that weapon into firing position it is for a reason.”

          And make sure you want to kill anything in your sight. It is really not that hard in concept. I got taught that in riflery class in summer camp as a kid. As a kid. Occasionally, it may be quite hard in practice, but not that often. Cops do not have an easy job. But things are still askew.

          • Raven Eye says:

            And why my father never let us have BB guns. He’d seen too many kids farting around with them and suspected a diminished appreciation of the risks down the road. “When you are old enough and responsible enough to be trusted with a firearm you’ll get one.”

            (Probably influenced my opinion that a bunch of people in uniform throwing around rifles with shiny bayonets is “play” and that’s not what we do with firearms.)

          • Raven Eye says:

            My training was not to “want” to kill, but understand that it IS deadly force. You are using deadly force to stop “that person from continuing the threatening behavior.” That sounds a bit academic, but it also reinforces training to get the kinetic force on “center of body mass” for almost all instances. No trick shots.

            For hunting “kill” is correct, which is different end point for training/practice (as Wayne LaPierre demonstrates with his infamous elephant hunting video — the guide should have brought a laser pointer).

            • bmaz says:

              Yeah, “want” was not quite right. But assume you will or might, I guess. That was the message as to even a kid in camp. Still holds though.

              Your story of father and BB guns really holds water though. A friend and me, pre driver’s license, used to ride dirt bikes all over what is now suburbia. We would take 410 shotguns out quail and dove hunting. They seemed, shall we say, not very effective at range. So, one day with leathers and helmets on, we paced off, maybe 50-75 yards and shot at each other. We each took some pellets but no harm. And that is the kind of stupid your father foresaw.

              • vvv says:

                I had a Fed Court 42 USC 1983 death case some years ago where I dep’d a security guard in a liquor store – his assumed name was “Masai”.

                He showed me a mark on his torso occasioned by a bullet, told me he was shot with a .22 from 25′ when he asked a co-worker to help him test his new ballistic vest.

                Nice kid – dumb as a rock.

                I did not print the dep (later dropped the case, my decedent being a bad guy.)

                ;-D

              • posaune says:

                The kid across the street from us (family of 10 kids — he was in my brother’s class) lost an eye to a BB gun shot from one of his brothers. It was all the neighborhood talked about for weeks. Poor kid. My father was always adamant: no guns of any kind.

                [He was also adamant about no motorcycles. Being a maxillo-facial surgeon, he would slip pathology accident case slides in among the family vacation slides for effect.]

                • vvv says:

                  I like guns, as tech, and as sport. I like motorcycles – they are fun, and I like mechanical stuff, engines and so on.

                  While I might could argue the benefits of owning a gun, I would be harder pressed to re a motorcycle – I’ll never again ride one, seeing what I saw as a BI guy.

                  I won’t sky-dive, neever.

        • obsessed says:

          > discharging a firearm as a warning or signal is prohibited

          Perhaps the training should include carrying a 2nd weapon loaded with blanks for use as a warning device. Not sure what might have happened in this scenario if the rioters – about to break through the last line of defense protecting the congress members – had heard a gunshot. They apparently stopped when Babbitt was shot, right? Would they have stopped at the sound of a gunshot? [hmmm … on the other hand, I was just thinking about that MN cop who claimed she thought she was using a taser when she shot that guy … ugh]

          • P J Evans says:

            If it had been a guy, he’d have been shot. It was whoever was fool enough to remain standing after being told to leave, and after seeing the people on the other side were armed.

            • skua says:

              Babbit was doing much more than remaining standing.
              She had climbed up to continue past the doors into the Speakers Lobby where there were Reps.

          • Raven Eye says:

            2nd “weapon” (non-gun that goes bang)? Not likely. In fact, a bad idea.

            bmaz’s comment “Cops do not have an easy job” is to the point.

            Go ahead and look at this:

            https://www.cbp.gov/sites/default/files/documents/UseofForcePolicyHandbook.pdf

            That happened to be the first one that popped up in a Google search, but it appears to be representative of my experience. At a minimum read through the entire TOC. And then hit the sections that catch your eye, including “Use of Force Continuum”.

            I’m certainly not an apologist for LEOs, but in the heat of the moment, where an officer is in a situation where he/she believes that death or serious bodily injury might occur, the standard is pretty high — for a reason.

            • P J Evans says:

              See the various cases of cops who reached for tasers that weren’t where they were reaching.

          • vvv says:

            “Perhaps the training should include carrying a 2nd weapon loaded with blanks for use as a warning device.”

            Seriously, I’m anti-gun and not at all what the right would call pro LE, but that is a really bad idea for many obvious reasons.

    • ThomasH says:

      IIRC from the videos I’ve seen; she was the first insurrectionist to try to force her way through the window after it was broken. Even after others were warning that there was a gun drawn on the other side of the doorway.

    • Cwolf says:

      What was she doing that was materially different from what the others were doing?
      I guess you didn’t read the article.
      She was CLIMBING THROUGH the window they all had just smashed.

    • civil says:

      She was in the midst of trying to climb into the Speaker’s Lobby, which has a different level of protection than some other parts of the Capitol, including the room with the mob. For example, 40 U.S. Code § 5104 includes “An individual or group of individuals may not willfully and knowingly—
      (A) enter or remain on the floor of either House of Congress or in any cloakroom or lobby adjacent to that floor…” The Speaker’s Lobby is adjacent to the floor of the House.

    • Kenster says:

      And it’s also very important to note that all those “rough and tough” people who were rioting in front of the door and trying to break in calmed down mighty quick once someone was shot. That one shot prevented the chamber from being overrun.

      • Michael Schmitt says:

        I have been saying the same thing all alone. Stopped that mob right there. However, I still don’t understand the ferocity of the fighting that took place later at the West Terrace Tunnel for an extended time, where Officer Hodges was crushed in the doors, and where the Officer was dragged down the stairs. Anybody!

      • GKJames says:

        Thanks for the description of what the mob did after Babbitt was shot; that’s what I was missing. It’s still unfortunate that she had to die for a delusion … and that the agent who did the shooting has to carry that burden for the rest of his life.

  3. Don Midwest says:

    Here is an interview of Thomas Baranyi

    “WUSA9
    105K subscribers
    Thomas Baranyi was arrested in New Jersey on Jan. 12 and charged with restricted building or grounds; violent entry or disorderly conduct. Baranyi was interviewed by WUSA9’s Ariane Datil immediately following the insurrection, and in the interview, he states his full name and state of residence before sharing details about how he gained access to the building. The FBI cites WUSA9’s interview with Baranyi in a criminal affidavit, using many of his quotes from the interview as reasoning to issue an arrest warrant. He has been released on an unsecured bond. ”
    https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=eCuIxBzylyo

      • Marinela says:

        Gullible is also appropriate.
        They believe or pretend to believe Trump’s lie propaganda. Makes you wonder how these people can possibly miss the truth, also no second thoughts to embrace unbelievable narratives.
        If those people are so gullible, why the truth narratives are not reaching them?

        Unless they leave in a bouble, which include all family, church, school, news is hard to grasp how the truth is not reaching any of these people.

        In the way to our cabine, north from the Twin Cities, in a middle of a farm field, I see a big sign that says “God Bless Trump”. This is religious indoctrination for you. They elevate Trump, but they refuse communion to Biden.

        My heart sinks every time we drive up north. And this is in Minnesota, which is supposed to be a democratic leaning state.
        Cannot image what happens in the states down south.

          • Nord Dakota says:

            Can I come? I was going to try to rent a cabin this summer, something I’ve never done before, learned you have to do this WAY in advance. I’m a MN native (grew up on the Iron Range so of course a Dem, lots of card carrying Communists and Socialists up there as well back when). I miss pine forests and wild berries and lakes and bears.

            • Marinela says:

              Looks like Kabekona lake is second cleanest in MN, Little McDonald lake was rated 10th last time I checked, not sure if it changed since.

              Our cabin is not company friendly. Working on it for years, but we do most of the work ourselves.

              If you rent a cabin, pick a good lake at least.

          • Fran of the North says:

            Not sure if you are referring to Kabekona W of Walker, but if so, I’m N of you by about 30, just W of Cass Lake.

  4. JamesJoyce says:

    Raven,

    You were that by like me…

    I once made the mistake of touching bolt, bullets and magazine. Actual weapon was in different local as was bolt in bag and bullets with magazine.

    I never got to fire the carbine.

    I did not cover my tracks well enough and violated the first rule.

    Don’t get caught..

    Sloppiness will get you killed every time.

    The only time you draw your weapon is when you have to kill…

    My old man kicked my ass with no mercy, after pulling me out of my bed from a sound sleep. I was eight years old and had already fired a weapon. Winchester .22 repeating rifle.

    I deserved it.

    Sometimes you deserve what you get for your actions.

    I would have shot the unfortunate misguided young lady also, if need be…

    You can be certain the use of deadly force in defense against this mob assault, kept other from doing the same thing as young lady otherwise more unfortunate humans would have been dead.

    Many were spurred on by dysfunctional rhetoric long ago with complete mayhem and pain following. This is no different.

    Very Big lies then…
    Bigger Lies now…

    Fuck repetitions..

    • Max404 says:

      My old man kicked my ass with no mercy

      That, where I live in Europe, is strictly illegal.

      Map Of The 53 Countries That Ban The Corporal Punishment Of Children

      https://brilliantmaps.com/corporal-punishment/

      Sometimes I think that the easy availability of guns, the readiness to use them, and the acceptance of corporal punishment of children, are related.

      Tough, violent place over there.

  5. earlofhuntingdon says:

    Not to be too pole-arising but will we be reading here your post about the French Grand Prix tomorrow? Hmmm?

  6. skua says:

    Baranyi: “… and as we kind of raced up to try to grab people and pull them back, they shot her in the neck, “.

    Video shows door-defending cops being relieved and filing away. But relieving cops delayed and confered with suited CP(?) near top of stairway. During delay, mob pushed forward to doors and Babbit climbed window frame. No “pull them back” of mob members away from doors was seen.

  7. Randall White says:

    What is not pointed out:

    1. Babbitt had extensive military training and could be expected to realize the significance of breaching the window and the duties of the officer pointing the gun at her.

    2. Babbitt was wearing a significantly large backpack. Given the situational awareness, the contents of that backpack presented a significant threat.

    3. Babbitt was previously demonstrating a leadership role, given her military rank and experience. In a quickly devolving shituation, you take out a leader to disrupt the momentum.

  8. John Forde says:

    Wasn’t the moment Ashli Babbitt was shot the actual moment the insurrection receded? It must have been a gut wrenching decision to fire the gun, but in retrospect it seems to have prevented the mob from hurting or killing or elected representatives. … one other thing… Has anyone been able to find out where the gallows went? Was it disassembled or is it just sitting in someone’s garage waiting to be discovered?

    • subtropolis says:

      She was shot at 2:45. The mob was still quite active for a couple of hours, or nearly so. I can’t recall what time it folded up, but it was awhile yet. I agree, though, that it seemed to put a stop to any further attempts to breach that specific door.

      The gallows was probably left behind. I would think that most of the mob would wish to leave it as a reminder. I do wonder whether the persons responsible for erecting it will ever be identified. Try explaining that to a judge!

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