Politico: “What do you get when weed-loving rapper Snoop Dogg, right-wing billionaire Charles Koch and criminal justice reform advocate Weldon Angelos walk into a Zoom room?”
“The Cannabis Freedom Alliance, a new coalition launching Tuesday that could change the dynamics of the marijuana legalization debate.”
“Two Capitol Police officers injured in hand-to-hand combat during the Jan. 6 insurrection are suing former President Donald Trump for inciting his supporters, many of whom later stormed Congress and formed a mob that assaulted more than 100 officers protecting lawmakers,” Politico reports.
Prosecutors say that when officers arrested a Capitol riot suspect at his Dallas home, he was wearing a T-shirt with “I Was There, Washington D.C., January 6, 2021” emblazoned on it, the AP reports.
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Newsweek: “The social network Parler was flooded with a wave of angry comments on Friday after it emerged that the ‘free speech’ platform had repeatedly collaborated with the FBI in the weeks leading up to the January 6 Capitol riot.”
Washington Post: “Something happened in Baltimore last year. The coronavirus pandemic hit, and State’s Attorney Marilyn J. Mosby announced that the city would no longer prosecute drug possession, prostitution, trespassing and other minor charges, to keep people out of jail and limit the spread of the deadly virus.”
“And then crime went down in Baltimore. A lot. While violent crime and homicides skyrocketed in most other big American cities last year, violent crime in Baltimore dropped 20 percent from last March to this month, property crime decreased 36 percent, and there were 13 fewer homicides compared with the previous year.”
“A leader among the paramilitary group the Oath Keepers said he was coordinating with the Proud Boys about how their members would work together at the US Capitol on January 6,” CNN reports.
“Facebook chats made public in the filing by the Justice Department show Kelly Meggs, a leader among the Oath Keepers, discussing his communications with Proud Boys leadership and how he had ‘orchestrated a plan’ with the group.”
Since Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton (R) took office in 2015, “the vast majority of individuals his office has prosecuted for voter fraud are people of color — and primarily women of color, a new analysis by the American Civil Liberties Union shows,” the Houston Chronicle reports.
“The analysis, which was based on publicly available documents, media reports and some assumptions based on surnames, found at least 72 percent of all the election fraud cases have been brought against Black and Latino defendants. At least 45 percent were against Black and Latino women.”
Bloomberg: “New York is ready to legalize recreational marijuana. The state would impose special pot taxes and prepare to license dispensaries under an agreement reached by Gov. Andrew Cuomo and legislative leaders.”
“Evidence the government obtained in the investigation into the Jan. 6 attack on the Capitol most likely meets the bar necessary to charge some of the suspects with sedition, Michael Sherwin, the federal prosecutor who had been leading the Justice Department’s inquiry, said in an interview that aired on Sunday,” the New York Times reports.
“The department has rarely brought charges of sedition, the crime of conspiring to overthrow the government.”
Said Sherwin: “I personally believe the evidence is trending toward that, and probably meets those elements. I believe the facts do support those charges. And I think that, as we go forward, more facts will support that.”
The FBI has released a batch of videos showing suspects wanted for attacking Capitol police officers on January 6.
Federal prosecutors submitted a filing Friday morning requesting a 60-day delay in a series of cases related to the Jan. 6 Capitol riot, describing the massive undertaking as “likely the most complex investigation ever prosecuted by the Department of Justice,” Axios reports.
“The Justice Department and FBI are gathering evidence to try to build a large conspiracy indictment against members of the Oath Keepers for their roles in the Jan. 6 riot at the U.S. Capitol, but the group’s sometimes fractious and fantasy-laden internal workings may complicate efforts to bring such a case,” the Washington Post reports.
Last June, 60% in a USA Today/Ipsos Poll described George Floyd’s death at the hands of Minneapolis police as murder; that percentage has now dropped by double digits to 36%.
Washington Post: “Everywhere, there are signs seen and unseen that Minneapolis is bracing for the landmark trial of the former police officer charged with second-degree murder and manslaughter in Floyd’s death. Jury selection is set to begin Monday in the case, which is poised to be a defining moment in the history of a nation that is grappling with a racial reckoning.”
“However, the judge is considering a last-minute addition of a third-degree murder charge that would give prosecutors another avenue for conviction, but with a shorter prison term. The addition — or a decision to not add the charge — could trigger an appeal from either side. The judge’s decision, which might not come until Monday morning, has injected even more uncertainty into the case, heightening tension in a city already on edge.”
Axios: Convicting police officers is rare, even when caught on video.
“The youngest rioter to be charged with the storming the Capitol on Jan. 6 had begged a judge let him to go home after being denied bond,” the Atlanta Journal-Constitution reports.
Said Bruno Joseph Cua, who is facing multiple charges including assaulting a federal officer: “I just want to go home to my Mom and Dad, I am truly sorry.”
Federico Guillermo Klein, a former Trump appointee who was arrested for his role in the Jan. 6 Capitol riot, complained that he won’t be able to sleep in prison, the Washington Post reports.
Said Klein: “I wonder if there’s a place where I can stay in detention where I don’t have cockroaches crawling over me while I attempt to sleep… I mean, I really haven’t slept all that much, your honor.”
He added: “It would be nice if I could sleep in a place where there were not cockroaches everywhere.”
“A bill moving through Kentucky’s Senate would make it a crime to insult or taunt a police officer during a riot,” CBS News reports.
“Supporters say the bill targets people who unlawfully ‘cross the line’ but opponents call it a blatant attempt to crush protests and a violation of First Amendment rights.”
Richard Barnett, the man who had his feet on Speaker Nancy Pelosi’s desk during the Jan. 6 insurrection, had an outburst in court Thursday, yelling at the judge that it isn’t “fair” he is still in jail, KNWA reports.
Said Barnett: “I’ve been here a long time… another month… It’s not fair. You’re letting everyone else out. I need help.”
Barnett is also accused of carrying a stun gun into the Capitol.
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Taegan Goddard is the founder of Political Wire, one of the earliest and most influential political web sites. He also runs Political Job Hunt, Electoral Vote Map and the Political Dictionary.
Goddard spent more than a decade as managing director and chief operating officer of a prominent investment firm in New York City. Previously, he was a policy adviser to a U.S. Senator and Governor.
Goddard is also co-author of You Won - Now What? (Scribner, 1998), a political management book hailed by prominent journalists and politicians from both parties. In addition, Goddard's essays on politics and public policy have appeared in dozens of newspapers across the country.
Goddard earned degrees from Vassar College and Harvard University. He lives in New York with his wife and three sons.