by Sadé Smith
The committee hearings prove the investigation into the Jan. 6 attack was thorough and well-resourced. The reoccurring rhetoric at the hearings praises “American Democracy and Patriotism,” and claims Trump and his supporters’ actions were un-American. The hearings are a performative production of an undemocratic, imperialist, police state.
Continue reading OPINION: Jan. 6 Has Exposed America’s Charade of DemocracyAfter launching the first hearing on June 9, the House Select Committee to Investigate the January 6th Attack on the United States Capitol has been holding seven hearings, which present testimony and evidence gathered over the past year around what led a pro-Trump mob to storm the U.S. Capitol in 2020. The committee has thus far presented live and recorded testimony from mostly Republican officials close to Trump, such as former Attorney General Bill Barr and Trump’s daughter and son-in-law, Ivanka Trump and Jared Kushner, who were senior advisers to the president.
We at the South Seattle Emerald want to hear from you, our readership, as to how you believe these hearings do or do not impact democracy or South End communities.
Continue reading Do the Jan. 6 Hearings Affect the South End? — Call for Submissionsby Paul Kiefer
(This article originally appeared on PubliCola and has been reprinted with permission.)
Interim Seattle Police Chief Adrian Diaz announced in a blog post on Friday that he has fired officers Alexander Everett and Caitlin Rochelle for violating department policy and federal law by trespassing on the grounds of the U.S. Capitol on January 6, 2020, while insurrectionists stormed the legislative chambers inside.
Using video evidence provided by the FBI, investigators from Seattle’s Office of Police Accountability (OPA) were able to place Everett and Rochelle at the steps of the Capitol as rioters clashed with police nearby. Though Everett and Rochelle told investigators they didn’t know they were trespassing in a restricted area, neither the OPA nor Diaz were convinced; in his letter on Friday, Diaz wrote that “it is beyond absurd to suggest that they did not know they were in an area where they should not be, amidst what was already a violent, criminal riot.”
Continue reading SPD Chief Fires Two Officers Who Trespassed on Capitol Grounds During Jan. 6 Attack
