Author: PolitCens

U.S. tech giant Twitter took sharply different actions against the leaders of the U.S. and Iran on Friday, permanently banning President Donald Trump’s personal account while removing one tweet from Ayatollah Ali Khamenei’s apparent English account and suspending new posts on it.The greater severity of Twitter’s action against the @realdonaldtrump account, compared with the social media company’s treatment of Khamenei, prompted both critics and supporters of the U.S. president to post dozens of Twitter messages accusing the platform of double standards.Many of Twitter’s critics said the @Khamenei_IR account, which is not Twitter-verified but regularly shares his statements, has a history of posting comments against Israel, his regional enemy, that they view as more severe incitement to violence than recent Trump tweets deemed by the platform to violate its glorification of violence policy.The chairman of the U.S. Federal Communications Commission, Ajit Pal, tweeted screenshots of some of Khamenei’s most strongly worded anti-Israel posts in May, saying he believed they raise a “serious” question about potential glorification of violence.Serious question for @Twitter: Do these tweets from Supreme Leader of Iran @khamenei_ir violate “Twitter Rules about glorifying violence”? pic.twitter.com/oEkCC8UzFV— Ajit Pai (@AjitPaiFCC) May 29, 2020In a Friday message to VOA Persian, Jason Brodsky, policy director of U.S. advocacy group United Against Nuclear Iran, said: “Twitter accounts of Khamenei, other autocrats and their representatives include deeply hateful and dangerous content that incites violence against groups. We’ve seen Khamenei’s call for the elimination of Israel, which is incitement. So if Twitter has a policy against incitement of violence, it needs to be applied uniformly.”A Twitter spokesperson responded to the accusations of double standards in enforcing incitement prohibitions by telling VOA Persian that the platform has taken enforcement action against world leaders prior to Friday.The spokesperson said Twitter focused its Friday actions on what he called the “harm presented by [Trump’s personal] account specifically,” and shared a link to Twitter’s statement explaining why it believes Trump’s last tweets have the potential to incite further violence following Wednesday’s storming of the U.S. Capitol complex by some of his supporters.Asked what Twitter is doing to demonstrate that it is treating world leaders consistently, the spokesperson said the company’s policy of displaying a “government account” label for users affiliated with the five permanent member states of the U.N. Security Council will soon be expanded to include similar labeling for the officials of other nations. No further details were provided.Twitter’s action against the Khamenei account came hours before its banning of Trump.The Khamenei account had posted a Friday tweet in which the Iranian supreme leader called coronavirus vaccines produced by the U.S., Britain and France “completely untrustworthy” and accused the Western powers of trying to “contaminate” other nations by offering to send them the vaccines.I call on @Jack to suspend @khamenei_ir account for spreading dangerous lies about COVID-19. He has banned Iranians from @Twitter but spreads lies on the same platform about vaccines. His posts MUST have a warning label, at least. Please retweet this. pic.twitter.com/XCxDXK7qBw— Masih Alinejad 🏳️ (@AlinejadMasih) January 8, 2021The Khamenei tweet prompted Iranian activists such as VOA Persian TV show host Masih Alinejad to urge Twitter to suspend his account for spreading misinformation about the vaccines. Twitter removed the tweet from public view after several hours.Twitter’s spokesperson told VOA the offending tweet violated the platform’s misleading information policy and the @Khamenei_IR owner would have to delete the post before regaining access to the account.It was the first time since February 2019 that Twitter had acted against the Iranian supreme leader’s main English account.That month, the @Khamenei_IR account posted a tweet endorsing a 1989 fatwa by his predecessor Ayatollah Ruhollah Khomeini, who had condemned British author Salman Rushdie to death for writing a book that the ruling cleric deemed insulting to Islam, The Satanic Verses.Just a reminder that not only did Twitter remove this tweet by Iran’s supreme leader Ayatollah Khamenei for “threat of violence or physical harm” against Salman Rushdie last year, they also locked him out of his account for 24 hours until his account deleted the tweet. pic.twitter.com/T09y48Zo4S— Shayan Sardarizadeh (@Shayan86) October 28, 2020Twitter said the tweet about Rushdie constituted a threat of violence, removed it from public view and locked the @Khamenei_IR account for a day until the account owner deleted the post.In a Friday tweet, BBC Middle East correspondent Nafiseh Kohnavard said Twitter’s decisions to keep the Khamenei account visible and ban Trump have confounded many Iranians. Many Iranians users are asking Twitter how it closed down Mr. Trump’s account but Iran supreme leader Mr. Khamenei’s account is still active especially when Twitter is banned inside Iran and it’s needed VPN.— Nafiseh Kohnavard (@nafisehkBBC) January 9, 2021She said Twitter’s moves were especially perplexing to Iranians who resent Khamenei for blocking Twitter inside Iran and forcing them to access it via virtual private networks.The Trump administration has denounced Iran’s bans on Western social media platforms as suppression of legitimate forms of communication. Speaking in 2018, a State Department spokeswoman said: “When a nation clamps down on social media, we ask the question, ‘What are you afraid of?’”This article originated in VOA’s Persian Service. 
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This week’s joint session of Congress shaped up as President Donald Trump’s last chance – however far-fetched – to subvert the November election results and claim victory for another term. And he counted on the continued loyalty of Vice President Mike Pence, who formally presided over the proceeding. Steve Redisch has more.Producer: Kim Weeks
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Alphabet’s Google on Friday suspended the Parler social networking app from its Play Store until the app adds robust content moderation, while Apple gave the service 24 hours to submit a detailed moderation plan.Parler is a social network to which many supporters of President Donald Trump have migrated after being banned from services including Twitter, which on Friday permanently suspended Trump’s account.In a statement, Google cited continued posts in the Parler app that seek “to incite ongoing violence in the U.S.”Google said, “For us to distribute an app through Google Play, we do require that apps implement robust moderation for egregious content. In light of this ongoing and urgent public safety threat, we are suspending the app’s listings from the Play Store until it addresses these issues.”In a letter from Apple’s App Store review team to Parler seen by Reuters, Apple cited instances of participants using the service to make plans to descend on Washington with weapons after a mob stormed the U.S. Capitol building on Wednesday.”Content that threatens the well-being of others or is intended to incite violence or other lawless acts has never been acceptable on the App Store,” Apple said in the letter.Apple gave Parler 24 hours to “remove all objectionable content from your app … as well as any content referring to harm to people or attacks on government facilities now or at any future date.” The company also demanded that Parler submit a written plan “to moderate and filter this content” from the app.Apple declined to comment.
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Twitter banned President Donald Trump’s account Friday, citing “the risk of further incitement of violence.”The social platform has been under growing pressure to take further action against Trump following Wednesday’s deadly insurrection at the U.S. Capitol.Later Friday night, the president responded in a tweet on the official @potus account. Trump said Twitter’s action was predictable and that he was working with other sites to build a platform where he and his followers would not be silenced.The official account for the President of the United States, @potus, remains live.Twitter initially suspended Trump’s account for 12 hours after he posted a video that repeated false claims about election fraud and praised the rioters who stormed the Capitol.Twitter’s move deprives Trump of a potent tool he has used to communicate directly with the American people for more than a decade. He has used Twitter to announce policy changes, challenge opponents, insult enemies, praise his allies and himself — and to spread misinformation, flirt with inciting violence and denounce targets of his ire in capital letters.After close review of recent Tweets from the @realDonaldTrump account and the context around them we have permanently suspended the account due to the risk of further incitement of violence.https://t.co/CBpE1I6j8Y— Twitter Safety (@TwitterSafety) January 8, 2021The White House did not immediately respond to a request for comment. The official account for the President of the United States, @potus, remains live.Twitter has long given Trump and other world leaders broad exemptions from its rules against personal attacks, hate speech and other behaviors. But in a detailed explanation posted on its blog Friday, the company said recent Trump tweets amounted to glorification of violence when read in the context of the Capitol riot and plans circulating online for future armed protests around the inauguration of President-elect Joe Biden.In those tweets, Trump stated that he would not be attending the inauguration and referred to his supporters as “American Patriots,” saying they would have “a GIANT VOICE long into the future.” Twitter said these statements “are likely to inspire others to replicate the violent acts that took place on January 6, 2021” and “there are multiple indicators that they are being received and understood as encouragement to do so.”The company said that “plans for future armed protests have already begun proliferating on and off Twitter, including a proposed secondary attack on the U.S. Capitol and state capitol buildings on January 17, 2021.”Twitter said its policy enables world leaders to speak to the public, but that these accounts “are not above our rules entirely” and that these leaders cannot use Twitter to incite violence. Trump had roughly 89 million followers.Facebook and Instagram, which is owned by Facebook, on Thursday suspended Trump’s account for at least two weeks, and possibly indefinitely.On Friday, the company permanently banned two Trump loyalists — former national security adviser Michael Flynn and attorney Sidney Powell — as part of a broader purge of accounts promoting the QAnon conspiracy theory. Twitter said it would take action on behavior that has the potential to lead to offline harm.”Given the renewed potential for violence surrounding this type of behavior in the coming days, we will permanently suspend accounts that are solely dedicated to sharing QAnon content,” Twitter said in an emailed statement. The company also said Trump attorney Lin Wood was permanently suspended Tuesday for violating its rules but provided no additional details.
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U.S. law enforcement authorities are stepping up a criminal investigation into Wednesday’s attack on the U.S. Capitol by supporters of President Donald Trump that could include his role in instigating the mob. Acting U.S. Attorney for the District of Columbia Michael Sherwin said a total of 55 people have been charged with various crimes, including 15 people in connection with rioting at the Capitol. Trump has been widely condemned for inciting the violence by imploring supporters angry over his electoral loss to march on the Capitol. In a rare rebuke, former Attorney General William Barr, a staunch Trump ally while in office, said in a statement that the president’s conduct “was a betrayal to his office and supporters.”  FILE – Supporters of President Donald Trump try to break through a police barrier at the Capitol in Washington, Jan. 6, 2021.Asked if federal prosecutors were examining Trump’s role in inciting the violent assault on the Capitol, Sherwin said, “We’re looking at all actors here and anyone that had a role and the evidence fits the elements of a crime, they’re going to be charged.”Trump told a crowd of supporters gathered near the White House on Wednesday morning to “fight like hell” before urging them to march on the Capitol, where lawmakers were deliberating over the certification of the electoral victory of Democratic President-elect Joe Biden and Vice President-elect Kamala Harris. The president is facing calls to resign over the incident less than two weeks before his term ends on January 20.  FILE – President Donald Trump speaks at a rally in Washington, Jan. 6, 2021.The attack left five people dead, including U.S. Capitol Police officer Brian C. Sicknick. Dozens of people were injured in Wednesday’s violence.Arrests are ‘just the beginning’On Friday, Acting Attorney General Jeffrey Rosen issued a statement saying, “the FBI and Metropolitan Police Department will jointly investigate the case and the Department of Justice will spare no resources in investigating and holding accountable those responsible.” Sherwin said prosecutors are aggressively pursuing the perpetrators and are not ruling out bringing charges of sedition. “Make no mistake about it: This was obviously a very dangerous situation,” Sherwin told reporters. “We’re aggressively trying to address these cases as soon as possible, and make no mistake about it, even though we just teed up 15 cases, I think that’s a good start, but it’s in no regard the end.” FILE – Pro-Trump protesters storm into the U.S. Capitol during clashes with police, to contest the certification of the 2020 U.S. presidential election results, Jan. 6, 2021.The federal charges against those arrested include theft of government property and firearms violations. One man was arrested near the U.S. Capitol on charges of carrying a semi-automatic assault weapon and 11 Molotov cocktails that were “ready to go,” Sherwin said.  He added the arrests are “just the beginning” of a potentially monthslong investigation.  Because all but a handful of the hundreds of rioters who stormed the Capitol were allowed by Capitol Police to leave, the effort to identify and arrest the perpetrators could take months, perhaps all year.   He said hundreds of investigators are combing surveillance videos and social media footage to identify the perpetrators.  “We’ll aggressively charge these cases,” Sherwin said.  Rosen said the Justice Department “is committed to ensuring that those responsible for this attack on our government and the rule of law face the full consequences of their actions under the law.”  “Our criminal prosecutors have been working throughout the night with special agents and investigators from the U.S. Capitol Police, FBI, ATF, Metropolitan Police Department and the public to gather the evidence, identify perpetrators and charge federal crimes where warranted,” Rosen said in a statement Thursday.  Incriminating evidence The brazen assault, the first mass violent attack on the Capitol Building in more than two centuries, began with hundreds of supporters of Trump storming the Capitol while members of Congress were meeting to certify Biden’s win in the November 3 election. Capitol Police said “thousands of individuals” were involved “in violent riotous actions,” attacking law enforcement officers with metal pipes, chemical irritants and other weapons. In a video posted late Thursday on Twitter, Trump addressed the “heinous attack on the United States Capitol,” saying he was “outraged by the violence, lawlessness and mayhem.”  FILE – Supporters of U.S. President Donald Trump sit inside the office of U.S. Speaker of the House Nancy Pelosi as they protest inside the U.S. Capitol in Washington, Jan. 6, 2021.Sherwin stopped short of second-guessing the Capitol Police’s decision not to arrest the rioters at the scene, but he said the failure has made it more difficult for federal investigators to track down and arrest the perpetrators.  Many left behind incriminating evidence in the form of videos and photographs posted on social media. One QAnon supporter was photographed in the Senate chamber. Another Trump supporter had his photograph taken in Speaker Nancy Pelosi’s office.  Jordan Strauss, a former federal prosecutor and now a managing director with Kroll, a risk management consultancy, said the videos and photographs offer a “plethora of evidence” that prosecutors can use to bring charges.   “A lot of people livestreamed their crimes while they were committing them,” Strauss said.   Potential chargesThe rioters could face several federal charges, from destruction of property to threatening members of Congress and sedition, he said. Sherwin said no charges, including sedition, are off the table.  Sedition is the act of opposing government authority by force. Barr raised the prospects of bringing sedition charges against anti-police protesters in a memo to federal prosecutors last summer.   Strauss said prosecutors will likely opt for “cleaner” charges that don’t “risk infringing on First Amendment issues or allowing for an individual to claim that there’s some sort of political prosecution.”  Joel Hirschhorn, a criminal defense attorney, said arresting and charging every rioter is going to be virtually impossible.  “I think anyone who was inside the Capitol building is at risk because that was a trespass on government property,” Hirschhorn said. “Will they be able to prosecute all of them? No, that’s an impossibility.” 
 
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Amid growing concerns about what U.S. President Donald Trump might do during his last days in office, House Speaker Nancy Pelosi said Friday that she had asked a top Pentagon general what measures were in place to prevent the president from launching a nuclear weapons attack.The possibility, while seemingly remote, may be a consideration in a drive by Pelosi and some other national leaders to remove Trump from office even before his term in office ends on January 20.FILE – In this Sept. 22, 2020, photo Joint Chiefs Chairman Gen. Mark Milley listens during a meeting at the Pentagon in Washington.“This morning, I spoke to the Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff Mark Milley to discuss available precautions for preventing an unstable president from initiating military hostilities or accessing the launch codes and ordering a nuclear strike,” Pelosi wrote in a letter to her Democratic Party colleagues in the House of Representatives.“The situation of this unhinged president could not be more dangerous, and we must do everything that we can to protect the American people from his unbalanced assault on our country and our democracy.”Asked to confirm the call had taken place, a spokesman for Milley told VOA, “He answered her questions regarding the process of nuclear code authority.”The spokesman did not elaborate on what was said during the call.Illegal orderThe president has sole authority to order the launch of a nuclear weapon and does not require the approval of Congress or his military advisers. But if a military commander were to determine, on advice of his lawyers, that such an order was illegal, then the order could be refused.Past and present Pentagon leaders have also said they would not obey an illegal order from the president.Pelosi and her colleagues are also anxious to see the president held accountable for his role in inciting the mob that overran the U.S. Capitol this week, delaying the certification of the election of President-elect Joe Biden and leading to the deaths of five people, including a Capitol Police officer.A move to impeach Trump for the second time – if he was convicted in the Republican-led Senate — would also have the effect of preventing him from ever again holding federal office.FILE – Vice President Mike Pence speaks during the Turning Point USA Student Action Summit, Dec. 22, 2020, in West Palm Beach, Fla.Democratic congressional leaders have also called on Vice President Mike Pence to invoke the 25th Amendment, which offers an alternative and perhaps quicker way to remove the president from office. Pence has not responded but has reportedly told colleagues he does not favor such action.Passed in the 1960s, the 25th Amendment to the U.S. Constitution allows for the temporary transfer of power from the president to the vice president if the president is incapacitated, with the approval of the majority of the Cabinet. But analysts say that option could be difficult to exercise with just days left in Trump’s presidency.Power can be reclaimed“It’s also very difficult in a situation in which the president is not in a coma or not otherwise physically incapacitated so that he can’t function or operate, because under the 25th Amendment, once it is invoked, the president can notify Congress that he is able to discharge the powers of the office and take that power back,” said John Hudak, a senior fellow in governance studies at the Brookings Institution.Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer and Pelosi warned that if Pence did not take action, congressional Democrats would pursue a vote on articles of impeachment.“The president’s dangerous and seditious acts necessitate his immediate removal from office,” Schumer and Pelosi said Thursday.An overwhelming number of Democratic lawmakers – and some Republicans – have expressed support for removing Trump from power or censuring his actions. But following Pelosi’s remarks, House Republican leader Kevin McCarthy indicated he did not support impeachment.FILE – House Minority Leader Kevin McCarthy, R-Calif., speaks during a news conference on Capitol Hill in Washington, Nov. 12, 2020.“Impeaching the president with just 12 days left in his term will only divide our country more,” he said.McCarthy said he had reached out to Biden to plan to speak with him about how to work together to lower tensions and unite the country.Five people died as a result of the riot Wednesday at the U.S. Capitol. The president’s supporters overwhelmed Capitol Police to try to stop a joint session of Congress from counting the electoral votes and certifying Biden’s win. Earlier in the day, Trump held a rally on the National Mall and encouraged his supporters to protest the results. The massive security breach by the pro-Trump rioters marked the first time the U.S. Capitol had been invaded since the British entered it during the War of 1812.   Trump was impeached on charges of abuse of power and obstruction of Congress in December 2019 but was acquitted in a trial in the Senate in February 2020. No American president has ever faced two impeachment votes.Two reasons given“There are two reasons to pursue impeachment,” said Paul Berman, a professor at the George Washington University School of Law. “One is simply to make it clear that a sitting president inciting an insurrection against the United States government is perhaps the worst thing that a president could ever possibly do. And that statement needs to be made. Second, and more pragmatically, if he were impeached, and convicted, that would prevent him from running for office in the future.”While it is unlikely U.S. lawmakers have time to return to work to enact the complicated procedures for an impeachment before the end of Trump’s term, analysts say a Senate trial could be held after the president leaves office.“There’s nothing that I can see in the Constitution that would prevent an impeachment trial and conviction from happening in the days after he leaves office,” Berman said. “We need to create accountability that a president cannot do what he did and also because we want to prevent him from holding office ever again.”
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What started as a day of celebration for Black organizers, voters and other Georgians who helped deliver two historic Senate runoff victories was overshadowed Wednesday when a violent, mostly white mob of President Donald Trump’s supporters stormed the U.S. Capitol.But Black leaders and organizers say the rioters’ insurrection won’t deter the momentum achieved after the hard-fought victories of Georgia Democrats Jon Ossoff and Raphael Warnock. Instead, it serves as a harsh reminder of the work that lies ahead for the nation to truly grapple with white supremacy and racism, which Trump’s presidency emboldened.”It’s a little bit bittersweet because on one hand it feels like vindication that if we invest in our communities and our organizations, then amazing things can happen,” said Cliff Albright, co-founder of Black Voters Matter, which estimates that it reached 2.8 million individuals in Georgia through text and phone banking campaigns, digital and social media advertising, door knocking and street outreach, and billboards.”But then you come around the next day and people are literally swarming the Capitol in the name of overturning an election and trying to take away the power of Black voters,” Albright said. “So while it’s a victory that’s worth celebrating … it’s still in this wider context of what our larger struggles are and we’ve got a long way to go.”Warnock Makes History as 1st Black Person Elected to US Senate from GeorgiaPastor is also the first African American Democrat to represent a Southern state  Despite the challenges ahead, there’s hope that the Georgia victories could serve as a blueprint to transform the Southern political landscape, which has been a Republican stronghold for decades.”The beauty of what happened in Georgia is that by knocking on people’s doors, by sitting on people’s front porches, by putting money and energy into really hearing people and giving them a voice in their community, it has awakened a generation of folks who never would have thought that this was possible and that’s empowering and it’s contagious,” said Nadia Brown, a Purdue University political science professor. “And it doesn’t stop at the borders of Georgia. It’s going to spill over.”Britney Whaley, a political strategist for the Working Families Party, said keeping up this level of voter engagement among Black Georgians and Black voters in general requires a commitment to them beyond these nationally important elections.”Sure, Black people saved the day,” Whaley said. “My question then becomes: What next? What have you learned? How do you thank them? It is not in lip service. It’s in policy. It’s in changing material conditions for people who are in need.”The political vision of flipping Georgia blue rested largely with grassroots organizations that knocked on doors and traveled from city cores to more rural areas to directly interface with Black voters who have long felt ignored by both political parties.The Rev. Barrett Berry, who directed a bus tour organized by the Black Church PAC, a national group of prominent Black clergy, said the large Black turnout in the runoff was due to a growing understanding among organizers that winning required being “competitive in places outside of Fulton County,” which is home to Atlanta.Berry’s bus crisscrossed the state with several organizing partners, making stops in Albany, Valdosta and Savannah. He and other pastors distributed hot meals, groceries and toys for hundreds of families struggling to make Christmas cheer happen amid the pandemic. The gifts and food came with voter education, Berry said.The voters needed to know they had a voice and could make the change that they had been told they couldn’t make, he said.”It’s difficult to tell Black folks what they can’t do, because that’s when they go out and show you what they can do!”The New Georgia Project, which played an integral part in both the November and runoff election, said on Jan. 5 alone it knocked on more than 124,000 doors, sent more than 14,000 texts and made over 317,000 phone calls. In total, the organization said it knocked on more than 2 million doors throughout the full election cycle.And that strategy paid off.Black voters made up 32% of the electorate in Georgia’s runoffs, a slight uptick from their share in the November election, according to AP VoteCast, a survey of more than 3,700 voters in the state.Black voters across gender, age and education levels supported the Democratic candidates overwhelmingly, with at least 9 in 10 voting for Ossoff and Warnock. Roughly three-quarters of white voters, at 60% of the electorate, supported the Republicans.”Georgia and other Southern states have been battleground states,” said Nse Ufot, CEO of the New Georgia Project. “So, we’re going to continue to register voters and we’re going to continue to work to build power and a people’s agenda.”The Georgia runoff success was built upon a strong legacy of Black-led organizing work, much of which can be traced back to earlier battles for voting and civil rights. But the unique power and resiliency of Black women organizers took center stage again during the runoffs, including former gubernatorial candidate and voting rights advocate Stacey Abrams and Black Voters Matter co-founder LaTosha Brown, who were at the center of Georgia’s extraordinary efforts.”I’m so optimistic about the future of Black women organizers and I’m looking forward to continuing to defy conventional wisdom about what a leader looks like and how they get it done,” Ufot said.A majority of Black voters in Georgia’s runoffs, 56%, say the coronavirus pandemic is the top issue facing the country today, according to AP VoteCast. Another 18% say they consider racism the most important issue, and 12% name the economy and jobs. Black voters and activists say attention will now turn toward pushing for President-elect Biden and Congress to actualize real, systemic change.Ebonie Riley, D.C. bureau chief of the National Action Network, said Warnock and Ossoff’s victories mean it was time for the country to “move past the 2020 election and come together to deal with challenges that we all face with COVID relief, expand health care access, and deliver racial justice and police accountability.”Meanwhile, in suburban Atlanta, Bev Jackson was talking to her son on the phone when the images flashed on the screen of people climbing the Capitol.As the chair of the Democratic Party’s Cobb County African American caucus, Jackson had worked hard for years to help flip Georgia blue and she’d been glued to the election returns showing the Democratic candidates for Senate overtaking the Republican incumbents.Jackson said she refused to let Wednesday’s darkness overshadow their success.”Georgia delivered the nation. It is incredible,” she said. “People are saddened by what has happened but it doesn’t take away our joy from the election. This is our time.”
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A police officer has died from injuries sustained as President Donald Trump’s supporters stormed the Capitol, a violent siege that is forcing hard questions about the defeated president’s remaining days in office and the ability of the Capitol Police to secure the area.The U.S. Capitol Police said in a statement that Officer Brian D. Sicknick was injured “while physically engaging with protesters” during the Wednesday riot. He is the fifth person to die because of the melee.The rampage that has shocked the world and left the country on edge forced the resignations of three top Capitol security officials over the failure to stop the breach. It led lawmakers to demand a review of operations and an FBI briefing over what they called a “terrorist attack.” And it is prompting a broader reckoning over Trump’s tenure in office and what comes next for a torn nation.Protesters were urged by Trump during a rally near the White House earlier Wednesday to head to Capitol Hill, where lawmakers were scheduled to confirm Biden’s presidential victory. The mob swiftly broke through police barriers, smashed windows and paraded through the halls, sending lawmakers into hiding.One protester, a white woman, was shot to death by Capitol Police, and there were dozens of arrests. Three other people died after “medical emergencies” related to the breach.Despite Trump’s repeated claims of voter fraud, election officials and his own former attorney general have said there were no problems on a scale that would change the outcome. All the states have certified their results as fair and accurate, by Republican and Democratic officials alike.Sen. Ben Sasse, R-Neb., said news of the police officer’s death was “gut-wrenching.”“None of this should have happened,” Sasse said in a statement. “Lord, have mercy.”Sicknick had returned to his division office after the incident and collapsed, the statement said. He was taken to a local hospital where he died on Thursday.Two House Democrats on committees overseeing the Capitol police budgets said those responsible need to be held to answer for the “senseless” death.”We must ensure that the mob who attacked the People’s House and those who instigated them are held fully accountable,” said Rep. Rosa DeLauro, D-Ct., and Rep. Tim Ryan, D-Ohio. in a statement.Earlier Thursday, House Speaker Nancy Pelosi said any remaining day with the president in power could be “a horror show for America.” Likewise, Senate Democratic leader Chuck Schumer said the attack on the Capitol was “an insurrection against the United States, incited by the president,” and Trump must not stay in office “one day” longer.Pelosi and Schumer called for invoking the 25th Amendment to the Constitution to force Trump from office before President-elect Joe Biden is inaugurated on Jan. 20. Schumer said he and Pelosi tried to call Vice President Mike Pence early Thursday to discuss that option but were unable to connect with him.At least one Republican lawmaker joined the effort. The procedure allows for the vice president and a majority of the Cabinet to declare the president unfit for office. The vice president then becomes acting president.Pelosi said if the president’s Cabinet does not swiftly act, the House may proceed to impeach Trump.Trump, who had repeatedly refused to concede the election, did so in a late Thursday video from the White House vowing a “seamless transition of power.”Two Republicans who led efforts to challenge the election results, Ted Cruz of Texas and Josh Hawley of Missouri, faced angry peers in the Senate. Cruz defended his objection to the election results as “the right thing to do” as he tried unsuccessfully to have Congress launch an investigation. In the House, Republican leaders Rep. Kevin McCarthy of California and Rep. Steve Scalise of Louisiana joined in the failed effort to overturn Biden’s win by objecting to the Electoral College results.With tensions high, the Capitol shuttered, and lawmakers not scheduled to return until the inauguration, an uneasy feeling of stalemate settled over a main seat of national power as Trump remained holed up at the White House.The social media giant Facebook banned the president from its platform and Instagram for the duration of Trump’s final days in office, if not indefinitely, citing his intent to stoke unrest. Twitter had silenced him the day before.Facebook founder Mark Zuckerberg said, “the shocking events” make it clear Trump “intends to use his remaining time in office to undermine the peaceful and lawful transition of power.”U.S. Capitol Police Chief Steven Sund, under pressure from Schumer, Pelosi and other congressional leaders, was forced to resign. Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell asked for and received the resignation of the Sergeant at Arms of the Senate, Michael Stenger, effective immediately. Paul Irving, the longtime Sergeant at Arms of the House, also resigned.Sund had defended his department’s response to the storming of the Capitol, saying officers had “acted valiantly when faced with thousands of individuals involved in violent riotous actions.”Washington Mayor Muriel Bowser called the police response “a failure.”Lawmakers from both parties pledged to investigate and questioned whether a lack of preparedness allowed a mob to occupy and vandalize the building. The Pentagon and Justice Department had been rebuffed when they offered assistance.Black lawmakers, in particular, noted the way the mostly white Trump supporters were treated.Newly elected Rep. Cori Bush, D-Mo., said if “we, as Black people did the same things that happened … the reaction would have been different, we would have been laid out on the ground.”The protesters ransacked the place, taking over the House area and Senate chamber and waving Trump, American and Confederate flags. Outside, they scaled the walls and balconies.
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China on Thursday threatened that the United States would pay a “heavy price” if its United Nations Ambassador Kelly Craft kept plans announced by the State Department to travel to Taiwan next week.“The United States will pay a heavy price for its wrong action,” a statement from the Chinese mission to the UN said.“China strongly urges the United States to stop its crazy provocation, stop creating new difficulties for China-U.S. relations and the two countries’ cooperation in the United Nations, and stop going further on the wrong path.”China “firmly opposes” the visit and demands the US cancel its plans, the statement added, reiterating Beijing’s one-China policy that maintains Taiwan is a province of the nation.The American UN mission said Thursday evening that Craft would be in Taipei from January 13 to 15, meeting with Taiwanese officials and other members of the diplomatic community.“During her trip, the Ambassador will reinforce the U.S. government’s strong and ongoing support for Taiwan’s international space,” the American statement said.Craft is scheduled to speak at the Institute of Diplomacy and International Affairs on Jan. 14, “on Taiwan’s impressive contributions to the global community and the importance of Taiwan’s meaningful and expanded participation in international organizations,” according to the statement.Chinese state news agency Xinhua had also criticized the trip earlier in the day, saying a U.S. ambassador’s presence in Taiwan would violate Chinese sovereignty.Administration officials under President Donald Trump already visited Taiwan last year, despite opposition from Beijing, amid U.S.-Chinese tensions over trade, security and human rights.
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In a video released Thursday night, President Donald Trump said he is outraged by the “violence, lawlessness and mayhem” that transpired when his supporters stormed the U.S. Capitol this week. Trump is facing a growing call from Democrats and Republicans who say he must be removed from office. White House Correspondent Patsy Widakuswara reports.
Producer: Bakhtiyar Zamanov
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President-elect Joe Biden is expected to nominate Boston Mayor Marty Walsh as labor secretary, U.S. news agencies report. Rhode Island Governor Gina Raimondo is reportedly being nominated for commerce secretary.  Walsh, who has been Boston’s mayor for two terms after 17 years as a Massachusetts state representative, has a long history with labor unions. He previously led Boston Building and Construction Trades Council, an umbrella organization for unions. While the American Federation of Labor and Congress of Industrial Organizations (AFL-CIO) has shown its support for Walsh, other notable U.S. unions, including the United Auto Workers and the Utility Workers Union of America, indicated their support for another top contender for the job, Michigan U.S. Representative Andy Levin. Biden and Walsh have known each other for years. Biden spoke at Walsh’s second inauguration as Boston’s mayor, calling him a “man of extraordinary character in a moment when we need more character and incredible courage.” Walsh’s appointment must be confirmed by the Senate. FILE – Rhode Island Gov. Gina Raimondo attends a news conference in Providence, R.I., June 22, 2020.Raimondo served as Rhode Island’s treasurer before her two terms as governor and was previously a venture capitalist. Biden has signaled he opposes Chinese tariffs — a significant difference from the Trump administration — in an indication of how the next commerce secretary’s job would differ from the current one’s. If confirmed, Raimondo will likely coordinate with Biden’s pick to lead the U.S. Treasury, Janet Yellen, who would be the first woman to serve in that role. Earlier Wednesday, Biden announced his picks for attorney general and three other top positions at the Department of Justice. Biden Names Garland as His Choice for Attorney General Republicans snubbed appellate judge when Obama nominated him for Supreme Court seat in 2016
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Rattled members of Congress reconvened Wednesday night to resume counting electoral votes from the November election. Both Democrat and Republican lawmakers said they are determined to continue certifying President-elect Joe Biden’s electoral victory, hours after thousands of President Donald Trump’s supporters stormed the Capitol building. Patsy Widakuswara has the story.
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Washington, D.C., officials have joined U.S. lawmakers in calling for an investigation of the police force that protects the Capitol, while offering praise for their actions, after Wednesday’s storming of the seat of the country’s legislative branch by a mob of pro-Trump protesters. Video shared on social media and by news organizations shows Capitol Police officers overwhelmed by the vastly larger crowds pushing past waist-high barricades and evading officers who failed to halt their progress. Other participants scaled walls and smashed windows to get inside. Other video posted to social media showed some Capitol Police officers opening barricades for Trump backers and even taking pictures with them inside the building.  Senator Chris Murphy of Connecticut took to Twitter to call for a full investigation of how security was breached so quickly. Murphy is the ranking Democrat on the Senate subcommittee that oversees the Capitol Police and is likely to chair the panel in the new Congress. Members of the Capitol Police look through a smashed window as pro-Trump protesters rally to contest the certification of the 2020 U.S. presidential election results by the U.S. Congress, at the U.S. Capitol Building in Washington, Jan. 6, 2021.In a statement Thursday, Capitol Police Chief Steve Sund defended the force’s actions, saying they “responded valiantly” when faced by thousands who stormed the building. He said officers were attacked by elements of the mob wielding metal pipes, chemical irritants, and other weapons. He said several officers were hospitalized with serious injuries. Sund said they had a “robust plan established to address anticipated First Amendment activities.” But, he added, what occurred was “criminal riotous behavior.”  At a news conference Thursday, Washington Mayor Muriel Bowser described the police effort as a failure. She said, “Obviously it was a failure, or you would not have police lines breached and people entering the building by breaking windows.” She said there needs to be an understanding of why these failures occurred.  She called the siege on the capitol “textbook terrorism,” and questioned why the response by federal security officials was not “nearly as strong” as the response to Black Lives Matter protests for racial equality. Bowser said she is issuing an emergency order that will last through January 21, the day after the inauguration of Joe Biden as president. The order allows city officials to “implement orders as they see fit” to protect people and property in the District of Columbia, such as curfews or altering of business hours. At the same news conference, U.S. Secretary of the Army Ryan McCarthy said a two-meter unscalable fence will be erected around the Capitol and remain for at least 30 days. Washington Police say 68 people had been arrested in relation to the storming of the Capitol. 
 
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In more than 220 years, the U.S. Capitol had seen nothing like it: a roiling mob, forcing its way past its majestic marble columns, disrupting the passage of power, desecrating the seat of the world’s greatest democracy.
But this was far from the first time the Capitol has been scarred by violence.1814
In 1814, just 14 years after the building opened, British forces in the War of 1812 tried to burn it down. The invaders looted the building first, and then set the southern and northern wings ablaze — incinerating the Library of Congress. A sudden rainstorm prevented its total destruction, but the building was left “a most magnificent ruin,” according to architect Benjamin Henry Latrobe.
Over the centuries since, events have made a mockery of the inscription on the rostrum of the House chamber — “Union, Justice, Tolerance, Liberty, Peace.” The building has been bombed several times. There have been shootings. One legislator almost killed another.1954
The most famous episode occurred in 1954, when four Puerto Rican nationalists unfurled the island’s flag and, shouting “Freedom for Puerto Rico,” unleashed a barrage of about 30 shots from the visitor’s gallery of the House. Five congressmen were injured, one of them seriously.
“I did not come to kill anyone, I came to die for Puerto Rico!” cried the leader, Lolita Lebron, when she and the others were arrested.
Before and since, the building has been a target. In 1915, a German man planted three sticks of dynamite in the Senate reception room; it went off shortly before midnight, when no one was around.
The bomber — who had previously murdered his pregnant wife by poisoning, and would go on to shoot financier J.P. Morgan Jr,. and bomb a steamship loaded with munitions bound for Britain — killed himself before he could be arrested.1971
More recently, the Weather Underground set off an explosive in 1971 to protest the U.S. bombing of Laos, and the May 19th Communist Movement bombed the Senate in 1983 in response to the invasion of Grenada. Neither caused any deaths or injuries, but both resulted in hundreds of thousands of dollars in damage and led to tougher security measures.1998
The most deadly attack on the Capitol occurred in 1998, when a mentally ill man fired at a checkpoint and killed two Capitol Police officers. One of the dying officers managed to wound the gunman, who was arrested and later institutionalized. A nearby statue of Vice President John C. Calhoun still bears a bullet mark from the incident.2013
In 2013, a dental hygienist with her 18-month-old daughter in tow tried to drive onto the White House grounds, and was chased to the Capitol, where she was shot to death by police.1835
There have been other, storied attacks. In 1835, a deranged house painter tried to shoot two pistols at President Andrew Jackson outside the building; the guns misfired, and Jackson caned his assailant into submission.1856
And famously, in 1856, Rep. Preston Brooks attacked abolitionist Senator Charles Sumner with his cane on the floor of the Senate after the senator gave a speech criticizing slavery.
Sumner was beaten so badly that three years passed before he had sufficiently recovered to return to Congress. The House failed to expel Brooks, but he resigned — and was immediately reelected.
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Former White House Chief of Staff Mick Mulvaney says he is quitting his diplomatic position, adding to a growing list of resignations from the Trump administration following Wednesday’s deadly invasion of the U.S. Capitol building by supporters of President Donald Trump.   
 
Mulvaney announced Thursday he is resigning as special envoy to Northern Ireland and said other administration officials have considered stepping down.
 
“I can’t do it. I can’t stay,” Mulvaney said on CNBC. “Those who choose to stay, and I have talked with some of them, are choosing to stay because they’re worried the president might put someone worse in.”
 
Mulvaney’s resignation came after hundreds of Trump supporters broke into the Capitol as legislators were in the process of certifying Electoral College votes in the November election, formalizing President-elect Joe Biden’s win.  
 
The president had urged his supporters to march on the building at a rally, asserting the election was stolen and saying, “You’ll never take back our country with weakness. You have to show strength and you have to be strong.”
 
Four people died in the chaos, according to the Metropolitan Police Department in Washington.
 
Mulvaney, also a former Office of Management and Budget director, said he informed Secretary of State Mike Pompeo of his resignation Wednesday night.
 
Shortly after Mulvaney’s announcement, the Commerce Department’s deputy assistant secretary for intelligence and security, John Costello, said the violence also prompted him to step down.  
 
“Yesterday’s events were an unprecedented attack on the very core of our democracy – incited by a sitting President,” Costello said on Twitter. “The President has long disregarded and diminished the rule of law and the constitution. Yesterday, that culminated in violent sedition against the U.S. Congress for the purposes of overturning a legally recognized and valid election.”
 
A leading developer of Trump’s China policy, Matt Pottinger, announced his resignation on Wednesday. A senior administration official said Pottinger stepped down in response to Trump’s reaction to the mob of protesters at the Capitol.  
 
National Security Advisor Robert O’Brien, Pottinger’s boss, asked Pottinger to remain in the position to facilitate the transition to the new Biden administration but the official said Pottinger had “completed those tasks.”
 FILE – Stephanie Grisham listens as President Donald Trump speaks to reporters on the South Lawn of the White House in Washington, Nov. 8, 2019.Melania Trump’s chief of staff, Stephanie Grisham, who earlier served as White House press secretary, was the first administration official to announce her resignation on Wednesday. Deputy press secretary Sarah Matthews stepped down shortly thereafter, followed by White House social secretary Rickie Niceta, according to a White House official.
 
Matthews said she was grateful to serve Trump but underscored she was also troubled by the deadly violence on Capitol Hill.
 
“I was honored to serve in the Trump administration and proud of the policies we enacted,” Matthews said in a statement. “As someone who worked in the halls of Congress I was deeply disturbed by what I saw today. I’ll be stepping down from my role, effective immediately. Our nation needs a peaceful transfer of power.”
 
The growing numbers of resignations and criticisms from some of Trump’s closest political allies about his behavior amount to a clear reprimand of the president. More resignations could be announced in the coming days, sources say.
 
The White House did not immediately comment on the resignations.
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In India, the world’s largest democracy, which has long looked to the United States as a model to be emulated, the overrunning of the U.S. Capitol by President Donald Trump’s supporters evoked shock and disbelief, even as political analysts cautioned that there are important lessons to be learned.    Others expressed concern that the domestic turmoil highlighted by the events could weaken the global leadership role of the United States.     Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi said he was distressed to see news of rioting and violence in Washington. “Orderly and peaceful transfer of power must continue. The democratic process cannot be allowed to be subverted through unlawful protests,” he tweeted.   The unprecedented events unfolded after Trump repeated his false claims that November’s election was “stolen,” and urged his supporters, who had gathered in the thousands in Washington, to march on the Capitol to express their anger.      “As a fellow democracy, India would be looking inwards to see what happens when polarization becomes this extreme. For a society as stratified as India’s along lines of caste, religion, ethnic fault lines, we have managed so far, but the challenges are only growing,” said Harsh V. Pant, a professor of international relations at King’s College London, who also heads the Strategic Studies Program at the Observer Research Foundation in New Delhi.     FILE – A Muslim woman (C) shouts at security personnel that patrol on the streets in Shaheen Bagh area after removing demonstrators continuously protesting against a new citizenship law, March 24, 2020.Many commentators fear that polarization along religious lines has been growing in India since Modi took power six years ago. His rightwing Bharatiya Janata Party has worked to consolidate the vote of the majority Hindus, resulting in marginalization of Muslims.      “What happened in Washington underlines the risk from leaders who are pushing for division in society as a means of electoral mobilization. If a solid, old democracy like the United States can come to this point, this is a serious issue for all,” said Manoj Joshi, at the Observer Research Foundation. “In India, for example, you appeal to the Hindus because they are a majority and then you win election after election,” he said.     Protesters confront riot police as they gathered at the Capitol on Wednesday, Jan. 6, 2021 in Salem, Ore. Thousands of President Donald Trump’s supporters caused violence and chaos in Washington while Congress attempted to vote to certify that…There are also worries in New Delhi’s security establishment that a deeply divided country could weaken the incoming administration of President-elect Joe Biden. India is looking to the United States for strong global leadership as its territorial disputes with China intensify in the Himalayan mountains, where troops from both sides have been confronting each other for nearly eight months.        “Everyone is shocked, that much is obvious. But the bigger concern is that the internal turmoil and discord in the country could preoccupy the Biden administration so much that it will be incapable of acting forcefully in the world to counterbalance China,” said Sreeram Chaulia, dean of the Jindal School of international Affairs at O.P. Jindal University. “The events at Capitol Hill only highlight that the incoming president will be under a lot of pressure from Trump and his supporters,” Chaulia said.     
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U.S. lawmakers are calling for an investigation of the police force that protects the Capitol, while also offering praise for their actions, after Wednesday’s storming of the seat of the country’s legislative branch by a mob of pro-Trump supporters.The push for answers was led by two Democrats who in the new Congress will lead the subcommittees that have budget oversight for the U.S. Capitol Police.   “There will be many videos, some [will] raise concern, some will show heroism. We need a full investigation on how the Capitol’s security was breached this quickly,” said Senator Chris Murphy.Congressman Tim Ryan pointed to a lack of preparation ahead of Wednesday’s planned rallies where supporters of President Donald Trump gathered to back his continued baseless rejection of his election loss.“I think it’s pretty clear that there’s going to be a number of people who are going to be without employment very, very soon because this is an embarrassment both on behalf of the mob, and the president, and the insurrection, and the attempted coup, but also the lack of professional planning and dealing with what we knew was going to occur,” he said.Congresswoman Ilhan Omar added: “We spend billions of dollars on national security and today failed to protect our Nation’s Capital from a lawless mob. Unacceptable!”Wednesday’s series of events began with Trump speaking at a noon rally on the Ellipse, just south of the White House, urging the crowd to continue fighting the election results as members of Congress were preparing to certify the count two kilometers away.“We’re going to walk down Pennsylvania Avenue … and we’re going to the Capitol … we’re going to try and give our Republicans … the kind of pride and boldness that they need to take back our country,” he said.  By 1:30 p.m., U.S. Capitol Police were telling people in a House of Representatives office building and an adjacent Library of Congress building to evacuate.  Just after 2 p.m., alerts went out about “an external security threat located on the West Front of the U.S. Capitol Building,” followed soon by another alert signaling a “security threat inside the building.”  Lawmakers and staff were told to find cover, lock doors and stay away from windows.  Robert Contee, chief of the city’s Metropolitan Police Department, said Capitol Police had at that point already called his department seeking help.  In some of the many videos of the mob’s actions shared on social media and by news organizations, Capitol Police officers can be seen being overwhelmed by the vastly larger crowds who stormed through waist-high barricades and evaded officers who were trying to halt their progress.  Other rioters scaled walls as members of the crowd smashed windows to get inside.  Members of the House and Senate, along with Vice President Mike Pence, who was presiding over the certification session, were evacuated.  The mob spent hours inside the building, including the office of House Speaker Nancy Pelosi, leaving behind smashed doors and furniture before exiting with little resistance as officers pushed to secure the site.  By 6 p.m. when Capitol Police, helped by local officers as well as the National Guard and federal law enforcement agencies, regained control, police had shot dead one woman and three other people were dead from medical emergencies, according to Contee.  Metropolitan Police said they arrested 52 people, and 14 of the department’s officers were injured.  Washington Mayor Muriel Bowser issued a curfew order that went into effect a short time later, set to last all night.  Around 9 p.m., lawmakers were back inside the Capitol to resume their session.  “I just walked through the Capitol on my way back to the House floor,” Republican Congressman Kelly Armstrong said late Wednesday.  “The Capitol Police are still there. Exhausted, bloodied, bandaged, some are on stretchers. They did their job today and they did it well.  They are still here. Protecting the United States Capitol so that the House and Senate can convene and fulfill our constitutional duty.”  Republican Senator Mitt Romney tweeted his thanks to the Capitol Police, FBI, Secret Service and National Guard, commending their “professionalism and bravery.”  “Grateful to you for keeping us safe every day, & especially today,” he posted. Congressman Earl Blumenauer, a Democrat from Oregon, thanked those he called the Capitol’s “unsung heroes.”  “Maintenance workers, cafeteria employees, and support staff didn’t deserve to be terrorized today. I appreciate you all,” he said.  As the clocked turned from Wednesday into Thursday, the FBI issued a call for the public to provide any photos, videos or information about the rioters.  At 1:13 a.m. came a final U.S. Capitol Police alert: “The USCP has cleared the internal security threat incident. Return to normal operations.”  With the west front of the Capitol set to host President-elect Joe Biden’s inauguration on January 20, Bowser said she extended an emergency order for 15 days “to ensure peace and security.”  The U.S. Secret Service leads security efforts for the inauguration, but typically gets help from numerous agencies such as the Capitol Police, Metropolitan police, Federal Aviation Administration and National Guard.  The U.S. Capitol Police website lists the agency’s annual budget at approximately $460 million with a staff of more than 2,300 officers and civilian employees.  
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