A federal judge appointed by President-elect Donald Trump is dashing the hopes of a Jan. 6 defendant.
Legal affairs reporter Kyle Cheney found in a court filing that Mark Waynick and his son Jerry McKane Waynick were shut down when they tried to blame the FBI for starting the attack on Jan. 6.
But the men maintained a conspiracy theory that there were agents in the crowd and that without those agents egging participants on, the attack would never happened.
That theory was destroyed late last week when an Inspector General report revealed no FBI agents were in the crowd.
The nearly 90-page report said, “We found no evidence in the materials we reviewed or the testimony we received showing or suggesting that the FBI had undercover employees in the various protest crowds, or at the Capitol, on January 6.”
WASHINGTON— A Father and son from Tennessee were sentenced to prison today after they were both previously convicted of assaulting law enforcement and other charges stemming from their conduct during the Jan. 6, 2021, breach of the U.S. Capitol. Their actions and the actions of others disrupted a joint session of the U.S. Congress convened to ascertain and count the electoral votes related to the 2020 presidential election.
Mark Waynick, 53, of Charlotte, Tennessee, was sentenced to 54 months in prison, 36 months of supervised release, and ordered to pay $2,000 in restitution.
Jerry McKane Waynick, 21, also of Charlotte, Tennessee, was sentenced to 30 months in prison, 36 months of supervised release, and ordered to pay $2,000 in restitution.
Both men were sentenced by U.S. District Judge Timothy J. Kelly.
Mark and Jerry Waynick were each convicted of 11 felony offenses and three misdemeanors, including, among other charges, assaulting law enforcement with a dangerous weapon. The men were found guilty following a bench trial before Judge Kelly.
According to the evidence presented during the trial, on Jan. 6, 2021, the Waynicks attended the "Stop the Steal" rally in Washington, D.C., near the Ellipse. After the rally, the two men made their way to the U.S. Capitol building wearing helmets, tactical vests, gloves, and goggles. The pair then entered the closed U.S. Capitol grounds shortly after the initial breach of the Peace Circle at 12:55 p.m. The men then made their way to the West Front, where a line of Metropolitan Police Department (MPD) and United States Capitol Police (USCP) officers were attempting to prevent rioters from breaching the Capitol.
On the West Front, the Waynicks joined other rioters' efforts to push against a line of police officers just before 1:36 p.m. During that time, McKane Waynick saw that police officers were attempting to detain another rioter and rushed to the barricade to grab the rioter and pull him away from the officers, interfering with the detention. While grabbing the other rioter, Jerry Waynick swiped at an officer's riot baton.
At the same time that McKane Waynick reached for the baton, Mark Waynick swung an American flag attached to a metal pole with a metal finial into the line of police officers. Before the pole hit any officers, an officer intercepted the pole by grabbing it from Mark and throwing it behind the line of police officers. Minutes later, McKane Waynick returned to the metal barricades and joined with at least four other rioters to separate one metal bicycle rack from the others and pull it into the crowd to create an opening in the barricade; however, police prevented them from achieving their intent.
Less than a minute later, at 1:40 p.m., McKane Waynick picked up a large plastic construction marker, aimed it at police, and hurled it with both hands, striking two officers. Court documents say that this marker weighed approximately ten pounds and was three feet tall. After hurling the object at police, McKane Waynick retreated back into the crowd.
The Waynicks entered the Capitol building from the Senate Wing Door at 2:20 p.m., just minutes after the initial breach at 2:13 p.m. Once inside, they moved throughout the building for approximately 35 minutes, entering the Will Rogers Hallway, which was outside the House Chamber, and joining with a mob of rioters who pushed past the handful of officers guarding that hallway.
At approximately 2:35 p.m., the mob pushed through police officers and entered the House Chamber's Main Door. The Waynicks followed the advancing rioters and moved to within a few feet of the House Chamber as the mob repeatedly chanted, "Break it down!" An individual recording video captured the scene afterward and asked McKane Waynick about what he had seen, to which he replied that he saw "guns" and said, "We're an imminent threat to the people inside.”
The Waynicks exited the Capitol building at 2:55 p.m. via the Upper House Door.
The FBI arrested the Waynicks on Feb. 17, 2022, in Tennessee.
This case was prosecuted by the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the District of Columbia and the Department of Justice National Security Division’s Counterterrorism Section. Valuable assistance was provided by the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Middle District of Tennessee.
This case was investigated by the FBI’s Memphis Field Office and the FBI’s Washington Field Office, which identified Jerry McKane Waynick as #157 on its seeking information photos. Valuable assistance was provided by the Metropolitan Police Department and the U.S. Capitol Police.
In the 46 months since Jan. 6, 2021, more than 1,561 individuals have been charged in nearly all 50 states for crimes related to the breach of the U.S. Capitol, including more than 590 individuals charged with assaulting or impeding law enforcement, a felony. The investigation remains ongoing.
Anyone with tips can call 1-800-CALL-FBI (800-225-5324) or visit tips.fbi.gov.
let's close with c.i.'s 'Iraq snapshot:'
Monday, December 16, 2024. Satan Trump makes clear he will not be the president of all Americans in his second effort to destroy the United States of America.
Let's start with Joseph William's latest at THE CHICAGO DEFENDER:
Four years ago, a white man suffocated George Floyd, a Black man, to death on a gritty Minneapolis street corner as bystanders begged for mercy. That brutal killing of an unarmed Floyd — caught on camera — turbocharged the Black Lives Matter movement, put the phrase “white privilege” into the national lexicon and inspired philanthropists to throw bushels of money at social justice nonprofits.
A year later, Derek Chauvin, a Minneapolis police officer whose job included training rookies, was convicted of second-degree murder and sentenced to 22 years and 6 months in prison — a rare instance of accountability and introspection in America’s long history of racist, systemic violence.
Monday brought us yet another reminder of how fleeting that reckoning truly was when a white man was found not guilty of suffocating Jordan Neely, a 30-year-old Black man, to death on the floor of a grimy New York subway train as bystanders called for mercy.
The acquittal of Daniel Penny — already a vigilante hero among the far right — comes just weeks after Donald Trump defeated Kamala Harris for the presidency in a racist campaign, Walmart became the biggest U.S. employer to shut down its DEI program, and social justice nonprofits realized philanthropists are closing their checkbooks to avoid Trump’s enemies list.
The Manhattan jury trying the second-degree murder case unanimously agreed with Penny: Neely, a homeless man dealing with mental illness and substance abuse, was a threat to others on the subway car that day, and Penny, a former Marine with a lethal chokehold, should not be held criminally responsible for killing him.
“What are we going to do, people? What’s going to happen to us now? I’ve had enough of this. The system is rigged.”
– Andre Zachary Neely’s father
Never mind that the killing happened in broad daylight, in front of many eyewitnesses, and was also recorded on a cellphone camera. Or that when Penny attacked him, Neely hadn’t committed an actual crime or put hands on anyone. Or that Neely was unarmed, that no lives were in danger, that passengers pleaded for Penny to let Neely go, that Penny kept McNeely in a chokehold for nearly five full minutes, maintaining it long after McNeely stopped struggling.
The jury saw and heard and processed all that evidence and — following roughly 17 hours of deliberation, including deadlocking over a lesser charge — collectively shrugged.
Satan Trump will never be the president of all Americans and that's a result of his choices and actions.
Penny killed McNeely.
We can argue many things but that is not in dispute. But for Penny being on the subway that day, McNeely would be alive.
This quickly became an issue with FOX "NEWS" and the others on the fright-wing insisting Black man got what was coming to him and White man a savior. That is how they played it and don't pretend otherwise. McNeely was Black and so, in their eyes, he had it coming. As Amercian history shows, decade over decade, killing people of color always results in less consequences than killing a White person.
I don't know Daniel Penny and I wouldn't want to at this point. When the verdict was delivered, I had nothing against Penny. He clearly killed Jordan Neely. Did he mean to? Maybe he did, maybe he didn't. I had no idea. Terrible things happen especially in a country where if a person of color is disruptive, a White person is encouraged to attack the person of color. Racism is not just ingrained into the American culture, it is encouraged and taught.
In his mind, Penny might be trying to address his own actions. Serious actions because he killed Jordan Neely.
He might be.
I've shared before about being a child and being kidnapped from school and taken off and raped. I was a kid, a very young kid. And as soon as the kidnapper went to sleep, I grabbed a sharp object (I pretended to be asleep before that) and drove it repeatedly into the man's leg over and over, blood everywhere and then ran out screaming calling for the cops. Did I kill him? Because he's dead. And he was dead by the time the authorities were there. I would guess I did kill him. (Guess? The police were outraged by what had taken place. From time to time, it was suggested over the years that the man was denied medical assistance.)
That man terrorized me and raped me.
And I'm glad he's dead. I can't imagine going through life with him being alive -- I'm being honest here. But there are times when I think about that and think about taking someone's life.
Grasp that I was less than ten years old. Grasp that he intentionally sought me out. Grasp that he beat and then he raped me.
And then there's Penny. Who clearly killed Jordan Neely.
The verdict comes down and he goes to the bar to 'celebrate' with his attorneys. Not a good look. And then, days after, this.
Days after the verdict, he's a guest of Satan and JD Vance at a football game?
You killed a man. You may have gotten off without prison time, but you still killed a man. Someone who did you know physical harm is dead because of you.
And you're out having fun and celebrating? What? Getting away with murder, that's what.
Horrible mistakes happen every day. And Penny's actions with Neely could have been a horrible mistake.
But not when you turn that into political cash. For FOX "NEWS" and the fright-wing, this was always about Big White man killed man of color. It was always a racist attack. And that's why they rushed to defend Penny from the start.
And that's why he got celebrated and treated like a hero instead of either a killer or a very unfortunate person.
He's given up the right, in the court of public opinion, to be seen as a very unfortunate person.
When he should have been home contemplating the life he took, he was instead out in public with racist Trump and racist JD. He chose where he wanted to be.
And Satan and JD chose where they wanted him to be.
He got away with killing Jordan Neely. That's what Penny, Satan and JD were celebrating, in front of the whole world.
This wasn't some kid who'd won a science fair, this wasn't some athlete who'd delivered an amazing performance. This was a killer who beat the rap for murdering a Black man.
At COMMON DREAMS, Ralph Nader writes:
Now is the time to prepare anticipatory strategies against what the vengeful, avaricious, lawless Trump and his Trumpsters have boasted out loud about daily. Don’t wait until Trump’s inauguration. A short list of suggestions follows:
No link to trash.
Now is the time?
Now, Ralph?
No the time to prepare was ahead of the presidential election -- you know, back when you were attacking Kamala Harris week after week while you
Ralph is a lot like Daniel Penny.
His actions in 2000? The Iraq War is something he helped create. Millions are dead as a result. But, week after week, on air and in print, he can never express remorse for his actions or take accountability for his part in starting the Iraq War.
. Back on December 6th, I noted:
The Supreme Court is probably going to deliver a severe attack on trans rights. They heard the case this week. We've noted many videos here about it -- and no one laid it out better than Danielle Moodie -- that's why we included her video in yesterday's snapshot.
I haven't written about this case here (but did two pieces for community newsletters) and the reason is, I just can't. I don't know if it's a scene from a film I'm recalling or something from news footage that's blurred in my mind long ago. But it's black and white when I dream and it's a child and they identify as female so some hateful thugs -- adults, not peers -- shaves her hair and beats her up. And it was popping up in dreams and I've not been able to sleep and now carry it over to waking moments. This isn't a topic I can address right now myself.
Today, John Russell (LGBTQ NATION) reports:
The ACLU of Florida is suing the state’s Department of Corrections over a new anti-transgender policy that will restrict trans prisoners’ access to gender-affirming medical care as well as their ability to express their gender identity.
According to a report from The Marshall Project and the Tampa Bay Times, a federal judge in Tallahassee held a preliminary hearing in the case on December 9. The ACLU of Florida has asked the judge to block enforcement of the policy, calling it an unconstitutional ban on gender-affirming care. A ruling is expected in the weeks ahead.
[. . .]
In court filings and interviews, incarcerated trans women in Florida prisons also reported being subjected to breast examinations to determine whether or not they would still be allowed access to bras.
“It felt like I was being treated less than human,” Josie Takach, a trans inmate at a Florida men’s facility, said of the examination. Takach said her undergarments, now considered contraband, were confiscated. “I feel like I’m 12 years old again, sneaking around wearing a bra.”
Sara Maatsch, who is also incarcerated in a Florida men’s prison, said that her gender dysphoria diagnosis was now considered a serious psychiatric illness. She was told she would have to be moved to a more restrictive facility with fewer work and programming opportunities to continue receiving treatment.
Mariko Sundwall told The Marshall Project that after spending 10 days in solitary confinement for refusing to cut her hair, a prison barber buzzed her hair short while she was handcuffed.
“I’m very sad and depressed. I feel like they’re taking away my identity,” Jada Edwards, another trans inmate, said of the buzz cut she was forced to receive.
Let's wind down with this from Senator Elizabeth Warren's office:
Washington, D.C. – U.S. Senator Elizabeth Warren (D-Mass.) and Representative Jared Huffman (D-Calif.) reintroduced the BUY GREEN Act, legislation to establish $1.5 trillion in federal procurement commitments for our clean energy future. The funds would be used to purchase American-made clean, renewable, and emission-free energy products for federal, state, and local use and to establish grant funding for U.S. companies to invest in clean energy manufacturing.
The federal government spends $500 billion annually to purchase goods and services. Many of these products have significant environmental impacts, including transportation equipment, building infrastructure, and electronics.
“America needs to invest in clean energy like our future depends on it,” said Senator Warren. “This bill will help grow our green economy and establish America as a world leader in clean energy.”
"As we face the urgent challenges of the climate crisis, I'm proud to introduce a bill that represents a transformative step toward a cleaner, more sustainable future," said Representative Huffman. "By investing in supporting American-made clean energy products, we are not only driving the transition to renewable and emission-free energy but also creating opportunities for innovation and good-paying jobs here at home."
A 2021 poll showed that 59% of voters support this bill. This strong bipartisan support suggests that our country is ready for us to make big investments to save our planet and build back greener.
Specifically, the bill would:
- Establish a "Clean Energy Fund" at the Department of Energy (DOE) for green procurement by authorizing the DOE to provide funding to federal agencies for clean energy purchases and creating a competitive federal grant program for state, local, and tribal governments to purchase clean energy products.
- Reduce carbon pollution by providing enough funds to electrify the entire federal fleet, including postal service vehicles; providing enough funds to electrify all public transit and school buses; and providing funds to design, build, and retrofit buildings, including federal, childcare, educational, and manufacturing facilities, to be more energy efficient.
- Boost the green economy and clean energy sector by establishing a grant program for U.S. companies to invest in clean energy manufacturing by retrofitting or building facilities that produce covered products and bolstering our ability to create clean energy products that can then be exported globally to make the U.S. a leader in green innovation.
- Support workers and frontline communities by including strong labor provisions to ensure jobs provide strong wages, benefits, and worker protections by and directing 40% of state, local, and tribal grant funding to purchases that benefit frontline, disadvantaged, and vulnerable communities that have been environmentally neglected.
- Protect taxpayer funds from fraud, waste, and abuse by forming a Green Procurement Oversight Advisory Board that will ensure the use of funds is compliant with clean energy and labor provisions and by directing the U.S. Comptroller General to conduct oversight of the use of funds and to publicly report on program efficacy each year.
In the Senate, Senator Bernie Sanders (I-Vt.) cosponsored this legislation.
The BUY GREEN Act has been endorsed by Sunrise Movement, MoveOn, GreenLatinos, Sierra Club, Green New Deal Network, Center for Progressive Reform, League of Conservation Voters, Earthjustice, Friends of the Earth, New Consensus, Public Citizen, Climate Hawks Vote, and Zero Hour.
Senator Warren has long worked to protect taxpayer money and ensure strong implementation of climate policy:
- In November 2024, Senator Elizabeth Warren reintroduced the Housing Survivors of Major Disasters Act. The bill proposes streamlining the process for people in communities affected by natural disasters seeking housing assistance.
- In November 2024, Senator Warren and Representative Jared Huffman reintroduced the National Institutes of Clean Energy Act (NICE), legislation that would invest $400 billion over the next decade to establish and operate a new system of clean energy institutes at the Department of Energy (DOE) focused on research and development of advanced clean energy technologies.
- In September 2024, Senators Elizabeth Warren and Angus King, along with Representatives Ro Khanna, Alma Adams, Pramila Jayapal, and Jan Schakowsky, wrote to the U.S. Department of the Treasury (Treasury), the Internal Revenue Service (IRS), and the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA), urging the agencies to develop strong guardrails for the 45Q tax credit, which is designed to encourage carbon capture and sequestration (CCS) projects.
- In June 2024, Senator Elizabeth Warren and Representative Sean Casten led a letter to the Federal Reserve Board (Fed), Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation (FDIC), and the Office of the Comptroller of the Currency (OCC), urging regulators to stop their obstruction of global financial regulators’ work to tackle climate-related financial risks. The lawmakers also called out the weaknesses revealed by the Fed’s 2023 “pilot scenario analysis” exploring six major banks’ resilience to climate-related financial risks.
- In May 2024, Senator Elizabeth Warren and Congressman Robert Garcia reintroduced the BUILD GREEN Infrastructure and Jobs Act, which would authorize the U.S. Department of Transportation to distribute $500 billion over ten years to electrify and modernize public vehicles and rail and build new electric transportation infrastructure across the country. The bill would also create 1 million new jobs, save $100 billion annually in health damages, and prevent 4,200 deaths per year from air pollution.
- In April 2024, Senator Elizabeth Warren and Representatives Sean Casten and Veronica Escobar, urged the Federal Acquisition Regulation (FAR) Council, composed of the Department of Defense (DoD), General Services Administration (GSA), and the National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA), to finalize the Federal Supplier Climate Risks and Resilience Rule as quickly as possible.
- In March 2024, Senator Elizabeth Warren, released a statement describing the Securities and Exchange Commission’s (SEC) finalized climate risk disclosure rule as “the bare minimum.”
- In September 2023, Senators Elizabeth Warren, Bernie Sanders, Martin Heinrich, Ed Markey, Sheldon Whitehouse, and Jeff Merkley called on the Treasury Department to take key actions pertaining to climate and climate-related financial risk to avert the impending environmental and economic crises.
- In September 2023, at a hearing of the Senate Banking, Housing, and Urban Affairs Committee, Senator Elizabeth Warren urged Chair Gensler to quickly finalize a strong climate risk disclosure rule, reminding him that he has a mandate to protect investors and strong public support.
- In March 2023, Senators Elizabeth Warren, Sheldon Whitehouse, and Representatives Dan Goldman and Jamie Raskin and 47 of their colleagues sent a letter to SEC Chair Gary Gensler, urging him to protect investors and finalize a strong climate disclosure rule without further delay.
- In September 2022, at a hearing of the Senate Banking, Housing, and Urban Affairs Committee, Senator Elizabeth Warren called on SEC Chair Gary Gensler to protect investors and stand up to fossil fuel lobbying by issuing a strong climate risk disclosure rule quickly.
- In June 2022, Senator Elizabeth Warren led a comment letter with Senators Sheldon Whitehouse and Brian Schatz on the SEC’s mandatory climate disclosure rule, highlighting several areas for improvement and key elements that the SEC should preserve in its final rule, including strong Scope 3 emissions disclosure requirements.
- In March 2022, Senator Elizabeth Warren led a letter with Senators Sheldon Whitehouse and Brian Schatz urging the SEC to require disclosure of anti-climate lobbying activities in the Commission’s rule.
- In May 2021, Senator Elizabeth Warren and then-Congressman Andy Levin introduced the Buy Green Act to use the enormous breadth of U.S. federal procurement to help fight the climate crisis, spur innovation, and boost demand for American-made clean energy products at home and in the rapidly-growing markets for green products abroad.
- In May 2021, Senator Elizabeth Warren and then-Congressman Andy Levin introduced the National Institutes of Clean Energy Act of 2021, legislation that would invest $400 billion over the next ten years to establish and operate a new system of institutes at the Department of Energy dedicated to research and development (R&D) of advanced clean energy technologies.
- In April 2021, Senator Elizabeth Warren and Representative Sean Casten reintroduced the Climate Risk Disclosure Act of 2021 which would reduce the chances of environmental and financial catastrophe by requiring public companies to disclose more information about their exposure to climate-related risks.
- In March 2021, Senator Elizabeth Warren unveiled the BUILD GREEN Infrastructure and Jobs Act which would invest $500 billion over ten years in state, local, and tribal projects to jumpstart the transition to all electric public vehicles and rail and help modernize the nation's crumbling infrastructure.
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The following sites updated:
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Science grab bag2 days ago
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So much for hit the ground running2 days ago
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