Eliana Willis

The congresswomen Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez and Rashida Tlaib have delivered emotional testimonies about the 6 January US Capitol breach on the House floor.  Ocasio-Cortez called for the House to avoid quickly moving on from the insurrection, saying it would diminish the impact on survivors and avoid accountability for those killed. Tlaib referenced the death threats she had received before she was sworn in and pleaded for the rhetoric that led to the attack to be taken seriously More

A fiercely divided House removed the congresswoman Marjorie Taylor Greene from both her committees Thursday, an unprecedented punishment that Democrats said she’d earned by spreading hateful and violent conspiracy theories.
During the debate, the House majority, leader Steny Hoyer, exhibited a Facebook post in which Greene is holding a gun next the faces of progressive congresswomen of color
House votes to remove Republican extremist Marjorie Taylor Greene from committee roles
Biden declares ‘diplomacy is back’ as he outlines foreign policy agenda at state department – live More

Joe Biden outlined his vision for America’s foreign policy agenda in a speech at the state department. The president reiterated the need for America to strengthen its global alliances after four years of Donald Trump belittling those relationships.
‘We will repair our alliances and engage with the world once again – not to meet yesterday’s challenges but today’s and tomorrow’s,’ Biden said. ‘We can’t do it alone.’
US Politics live More

Joe Biden paid his respects at the US Capitol on Tuesday night to the police officer killed by the violent mob of Donald Trump supporters who staged the insurrection on Congress on 6 January.The remains of Brian Sicknick, 42, are lying in honor in the Capitol’s towering central rotunda where rioters had rampaged on the day, ahead of a ceremony for the fallen officer on Wednesday.Sicknick was hit on the head with a fire extinguisher as the mass of rioters, egged on by Trump at a rally near the White House immediately prior, swarmed into the Capitol four weeks ago. He later collapsed and died in hospital.The ceremony for Sicknick, a former member of the National Guard whose ashes will be buried at Arlington National Ceremony, comes less than a week before the impeachment trial of Trump is due to begin.Prosecutors from the House of Representatives have accused Trump of creating a “powder keg” among his supporters which eventually led to the insurrection which caused Sicknick’s death, accusing him of being “singularly responsible” for inciting the insurrection.After losing the presidential election Trump repeatedly made false accusations of widespread voter fraud, before holding the rally on 6 January as electors met in both chambers of the US Congress in Washington DC to confirm Joe Biden’s victory.There, Trump encouraged his supporters to “fight like hell” and urged them to march down Pennsylvania Avenue to the Capitol.On Wednesday hundreds of congressional staff signed a letter to the US Senate, urging them to convict Trump.Five people, including Sicknick, died in the 6 January riot, as Trump’s supporters broke into the building and threatened violence against members of Congress. A reported 60 Capitol police officers were injured.Biden and the first lady, Jill Biden, arrived at the Capitol late on Tuesday night, as the viewing ceremony for Sicknick began.The president briefly placed his hand on a wooden box containing Sicknick’s ashes, Associated Press reported, before saying a prayer and sadly shaking his head as he observed a memorial wreath nearby. Sicknick’s ashes stood next to a tri-folded American flag in a polished wooden case.Nanci Pelosi and Chuck Schumer, the most senior Democrats in the House and Senate, announced in late January that Sicknick would lie in honor, a procedure usually reserved for government leaders.Sicknick’s actions on 6 January “helped save lives, defend the temple of our democracy and ensure that the Congress was not diverted from our duty to the Constitution,” Pelosi and Schumer said. More

Democratic congresswoman Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez speaks about how her experience of Capitol riot was affected by her experience as a survivor of sexual assault
Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez says she is a sexual assault survivor More

The Democratic congresswoman Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez on Monday spoke in an emotional video about the insurrection at the US Capitol, and how what she went through was affected by her experience as a survivor of sexual assault.In an account remarkably candid for an American lawmaker, Ocasio-Cortez recounted going into hiding as rioters scaled the Capitol on 6 January, hiding in a bathroom in her office while hearing banging on the walls and a man yelling: “Where is she? Where is she?” She had feared for her life, she told an Instagram Live audience of more than 150,000 people.“I thought I was going to die,” she said. “And I had a lot of thoughts. I was thinking if this is the plan for me, then people will be able to take it from here.”In the video, Ocasio-Cortez expressed frustration at being asked to “move on” after the attack, likening it to the refrain heard by many survivors of sexual assault. “These folks like to tell us to move on, that it’s not a big deal, that we should forget what happened, even telling us that we should apologize – these are the same tactics of abusers,” Ocasio-Cortez said.“I’m a survivor of sexual assault,” she added. “And I haven’t told many people that in my life. But when we go through trauma, trauma compounds on each other.”Ocasio-Cortez, who won re-election in November in New York’s 14th congressional district, had said in a video last month that she feared for her life during the Capitol attack.On Monday, she said she had been worried about the security situation for days, having been cautioned about possible violence by several people, including other lawmakers.The incident at her office had occurred after she returned from receiving her Covid-19 vaccine, she said. “I immediately realized I shouldn’t have gone into the bathroom. I should have gone in the closet,” she said. “Then I hear whoever was trying to get inside got into my office. I realize it’s too late.”She said she had then heard yelling. “This was the moment I thought everything was over. I thought I was going to die.”The congresswoman wiped away tears as she continued. “I start to look through the door hinge to see if I can see anything. I see this white man in a black beanie and yell again,” she said. “I have never been quieter in my entire life.”AOC recounting her horrifying experience hiding in her office during the insurrection.“I thought I was going to die…I have never been quieter in my entire life.” pic.twitter.com/t2P6FU3mFU— Justice Democrats (@justicedems) February 2, 2021
A staffer had eventually told her it was safe to emerge from the bathroom where she was hiding, and a Capitol police officer had been present in her office. She and her team had left the office, she recalled, and had eventually found shelter in the offices of the California representative Katie Porter.Ocasio-Cortez, who is Latina, had previously said that her fears were heightened because there were white supremacists and other extremists taking part in the mostly white mob.The second-term representative, whose New York district covers part of Queens and the Bronx, is among the most high-profile elected officials on the political left and a lightning rod for the right and extreme right.She has strongly condemned Donald Trump for inciting the riots, as well as members of his administration who did not invoke the 25th amendment to remove him from office, and lawmakers who voted to overturn the election results. More

Federal law enforcement officials have arrested two members of the Proud Boys, a rightwing nationalist extremist group, for their role in the attack on the US Capitol on 6 January.The riot is now the subject of a second impeachment trial of Donald Trump, who is accused of inciting the rightwing mob at a rally that immediately preceded the assault. Federal authorities have charged more than 150 people in the onslaught.Federal prosecutors indicted Dominic Pezzola, 43, of Rochester, New York, and William Pepe, 31, of Beacon, New York on charges of conspiracy, civil disorder, unlawfully entering restricted buildings, and disorderly conduct in restricted buildings.Both men were identified as members of the Proud Boys, who, federal charging documents note, describe themselves as a “pro-Western fraternal organization for men who refuse to apologize for creating the modern world; aka Western Chauvinists”. The far-right group is known for using violent tactics against its opponents.Pezzola was the subject of one of the most widely distributed videos of the Capitol riots, in which he used a protective shield ripped away from a Capitol police officer to smash a window leading into the Capitol.Michael Sherwin, the acting US attorney for Washington, said in a court filing that Pezzola had “showed perseverance, determination, and coordination in being at the front lines every step along the way before breaking into the Capitol”, and that his actions in shattering the window and allowing an initial group of rioters to stream through “cannot be overstated”.Pezzola was later seen inside the Capitol building with a cigar, having what he described as a “victory smoke” and boasting that he “knew we could take this”. Pezzola’s lawyer described his client as a self-employed family man.In a search of Pezzola’s home in Rochester, New York, FBI agents found a computer thumb drive with hundreds of files detailing how to make firearms, poisons or explosives, Sherwin wrote in arguing that Pezzola should continue to be held without bail.Pepe was also photographed inside the Capitol. Federal authorities later identified him as a Metro-North Railroad train yard laborer who called in sick to attend the Trump rally that preceded the riot. Metro-North suspended Pepe without pay. He was also forced to surrender a shotgun and a hunting rifle, according to the Associated Press.In yet another arrest, federal authorities have charged Dawn Bancroft, a woman who entered the Capitol building and took a video of herself inside, with unlawful entry into a restricted building, disorderly conduct inside a restricted building, and violent entry into a restricted building.An affidavit from the FBI said Bancroft at first denied entering the building. When she was shown her own video of the event, the affidavit said she “stated that she lied”. Bancroft’s video showed her inside the Capitol with a friend and said she was searching for “Nancy”, believed to be Nancy Pelosi, the House speaker, so they could shoot her “in the friggin’ brain”.Police are still searching for a suspect in the placement of pipe bombs in front of the Republican and Democratic party headquarters on 5 January.The FBI said it believed the suspect had placed the bombs in Washington DC between 7.30 and 8.30pm, and that the suspect was wearing Nike Air Max Turf shoes in yellow, black and gray. Authorities have increased the reward for information leading to the suspect’s arrest from $75,000 to $100,000. More

The Democratic representative Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez has rejected a message of support from Ted Cruz, adding the Texas senator “almost had me murdered three weeks ago”.Cruz on Thursday had endorsed Ocasio-Cortez’s call on Twitter for a congressional hearing about the decision by the online trading platform Robinhood to restrict trading in GameStop shares. But while welcoming the chance to work across party lines on the issue, Ocasio-Cortez had harsh words for Cruz.“I am happy to work with Republicans on this issue where there’s common ground, but you almost had me murdered 3 weeks ago so you can sit this one out,” Ocasio-Cortez tweeted. “Happy to work w/ almost any other GOP that aren’t trying to get me killed. In the meantime if you want to help, you can resign.”“While you conveniently talk about ‘moving on’, a second Capitol police officer lost their life yesterday in the still-raging aftermath of the attacks you had a role in,” she said. “This isn’t a joke. We need accountability, and that includes a new senator from Texas.”I am happy to work with Republicans on this issue where there’s common ground, but you almost had me murdered 3 weeks ago so you can sit this one out.Happy to work w/ almost any other GOP that aren’t trying to get me killed.In the meantime if you want to help, you can resign. https://t.co/4mVREbaqqm— Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez (@AOC) January 28, 2021
Ocasio-Cortez is one of several prominent figures to publicly cast blame on Cruz for his role in fomenting the deadly violence on Capitol Hill on 6 January. Seven Democratic senators have filed a formal complaint, urging the Senate ethics committee to investigate Cruz, along with the Missouri senator Josh Hawley, because of their efforts to block the certification of Joe Biden’s election.Hawley and Cruz were prominent among 147 Republican representatives and senators to vote against certifying the election results, even after the Capitol attack.Five people, including a police officer, died in the unrest. At least oneof the people charged in the attack had posted death threats against Ocasio-Cortez online.Meanwhile, lawmakers have continued to express fears for their safety amid relentless partisan friction. The House Speaker, Nancy Pelosi, on Thursday said members of Congress face threats of violence from an “enemy” within and called for additional funds to protect lawmakers.Asked to clarify what she meant, Pelosi said, “It means that we have members of Congress who want to bring guns on the floor and have threatened violence on other members of Congress. Several lawmakers who voted for this month’s House impeachment of Trump have reported receiving threats, and initial moves to enhance safety procedures have taken on clear partisan undertones. Some Republicans have loudly objected to having to pass through newly installed metal detectors before entering the House chamber, while Pelosi has proposed fining lawmakers who bypass the devices.Cruz’s office did not immediately respond to Ocasio-Cortez’s second tweet. A Robinhood spokeswoman declined to comment on the lawmakers’ criticism.Several lawmakers on Wednesday expressed their concerns over Robinhood’s decision to restrict trading in several social media-driven stocks that had soared this week. The issue had pit hedge funds and other short sellers against retail buyers, many motivated by commentary on sites such as Reddit.Ro Khanna, the Democratic congressman representing the Silicon Valley region, said in a statement: “While retail trading in some cases, like on Robinhood, blocked the purchasing of GameStop, hedge funds were still allowed to trade the stock. We need more regulation and equality in the markets.”“We’re done letting hedge fund billionaires treat the stock market like their personal playground, then taking their ball home as soon as they lose.”The US representative Rashida Tlaib, a Democrat, called the restriction “beyond absurd”.Tlaib urged on Twitter that Congress “have a hearing on Robinhood’s market manipulation. They’re blocking the ability to trade to protect Wall St. hedge funds, stealing millions of dollars from their users to protect people who’ve used the stock market as a casino for decades.”Ocasio-Cortez said the House financial services committee investigation should not be limited to Robinhood but “should examine any retail services freezing stock purchases in the course of potential investigations – especially those allowing sales, but freezing purchases”. More