Hundreds will be charged over riots - FBI

The manager of cult favourite actor Chuck Norris has dealt a flying kick to claims that the action movie star was at the Capitol riot last week.

A series of selfies were shared online purportedly showing the 80-year-old at the pro-Trump event.

"This is not Chuck Norris and is a wannabe lookalike although Chuck is much more handsome," his manager told Fox News on Tuesday.

"Chuck remains on his ranch in Texas, where he has been with his family."

Phew! For a minute there, it was beginning to look like a terrible sequel to this 1985 Norris classic:

Cannon FilmsCopyright: Cannon Films

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Fiona Hill, a former top White House Security adviser, has written an opinion piece around language being used to characterise last week's violence at the Capitol.

Hill, an expert on the Soviet Union, has argued in Politico that what happened last week could be defined as an attempted "self-coup" by the outgoing president.

"Trump disguised what he was doing by operating in plain sight, talking openly about his intent. He normalized his actions so people would accept them. I’ve been studying authoritarian regimes for three decades, and I know the signs of a coup when I see them," she wrote, before comparing events of recent months to a "checklist" analysts use to evaluate coups and attempts around the world.

Hill was born in north-east England and gained worldwide attention in 2019 for her straight-talking testimony during Trump's first impeachment inquiry.

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Harvard University's prestigious Institute of Politics has made the decision to remove Republican congresswoman Elise Stefanik from its advisory board.

Douglas Elmendorf, the dean of Harvard's Kennedy School of Government, said on Tuesday in a note to colleagues that he had asked Stefanik to step down. When she refused, he informed her that she had been kicked out.

The dean said in his letter that Stefanik, who represents northern New York state and voted to object to Biden's win, had made "public assertions about voter fraud in November’s presidential election that have no basis in evidence".

"She has made public statements about court actions related to the election that are incorrect," he continued.

"Moreover, these assertions and statements do not reflect policy disagreements but bear on the foundations of the electoral process through which this country’s leaders are chosen."

Hitting back, Stefanik called the decision "a rite of passage and badge of honour".

"The decision by Harvard's administration to cower and cave to the woke Left will continue to erode diversity of thought," she tweeted.

"The Ivory Tower's march toward a monoculture of like-minded, intolerant liberal views demonstrates the sneering disdain for everyday Americans and will instill a culture of fear for students."

FBI via ReutersCopyright: FBI via Reuters

Acting US Attorney Michael Sherwin says the two pipe bombs found near the Republican National Committee (RNC) and Democratic National Committee (DNC) on 6 January "were real devices" with explosive igniters and timers.

"We don't know exactly why they did not go off, that's being investigated," he said. "What was the purpose of those devices being planted? Was it a diversionary type of a tactic used by some of these rioters? "Or did it have some other type of nefarious purpose? That is what the ATF, the FBI, and PD are looking at as we speak right now."

The FBI is offering a $50,000 reward for information leading to the identification of the individual, or individuals, who left the pipe bombs.

The FBI is appealing for those involved in the Capitol riots to hand themselves into law enforcement.

“Even if you left DC, agents from our local field offices will be knocking on your door,” the assistant director in charge of the FBI's DC office warned offenders at Tuesday's briefing.

Michael Sherwin, the acting US Attorney for District of Washington, said some of the misdemeanor charges filed so far are "just the beginning" with officials looking at "significant felony cases" tied to sedition and conspiracy - with prison terms of up to 20 years.

Speaking from the US-Mexico border, President Trump begins his speech by telling border agents that he delivered the wall "exactly as you wanted it".

"So you got no excuses. I don't want you to have any excuses," he says, referring to his signature campaign promise.

He then turns to the events of last week that have led to the House to call for Vice-President Mike Pence to replace him as president under the 25th Amendment of the Constitution.

"Free speech is under assault like never before," he says.

"The 25th amendment is of zero risk to me but will come back to haunt Joe Biden and the Biden administration."

He adds that "the impeachment hoax is a continuation of the greatest witch hunt in history".

"Now is the time for our nation to heal. A time for peace and calm," he says.

He adds that "respect for law enforcement is the foundation of the MAGA agenda,” in a reference to his campaign acronym meaning "Make America Great Again".

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President Trump, who is due to speak imminently, was seen by reporters autographing the border wall with Mexico.

He appears to have used a black Sharpie.

The president was earlier greeted by throngs of supporters upon his arrival. "Thank you for the votes," he told the Texans who welcomed him at the airport.

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The revelation from the Washington Post that an FBI office in Virginia warned of violence adds to the serious questions over what went wrong.

The report from the Norfolk office was said to have been approved for release the day before the attack on the Capitol and warned that extremists planned to travel to commit violence, and even "war", and were sharing maps of the tunnels beneath Congress.

Some have suggested that the events marked an "intelligence failure" but this suggests otherwise.

Instead, it looks like there was intelligence in the system but it did not find its way to the right people, was not taken seriously, or was not acted on.

That final possibility goes to what may be the most difficult question – did calculations about politics or how security measures might look dictate the lack of proper preparation?

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President Trump is due to speak in Texas in the coming hour as he visits the wall on the US-Mexico border.

The White House said his visit would "mark the completion of more than 400 miles of border wall -- a promise made, promise kept..."

However, only 80 miles of new barriers have been built where there were none before - that includes 47 miles of primary wall, and 33 miles of secondary wall built to reinforce the initial barrier.

The city he'll visit, Alamo, is full of symbolism. It's named after the San Antonio mission where Texan fighters fought against Mexican forces for 13 days in 1836.

The fighters were annihilated but became a symbol of resistance for Texans, who defeated the Mexican army about a month later.

The city of Alamo in a press release yesterday said that they had been given no advance warning of Trump's visit.

Read more:

Trump's wall: How much has been built during his term?

South Carolina Republican Senator Lindsey Graham has hitched a ride on Air Force One with President Trump today on his visit to Texas.

Graham, a top Trump ally, had previously been close to his Senate colleague John McCain, who frequently clashed with Trump until McCain's death in 2018.

After last week's violence, Graham begged his colleagues on the Senate floor to vote to certify Biden's win.

"Trump and I, we've had a hell of a journey. I hate it to end this way. Oh my God, I hate it," he said.

"All I can say, is count me out, enough is enough," he continued.

He's certainly not the first Republican senator to have an on-again/off-again relationship with Trump.

Senator Ted Cruz, the first in his chamber to back an objection to Biden's victory, had previously called Trump a "pathological liar".

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German investment bank Deutsche Bank is the latest organisation to decide that it will terminate business with the US president or his companies, according to reports.

As the primary lender to the Trump Organization, the bank's move could hit the Trump family wallet where it hurts.

It comes as several other entities that have been crucial to the growth of the Trump brand - from Twitter to the Professional Golfers' Association - are severing ties.

The bank has so far declined to comment on the matter, though reports say it will no longer do future business with the president.

In the 1990s, as Trump reeled from a series of bankruptcies, Deutsche Bank was the only lender that did business with him.

When he sued the bank's real estate division in 2008 after defaulting on a $40m (£29m) loan repayment, its private wealth division loaned him money to pay off the existing debt, according to Newsweek.

The bank has also been pulled into investigations by Democrats in Congress into Trump's financial dealingsas well as into investigations into the Trump Organization by state prosecutors in New York, where Trump used to live.

The Trump Organization is reported to owe Deutsche Bank about $340m (£249m) in outstanding loans, which are due in the next few years.

Meanwhile, another of Trump's main lenders - Signature Bank - is saying it will close his two personal accounts.

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Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer is urging federal authorities to put "anybody who was inside the Capitol" building last Wednesday to be added to a national no-fly list.

"We cannot allow these same insurrectionists to get on a plane and cause more violence and more damage," said the New York Democrat.

Calling on the FBI, TSA, the Department of Homeland Security to act "immediately", he called those involved in the riots "a threat to the homeland as defined by the law".

Schumer - who will become Majority Leader of the US Senate in eight days - is the highest-ranking government official so far to call for a no-fly list.

Social media has been abuzz in recent days, with several videos of those allegedly involved in the Capitol invasion being ejected from flights and banned by airlines.

There have also been multiple reports of unruly passengers physically and verbally abusing crew members and others aboard their flights.

Over the weekend, the Federal Aviation Administration threatened severe fines for misbehaviour.

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One of the Democrats pushing for President Trump's removal has had a tragic and challenging start to 2021.

Maryland Congressman Jamie Raskin's son died by suicide, his office announced on the last day of 2020.

One week later - and only two days after the laying to rest of 25-year-old Thomas Bloom Raskin - a mob rioted through the Capitol where lawmakers were meeting to certify November's election result.

Raskin, who co-authored the impeachment resolution while sheltering from the crowd, had invited his daughter and son-in-law to be with him that day in the Capitol, and became separated from them as the melee began.

They were forced to barricade themselves in a room with other lawmakers as the mob beat at their doors.

Speaking to the Washington Post, Raskin said that his son, who was studying law at Harvard University, would have considered last week's violence "the absolute worst form of crime against democracy".

“It really is Tommy Raskin,” he added, “and his love and his values and his passion, that have kept me going.”

Michigan's Attorney General Dana Nessel has warned that the Michigan Capitol "is not safe", despite a state decision to ban the open carrying of weapons in the building.

On Monday, a state panel unanimously voted to allow only police officers to openly carry guns inside the Capitol. However, the decision does not prevent people with concealed weapons licences from bringing their guns - and, according to Nessel, no rules are in place to check people do have licences.

"That means anyone - irrespective of criminal history, membership with an anti-government org, or stated intention to harm government employees - can still enter the Capitol fully locked and loaded with firearms or explosive devices hidden by clothing, backpacks, etc," she wrote in a series of tweets on Tuesday.

"I repeat - the Michigan Capitol is not safe."

Nessel's response came after the FBI warned of possible armed protests by Trump supporters and far-right groups across the country ahead of Joe Biden's inauguration later this month.

Representative Norma Torres, a Democrat from California, has just delivered an emotional account of her experience last week.

Urging her colleagues to support a resolution asking for the 25th Amendment to be invoked to remove President Trump from office, Rep Torres recalled her experience as one of the last members to get out of the chamber as a "raging mob" tried to get inside.

Her voice shaking, Rep Torres spoke about hearing a pro-Trump protester get shot and having to crawl across the floor to safety.

She urged Vice President Mike Pence to "do the right thing.... for the future of America".

EPACopyright: EPA

As major social media platforms crack down on accounts promoting US election conspiracy theories, many conspiracy and far-right groups in the US are looking for a new home online.

Twitter hasn’t just kicked the president off the platform. It’s also closed down some 70,000 accounts associated with the QAnon conspiracy, while Facebook said it is continuing efforts to shut down “Stop the Steal” groups which allege, with no evidence, that Donald Trump was cheated of the presidency.

One of the most popular alternatives had been the self-styled “free speech” social media outlet Parler, but then over the weekend that was banned too for posts inciting violence.

Then there’s Gab, a Twitter-like platform popular with right-wing groups, which is awash with extreme content and welcomes QAnon followers with open arms. It claims to have added 600,000 new users since the riots.

It’s thought Gab’s user base is far smaller than that of the now-closed Parler, which had around 16m users.

Others seem to be moving to MeWe, which is similar to Facebook.

There are some parallels with online jihadists, who also found their voices silenced after the rise of Islamic State in the Middle East.

The Islamic State group and al-Qaeda frequently have to re-establish their online presence after social media companies identify and close their accounts, leading to a nomadic online existence.

They have already adapted to life outside the big social media platforms like Twitter and Facebook and have exploited less well known platforms and apps to get their messages out.

Read more:

• How ‘big tech’ is taking Trumpism offline
• 65 days that led to chaos at the Capitol

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The House of Representatives rules committee is holding a hearing on a resolution that claims Trump "widely advertised and broadly encouraged" the mob that ransacked Congress last week, and that Vice-President Mike Pence should take over as president.

Democrats, who control the chamber, are calling for Pence to "immediately" invoke the 25th Amendment and declare Trump unfit for office.

"Lead us out of this nightmare that we’ve been plunged into with these recent events," Democrat Jamie Raskin says during the hearing, addressing Pence and the other cabinet officials.

The 25th Amendment allows the vice-president to become acting president when a president is unable to continue his duties, if for example, he or she becomes incapacitated due to a physical or mental illness.

The part of the amendment being discussed is section four, which allows the vice-president and a majority of the cabinet to declare President Trump unable to perform his duties.

They would need to sign a letter to the speaker of the House of Representatives and the presiding officer of the Senate declaring the president is unfit to govern or incapable "of discharging the powers and duties of his office". At this point, Vice-President Mike Pence would automatically take over.

The president is given the chance to offer a written response, and if he contests the finding, then it falls on Congress to decide. Any vote in the Senate and House of Representatives ordering the president's removal requires a two-thirds majority.

Until the issue is resolved, the vice-president would act as president.

Read more:

What is the 25th Amendment?