Tag: Capitol Riot
Alabama Young Voters On Capitol Attacks: ‘We Can’t Unsee Those Images’
WBHM Young voters of both parties look toward the future as a new administration takes over. Read more.
Alabama Officials Not That Worried About Protest at State House
UPDATED — The FBI says that “armed protests” could erupt at state capitols in all 50 states, and some officials are making significant preparations to face a possible onslaught of Trump supporters grieved by the impending Biden inauguration.
In Alabama, well, officials seem less worried.
“I don’t foresee anybody trying to really storm the Alabama state capitol, and why they would do it, I don’t know,” said Patrick Harris, secretary of the Alabama Senate. “I mean, we’re the home of everybody that’s supporting all these people,” he said, referring to Alabama Rep. Mo Brooks, whose role in stirring up the insurrection remains under scrutiny. “And we voted for Trump, we certified our votes for Trump.”
The prevailing idea seems to be that rightwing protestors, neo-Confederates, Proud Boys or others are not expected to kick up trouble in Montgomery over the presidential election. Even a spokesperson for the Southern Poverty Law Center and its Hatewatch unit, which closely monitors the activities of such groups, said, “We don’t have any specific notes to share about Alabama at this time.”
At least for Sunday, they appeared to be right. The Montgomery Advertiser reported that there were more police than onlookers at the Capitol building. About two dozen Montgomery police officers and state troopers were on the Capitol grounds Sunday. Several others sat in parked cars at the road barricades, and the police chief paced the block with two officers in an ATV. Read more.
No Easy Way to Make Fox News Change Its Bad Behavior
No one is more responsible for the devastation to life and property at the U.S. Capitol than the criminals themselves, but retributions are under way against parts of the media environment that allowed it and even encouraged it.
Under public pressure, and perhaps stunned by events, major social media platforms such as Facebook and Twitter have temporarily or permanently suspended selected accounts, including the president’s, deemed to potentially incite violence. Amazon, Apple and Google essentially shut down Parler, a social media platform popular with conspiracy theorists.
It’s not as clear what to do about traditional news media, such as Fox News, that also stirred unfounded anger with repeated lies by opinion hosts, commentators and guests about the validity of the presidential election. Read more.
Alabamians and Politicians Connect to the Insurrection From Start to Finish
Whether you call it a coup attempt, an insurrection or a protest that went horribly wrong, the Jan. 6 invasion by supporters of President Trump into the U.S. Capitol involved Alabamians in several ways.
A Falkville Trump supporter has been arrested on charges involving weapons and Molotov cocktails filled with a homemade napalm-like explosive. An Athens man died of a heart attack outside the Capitol as police were trying to repel the mob.
Fingers are pointing at U.S. Rep. Mo Brooks, a Republican from Alabama, because of his speech at a Trump rally before the riot in which he urged the crowd on toward dramatic action.
Freshman Sen. Tommy Tuberville’s name has come up in reports about the day as Trump and Rudy Giuliani tried to call Tuberville’s office to urge him to delay action while senators were debating the certification of the electoral college votes.
And the state’s attorney general is calling for the investigation of a group he leads after learning it actively promoted attendance at the rally. Read more.
