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RIGHT WING EXTREMISM

‘Are We in China?’: Alex Jones Tells Parents He ‘Won’t Apologize’ for Thinking Sandy Hook ‘Might Have Been Staged’

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In a nasty, angry outburst with the parents of children slaughtered in Newtown, Connecticut in the courtroom, conspiracy theorist and far right wing provocateur Alex Jones said he “legitimately” thought the massacre of 20 young children and six adults during the 2012 Sandy Hook Elementary School shooting “might have been staged.”

It was an ugly, vicious scene.

Christopher Mattei, attorney for the Sandy Hook families, “raised his voice, turned and gestured toward the families packed into the front of the court room and told Jones, ‘You put targets on all their backs,'” the Hartford Courant reports.

“Just like all the Iraqis that you liberals killed,” Jones responded. “You’re unbelievable. You switch on emotions on and off,” he accused, calling Mattei an ambulance chaser.

“Why don’t you show a little respect?” Mattei replied.

“Objection!” Jones’ attorney decried.

“You have families in this courtroom here, that lost children, sisters, wives, moms…” Mattei told Jones.

READ MORE: Trump Judge Smacks Down Dershowitz’s Demand DOJ Give Back Mike Lindell’s Seized Cell Phone in Scathing Ruling

“Several of the victims’ families were sitting in the courtroom Thursday, many crying during parts of the testimony,” NBC News reports. “A jury is being asked to decide how much he should pay in damages to the families of eight Sandy Hook shooting victims and an FBI agent who responded to the attack, all of whom say his lies about the shooting led to emotional distress and harassment by people who believed his lies.”

“Is this a struggle session? Are we in China?” Jones snapped in response, referring to what some call “denunciation rallies,” public humiliation methods from the Maoist period designed to shape public opinion.

“I’ve already said I’m sorry hundreds of times and I’m done saying it,” Jones retorted. “I didn’t regenerate this, I wasn’t the first person to say it.”

“American gun owners didn’t like being blamed for this,” Jones said, referring to the Sandy Hook mass shooting, “as the left did, so we rejected mentally and said it must not be true.”

Jones appeared to be using as a defense that he has the right to “decide” what is or is not fact, based on his political beliefs.

“But I legitimately thought it might have been staged, and I stand by that and don’t apologize for it.”

READ MORE: ‘Hero’ and ‘National Treasure’ Raskin Receives Massive Praise for Speech Decimating GOP Opposition to J6 Committee

There is no record of mass shootings in modern America ever having been staged.

“Please don’t apologize” the families’ attorney retorted.

“I’ve already apologized to the parents,” Jones added. “I don’t apologize to you.”

“Objection!” one man yelled.

“You’re going to do it again, aren’t you?” Mattei, the families’ lawyer, challenged Jones with, appearing to suggest Jones will continue to promote conspiracy theories of staged mass shootings again.

On social media rebukes of Jones were strong.

“Every bit of information from this trial is a portrait of a brain-poisoning, brain-poisoned monster,” said Toronto Star columnist Bruce Arthur.

READ MORE: ‘You Know What Perjury Is?’: Attorney for Sandy Hook Families Tells Alex Jones His Own Lawyer Sent Him a Copy of His Texts

“Human beings rarely come in worse, more pathetic packages than Alex Jones. The trick here is to never, never forget about all the kids that were slaughtered and how Jones profited from that and made the lives of their families a living hell,” wrote journalist Stephen Tustin.

Watch Jones’ remarks below or at this link.


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RIGHT WING EXTREMISM

Watch: GOP Lawmaker Orders Grieving Parkland Parents Removed From ‘ATF Overreach’ Hearing

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March 23, 2023

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U.S. Rep. Pat Fallon (R-TX) is being criticized for having the parents of a victim of the Parkland school massacre removed from a GOP-led House committee hearing on “ATF Overreach” after he deemed them “out of order” for remarks they made while a Member was speaking. Minutes later, Capital Police pinned the father to the ground in the hallway and arrested him.

“See this is, exactly what we have to avoid!” Rep. Fallon, chairing the joint hearing, angrily declared as he pointed his finger after the father, Manuel Oliver, made a remark that was inaudible. “Which is some minority of folks trying to silence dissent. Dissent shouldn’t be kryptonite.”

“There’s a decorum that should be adhered to,” Fallon, who recently refused to sign a statement denouncing white supremacy, said as he chastising Oliver.

After another, louder outburst, Fallon mockingly asked, “Is this an insurrection? So will they be held to the same — I don’t want another January 6.”

READ MORE: ‘Unlawful Incursion’: Manhattan DA Schools Jim Jordan for Demanding He Testify in Ongoing Trump Investigation

Congressman David Cicilline (D-RI) responded, “If they’re trying to overthrow the government, they oughta be held to the same standard, but I think they’re trying to express their frustrations.”

Angrily again, Rep. Fallon interjected.

“Whoa whoa whoa whoa,” he shouted as he banged the gavel.

“Member’s out of line,” Fallon said (incorrectly. The term is “out of order.”)

Shortly thereafter, Rep. Fallon had both Manuel and Patricia Oliver removed.

ABC News reporter Will Steakin, who was in the hearing, tweeted video and said bot Manuel and Patricia Oliver “appear to leave without resistance… moments later there was a loud thud outside the hearing room and I found Manuel being pinned to the ground by multiple officers.”

“Manuel Oliver, the father of a 17-year-old Parkland shooting victim, was arrested Thursday on Capitol Hill after he appeared to shout at a Republican lawmaker who was speaking during a hearing on gun regulations,” NBC News reports. Patricia Oliver, his wife and the mother of their 17-year old son, Joaquin Oliver, who was one of 17 people who died in the 2018 Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School massacre, was not arrested.

READ MORE: ‘National Security Implications’: Former DOJ Official Speculates on Ruling Ordering Trump Attorney to Hand Over Docs

On social media critics expressed anger at Fallon.

“Rep. Pat Fallon (R) thinks parents of slaughtered children should just sit down & shut up as Republicans maintain outrageously dangerous gun laws. He had this parent expelled rather than just giving a warning, which is the usual,” wrote one Twitter user.

“Texas Rep. Pat Fallon: You are the EXACT problem with the gun violence and why it keeps being the leading cause of death in children today,” wrote another.

According to the NIH, gun violence is the leading cause of childhood death.

Still another Twitter user blasted Fallon: “What disgraceful & despicable behavior by Representative Pat Fallon. Exercising your right to free speech is being an insurrectionist? The man lost his son. Have you no compassion? I think he has more than earned the right to be heard by Congress. Such an abuse of power.”

And one called Fallon “feckless.”

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RIGHT WING EXTREMISM

‘Burn It to the Ground’: Kari Lake Undeterred After State Supreme Court Smacks Her Down

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March 23, 2023

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Failed Arizona gubernatorial candidate Kari Lake suffered a devastating blow after the state Supreme Court refused to take up her case challenging the results of her election last November, reported Newsweek on Thursday.

“Speaking at a rally organized by Turning Point Action, Charlie Kirk’s right-wing organization, Lake said: ‘They have built a house of cards in Maricopa County. I’m not just going to knock it over. I’m going to burn it to the ground,'” reported Giulia Carbonaro. “Lake shared a video of her speech, with a caption quoting her comments and a fire emoji.”

Lake is one of the only major statewide Republican candidates last year in a hotly contested race who has refused to concede her loss. She has alleged that her voters were illegally suppressed because of technical glitches with ballot tabulators in certain precincts of Maricopa County, the state’s largest population center, on Election Day.

In reality, there is no evidence of foul play, and Maricopa County election officials provided a backup method for affected ballots to be counted. Furthermore, one reason the glitch may have disproportionately affected Lake’s voters is Trump counseled voters not to mail in their ballots early, based on conspiracy theories — though Lake herself had done the opposite and asked her supporters to vote by mail.

READ MORE: Former Trump official: ‘Folks on both sides of the aisle want to see him arrested’

“Her challenge was thrown out by both Maricopa County Judge Peter Thompson and the Arizona Court of Appeals, which said Lake’s case lacked evidence that the hiccups in the county were intentionally caused by election officials to disenfranchise Lake’s supporters,” said the report. “Lake brought her case to the Arizona Supreme Court, which has declined to hear her case, but did send one of her claims back to a county judge for review. A superior court judge in Maricopa County is now reviewing Lake’s claim that the county did not follow signature verification procedures.”

On top of her litigation failures, Lake was referred to the Secretary of State’s office for investigation after she tweeted out images of what appeared to be real voter ballot signatures, which would be a violation of Arizona state law.

 

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RIGHT WING EXTREMISM

Trump Appeals After Judge Agrees With Special Counsel on Crime-Fraud Exception and Requires His Attorney to Testify

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1 day ago

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March 22, 2023

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Donald Trump’s attorneys have appealed a ruling that requires one of his lawyers to testify before a grand jury investigating his unlawful removal, retention, and refusal to return classified documents from the White House.

Attorneys for the Special Counsel “said there is evidence of a deliberate effort not to turn over all the material covered by the subpoena,” The Washington Post reports, citing people familiar with the matter.

U.S. District Judge Beryl Howell had reportedly agreed with Special Counsel Smith that there is sufficient evidence proving Donald Trump may have committed a crime via his attorneys, and ruled his attorney must testify before a grand jury. The ruling, which was not made public, was handed down Friday night, NBC News reported Wednesday afternoon.

Judge Howell “ruled in favor of applying the ‘crime fraud’ exception to Trump’s attorney-client privilege and ordered Trump lawyer Evan Corcoran to testify before the federal grand jury.”

READ MORE: ‘On Standby’: Experts Say Manhattan Hush Money Grand Jury Delay ‘Not All That Surprising’

Trump’s attorneys have already appealed the ruling.

“People familiar with the matter said an appeals panel has already begun reviewing the decision, after Trump’s lawyers appealed,” The Washington Post adds. “The extraordinarily quick timeline suggests that the judges — all nominated by Democratic presidents — intend to rule swiftly.”

Trump could take his case all the way to the Supreme Court, but The Post says it’s “not clear he would have a much better chance of success there.”

According to an NBC News report from October, Corcoran directed another Trump attorney, Christina Bobb, to sign the letter claiming a thorough search of Mar-a-Lago had been made and all classified or “sensitive” documents had been returned. That was proven untrue after federal agents, executing a search warrant, recovered hundreds of documents with classified markings.

NEW: ‘National Security Implications’: Former DOJ Official Speculates on Ruling Ordering Trump Attorney to Hand Over Docs

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