Show an ad over header. AMP

Extremist leader who breached Capitol was "awaiting direction" from Trump, prosecutors say

11 February 2021
Dan Ackermann

A leader of the far-right "Oath Keepers" militia who breached the Capitol on Jan. 6 "indicated that she was awaiting direction from President Trump" as "the inauguration grew nearer," federal prosecutors argue in an indictment filed on Thursday.

Why it matters: Multiple defendants have told media outlets and law enforcement that they attended Trump's Jan. 6 rally at the president's request. But theassertion made Thursday, which was first reported by CNN, is the most direct link yet that prosecutors have drawn between the breach at the Capitol and Trump's speech shortly before it.

Prosecutors say the defendant Jessica Watkins' concerns about taking action without Trump's support are evident in a Nov. 9 text: “I am concerned this is an elaborate trap. Unless the POTUS himself activates us, it’s not legit. The POTUS has the right to activate units too. If Trump asks me to come, I will. Otherwise, I can’t trust it.”

  • "Watkins had perceived her desired signal by the end of December." prosecutors wrote in the memorandum seeking to keep Watkins in jail pending a trial.

State of play: Watkins has been indicted on charges including conspiracy, with the Justice Department arguing she and others made plans and coordinated ahead of the attack.

  • The DOJ says in the Thursday filing she recruited and trained people to be in "fighting shape" for the presidential inauguration.

The big picture: Some rioters have said they breached the Capitol at Trump's urging or that they were welcomed into the building at the "invitation" of the president.

  • The lawyer of another person who has been charged told USA Today their client traveled to D.C. from Pennsylvania with about 50 other conservatives "with no intention of rioting or storming the Capitol," which allegedly changed after he heard speeches from the former president, Rudy Giuliani, and others.
  • In a video showing 13 minutes of the chaos and violence that unfolded on Jan. 6 used by House impeachment managers on Tuesday, the mob was seen chanting “fight for Trump,” “traitor Pence,” and vowing that they would “take the Capitol” and “stop the steal.”

What they're saying: “There is nothing they showed today that in any way tied this to Donald Trump,” attorney David Schoen argued on “Hannity” Tuesday evening. 

Go deeper: Impeachment managers show graphic video of Capitol riot violence at start of trial

Transcripts show George Floyd told police "I can't breathe" over 20 times

Section2

Newly released transcripts of bodycam footage from the Minneapolis Police Department show that George Floyd told officers he could not breathe more than 20 times in the moments leading up to his death.

Why it matters: Floyd's killing sparked a national wave of Black Lives Matter protests and an ongoing reckoning over systemic racism in the United States. The transcripts "offer one the most thorough and dramatic accounts" before Floyd's death, The New York Times writes.

The state of play: The transcripts were released as former officer Thomas Lane seeks to have the charges that he aided in Floyd's death thrown out in court, per the Times. He is one of four officers who have been charged.

  • The filings also include a 60-page transcript of an interview with Lane. He said he "felt maybe that something was going on" when asked if he believed that Floyd was having a medical emergency at the time.

What the transcripts say:

  • Floyd told the officers he was claustrophobic as they tried to get him into the squad car.
  • The transcripts also show Floyd saying, "Momma, I love you. Tell my kids I love them. I'm dead."
  • Former officer Derek Chauvin, who had his knee on Floyd's neck for over eight minutes, told Floyd, "Then stop talking, stop yelling, it takes a heck of a lot of oxygen to talk."

Read the transcripts via DocumentCloud.