David Edwards has spent over a decade reporting on social justice, human rights and politics for Raw Story. He also writes Crooks and Liars. He has a background in enterprise resource planning and previously managed the network infrastructure for the North Carolina Department of Correction.
Militia member Sean Anderson patrols the Malheur National Wildlife Refuge (YouTube)
As law enforcement moved in on Wednesday to contain militants who have occupied the Malheur National Wildlife Refuge for weeks, a broadcast from inside the refuge showed angry militiamen promising a "bloodbath."
A live video feed from the DefendYourBase YouTube channel, showed several militants operating a large excavator. At least one of the militants was dressed in military-style gear and carrying a rifle.
"The media has been ordered to leave, and that means they are coming to kill us and they don't want them to see that!" the man yelled into the camera. "They're going to murder all of us and the media are cowards."
"The media has been waiting for a bloodbath this whole time we've been here!" he exclaimed. "Now, there's going to be one and they're told to run? Because the feds don't want them to know who is murdering us!"
Continuing to shout into the camera, the militia member called for the American people to join his cause: "Right now, it is on!"
"What you going to do when the militia comes after you, FBI?" a second militant added.
"Get here, get some," the first militant said, pleading for volunteers with military training. "This is history in the making."
"There are no laws in this United States now!" the man insisted. "This is a free-for-all Armageddon. Any LEO or military or law enforcement or feds that stand up and f*ck their oath -- don't abide by their oath -- are the enemy!"
"If they stop you from getting here, kill them!"
Watch the video below from YouTube, broadcast Jan. 27, 2016.
The U.S. Flag Code outlines: "The flag should never be displayed with the union down, except as a signal of dire distress in instances of extreme danger to life or property."
Alito blamed his wife for the move, saying she was upset at lawn signs with swear words. Several signs popped up around the election, reading, "f--- Trump." She complained that children waiting for the bus saw the vulgar word.
"If you want to connect the image that you saw, you don’t have to look far," said former FBI general counsel Andrew Weissmann. "If you look at what Alito said in the immunity argument — the argument was should a president be subject to the criminal laws. And it was unbelievable. Somebody who is a U.S. attorney, now sitting in the Supreme Court of the United States, took the position, we cannot trust DOJ, we cannot trust a grand jury of citizens, we cannot trust the criminal justice system, which by the way, he oversees the constitutional limits on what the government can do, we can’t trust that and that’s why a president should be immune."
She later noted that Chief Justice John Roberts has the power to hold the justices to the same standards as other judges, but he has been unwilling to do so.
She counted off rules such as "employees of the Supreme Court may not engage in partisan political activity, partisan political activity related to elections contested by political parties. For example, employees may not publicly support or oppose a partisan political organization or candidate."
Another is that "employees may not engage in nonpartisan activity if it could reflect adversely on the dignity or impartiality of the court or interferes with the duties."
Wallace said that the "upside-down flag is associated with one of the two parties, Trump supporters, at the Capitol that day and absolutely makes it impossible for that body to be dignified."
"Can we consider for a moment what Justice Alito's defense is here?" he said. "Understanding that because of the photo, he can't just say it didn't happen. Let's even assume his wife put it up, and take that as a given. Even though we just have the statement, there's lots of reasons to think — it's his lawn. But he didn't see it?"
Wallace noted that Alito never said in the statement that he didn't see it, only that his wife did it.
"It's up for days. He never saw that? I mean, he didn't talk to his wife? He didn't see the flag? He didn't think, maybe I should take this down? Remember the environment we were in. Let's go back to Jan. 6th. What was going on in Washington? I mean, I keep saying this about the judges who have these cases; everyone who was in Washington lived it. It was happening there around them."
He explained that he doesn't think people who weren't there can fully understand how central Jan. 6 was to those who live in America's capitol and "how shocking" it was "even for us just watching it on TV."
"And he didn't think, maybe I should take this down?" asked Weissmann. "I mean, and then the response, I'm doing this in response to what? How is putting a 'Stop the Steal' flag that you know about, you are not taking down, how is that somehow justified by a neighbor?"
Weissmann wondered what would happen if the neighbor promoted Joe Biden.
"That means you put up this flag as a sitting Supreme Court Justice? It is so much, 'Might makes right.' It is such a denigration of what should be a court that people revere."
LOS ANGELES — A lawyer who was the architect of a plan to subvert the 2020 election and return Donald Trump to the White House denied all charges against him when he appeared in an Arizona court Friday.
John Eastman is the first of 18 people charged in the battleground state to appear in court over the scheme to empanel fake electors to support their favored candidate.
Others include Trump's former personal lawyer Rudy Giuliani, one-time Trump White House chief of staff Mark Meadows, attorney Jenna Ellis and campaign adviser Boris Epshteyn.
"His marriage has been over for quite some time as I understand it, he's filed for divorce," she said. "I'm single. We're both parents of adult children and empty nesters."
"We are happily engaged in a relationship and beyond that it's a personal issue."
McCormick, through a spokesperson, confirmed the relationship with Van Duyne, according to The Mail.
The affair rumors took hold after several breadcrumbs were cited by the outlet.
Such instances of PDA amongst the new couple include a March 7 State of the Union address where a handsy McCormick was witnessed stroking Van Duyne's arm.
Other sightings involved the new power couple leaving in tow from late night events and holding hands by the House floor. And an anonymous Republican member spotted McCormick "holding hands under the table" at a weekly lunch.
McCormick and his wife, Miller, who are raising seven children together and live in Suwanee, Georgia, filed for divorce on May 3. They also sought a mutual restraining order, according to The Mail.
When pressed about their fractured marriage, Miller sent a skeptical text to The Mail that McCormick would come clean about his alleged dalliance with Van Duyne, stating: "I'm sure that he will not be forthcoming."
Van Duyne, according to the outlet, divorced in 2012 from her Cornell college sweetheart of 17 years Chris Wallach. They have two children together.
