(Photo : Drew Angerer/Getty Images)
Despite pleas from Congress and federal investigators that the texts be kept, Secret Service agents erased conversations that were sent during the uprising at the US Capitol.
One year after a deadly attack on the Capitol by supporters of former President Donald Trump, who remains the party's undisputed leader, Republicans are attempting a delicate balancing act.
As the tragic Jan. 6 anniversary approaches on Thursday, Republicans are attempting to make it clear that they do not condone violence. Hundreds of protesters demolished security barriers and stormed the Capitol, but they are largely avoiding any direct confrontation with Trump's repeated false claims about the 2020 election.
One year after Jan. 6 Capitol riot
Minority Leader Kevin McCarthy (Calif.), in a letter to House Republicans exemplifying the GOP straddle, reiterated that "the actions of that day were lawless and as wrong as wrong can be," The Hill reported.
He went on to accuse Democrats of using the Jan. 6 events "as a partisan political weapon to further divide our country," arguing that they should instead focus on improving Capitol security. Unspoken was the reason for one of the worst security breaches in Capitol history, which resulted in the deaths of five people and the injuries of dozens of police officers.
Trump gave Republicans a rare favor on Thursday by canceling a planned press conference at his Mar-a-Lago resort in Florida, where he was due to go into detail about his baseless accusations of election fraud.
The former president canceled the event on Tuesday, citing "the total bias and dishonesty of the January 6th Unselect Committee of Democrats, two failed Republicans, and the Fake News Media," and said he would instead "discuss many of those important topics" at an Arizona rally on January 15.
Republicans will no longer have to contend with a split-screen of solemn commemoration events at the Capitol and the most powerful figure in their party renewing the falsehoods that led his supporters to break into the seat of American democracy, thanks to Trump's decision to cancel his sure-to-be-incendiary press conference.
It was difficult not to notice the Jan. 6 Capitol riot for what it was, despite the pale winter light and the glare of television cameras. The violent takeover of the Capitol by Donald Trump supporters intent on overturning Joe Biden's election was obvious as day: democracy under attack, live-streamed, as per Global News.
Yet, a year later, when it comes to a where-were-you-when-it-mattered moment in American history, there is still no national consensus. According to a Quinnipiac survey, 93 percent of Democrats thought it was an attack on the government, while only 29 percent of Republicans agreed. According to a study conducted by The Associated Press and the NORC Center for Public Affairs Research, roughly 4 out of 10 Republicans remember the attack as violent, while 9 out of 10 Democrats do.
Father, son plead guilty about roles on Jan. 6 Capitol riot
Meanwhile, after claiming on social media that they were "one of the first ones inside" the Capitol on January 6, 2021, a father and his son pleaded guilty to a civil disturbance on Tuesday.
Per Newsweek, Daryl Johnson, 51, of Iowa, and his 29-year-old son Daniel Johnson, of Minnesota, pleaded guilty in a video hearing before Judge Dabney Friedrich in Washington, D.C. The two acknowledged to breaking into the Capitol through shattered glass, pushing cops back, and assisting in the entry of additional rioters.
According to court filings, the two agreed to each pay $2,000 in reparation for the damage to the Capitol. They also pledged to cooperate with police inquiries into the disturbance. Other accusations against them, such as disorderly behavior, accessing a restricted facility, and protesting in a Capitol building, will be dropped in return.
Related Article: Oath Keepers Sue Nancy Pelosi Over Subpoena For Cell Phone Records; House Speaker Accused of Concealing Role in Security Breakdown on Jan.6
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