Sunday, January 10, 2021

Trump Condemns His MAGAts

 Linette Lopez

Trump tongue out at rally
Michael S. Williamson/The Washington Post via Getty Images
  • It only took 24 hours for Trump to sell out his supporters who carried out a terrorist attack on the Capitol last Wednesday with his blessing.

  • Please don't be surprised.

  • Trump has never had anything but contempt for his supporters. They are his marks, and no seasoned scammer respects his marks.

  • This is an opinion column. The thoughts expressed are those of the author.

  • Visit Business Insider's homepage for more stories.

Related: What the storming of the US Capitol looked like on Wednesday

 
 
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The attack on the Capitol made so many of the ugliest parts of Donald Trump obvious even to people who pretended they didn't exist. Of all of these personality "flaws" - as his former White House chief of staff John Kelly's said in an interview - the one most likely to elicit schadenfreude is Trump's clear contempt for his own supporters.

Perhaps you've seen this video from the rally before the violence on Wednesday. Trump and his entourage watch the crowd as they wait for the president's speech while blasting the song "Gloria" - Donald Trump Jr. narrates, preening ecstatically. According to the Washington Post, this moment of triumph was bittersweet for Trump. While the always-camera-conscious president said he enjoyed the masses assembled to hear him talk, he was dismayed that his supporters in their costumes looked "low class." This was no Brooks Brothers riot.

In a short speech the day after the terrorist attack on the Capitol, Trump did not apologize for inciting these individuals to insurrection. That would mean that he would actually have to take some responsibility. He did, however, sacrifice his loyal supporters to America's anger, disavowing them and saying that they would be punished to the fullest extent of the law for their crimes.

Meanwhile, Trump's traitorous lackeys in the media and in Washington tried to convince Americans that the attack was actually staged by antifa members disguised in MAGA hats and animal pelts, despite the FBI declaring that antifa wasn't involved.

Trump only cares for his followers insofar as they adore him keep him rich, and do his bidding. Otherwise, he wouldn't even bother to look at them while driving by in his limo. Most of them could never join Mar a Lago, or become regulars at one of Trump's golf clubs. You won't find most of these people having dinner at the now-shuttered 21 Club or being seated at black tie charity functions.

When he tells them he "loves them" and that "they're special" like he did in a video following the insurrection, he's just manipulating them. What's more telling is what Trump does and says to his supporters when he's under duress. According to reports, once Trump realized he could face legal consequences for inciting them to violence he denounced them.

Trump has always been a fake populist and a fake patriot

Like so much of Trump's behavior this contempt for his own is hardly shocking. Even though he raged against plutocrats during his political life, he's never wanted anything more than to be one. In 2016 he ran for president to bolster his brand and to raise some money, not to actually do the work of the presidency. In an interview with MSNBC on Saturday Trump's former personal lawyer Michael Cohen said it was supposed to be "the greatest infomercial of all time."

"Donald Trump doesn't care about anyone but himself," Cohen said emphatically in the interview. "Maybe if we say that enough his supporters will understand that Trump is setting them up like he sets me up."

If you don't believe Cohen, and Trump hasn't made this obvious enough for you, his former campaign CEO and adviser Steve Bannon gave the game away entirely. He referred to Trump's supporters as "hobbits," and he did not enjoy spending time among them. In 2019 documentary "The Brink" he addressed a group of Trump supporters in a modest living room, assailing the virtues of middle class nationalists around the world. After he got into a chauffeured car to board a private plane home, Bannon's associate snickered: "You couldn't pay me a million dollars a year to live in that house." Bannon catches himself before joining the chorus.

Trump always wanted Wall Street titans to respect him, billionaires like Nelson Peltz and Carl Icahn. And for one brief shining moment in his life when he was in the White House, they did. Thanks to his incitement of violence on the Capitol, though, that's over now. Some of these billionaires are denouncing him, just as Trump denounced his disposable followers. Instead of being a laughing stock on the Upper East Side like he was before he was president, now he will be a leper.

Forget about "economic anxiety"

I'm not arguing that the people rushing the Capitol were crippled with "economic anxiety" (one conservative radio host arrived by private jet). And I'm sure we'll come to find that a few were fairly well off. The reality is that plenty of Trump's virulent supporters are people motivated not by poverty, but by racism and paranoia fed on diet of lies spewed on right-wing media. Some of these people are living very comfortably. The thing is, Trump never wanted to be comfortable or even well off. Trump has always wanted to be oligarch rich.

And he's always thought his family deserved the same stature as America's most rarefied elite. While his gauche manners and grotesque personal history made that impossible for himself before he was president, it's clear Ivanka was trying to give the family name some kind of regal sheen. Instead of hanging out with people her own age, she and Jared were known to have preferred to keep company with the likes of Rupert Murdoch, Wendi Deng and David Geffen. They wanted to run exclusively with the kind of people who create trusts for their children and get their names plastered on buildings.

The Trump Organization has also tried to market itself as catering to the glamorous and elite as well. There was a brief moment back in 2017 when the company was going to try to launch a chain of three star hotels called American Idea. They would be located in the Southeast of the US, and cater toward the middle-class supporters Trump purported to love. The Idea idea was scrapped in 2019.

Trump would've hated the guests anyway. His supporters were (and still are) marks. And no grifter as accomplished at Donald Trump ever has any respect for a mark.

Read the original article on Business Insider

No Country For Patriotic Conservatives

Op Ed: The MAGAts have now turned their vile ignorant wrath on the few remaining patriotic  moral American conservatives who are defending democracy and morality. Their latest target is Cindy McCain who is the wife of war hero John McCain. MAGAt turned on US senator John McCain because Trump turned on him for no particular reason. Donald Trump aka Cadet Bone Spurs, a notorious coward liar and a draft dodger who attacked McCain by claiming was not a war hero because he McCain was captured and spent years as a POW being tortured.

Anyone who supports Trump is an enemy of truth, morality, America and the American way. MAGAts are enemies of all humanity and therefore they need to me purged from the gene pool. A good place to start the purge is Maricopa County. 

Arizona's Maricopa County GOP censures ex-Sen. Jeff Flake, plans vote to also censure Cindy McCain


PHOENIX – Some at a Maricopa County Republican Committee meeting on Saturday wanted to censure Cindy McCain for her support of Democratic President-elect Joe Biden, but the proposal did not move forward, according to Marcus Milam, who was acting secretary at the event.

The county GOP did censure former Sen. Jeff Flake, who did not seek a second term in 2018 and who also endorsed Biden over Republican President Donald Trump.

A video of the meeting shows that Walt Steiner from Arizona's Legislative District 4 proposed to add the widow of six-term Sen. John McCain, R-Ariz., to the resolution against Flake. The proposal received cheers and applause from a largely unmasked crowd gathered for the meeting at Dream City Church in Glendale outside Phoenix.

A party member was booed after mentioning McCain's work for the church foundation, the state of Arizona and on the issue of human trafficking.

The resolution eventually passed in a 1,190-to-291 vote, but Milam clarified Saturday night that the censure pertained only to Flake because resolutions cannot be amended.

Part of the confusion came as the state Republican Party tweeted that the county had censured McCain. The Arizona GOP acknowledged its mistake later on Saturday night, going on to say: "The @AZGOP will vote on a 'Censure McCain' resolution on Jan 23."

Related: What’s a day like for shooting survivor, former AZ Sen. Giffords?


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Such censure is a statement of disapproval from the party's conservative base activists and would have no practical consequence for McCain.

This talk of censure wasn't the first go-around between the McCain family and further-right Republicans in the state. The county and state GOP rebuked John McCain as too liberal years ago.

Arizona Republicans censured John McCain in 2014, citing his "continued disservice to our state and nation." The party painted him as being too liberal on issues such as immigration reform, gun control and health care.

"If anything, it fires me up," John McCain told Politico after the censure, which came two weeks after the Maricopa County Republican Party also passed a resolution to censure him on a 1,150-to-351 vote.

Cindy McCain very publicly came out in support of Biden's presidency, endorsing him in September. With her help, Biden became only the second Democrat to carry Arizona since 1948. She appeared in a prerecorded video at the Democratic National Convention that emphasized the longtime friendship between their families.

"I am a proud lifelong Republican and will continue to support candidates who put country over party and stand for the rule of law," Cindy McCain tweeted on Saturday.
Cindy McCain has said she endorses Biden's character

While Cindy McCain endorsed Biden for president, she said in an interview with The Arizona Republic she would remain a registered Republican. She attributed the decision in part to the character she sees in Biden, whom she has known for four decades, as well as his alliance with military families.

Trump publicly criticized John McCain prior to and after his death in August 2018.

McCain was known as a Republican maverick, a nickname that stemmed from his reputation for bipartisan politics. He often took stances against his party, including his 2017 thumbs-down vote against scaling back the Affordable Care Act.

The Congressional Management Foundation posthumously awarded McCain its Lifetime Achievement Democracy Award in 2019, adding to a slew of other awards, honors and military decorations that have been bestowed on him.
Meghan McCain responds

"Oh how will she ever survive such a thing?!?" daughter Meghan McCain said in a Saturday tweet responding to the county GOP's talk of censure.

"And this is THE REAL problem facing the Arizona GOP, my mom! A few days after a domestic terror attack led by maniac Trump supporters," her tweet went on to say.

Saturday, January 9, 2021

Treasonous Criminal and Terrorist Derrick Evans


 Treasonous Criminal and terrorist Derrick Evans hired a sleazebag lawyer to represent him and his lies. 


Thursday, January 7, 2021 STATEMENT REGARDING DERRICK EVANS AND THE EVENTS OF JANUARY 6, 2021 

I am the civil rights attorney who will be representing Derrick Evans in regards to the events which occurred on January 6, 2021. In addition to being a duly elected member of the West Virginia House of Delegates, District 19, Mr. Evans is also an independent activist and journalist, who has long exercised his constitutional rights to engage in peaceful protest, activism and amateur journalism. In the past day, there have been nationwide media reports containing false and/or misleading allegations against Mr. Evans. In addition, there have been political leaders and government officials who have chosen to make reckless and derogatory statements about Mr. Evans which are false, misleading and absent from proper context. Mr. Evans did nothing wrong on January 6, 2021. He was exercising his First Amendment rights to peacefully protest and film a historic and dynamic event. He engaged in no violence, no rioting, no destruction of property, and no illegal behavior.

Mr. Evans traveled to Washington D.C. for the peaceful protest which had long been planned for January 6, 2021. He did not organize, nor did he lead, any group to the event. He was part of no organization. To the contrary, Mr. Evans personally purchased a charter bus ticket in order to travel to the protest. The bus was occupied by other individuals from the West Virginia Tri-State Area, who were also attending a planned peaceful protest at the Capitol. Attending the planned peaceful protest is consistent with Mr. Evans’ long history of exercising his constitutional rights in this manner. He has previously traveled throughout the country for similar in furtherance of his activism and amateur journalism to other planned peaceful protests and potentially historic events. His social media page attests to this history.

Throughout the day on January 6, Mr. Evans live streamed onto his social media page, which is dedicated to his activities related to political activism and amateur journalism. This page maintains over 32,000 followers who follow his activities and the information he provides. Evans was not engaged with, nor did he organize, any group of protestors that day. Rather, as evidenced by his videos, Evans can be observed interviewing attendees, who were strangers to him, and also generally documenting the event using his smart phone camera and social media live streaming.

Following the crowd which he had been documenting, Mr. Evans found himself on the East side of the U.S. Capitol, which is the rear of the building. He was not on thefront-facing West side of the Capitol, which had been the subject of much of the day’smedia footage and public commentary. Much of the media reporting thus-far on Mr.Evans’ presence at the event represents or implies that Mr. Evans was involved in the body of protestors who engaged in violence and destruction of property. However, that representation is false. 

Mr. Evans absolutely was not part of the main body of protestors who were on the West side of the U.S. Capitol, or elsewhere. He had no knowledge at the time of what was happening on the other side of the complex, nor inside the Capitol after the other group forcibly entered. At no point was Mr. Evans located in the crowd on the West side of the building, nor anywhere else on the Capitol grounds, where violence and destruction of property was, or had been, occurring. Evans was following an entirely different group, wholly detached from the tragic events which occurred that day. 

Mr. Evans was consistently documenting the progress of the protest, which was streaming to his activism page containing his real name. He made no efforts to conceal his identity in any way. The footage filmed by Evans, which has been the subject of nationwide media reports condemning him, show that Evans was located inside a crowd of protestors standing before the East side entrance to the Capitol.  At that time, there had already been numerous - perhaps hundreds of - protestors inside the Capitol. They had already entered from doors on both the East side, as well as the West side, and possibly other entrances. However, at the entrance through where Mr. Evans entered the Capitol, there had been no physical destruction, nor forced entry, of the door or windows by the crowd. Instead, the doors were physically opened - either by Capitol Police, or by other protestors who were already inside. At that point, the group surged in. 

From Mr. Evans point of view in the crowd, it appeared that the crowd was being allowed by law enforcement into the Capitol. He was not at the front of the group. Given the sheer size of the group walking in, Mr. Evans had no choice but to enter. Evans continued to film once inside. His footage shows that members of the public were already inside the Capitol by the time he entered. Evans’ footage shows no riotous behavior taking place at that time. Protesters can be observed calmly walking around. 

Upon entering, Evans observed a police officer to his right, who was calmly standing watch inside the doorway through which he entered. No members of the protest were assaulting or resisting the officer in any way. Nor was the officer asking the protestors to leave. Instead, the officer gave Evans a “fist-bump” which can be observed on the video footage. This is consistent with Evans obviously having a belief that the crowd was being allowed into this public area of the Capitol at that time. Again, he had no knowledge of what had already occurred on the other side of the Capitol grounds.

This area of the U.S. Capitol is generally open to the public year-round, and is only closed at the time due to COVID-19 concerns. It wasn’t apparent to Mr. Evans that he wasn’t allowed to follow the crowd into this public area of the Capitol, inside which members of the public were already located. There was no violence or destruction of property taking place in the vicinity of the crowd that Mr. Evans was following. To the contrary, he can be seen and heard on the video looking around to ensure that there was no vandalism by others. He had no knowledge at that time that a woman had been shot inside the Capitol, which had presumably already occurred elsewhere inside the Capitol. Evans never ventured outside the public areas usually open to the public. He brought no weapons with him inside the Capitol. Filming video, which was the only action engaged in by Evans, is allowed inside this area of the Capitol.

Derrick Evans takes his responsibility and oath as the duly elected voice of the people of West Virginia House District 19 extremely seriously. His constituents knew that they were electing an activist to the office. He was acting in good faith to this regard at all times. Just as the courts don’t judge police officers with 20/20 hindsight for the split second judgments they’re often forced to make, Derrick Evans should not be condemned as a member of the group of violent and destructive protestors elsewhere at the Capitol that day. He had no involvement with them and never witnessed their behavior.

Therefore, Delegate Derrick Evans will not be resigning his public office. He stands firmly behind the right of every American to be considered innocent until proven guilty. He committed no criminal act that day. To the contrary, he was exercising his constitutionally protected rights to engage in peaceful protest and to film the events which were unfolding. I will help him in enforcing those rights against any commentators or public officials who seek to retaliate against his political expression, or who further disparage his name by alleging that he was part of that separate group who engaged in despicable acts of violence and destruction of property that day. Derrick Evans was not associated with that group, and like most of us, deeply regrets that such actions occurred during an otherwise peaceful and expressive day. 

John H. Bryan

JOHN H. BRYAN, ATTORNEY AT LAW

 

611 Main Street • P.O. Box 366 • Union, West Virginia 24983 • Telephone 304-772-4999 • Facsimile 304-772-4998

LEWISBURG OFFICE:860 N. COURT STREET, SUITE 102 LEWISBURG, WEST VIRGINIA 24983

JOHN H. BRYAN

ATTORNEY AT LAW

REPLY TO: 411 MAIN STREET • PO BOX 366 UNION, WEST VIRGINIA 24983304-772-4999 • 304-772-4998 FAX JOHN BRYAN LAW.COMEMAIL:JHB@JOHNBRYANLAW.COM TOLL-FREE 1-888-54-JBLAW


Now for the truth. Derrick Evans came to the Capitol with the intent of committing violence and kidnapping America's elected officials. He arrived in full military gear and his lawyer John Bryan is trying to sell the lie that Evans is a member of the press and that he was invited into the mayhem inside the Capitol building by the police. Police don't allow journalists into active and dangerous crime scenes.  

To Attorney John H Bryan:You saying Derrick Evans did nothing wrong won't even pass the smell test. It already backfired. It's all caught on camera and there are probably witnesses ready to rat him out.  Maybe it would be best for him to plead no contest and accept being a felon. Club Fed isn't that bad. If he rats out enough people he could get less than 30 months. He'd be smart to work with the FBI and name names of his fellow terrorist Proud Boy. KKK, Nazi, and Q-Anon buddies.

You should have kept quite. 

You know better than anyone the limits of speech. 

You know the trespassing laws. 

You know what lawful orders of a police officer means.

You know what mayhem is.

You know what inciting a riot is.

You may be less familiar with Misprision of Treason and Misprision of Felony

You know about perjury.

You know what conspiracy to commit kidnapping is.

You know what sedition is.

You know what obstruction of justice is.

You know what destruction of evidence is.

You know what false statements are. 

Who is Derrick Evans?

The West Virginia lawmaker who recorded himself storming the US Capitol resigned Saturday — a day after his arrest for taking part in the siege.

Derrick Evans, 35, a freshman member of the West Virginia House of Delegates was arrested Friday, Justice Department officials said Saturday.

Evans streamed himself entering the building with the mob on his Facebook page, shouting as he crossed the threshold: “We’re in, baby!” Evans can be heard saying. “We’re here. We’re here. Derrick Evans is in the Capitol.”

READ MORE ABOUT THIS TRAITOR HERE

dd



Riotous Republican MAGAt Derrick Evans

 A West Virginia state lawmaker has resigned after he was arrested after filming himself inside the U.S. Capitol during Wednesday's violent siege.

Republican Derrick Evans, a newly elected member of the West Virginia House of Delegates, was charged with illegal entry, the D.C. U.S. Attorney's Office said during a press call with reporters on Friday.

The federal criminal complaint listed two charges: knowingly entering or remaining in a restricted building, and violent entry and disorderly conduct on Capitol Grounds.

Evans was released on a personal recognizance bond after appearing before a federal judge in Huntington, West Virginia, court records show.

PHOTO: West Virginia House of Delegates member Derrick Evans is given the oath of office in the House chamber at the state Capitol in Charleston, W.Va., Dec. 14, 2020. (Perry Bennett/West Virginia Legislature via AP)
PHOTO: West Virginia House of Delegates member Derrick Evans is given the oath of office in the House chamber at the state Capitol in Charleston, W.Va., Dec. 14, 2020. (Perry Bennett/West Virginia Legislature via AP)

He resigned from the West Virginia House of Delegates on Saturday, saying in a statement that he takes "full responsibility for my actions."

"The past few days have certainly been a difficult time for my family, colleagues and myself, so I feel it's best at this point to resign my seat in the House and focus on my personal situation and those I love," Evans said.

Related: Nationwide manhunt intensifies for pro-Trump rioters in deadly Capitol breach

 
 WE DO KNOW THAT WITH SO MANY  
 INVESTIGATIONS UNDER WAY  
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Evans livestreamed video on his Facebook page of himself and other protesters inside the Capitol after a pro-Trump mob forced its way in. Members of Congress were in the process of certifying the results of the November presidential election.

MORE: Man who allegedly broke into Pelosi's office charged with 3 federal counts

In the since-deleted video, Evans can be heard shouting over the crowd, "We're in! We're in! Derrick Evans is in the Capitol!"

Evans allegedly was "joining and encouraging a crowd unlawfully entering the U.S. Capitol," according to the criminal complaint, which included a breakdown of the approximately five-minute video.

Bryan John H. Bryan, Attorney at Law said/lied Evans "did nothing wrong" and characterized his client as an "independent activist and journalist" in a statement released Thursday.

PHOTO: West Virginia Republican state Del. Derrick Evans exits the courthouse after being arraigned in Huntington, W.Va., Jan. 8, 2021. (Sholten Singer/The Herald-Dispatch via AP)
PHOTO: West Virginia Republican state Del. Derrick Evans exits the courthouse after being arraigned in Huntington, W.Va., Jan. 8, 2021. (Sholten Singer/The Herald-Dispatch via AP)

"He was exercising his First Amendment rights to peacefully protest and film a historic and dynamic event," Bryan said. "He engaged in no violence, no rioting, no destruction of property, and no illegal behavior."

Bryan maintained that Evans was "wholly detached from the tragic events which occurred that day" and that the lawmaker also thought the crowd was "being allowed by law enforcement into the Capitol."

Approximately 40 people were arrested and charged in D.C. Superior Court in connection with the riot, authorities said Friday. Offenses included unlawful entry, curfew violations and firearms-related crimes, authorities said.

Additionally, 13 people were charged with federal crimes, including Richard Barnett, who allegedly broke into Speaker of the House Nancy Pelosi's office, authorities said.

Five people who were at the protests died, including a Capitol Police officer.

MORE: 'Non-scalable' fencing erected around Capitol, security ramped up after mob attack

In the wake of the violent attack on the Capitol, West Virginia House of Delegates Minority Leader Doug Skaff called for Evans to not be seated as a member on Jan. 13.

In a letter to House Speaker Roger Hanshaw, Skaff alleged that Evans "committed several illegal acts, clearly memorialized through his own Facebook broadcast, in an attempt to disrupt this constitutionally mandated process."

"His actions unequivocally disqualify him from holding public office in this state and make him ineligible to be seated as a member of the West Virginia House of Delegates," Skaff wrote.

PHOTO: Newly elected West Virginia Delegate Derrick Evans livestreamed video of himself with Trump supporters as the mob broke into the U.S. Capitol on Jan. 6, 2021. (Derrick Evans via Storyful)
PHOTO: Newly elected West Virginia Delegate Derrick Evans livestreamed video of himself with Trump supporters as the mob broke into the U.S. Capitol on Jan. 6, 2021. (Derrick Evans via Storyful)

West Virginia Sen.-elect Eric Nelson also called for Evans' resignation.

"Delegate Evans was unfortunately a part of the events this week that threatened what has historically made America a beacon for the rest of the world: the peaceful transfer of power," Hanshaw said in a statement Saturday. "Earlier today, Delegate Evans made the decision to resign from his position in the West Virginia House of Delegates. Now, we return to the work of rebuilding our nation's political climate.

"In announcing his resignation, Delegate Evans said he accepted responsibility for his actions and apologized to those he's hurt. In this time of overheated, hyperbolic political rage, I think that's a good first step for us all to take right now," he added.

ABC News' Meg Cunningham and Alex Mallin contributed to this report.

West Virginia lawmaker resigns after being charged for filming himself at Capitol siege originally appeared on abcnews.go.com


Cancel Culture: Another Way To Destroy Traitorous MAGAts.

 Op Ed: This is not a job for Superman, Wonder Woman or Mighty Mouse. This is not even a job for Captain America or Batman. This is a job for Captain Cancel Culture and General Guillotine.

Trump's Treasonous Rioters 

who stormed US Capitol 

now face backlash at work

JOSEPH PISANI and CATHY BUSSEWITZ

NEW YORK (AP) — A printing company in Maryland saw the photo on Twitter Wednesday night: an employee roaming the halls of the U.S. Capitol with a company badge around his neck. He was fired the next day.

Others are facing similar repercussions at work for their participation in Wednesday's riot at the U.S. Capitol. Some business owners are being trashed on social media and their establishments boycotted, while rank-and-file employees at other businesses have been fired.

The printing company, Navistar Direct Marketing, declined to name the worker but said it can’t offer employment to people “demonstrating dangerous conduct that endangers the health and safety of others.”

More than 90 people have been arrested since Wednesday when loyalists to outgoing President Donald Trump disrupted lawmakers as they met to confirm the Electoral College results and President-elect Joe Biden’s victory. People on social media have been trying to identify rioters photographed or filmed at the Capitol Wednesday, pressuring companies that employ them to fire them.

At a data analytics firm in suburban Chicago, the employee in question was the top boss. Cogensia fired CEO Bradley Rukstales Friday night for his participation in the riot.

This is probably Bradley Rukstale's contact information.

“This decision was made because Rukstales’ actions were inconsistent with the core values of Cogensia," said newly-named acting CEO Joel Schiltz in a statement. "Cogensia condemns what occurred at the U.S. Capitol on Wednesday, and we intend to continue to embrace the values of integrity, diversity and transparency in our business operations, and expect all employees to embrace those values as well.”

Rukstales, who was arrested for unlawful entry, told a local CBS news channel that he had entered the Capitol and apologized for his role in the events. Calls and emails to Rukstales weren’t returned.

A Cleveland school occupational therapist resigned from the district after her alleged involvement in the riot. A spokeswoman for a fire department near Orlando, Florida said one of its firefighters was being investigated for his participation. Sanford Fire Department firefighter Andy Williams has been placed on paid administrative leave pending the outcome, said spokeswoman Bianca Gillett.

Most private employers can fire workers for attending protests, since First Amendment rights only prohibit people from being punished by the government for their speech, not by a private employer, said Susan Kline, an Indianapolis-based labor and employment attorney at law firm Faegre Drinker.

There are some exceptions: Those who work for the government may be more legally protected, and so too are many unionized workers, who typically have a contract listing the reasons for which they could be fired. And some states may have laws that protect workers' free speech.

But “what people did at the Capitol Wednesday was rioting, not protesting,” said Aaron Holt, a labor and employment attorney with law firm Cozen O’Connor. “When someone violates the law, that’s almost never going to be protected, and a private employer is going to be within their rights to discipline or take some kind of action in response to that that might go against their fundamental core values.”

Small businesses are also facing backlash on online review sites such as Yelp, which flagged at least 20 businesses for unusual review activity related to Wednesday’s rioting.

One business, Becky’s Flowers in Midland, Texas, is owned by Jenny Cudd, a former mayoral candidate who posted a video on Facebook bragging about breaking into House Speaker Nancy Pelosi’s office. By Friday, Cudd’s flower shop was flooded with dozens of one-star reviews in which she was called a traitor and domestic terrorist, along with photos of her inside the Capitol.

Cudd later said in a video message to The Associated Press that she didn’t personally go into Pelosi’s office or see people break down the door, and that when she said “we,” she meant all of the people who were at the Capitol. She said she didn’t do anything violent or destroy any property.

“I walked through an open door into the Capitol along with several hundred other people,” Cudd said.

She added that she had “received several death threats along with thousands of one-star reviews from across the country of people who have never frequented my business."


FBI reviewing tips about Midland business owner, former ... Jenny Cudd

Possible Contact Information For Jenny Cudd

Another Possible Contact For Jenny Cudd

DO NOT HARASS THIS PERSON OR DO ANYTHING UNLAWFUL. You can call her and try to reason with her but good luck with that. She's a traitor and a Trumper.The contact info in the above links makes me think they are two separate people.


Yelp has flagged businesses for unusual review activity following less egregious but still controversial events. Reviewers raged on the Yelp page of Virginia restaurant The Red Hen after it booted former White House press secretary Sarah Sanders from its establishment a few years ago. And commenters from the left and right bombarded Big Apple Pizza’s Yelp page with political beliefs after former President Barack Obama was enthusiastically hugged by a customer there.

Social media has outed people for their involvement in activities outside of the workplace, landing them in trouble with their employers. In 2017 after a white supremacist rally in Charlottesville, Virginia, many posted photos on social media of those who participated, leading in some cases to their firing.

In Louisiana, customers said they would boycott supermarket chain Rouses Market after retired owner Donald Rouse was shown in a photo at Wednesday's riot. Rouse said in an email statement that he attended the rally as a supporter of the president but left before the violence began.

“I’m horrified by the violence and destruction we saw yesterday and the pain it has caused so many,” Rouse said. “Our country desperately needs to come together to heal, and I will do everything I can to be a part of that process.”

The Krewe of Red Beans, a group which organizes parades, posted on Instagram that it would return $20,000 in donations it received from the market.

___

Associated Press Writers Don Babwin in Chicago and Jake Bleiberg in Dallas and investigative researcher Randy Herschaft in New York contributed to this report.