A hearing in the case of one of the Capitol rioters accused of assault is about to begin.

Some background via @Matt_Naham: "'Mateo Q' Accused of Attacking National Guardsmen at Capitol. His Tweets Are Exactly What You Would Expect."

Live-tweet ahead.

Court proceedings are about to begin for Cleveland Grover Meredith, Jr., whom prosecutors say texted "War time" on the day of the insurrection after receiving a message "Pence blew it."

I'll cover it live, @LawCrimeNews.

Previously, via @AlbertoLuperon

This is what prosecutors say authorities found in Meredith's vehicle at the time of his arrest, in a brief seeking his continued pre-trial lockup.

There is a delay in the proceedings owing to the defendant to participate in the hearing from jail.

Stand by.

Judge Harvey calls the case.

AUSA Ahmed Baset argues for the United States.

Defense counsel is Ubong Akpan.

Georgia GOP and Trump campaign's suit in Chatham County is in court this morning.

GOP witness conceded that he did not know whether a stack of 53 challenged ballots were received on time.

The board's witness testified they were.

Background:

You can follow along with the hearing here.

Trump's Michigan suit also heads to a speedy hearing today at 11:30 p.m. Eastern Time, per a new order.

We'll be on top of them both at @LawCrimeNews.

Meanwhile in the Georgia case:

Sabrina German, the director of Chatham County's Voter Registration Office, backs up the prior witness's testimony that those 53 ballots were received on time.

None of them were double votes, she said.

Jeff Harris, from the Democratic Party of Georgia, notes both of the GOP witnesses conceded they had no idea about when those 53 ballots were received.

"They have been flatly incapable of proffering competent evidence to prove that point."

"In Wake of Black Lives Matter Protests, New York Attorney General Wants Federal Monitor to Oversee NYPD for Civil Rights Abuses"

@NewYorkStateAG is holding a press conference soon, and I will update this developing story. https://t.co/XuH44IdqjJ via @lawcrimenews

NYAG's federal complaint is embedded in the story.

NYAG James's press conference is ongoing.

Live stream

NYAG speaks of her investigation into civil rights abuse:

"What we found was an egregious abuse of police power, rampant excessive use of force and leadership unable and unwilling to stop it."

NYAG James:

"This lawsuit seeks broad injunctive relief, including systemic reforms to the NYPD and a monitor to oversee the NYPD's compliance with the law."

NYAG:

"Since the end of May 2020, my office has received more than 1,300 complaints and pieces of evidence about the NYPD misconduct. We have also received 300 submissions of written evidence."

Good morning.

Hours after a federal judge in Michigan REJECTED their election-toppling request, Lin Wood and Sidney Powell go to another U.S. judge seeking to overturn Georgia's results.

I'll cover the hearing for @LawCrimeNews in this thread.

ICYMI:

Background:

This is a case where the 11th Circuit rejected an interlocutory appeal seeking a restraining order.

ICYMI: "Eleventh Circuit Dismisses Sidney Powell and Lin Wood’s Appeal in Georgia Kraken Case: The Answer Is ‘No’" via @Matt_Naham

We begin.

Judge Batten recites the conspiracy theory behind the lawsuit and repeats Ga. officials' question:

"Why would Georgia's Republican governor and Republican Secretary of State," whom he notes are Trump supporters, "conspire to throw the election" to POTUS-elect Biden?

It's a question that many people are thinking, Judge Batten notes.

Judge Batten explains the doctrine of laches, which has killed many a Trump suit.

"The law is pretty clear that a party cannot obtain the extraordinary remedy of injunctive relief unless he acts quickly."

Judge Batten notes that Lin Wood and Sidney Powell ask him to throw out the election and declare Trump the winner.

1) This pic published in the Daily Mail showing debris left after terrorist attack on US Capitol seems relatively unremarkable. But a man in Sweden noticed something: the red scarf at the top with the name of the northern Swedish city of Skellefteå. Then it got interesting.

2) The man contacted his local paper, pointing out the fact that there was a scarf from a northern Swedish city of just 70,000 in the debris of the attack. The paper published the story, with the headline: "What's a Skellefteå scarf doing inside of Congress?"

3) It turns out that, in 2017, the scarf had been offered as a Christmas gift from the city of Skellefteå to people who had moved away from the area. They were told go to a website and order one. A total of 934 people did so, and had received the scarf.

4) Now, natl Swedish media picked up story, wondering if a Swede had participated in the terrorist attack in Washington. Doing a search, the paper Dagens Nyheter found pictures of the man who was wearing the scarf. The first showed him trying to force his way into the Capitol.

5) After breaking through the barriers, the scarf man was later seen toward the front of the mob, waiving an American flag, and no longer wearing his baseball hat...but an official police helmet and visor. Skellefteå scarf still on.

(1 of 2) Paul Manafort—a longtime associate of Howard Liebengood Sr.—is an exec at Event Strategies, which planned the 1/6 rally that ended with a breach of security at the Capitol, where Howard Liebengood Jr. worked security (USCP). 2 days later Liebengood Jr. committed suicide.

(2 of 2) I believe this is a coincidence. That said, because I don't think Manafort aiding and abetting a rally that ended in insurrection is coincidence, I have to assume that—out of an abundance of caution—law enforcement will investigate any possible Manafort-Liebengood link.

(PS) It is vital that no one presume connections where there may be none. My point is that as a criminal investigative matter, Manafort will be investigated for any role he had in the Save America March, and Liebengood's suicide would naturally be investigated due to its context.

(PS2) I'm sure there'll be those who say that a Donald Trump event giving tons of money to a company that enriches Paul Manafort at a time when Trump continues to need Manafort to stay quiet and Manafort is having money problems is a mere coincidence.

*That* I do not agree with.

(PS3) By the same token, as a federal criminal investigative matter, when you are about to have numerous investigations into whether security at a government building had been pre-compromised and someone who worked security at that building commits suicide, it gets investigated.

CAPITOL RIOT QUESTIONS FOR SPEAKER PELOSI: There is no group in America more interested in the safety and security of the Capitol than members of Congress. To that end, members have asked @SpeakerPelosi to answer these basic questions:

1/ What was your role in authorizing or denying National Guard support before and after Jan. 6?

2/ Reps. Rodney Davis, R-Ill., Jim Jordan, R-Ohio, and James Comer R-Ky., on Feb. 15 asked you five pointed questions about your role in Jan. 6 and your preservation and compliance with document requests. Will you answer them?

3/ After the 2011 shooting of now-former Rep. Gabby Giffords, D-Ariz., what changed with regard to security?

4/ After the shooting of Republican House Whip Steve Scalise, R-La., were any changes made to security?

In LEFT TO DIE, we document how families of the disappeared face a negligent and hostile Border Patrol search and rescue response system.

Lacking adequate government emergency services, many seek help from aid groups.

Border Patrol routinely obstructs these efforts. 🧵⬇️

Families often receive urgent calls from loved ones who are lost and in distress in the U.S.-Mexico borderlands, or from an eyewitness who was with them in the desert.

These calls can contain crucial details regarding the person’s location and medical condition.

Faced with an inadequate and discriminatory emergency response system controlled by Border Patrol, family members take on the monumental work of acting as emergency first responders.

Here’s a partial list of actions family members have taken to locate their missing loved ones...

1. Repeatedly calling police, Border Patrol, ICE offices, hospitals, detention centers, morgues, immigration attorneys, non-profits, and news outlets.

2. Taking out missing persons ads, putting up posters, searching and posting on the Internet, in hopes of hearing word of their loved ones whereabouts.

Lodestone - Wikipedia

Pieces of lodestone, suspended so they could turn, were the first magnetic compasses,[3][4][5][6] and their importance to early navigation is indicated by the name lodestone, which in Middle English means "course stone" or "leading