Republican Adam Kinzinger disowned by family members...

NaioPost Master

Republican Adam Kinzinger disowned by family members and told he’s ‘possessed by the devil’ for impeaching Trump

https://news.yahoo.com/republi...amily-193231792.html

Congressman Adam Kinzinger of Illinois has faced death threats, name-calling, and disownment from members of his family for being one of 10 Republicans to vote to impeach Donald Trump earlier this month.

Mr Kinzinger was one of the first Republicans in Congress to forcefully condemn Mr Trump’s efforts to overturn the 2020 election results, denouncing the president’s disproven conspiracy theories about a “stolen election” and warning of the dangers of abetting such a movement.

The hate and vitriol has poured hard and steady on Mr Kinzinger after his vote on 13 January to impeach Mr Trump for “incitement to insurrection,” just a week after the then-president gave a speech to supporters who later invaded the US Capitol building.

Five people died as a direct result of the insurrection, including one US Capitol Police officer, Brian Sicknick, who will lie in honour in the Capitol this week. Two other USCP officers have committed suicide since the historic 6 January security breach.

In recent interviews with Politico and Business Insider, Mr Kinzinger offered a glimpse at the torrent of nastiness that has come his way since his impeachment vote.

“My dad's cousins sent me a petition — a certified letter — saying they disowned me because I'm in 'the devil's army' now,” the Illinois congressman told Business Insider in a phone conversation last Thursday. “It's been crazy, when you have friends — that you thought were good friends that would love you no matter what — that don't.”

Mr Kinzinger later told Politico that he was dismayed to see his Republicans colleagues appear to finally be ready to shake themselves of Mr Trump’s influence, only to then retreat back into the twice-impeached former president’s corner.

House Minority Leader Kevin McCarthy visited Mr Trump at his Mar-a-Lago resort in Palm Beach, Florida, over the weekend, where the two had a “very good and cordial” discussion, according to a readout of the meeting. A photo of Mr Trump and Mr McCarthy smiling towards a camera accompanied that statement.

“I was disappointed over the last few weeks to see what seemed like the Republican Party waking up and then kind of falling asleep again and saying, ‘Well, you know, what matters if we can win in two years and we don't want to tick off the base,’” Mr Kinzinger told Politico.

“The photo … shows that the former president is desperate to continue looking like he’s leading the party,” Mr Kinzinger said.

1/31/219:09 PM

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NaioPost Master

Police union says 140 officers injured in Capitol riot

https://www.washingtonpost.com...77b5b0297_story.html

The physical toll on officers who defended the U.S. Capitol during the Jan. 6 attack by a pro-Trump mob is becoming clearer, with reports by police officials and federal prosecutors indicating that about 140 officers were injured, the head of the Capitol Police officers’ union said.

“I have officers who were not issued helmets prior to the attack who have sustained head injuries,” Gus Papathanasiou, union chairman, said in a statement Wednesday. “One officer has two cracked ribs and two smashed spinal discs and another was stabbed with a metal fence stake, to name some of the injuries.”

Capitol Police Officer Brian D. Sicknick died after trying to defend the Capitol from rioters. One Capitol Police officer and one D.C. police officer who were responding on the scene have died by suicide since the attack.

And since Jan. 6, 38 Capitol Police employees have tested positive for the coronavirus, almost entirely officers and supervisors who responded to the riot, Papathanasiou said.

At least 81 Capitol Police officers were assaulted during the siege of the Capitol, according to filings by federal prosecutors. The filings did not detail injuries sustained by officers, and a Capitol Police spokeswoman did not respond to a request for comment on officer injuries.

About 65 D.C. police officers also suffered injuries on Jan. 6, including several concussions from head blows from various objects, including metal poles ripped from inauguration-related scaffolding and even a pole with an American flag attached, D.C. police officials have said. Other injuries included swollen ankles and wrists, bruised arms and legs, and irritated lungs from bear and pepper spray.

Reports say officers were pushed down stairs, trampled by rioters, punched and run over in a stampede.

“I’ve talked to officers who have done two tours in Iraq who said this was scarier to them than their time in combat,” acting D.C. police chief Robert J. Contee III said at a news conference earlier this month.

D.C. police officers detail ther fight to defend the Capitol

Papathanasiou said it was “unconscionable” that Capitol Police had a warning about the “strong potential for violence,” including the possible use of firearms, on Jan. 6 — as acknowledged by acting department chief Yogananda Pittman — and did not better prepare the force. “The fact they did not relay this information to the officers on duty prior to the insurrection is inexcusable,” he said.

“The officers are angry, and I don’t blame them. The entire executive team failed us, and they must be held accountable,” he said. “Their inaction cost one officer his life, and we have almost 140 responding officers injured. They have a lot to atone for.”

A spokeswoman for the Capitol Police also did not respond to requests for information on officer coronavirus diagnoses.

1/31/219:26 PM

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Robot UnicornHall of Famer

Even Mitch is begging the GOP to throw away the conspiracy nuts... the GOP only cares about regaining power.

2/1/2111:01 PM

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