Insurrection Detection

       Former Boston K-9 Officer Joseph Fisher was already in an unusual position as a January 6th defendant, not just because he was a former law enforcement officer accused of assaulting law enforcement during the insurrection (with others including Thomas Webster of New York City and, coincidentally, another officer named Joseph Fischer from Pennsylvania), but because of how distinguished his career was. Fisher participated in the manhunt for the Boston Marathon bombers and was even photographed alongside elected officials at a press conference related to the search. He also appeared in a documentary about an investigation into a homicide case.      Fisher is also unusual because of the remorse he seemed to demonstrate in how he handled the charges against him. His conduct was, undoubtedly, egregious. He used a chair as a weapon against an officer who was pursuing a suspect who had pepper sprayed police, and was then seen scuffling with police who c...

     It was a scene that horrified people around the world: Officer Daniel Hodges, his mask being ripped from his face, his body crushed in a doorway. The two men who directly assaulted Officer Hodges were convicted and sentenced to 85 and 90 months in prison. However, they alone were not responsible for Hodges' injuries. Over the course of several hours on January 6th, 2021, hundreds of people entered the Lower West Terrace tunnel and participated in the heave-ho push against law enforcement that would lead to Hodges' peril. In addition to these pushes, law enforcement would have to endure an improvised explosive device, a firecracker, a baseball bat, a hockey stick, a cattle prod, a taser, crutches, flagpoles, fire extinguishers, pepper spray and other chemical agents, batons, a strobe light, their own shields, brass knuckles, and countless other weapons.       At the front of all this violence were two men who gathered relatively little media attent...

     House Republicans continue their attempts to discredit the work done by the House January 6th Select Committee, just this week seeking to attain documents from bombshell witness Cassidy Hutchinson. This is part of a broader scheme to ensure the rapist fraudster currently facing trial for 34 felony charges is shielded from any accountability, with House Speaker Mike Johnson and a convoy of other wannabes showing up to defend the former president at his New York trial.      Their work has been hugely unsuccessful and, if anything, has caused more division among Republicans who hoped Johnson would be more aggressive in releasing January 6th footage (with faces blurred) and would somehow "defund" the Jack Smith special counsel investigation. The January 6th Committee report and referrals laid the groundwork that prosecutors like Smith, Fani Willis, Dana Nessel, and Kris Mayes have used to criminally prosecute those who sought to paralyze American democracy...

     Christina Praser-Fair is an example of why even the misdemeanor cases are so important among the up to 2,000 people who could face charges for their actions during the January 6th insurrection. To be clear, she is not one of the nearly 1,450 people who have been charged so far, but she is one of the hundreds of people who have been identified by online sleuths but not yet charged for her actions.      Realistically, with 3,000+ people entering the Capitol and/or committing acts of violence and property damage on Capitol grounds, the Justice Department will not be able to charge everyone at the Capitol that day. Christina here doesn't deserve to get away. Praser-Fair, a divorced mother of three children, has owned the Cornwallis House Tea Company in Winnsboro, South Carolina, since January 2011.      Some small details serve a big role in painting a picture of her life. Among her tea blends served are "Patriot Tea" and "Libertea," which ...