Former Secretary of State Colin Powell says he wishes President Trump would resign from office amid growing calls for his removal after a mob of his supporters stormed the Capitol.
“I wish he would just do what Nixon did and just step down.”
— TODAY (@TODAYshow) January 8, 2021
Watch @SavannahGuthrie’s full interview with former Secretary of State Colin Powell about Wednesday’s siege on the U.S. Capitol and why he thinks President Trump should resign. pic.twitter.com/1jo9giKJO2
Rep. Cori Bush (D-MO) said on Twitter Wednesday that she plans to introduce a bill that would expel lawmakers who attempted to overthrow the US presidential election results.
Read her statement below:
I believe the Republican members of Congress who have incited this domestic terror attack through their attempts to overturn the election must face consequences. They have broken their sacred Oath of Office.
I will be introducing a resolution calling for their expulsion.
Former President Barack Obama released the following statement after the attempted insurrection in Washington D.C. on 01/06/2021 by a group of thugs and goons, AKA Trump supporters:
History will rightly remember today’s violence at the Capitol, incited by a sitting president who has continued to baselessly lie about the outcome of a lawful election, as a moment of great dishonor and shame for our nation. But we’d be kidding ourselves if we treated it as a total surprise.
For two months now, a political party and its accompanying media ecosystem has too often been unwilling to tell their followers the truth — that this was not a particularly close election and that President-Elect Biden will be inaugurated on January 20. Their fantasy narrative has spiraled further and further from reality, and it builds upon years of sown resentments. Now we’re seeing the consequences, whipped up into a violent crescendo.
Right now, Republican leaders have a choice made clear in the desecrated chambers of democracy. They can continue down this road and keep stoking the raging fires. Or they can choose reality and take the first steps toward extinguishing the flames. They can choose America.
I’ve been heartened to see many members of the President’s party speak up forcefully today. Their voices add to the examples of Republican state and local election officials in states like Georgia who’ve refused to be intimidated and have discharged their duties honorably. We need more leaders like these — right now and in the days, weeks, and months ahead as President-Elect Biden works to restore a common purpose to our politics. It’s up to all of us as Americans, regardless of party, to support him in that goal.
After the rioting by Trump supporters in Washington D.C. on January 6, 2021 which left four dead and desecrated the U.S, Capitol Building, Rep. Barbara Lee (California: 13th District) took to Twitter to call for President Trump to be impeached.
Rep. Barbara Lee Tweeted:
Trump is the single greatest threat to our democracy.
He is unfit for office and can’t be trusted for another minute as commander in chief.
He must be impeached and removed from office immediately.
U.S. Senator Cory Booker (NJ} released the following statement via Twitter on today's riots that led to a breach of the United Stares Capitol building for the first time since the War of 1812:
On August 24, 1814, the British stormed our Capitol and set fire to it.
Now the Capitol has again been breached and sieged.
Donald Trump incited this. He is responsible for this. And he is silent as this tragic moment continues.
And Donald Trump is being aided and abetted by a group of Republican House and Senate members.
This is on them, as well.
We must rise from this nadir of shame. We must repair our democracy. We must heal our nation.
CNN projected early Wednesday morning that Warnock beat incumbent GOP Sen. Kelly Loeffler, with Black voters in the Atlanta metro area, the cradle of the Civil Rights Movement, and suburbs turning out to help Warnock win the seat.
Rev. Raphael Warnock will make history when he becomes Georgia's first Black senator and the first Black Democrat to represent a southern state in the Senate.
Once sworn in, Warnock will be the 11th African American to serve in the US Senate -- a group that includes former President Barack Obama, who served as a US senator from Illinois, and Vice President-elect Kamala Harris, who is a US senator from California.
>b>Vote totals with 98% of precincts reporting
Raphael Warnock Democratic Party: 2,227,296
Kelly Loeffler Republican Party: 2,173,866SOURCE: CNN]
Members of the Proud Boys, a violent all-male group with ties to white nationalism, attacked and vandalized property of the Metropolitan African Methodist Episcopal Church, a historic Black church, on December 12, 2020, because of its congregants’ support for the Black Lives Matter movement. A lawsuit filed today in D.C. Superior court seeks to hold the Proud Boys, its leadership and certain of its members accountable.
“White supremacists like the Proud Boys, would rather see the country burn than to see it united together under justice and freedom for all,” said Kristen Clarke, president and executive director of the Lawyers’ Committee for Civil Rights Under Law. “Black churches and other religious institutions have a long and ugly history of being targeted by white supremacists in racist and violent attacks meant to intimidate and create fear. Our lawsuit aims to hold those who engage in such action accountable. We are proud to represent Metropolitan A.M.E. which has a long history of standing against bigotry and hate and whose courage and determination to fight back is a beacon of hope for the community.”
The defendants include Proud Boys International, LLC; Enrique Tarrio, the chairman of the Proud Boys, who conspired with other Proud Boys members to plan, promote and participate in violent events throughout the summer and fall of 2020, including on December 12; and the unidentified individual Proud Boys members who joined in Tarrio’s conspiracy by attacking Metropolitan African Methodist Episcopal Church and rampaging through downtown Washington D.C. on December 12.
“In 1807, members of Bethel African Methodist Episcopal Church of Philadelphia ratified the African Supplement, a document which declared their independence from the white supremacist Methodist Church, said Rev. William H. Lamar IV is the pastor of the Metropolitan African Methodist Episcopal Church. “Today, 214 years later, we stand upon our ancestor’s firm foundation. White supremacists will not dictate the terms of our worship, theology, or our strident commitment to the liberation of humankind from violence, oppression, and exploitation. Our ancestors were victorious against the white supremacists who sought to instill fear in them and to control them. On January 1, 1816, the Pennsylvania Supreme Court declared Bethel African Methodist Episcopal Church an independent entity and our denomination was born. We, the descendants of these extraordinary women and men of God, will not allow white supremacist violence to go unchecked by the laws of the land. On January 4, 2021, I declare that we will be victorious against these white supremacists because God is with us, Jesus Christ is on our side, and our ancestors surround us. We are on the side of justice and justice will prevail.”
Metropolitan African Methodist Episcopal Church, like other nearby churches showing support for the Black Lives Matter movement, suffered from the defendants’ coordinated acts of violence when Proud Boys members climbed over a fence surrounding the church, came on to church property, tore down and destroyed a large Black Lives Matter sign the church was proudly displaying in what constituted clear acts of trespass, theft, and destruction of property.
The suit was filed by the Lawyers’ Committee for Civil Rights Under Law, Washington Lawyers’ Committee for Civil Rights and Urban Affairs, and Paul, Weiss, Rifkind, Wharton & Garrison LLP, on behalf of the Metropolitan African Methodist Episcopal Church.
“The Black Lives Matter movement is demanding the end of the denial in law and in practice of the humanity and dignity of Black people. The destruction of the sign proclaiming that Black Lives Matter at the Metropolitan AME Church and elsewhere throughout the City was an assault on the very notion of equity and justice,” said Jonathan M. Smith, executive director, Washington Lawyers’ Committee for Civil Rights and Urban Affairs.
The Proud Boys’ presence on December 12 and at previous attacks —and the acts of violence they incited—were no accident. For several months, Defendants have planned and carefully coordinated their efforts, both on the internet and in person. They exhorted each other with inflammatory language: “buy ammo [and] clean your guns” and “[t]onight we don’t sleep … Tonight we keep our enemies awake. Tonight, we become nightmares.”
Read the lawsuit here.
Rep. Johnson’s Resolution Censures and Condemns Trump for Blatantly Attempting to Overturn the Results of the November 2020 Presidential Election in Georgia.
Congressman Hank Johnson (GA-04) introduced H. Res XX this evening, censuring and condemning President Donald J. Trump for attempting to overturn the results of the November 2020 presidential election in the State of Georgia. He was joined by more than 90 colleagues.
On Saturday, January 2, 2021, President Trump called Georgia’s Secretary of State and asked him to illegally fabricate the votes needed for him to win the Georgia vote count. On Sunday, January 3, 2021, the entire audio of the call was reported in The Washington Post. The call lasted more than an hour and involved the President threatening Secretary Raffensperger with vague criminal prosecution threats if he didn’t cooperate. Rep. Johnson moved quickly to condemn President Trump's criminal actions and denounce his flagrant attempts to defraud a legal, fair, and free election.
Rep. Johnson tweeted: [the] president’s call to the Ga. SOS was far from “perfect.” In fact, it is a violation of state and federal law. Tomorrow, I will introduce a resolution of Censure. Trump should resign NOW!
The resolution garnered wide democratic support. Rep. Johnson was joined by Reps. Adams, Auchincloss, Barragan, Bass, Beatty, Beyer, Bishop, Blumenauer, Bonamici, Bourdeaux, Boyle, Bowman, Bush, Butterfield, Carson, Casten, Castor, Castro, Chu, Cicilline, Yvette Clarke, Cohen, Connolly, Cooper, Correa, Courtney, Danny Davis, Dean, DeLauro, Dingell, Doggett, Espaillat, Escobar, Eshoo, Dwight Evans, Foster, Chuy Garcia, Sylvia Garcia, Jimmy Gomez, Al Green, Hayes, Brian Higgins, Himes, Huffman, Jackson Lee, Jayapal, Mondaire Jones, Khanna, Kildee, John Larson, Brenda Lawrence, Barbara Lee, Andy Levin, Mike Levin, Lieu, Lowenthal, Lynch, Matsui, McCollum, McEachin, McGovern, McNerney, Meeks, Meng, Newman, Norton, Ocasio-Cortez, Omar, Pallone, Panetta, Pingree, Pocan, Pressley, Raskin, Rush, Scanlon, Schakowsky, David Scott, Sewell, Sherman, Speier, Suozzi, Swalwell, Takano, Mike Thompson, Tlaib, Rice, Norma Torres, Ritchie Torres, Velázquez, Watson Coleman, Welch.
Read the resolution below:
Resolution censuring Presid... by Councilman George L. Cook III
NAACP President and CEO, Derrick Johnson, released the following statement after President Trump pressured Georgia secretary of state to recalculate votes in his favor:
“This is a racist attack on Black voters. President Trump’s desperate and futile attempts to invalidate and falsify votes cast by Georgia voters add to a growing list of criminal acts that must be addressed. His blatant disregard of the election’s accurate results is harmful to the American people and democracy itself.
The NAACP calls for the Fulton County District Attorney’s decision to investigate the state law violations committed by President Trump after he pressured Brad Raffensperger, the Georgia secretary of state, to overturn Georgia’s election results.
We’ve repeatedly seen attempts to delegitimize democracy by trying to disenfranchise voters, specifically Black voters. In December, we witnessed the Trump campaign and a Trump elector file a lawsuit in the Superior Court of Fulton County, challenging the state’s presidential election results and asking for a new presidential election or for the court to prohibit the appointment of the slate of presidential electors. On December 10, 2020, the NAACP-Georgia State Conference filed a motion to intervene as a defendant in the lawsuit because of their interests in ensuring their members’ votes are counted.
Once again, if the NAACP must intervene to protect our community, we will do so swiftly and assuredly.”
Hours after Gov. Gavin Newsom picked California Secretary of State Alex Padilla to be California’s next United States senator, he announced that he will submit to the state Legislature the nomination of Assemblymember Dr. Shirley N. Weber, D-San Diego, to replace him. If confirmed, Weber will become the first-ever African American to serve as secretary of state for California.
“Dr. Weber is a tireless advocate and change agent with unimpeachable integrity. The daughter of sharecroppers from Arkansas, Dr. Weber’s father didn’t get to vote until his 30s and her grandfather never got to vote because he died before the Voting Rights Act passed in 1965.
“When her family moved to South Central Los Angeles, she saw as a child her parents rearrange furniture in their living room to serve as a local polling site for multiple elections. Now, she’ll be at the helm of California’s elections as the next secretary of state – defending and expanding the right to vote and serving as the first African American to be California’s chief elections officer,” Newsom said.
Weber, an assemblymember since 2012, is a former president of the San Diego Board of Education and a retired Africa Studies Department professor for 40 years at San Diego State University. Her nomination is subject to confirmation by the California State Assembly and Senate. A decision must be made within 90 days.
“I am excited to be nominated for this historic appointment as the secretary of state of California. I thank Gov. Newsom for the confidence he’s placed in me and his belief that I will stand strong for California. Being the first African American woman in this position will be a monumental responsibility, but I know that I am up for the challenge. Expanding voting rights has been one of the causes of my career and will continue to motivate me as I assume my new constitutional duties,” Weber said.
History is being made in Taliaferro County, Georgia.
Tia McWilliams is now the first African-American woman to be sheriff in one of the most rural counties in the state.
She joined weekend Good Morning Augusta anchor Shawn Cabbagestalk to talk about the achievement. Watch that interview below:
Judas and the Black Messiah, a movie that tells the story of Fred Hampton, Chairman of the Illinois Black Panther Party, and his fateful betrayal by FBI informant William O'Neal is set to be released February 12th, 2021. The movie will be released simultaneously in theatres and on HBO Max for a month
The film is directed by Shaka King.
“Judas and the Black Messiah” stars Oscar nominee Daniel Kaluuya (“Get Out,” “Widows,” “Black Panther”) as Fred Hampton and LaKeith Stanfield (“Atlanta,” “The Girl in the Spider’s Web”) as William O’Neal. The film also stars Jesse Plemons (“Vice,” “Game Night,” “The Post”), Dominique Fishback (“The Hate U Give,” “The Deuce”), Ashton Sanders (“The Equalizer 2,” “Moonlight”) and Martin Sheen (“The Departed,” TV’s “The West Wing,” TV’s “Grace & Frankie”).
Fox Sports reporter, Pam Oliver has been inducted into the National Association of Black Association Hall of Fame.
Renowned as a trailblazer in the sports media landscape, Pam Oliver long ago established herself as one of the premier sports reporters on network television. Armed with league-wide respect and esteem, her straightforward and open interviewing style consistently produces topical and substantive reports.
Oliver has contributed to FOX Sports’ coverage of eight Super Bowls. She was the lead feature reporter on FOX NFL SUNDAY for many years. She served as co-anchor of FSN South’s “Southern Sports Report” from 2000 to 2003. Prior to joining the network, she was an ESPN reporter, gaining football experience covering the NFL Playoffs and NFC Championship Games. In addition to her duties as feature reporter on “NFL Prime Monday,” Oliver covered each Monday Night Football matchup.
In 2016, Oliver worked as a Correspondent for “60 Minutes Sports,” contributing several features to the program. In 2014, she served as moderator for President Barack Obama’s Healthy Kids and Safe Sports Concussion Summit at the White House
Pam has received numerous awards in her career, including the Atlanta Women in Sports Lifetime Achievement Award in 2019, and in 2018, she was honored with a Gracie Award by the Alliance for Women in Media. In 2008, WISE (Women In Sports and Events) honored Oliver with one of its “Women of the Year” designations.
As an undergraduate at Florida A&M University, Pam was an Association for Intercollegiate Athletics for Women (AIAW) track and field All-American in the 400 meters and mile relay and held the distinction of participating on the first women’s team from Florida A&M to win a national championship (AIAW). She was inducted into the Florida A&M Sports Hall of Fame in 1996 for her individual accomplishments in the sport and again in 2016 when FAMU’s women’s mile relay team was recognized.
Oliver is a board member and event host with the Trey Whitfield Foundation, an organization that awards scholarships to economically disadvantaged inner-city children to help them pursue prep school educations and later attend college.
She lives in Atlanta with her husband.
Other 2020 NABJ Hall of Fame inductees:
Fred Sweets: Photographer and Editor
Cathy Hughes: Founder and Chairperson Urban One, Inc.
Mary A. Mitchell: Columnist, Chicago Sun-Times
John McCaa: Longtime Anchor, WFAA
Pam Johnson, Ph.D.: Former Director, School of Journalism, Western Kentucky University
Clarice Tinsley: Longtime FOX4 Reporter and Anchor
Vice President-elect Kamala Harris will travel to Georgia in the final days before the state’s two Senate runoff elections on Tuesday, in a last-ditch bid to boost the Democratic candidates who could flip control of the chamber.
Harris will visit Savannah, Ga., on Sunday, the eve of the election to campaign for Democrat Raphael Warnock.
This will be the Vice President-Elecr's second trip to Georgia since the Nov. 3rd election.
Vice President-elect Kamala Harris and her husband, Doug Emhoff, received their first doses of Moderna's coronavirus vaccine on Tuesday, with the incoming vice president getting her shot on camera as part of efforts to build public trust in the inoculations.
Harris and Emhoff were administered the vaccine at United Medical Center in Washington, D.C., by Patricia Cummings, clinical nurse manager at the hospital.
Former first lady Michelle Obama was named the most admired woman in the U.S. for the third consecutive year according to Gallup polling released Tuesday.
Ten percent of Americans named Obama as their most-admired woman, followed by Vice President-elect Kamala Harris, the first woman elected to the office, with 6 percent. First lady Melania Trump received 4 percent of the vote, followed by Oprah Winfrey with 3 percent. German Chancellor Angela Merkel, former Secretary of State Hillary Clinton, Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez (D-N.Y.) and Queen Elizabeth I all received 2 percent.
A white Ohio police officer was fired Monday after bodycam footage showed him fatally shooting 47-year-old Andre Hill — a Black man who was holding a cellphone — and refusing to administer first aid for several minutes.
Columbus police officer Adam Coy was fired hours after a hearing was held to determine his employment, Columbus Public Safety Director Ned Pettus Jr. said in a statement.
“The actions of Adam Coy do not live up to the oath of a Columbus Police officer, or the standards we, and the community, demand of our officers,” the statement read. “The shooting of Andre Hill is a tragedy for all who loved him in addition to the community and our Division of Police.”
Coy remains under criminal investigation for last week’s shooting.
The decision came after Pettus concluded a hearing to determine whether the actions taken by Coy in the moments before and after the fatal shooting of Hill on Tuesday were justified. The public safety director upheld the recommendation of Police Chief Thomas Quinlan, who made a video statement Christmas Eve, saying he had seen enough to recommend Coy be terminated.
Quinlan expedited the investigation and bypassed procedure to file two departmental charges alleging critical misconduct against Coy in the death of Hill.
“This is what accountability looks like. The evidence provided solid rationale for termination,” Quinlan said after Coy’s termination Monday afternoon. “Mr. Coy will now have to answer to the state investigators for the death of Andre Hill.”
The Jackson (Mississipi) Police Department is asking for the public’s help in finding a missing woman.
Police say 27-year-old Tori Moses has been missing since Wednesday, November 4. She was last seen on Medgar Evers Boulevard.
Moses is described as a black female, five feet and two inches tall, weighing 135 pounds with brown hair and brown eyes.
According to police, she suffers from a condition that may impair her judgment.
If anyone has information regarding Tori Moses' whereabouts, call the Special Victims Unit at 601-960-2328/601-213-6154 or Crime Stoppers 601-355-8477.
Former state Sen. Nina Turner made her bid official for Rep. Marcia Fudge’s congressional seat in Northeast Ohio, becoming one of many candidates to jump in to what will likely be a crowded primary.
Turner, 53, of Cleveland, held multiple elected offices in both the city and state before becoming a national name through her work with Vermont Sen. Bernie Sanders. She becomes the third candidate to enter the race for the 11th Congressional District seat, which would be open for only the third time since 1968 pending Fudge’s confirmation as Democratic President-elect Joe Biden’s Secretary of Housing and Urban Development.
Watch Turner's announcement video below:
It’s official! I am running for Congress. I am asking you to join me today as part of a historic grassroots campaign--one that centers the voices of everyday working Ohioans. We have so much to do and I hope we can do it together!
— Nina Turner (@ninaturner) December 15, 2020
Please donate 👇🏾https://t.co/BXxAz1pNDt pic.twitter.com/Hw5ENHR7LI
Vice President-Elect Kamala Harris delivered a message to all who celebrate Kwanzaa, on this the first day of the seven day holiday. Watch her video below:
