February 1, 2022

Decatur man pleads to Jan. 6 charge, but gun charges loom

Matthew J. Webler, a contractor from Decatur, will serve up to six months in prison for his role in the Jan. 6 U.S. Capitol riot, but faces a much longer sentence for what authorities discovered when they arrested him.

Webler, 43, appeared via videoconference in U.S. District Court Tuesday in Washington, D.C., to plead guilty to one count of violent entry and disorderly conduct on Capitol grounds, a misdemeanor charge that carries a possible penalty of six months in prison and up to $5,000 in fines. He will be sentenced in May.

Webler admitted to Judge Dabney Friedrich that he entered the Capitol during the Jan. 6 riot by climbing through a broken window. Investigators identified Webler on security camera videos at various spots inside the building by his bright yellow jacket, cowboy hat and a QAnon flag he wore as a cape. He also posted about his entry into the Capitol on social media, boasting in one selfie video, “It’s my birthday, and it’s the best one ever,” according to court records.

But while his negotiated guilty plea ends his legal trouble in Washington, he faces more serious charges in Georgia. According to court records, when investigators searched his home on Shamrock Drive near Decatur, they discovered a hand-built, short-barreled rifle, three silencers and ammunition.

Read more: https://www.ajc.com/news/decatur-man-pleads-to-jan-6-charge-but-gun-charges-loom/SRXAASJNYRCCXLWCNQH44T4S5I/

February 1, 2022

2 protesters arrested during 2018 demonstration at Cowboys stadium sue Jerry Jones, others

Two of the nine people arrested in 2018 during a protest outside AT&T Stadium filed a lawsuit Monday alleging they were wrongfully arrested and maliciously prosecuted.

The suit, filed in U.S. District Court in the Northern District of Texas, lists the city of Arlington, five unnamed police officers, Tarrant County Criminal District Attorney Sharen Wilson and Jerry Jones, owner of the Dallas Cowboys, as defendants.

The Tarrant County District Attorney’s Office and the Arlington Police Department said they do not comment on pending litigation. The city of Arlington and Jones did not immediately respond to requests for comment.

Michael Lowe and Arminta Jeffryes were both arrested in September 2018 while protesting with a group of people outside the Cowboys’ stadium. The group was protesting the killings of two unarmed Black men by police. In Arlington, police officer Bau Tran shot and killed O’Shea Terry during a traffic stop. On Sept. 6, 2018, Dallas police officer Amber Guyger killed Botham Jean inside his apartment.

Read more at: https://www.star-telegram.com/news/local/arlington/article257897248.html

February 1, 2022

'We Stand America' rally comes to a close

The three-day long fundraising rally billed by the We Stand America organization as a “take action tour” to discuss border security and “election integrity from a Biblical worldview” drew to a close Sunday with a visit to the border wall, where attendees — some of them armed with long guns — sang “Amazing Grace.”

Around 125 people gathered for the caravan to the wall near Bentsen-Rio Grande Valley State Park, which loomed above them in a brief moment of sunshine on an otherwise cloudy day.

The group snaked their way up the uneven dirt singing “Amazing Grace” before listening to remarks by event organizer, Christie Hutcherson.

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Among the list of guest speakers were some of former President Donald Trump’s closest advisers, including former National Security Adviser Lt. Gen. Mike Flynn, former Acting CBP Commissioner Mark Morgan, and former ICE Director Tom Homan.

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Attendees wishing to hear Flynn speak at a Friday night reception had to fork over $2,500 per person, according to the We Stand America website.

Read more: https://myrgv.com/featured/2022/01/30/we-stand-america-rally-comes-to-a-close/

February 1, 2022

Negative mailer prompts angry reply from Austin-San Antonio Democrats

Rep. Eddie Rodriguez, a Democrat running in Texas 35th Congressional District caused an uproar among some Austin and San Antonio Democrats after using a campaign mailer to attack his opponent, former Austin City Councilman Greg Casar.

The mailer, first reported by the Texas Tribune’s Patrick Svitek, touts Rodriguez’ legislative record on affordable housing and accuses Casar of designing the “disastrous ordinance lifting the ban on tent cities in Austin.”

“As an Austin City Council member, Greg Casar ended Austin’s ban on encampments in public spaces, allowing homeless people to set up tents anywhere and making the city less safe,” the mailer reads.

https://twitter.com/PatrickSvitek/status/1487469884799954959

The mailer accuses Casar of not being progressive for failing to build affordable housing during his tenure, a claim that can be debunked as recently as October, when Austin City Council and Casar were touting plans to have 2,200 supportive housing units available by 2024 — a number that steadily grown from zero to more than 700 in recent years. (“In the last two years, our city has voted to put 775 homes on the ground to pull people off the streets,” Casar told Austin’s KVUE weeks before launching his campaign.)

Read more: https://texassignal.com/negative-mailer-prompts-angry-reply-from-austin-san-antonio-dems/

February 1, 2022

After failing to disclose many donors, Ken Paxton files corrected campaign finance report

by Patrick Svitek, Texas Tribune


Attorney General Ken Paxton, who is in a hotly contested primary, has filed a corrected campaign finance report after he did not disclose a large portion of his donors from the last six months of 2021.

The corrected report was filed Monday, 13 days after it was due to the Texas Ethics Commission. On the original report, Paxton left $2.1 million of his $2.8 million fundraising haul unitemized, meaning he did not include donor information for those who helped give the $2.1 million and who were required by law to be identified. His campaign cited technical issues and promised to file an amended report.

On the amended report, Paxton's campaign said it has now "itemize[d] all contributions" and dealt with duplicate records.

"The [campaign] continues to resolve some of the issues, and we are happy to provide additional information to the TEC regarding the issue," the campaign said.

Read more: https://www.texastribune.org/2022/01/31/ken-paxton-campaign-finance/

February 1, 2022

Texas law barring state contractors from boycotting Israel violates firm's free speech, federal

Texas law barring state contractors from boycotting Israel violates firm’s free speech, federal judge rules

by Allyson Waller, Texas Tribune


Texas can’t forbid an engineering firm from boycotting Israel as part of its contract with Houston City Hall, a federal judge has ruled.

U.S. District Judge Andrew S. Hanen on Friday stopped short of fully blocking a state law that prohibits government agencies from doing business with certain companies that boycott Israel. But his ruling said the free speech rights of A & R Engineering and Testing Inc. would be violated if its contract with the city included a clause saying the company will refrain from such a boycott. Hanen also said that Texas could not enforce its law against the company or the city.

A & R Engineering and Testing Inc. is being represented by the Council on American-Islamic Relations, a Muslim civil rights and advocacy organization. In a news conference Monday, the organization lauded Hanen’s decision but still pushed for the state’s anti-boycott law to be overturned.

“He acknowledged that that pro-Palestinian view is protected by the First Amendment,” said CAIR attorney Gadeir Abbas. “That may sound like little crumbs, but that’s a controversial take, and it’s a blessing.”

Read more: https://www.texastribune.org/2022/01/31/texas-boycott-israel-lawsuit/

February 1, 2022

Backlash against Vail Resorts growing among skiers and snowboarders across the country

CRESTED BUTTE — Several Vail Resorts properties across the country are facing backlash from skiers and snowboarders, many of them longtime customers. The problem hasn’t been a lack of snow. While it came late this season, two huge December storms dumped 90 inches on Crested Butte alone. Streets here are lined with massive snowbanks, and nearly all of the mountain’s ski terrain has been open.

But the lifts to reach all that terrain? Crested Butte has struggled to keep some lifts operating, skiers say, amid a staffing problem the company blames on the omicron variant even as its labor practices at resorts around the country have come under fire.

After several major acquisitions in recent years, including Crested Butte in 2018, Broomfield-based Vail Resorts is now the largest ski area operator in the United States with more than 30 properties in Colorado, California, Pennsylvania, New York, Vermont and beyond.

While ski areas across the country — and mountain towns in particular — have struggled with staffing this year amid omicron, high housing costs and a national labor shortage, Vail Resorts has faced a cacophony of complaints on social media and in national news stories from outlets such as the Wall Street Journal, alleging everything from long lift lines to unplowed parking lots, limited terrain and frustrated, overworked employees.

Read more: https://www.denverpost.com/2022/01/28/vail-resorts-complaints-epic-pass-staffing-colorado/

February 1, 2022

Racial slur charge costs Democratic lawmaker committee seat

Community activists and people of color are denouncing a state lawmaker they once considered an ally but who now stands accused of intimidating a young Black man and endangering his life.

Rep. Nicole Klein-Knight, D-Manchester, was removed from the House Criminal Justice and Public Safety Committee on Monday at the request of Democratic leaders after a dozen Black, brown and Indigenous community organizers issued a letter condemning her.

The group said that Klein-Knight had worked with many of the signers in the past, but that her behavior in recent months has become alarming and “increasingly dangerous,” culminating in an episode at the Statehouse this month.

According to the letter, Klein-Knight accosted a young Black organizer after he testified on a bill, using a racial slur multiple times to make her point. Though the slur wasn’t directed at the young man, she continued to use it after he asked her to stop, and she later called security, according to the letter.

Read more: https://www.concordmonitor.com/Racial-slur-charge-costs-Democratic-lawmaker-committee-seat-44851867

February 1, 2022

Trump Goes Head-to-Head with Trump, QAnon Waits for Michael Jackson & a Rare Melania Sighting

February 1, 2022

In rejecting bill, lawmakers cite significant progress on secure psychiatric hospital

A House committee feels the state’s progress on a long-stalled effort to transfer mental health patients from the state prison to a hospital is moving along so well, it killed a bill this week giving lawmakers a greater role in the project.

Prior to the 20-0 vote finding House Bill 1391 inexpedient to legislate, Health, Human Services, and Elderly Affairs Committee Chairman Mark Pearson acknowledged the persistent advocacy of the bill’s sponsor, Rep. Renny Cushing, a Hampton Democrat.

“This will not be so much ‘the bill has failed’ as it will be ‘your hopes have triumphed,’” Pearson, a Hampstead Republican, said.

There is a second bill that would require the Department of Health and Human Services to operate and manage the hospital as opposed to a private contractor. However, Senate Bill 391 would allow the department to contract with a private medical provider for clinical services. The Senate Health and Human Services Committee will take testimony on that bill Tuesday.

Read more: https://newhampshirebulletin.com/briefs/in-rejecting-bill-lawmakers-cite-significant-progress-on-secure-psychiatric-hospital/