USA Today: Debunking False Narratives About January 6 Capitol Riot; Ample Evidence Fraud Did Not Affect Election Outcome; Republicans Buy The Big Lie

On January 4, 2021, the national news agency USA Today posted a story written by its reporter McKenzie Sadeghi with contributing reporters Camille Caldera, Devon Link, Ella Lee, Daniel Funke, Chelsey Cox, Rick Rouan, Nayeli Lomeli, Madeleine Ngo entitled “Fact check roundup: Debunking false narratives about the Jan. 6 Capitol riot”.

On January 6, USA TODAY published a second article entitled “Fact check: How we know the 2020 election results were legitimate, not ‘rigged’ as Donald Trump claims” written by reporter Daniel Funke.

Both articles are well researched and well written. When read together with minor edits, the articles provide insightful information on the January 6, 2021 capital riot as well as Trumps false claims relating to the November 4, 2020 presidential election.

USA TODAY JANUARY 4, 2021 ARTICLE

EDITOR’S NOTE: The article has been edited for clarification to the extent of bolding titles, adding “USA TODAY RATING” and deleting “Read More” reference links.

“It has been almost one year since a mob supporting now-former President Donald Trump – fueled by baseless voter fraud claims – stormed the U.S. Capitol on Jan. 6 in an attempt to overturn the 2020 presidential election results.

The attack led to deaths, injuries and more than 700 arrests, and it temporarily halted Congress’ certification of President Joe Biden’s Electoral College win. In the following months, a flurry of falsehoods and conspiracy theories about the riot were promoted online, where debunked claims continue to circulate.

With the first anniversary of the Capitol riot approaching, here’s a roundup of USA TODAY’s fact checks relating to the insurrection that touch on election misinformation, House Speaker Nancy Pelosi’s role in the attack, misleading images and videos, claims about politicians, comparisons to past demonstrations and even false claims that reports predicted the attack.

2020 ELECTION MISINFORMATION

Capitol rioters charged in the Jan. 6 attack have cited the baseless narrative that the 2020 presidential election was stolen by Democrats. The myth was promoted by Trump, his closest allies and conservative media personalities, all of whom relied on false claims about election technology, vote counting, mail-in ballots and voter turnout.

Biden legally won the presidential race by more than 7 million votes, and his victory was certified by the Electoral College. Hand recounts and independent audits across the country did not change the election’s outcome and failed to turn up any evidence of widespread wrongdoing by poll workers or voters. But that still didn’t stop people from claiming otherwise.

THE CLAIM: JOE BIDEN DID NOT LEGALLY WIN THE PRESIDENTIAL ELECTION
USA TODAY RATING: False

Biden received 81 million votes and Trump received 74 million votes. A candidate must secure 270 electoral votes to be elected, and Biden won 306 votes to Trump’s 232. There has been no evidence of widespread voter fraud in Biden’s favor, and courts have dismissed dozens of lawsuits in battleground states challenging the election results.

THE CLAIM: DOMINION VOTING SYSTEMS DELETED VOTES FOR TRUMP, SWITCHED VOTES TO BIDEN
USA TODAY RATING: False

There is no evidence Dominion, a private company supplying voting systems in 28 states, deleted or changed votes in the 2020 election, according to a national coalition and election law experts. A few counties experienced minor technology issues on Election Day, but the errors did not affect the vote counts.

THE CLAIM: SEVERAL KEY STATES HAD MORE BALLOTS CAST THAN REGISTERED VOTERS
USA TODAY RATING: False

Data and individual state reporting reviewed by USA TODAY shows no state in the U.S. had more than 100% voter turnout in the 2020 election. Posts claiming differently are using improper data sets or flawed data analysis techniques. Read more

THE CLAIM: NEVADA’S PRESIDENTIAL ELECTION INCLUDED DUPLICATE VOTING, DEAD VOTERS, FAKE ADDRESSES, NONCITIZENS VOTING AND OUT OF STATE VOTERS
USA TODAY RATING: False

Claims about widespread voter fraud in Nevada’s 2020 election stem from a failed lawsuit, and a district court concluded that no illegal votes were cast and counted. Biden won Nevada’s six electoral votes.

THE CLAIM: AN AUDIT ‘CONCLUSIVELY SHOWS’ VOTER FRAUD AFFECTED ARIZONA’S ELECTION OUTCOME
USA TODAY RATING: False

An audit of Arizona’s 2020 election results conducted by cybersecurity firm Cyber Ninjas did not surface any evidence of widespread voter fraud that changed the election’s outcome. The review, along with other hand recounts, confirmed Biden won Maricopa County.

THE CLAIM: AN INVESTIGATION FOUND MORE ‘ILLEGAL VOTES’ CAST IN WISCONSIN IN 2020 THAN JOE BIDEN’S MARGIN OF VICTORY
USA TODAY RATING: False

A report from the Wisconsin Institute for Law & Liberty investigating the integrity of the 2020 election found no evidence of widespread fraud, and the group’s findings were misstated online. A hand recount, audit and lawsuits confirmed Biden’s victory in Wisconsin.

Here are more fact-checks analyzing what’s true and false about the 2020 election and voting by mail.

THE NATURE OF THE RIOT

Just hours after rioters breached the Capitol, misinformation about what happened spread rapidly on social media, and a false narrative blaming anti-fascist activists for inciting the violence made its way to the House floor that same evening. Many such claims circulated throughout 2021.

THE CLAIM: A FACIAL RECOGNITION FIRM CLAIMED ANTIFA INFILTRATED PRO-TRUMP RIOTERS AT THE CAPITOL
USA TODAY RATING: False

Claims that members of Antifa disguised as Trump supporters orchestrated the insurrection are baseless and stem from a rumor that a facial recognition company identified left-wing activists among the rioters. The technology firm mentioned in the claims refuted the story, and there is no evidence Antifa was responsible for the attack.

THE CLAIM: THE SHIRTLESS MAN PICTURED IN THE CAPITOL BREACH IS WITH ANTIFA AND BLACK LIVES MATTER
USA TODAY RATING: False

Jake Angeli, a man who was pictured at the Capitol shirtless wearing a fur hat with horns, is a well-known Trump and QAnon supporter – he is not tied to Black Lives Matter or Antifa. The claim is part of the false larger conspiracy theory that Trump’s supporters were not actually behind the riot.

THE CLAIM: A “KNOWN ANTIFA MEMBER” WAS PAID $70,000 FOR HIS VIDEO OF THE RIOT
USA TODAY RATING: Partly false

News outlets paid Utah activist John Sullivan roughly $90,000 for video footage he captured during the Capitol riot, but he is not linked to any anti-fascist groups and has denied being associated with the movement.

THE CLAIM: FBI OPERATIVES ORGANIZED THE ATTACK ON THE U.S. CAPITOL
USA TODAY RATING: False

There’s no evidence “unindicted co-conspirators” listed in federal charging documents related to the Jan. 6 attack are undercover FBI agents or federal informants. Legal experts say the term can’t be used to describe undercover government operatives. Rioters have been identified by authorities as Trump supporters, conspiracy theorists and members of far-right groups.

THE CLAIM: CNN EMPLOYEES TOOK PART IN THE RIOT
USA TODAY RATING: False

Posts claiming CNN employees were among the Capitol rioters are unfounded. Jade Sacker, mentioned in the claims, is a freelance journalist and has never worked for the cable news outlet. Read more

THE CLAIM: A MAN DIED FROM A HEART ATTACK AFTER ACCIDENTALLY USING A STUN GUN ON HIMSELF AT THE CAPITOL RIOT
USA TODAY RATING: False

Kevin Greeson of Alabama died on the Capitol grounds after a heart attack, and his wife told USA TODAY he had a history of high blood pressure. He did not accidentally stun himself.

THE CLAIM: THE FBI TOLD A SENATE COMMITTEE THAT THE FBI DID NOT RECOVER ANY GUNS AT THE RIOT
USA TODAY RATING: Missing context

Jill Sanborn, assistant director of the FBI’s counterterrorism division, said the FBI did not recover any firearms at the Capitol riot. But she also noted that she cannot speak for other law enforcement agencies. The Department of Justice charged rioters with bringing firearms to the Capitol grounds.

NANCY PELOSI’S ROLE

Social media users have tried to shift blame by spreading false claims about Pelosi in the wake of the Capitol attack.

THE CLAIM: PELOSI REJECTED TRUMP’S REQUEST FOR 10,000 NATIONAL GUARD TROOPS TO BE DEPLOYED BEFORE JAN. 6
USA TODAY RATING: False

Trump’s claim that Pelosi blocked his formal request for 10,000 National Guard troops ahead of the “Stop the Steal” rally is false. The Pentagon said there is no record of the request, and Pelosi’s office said she was not contacted about deploying the National Guard. Testimony and a Department of Defense memo about Jan. 6 also confirms that.

THE CLAIM: NANCY PELOSI WAS IN CHARGE OF CAPITOL POLICE ON JAN. 6
USA TODAY RATING: False

Pelosi was not in charge of the Capitol Police at the time of the riot. The agency is overseen by the Capitol Police Board, which is made up of the House and Senate sergeants-at-arms and the Capitol architect.

THE CLAIM: NANCY PELOSI REFUSES TO TAKE RESPONSIBILITY FOR CAUSING THE INSURRECTION
USA TODAY RATING: False

… Pelosi wasn’t responsible. Capitol Police told USA TODAY that committees from the House and Senate and a Capitol Police Board are responsible for overseeing operations, not Pelosi.

THE CLAIM: PELOSI WON’T LET CAPITOL POLICE TESTIFY ABOUT WHAT HAPPENED ON JAN. 6
USA TODAY RATING: False

The claim that Pelosi is blocking testimony is a reversal of what actually happened. Republican lawmakers tried to stop a hearing from taking place, while Democrats pushed for one.

THE CLAIM: SPECIAL FORCES TOOK NANCY PELOSI’S LAPTOP DURING THE RIOT
USA TODAY RATING: False

A laptop belonging to the House speaker’s office was stolen by pro-Trump rioters, not special forces.

MISLEADING IMAGES AND VIDEOS

Photos and videos of the Capitol riot went viral online. But in many cases, the footage was doctored, outdated or unrelated to Jan. 6.

THE CLAIM: POLICE OFFICER IS THE MAN WHO CARRIED A CONFEDERATE FLAG DURING THE CAPITOL RIOT
USA TODAY RATING: False

An image purporting to show a police officer carrying a Confederate flag during the attack is false. The man in the photo was identified by the FBI as Kevin Seefried, who was charged in connection with the riot. He is not a police officer.

THE CLAIM: CAPITOL WORKERS THREW AWAY AN AMERICAN FLAG AS THEY PREPARED FOR THE TRANSITION OF POWER
USA TODAY RATING: Missing context

Capitol employees did not throw out an American flag in preparation for Biden’s inauguration. The photo was captured in the aftermath of the riot.

THE CLAIM: VIDEO SHOWS TRUMP FAMILY CELEBRATING THE RIOT FROM A NEARBY TENT
USA TODAY RATING: False

Days after the riot, a video went viral purporting to show the Trump family celebrating amid the attack. But monitors seen in the clip as well as a timeline of the events on Jan. 6 prove the video was captured before Trump’s supporters stormed the Capitol.

THE CLAIM: CHUCK NORRIS WAS AT THE CAPITOL RIOT
USA TODAY RATING: False

Martial artist and actor Chuck Norris did not take part in the riot. His manager told USA TODAY he was on his ranch in Texas on Jan. 6 and confirmed that a photo on social media of a man resembling Norris is not actually him.

THE CLAIM: IMAGES SHOW PRO-TRUMP RALLY IN WASHINGTON, D.C., IN JANUARY
USA TODAY RATING: False

Photos of crowds at the 2018 March for Our Lives rally and 2017 Women’s March were passed off on social media as pro-Trump demonstrations on Jan. 6.

THE CLAIM: IMAGE SHOWS A CARAVAN OF TRUMP SUPPORTERS TRAVELING TO WASHINGTON
USA TODAY RATING: False

A photo purporting to show dozens of vehicles heading to Washington to protest the presidential election results on Jan. 6 was actually taken in San Francisco at a pro-Trump truck rally in October 2020.

THE CLAIM: A VIRAL VIDEO SHOWS A MAN SCREAMING ABOUT BEING PLACED ON THE NO-FLY LIST BECAUSE OF THE RIOT AT THE CAPITOL
USA TODAY RATING: False

A video shows a man being asked to leave an American Airlines flight for a mask violation, not for being placed on the no-fly list because of the Capitol riot.

THE CLAIM: DEMONSTRATORS ERECTED A CROSS IN FRONT OF THE CAPITOL
USA TODAY RATING: Missing context

A photo shows pro-Trump demonstrators erected a cross in front of the Michigan Capitol in Lansing, not in Washington.

THE CLAIM: THE INSURRECTION WAS AN EVENT HOSTED BY THE STANFORD FEDERALIST SOCIETY
USA TODAY RATING: Satire

An image of an event flyer claiming the Capitol riot took place during a student-run Stanford Federalist Society meeting with guest speakers Sen. Josh Hawley, R-Mo., and Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton is fake.

CLAIMS ABOUT POLITICIANS

A number of hoaxes concerning the whereabouts of politicians during the Capitol riot and their responses circulated online after the insurrection.

THE CLAIM: ACTING PARDON ATTORNEY ROSALIND SARGENT-BURNS SAID TRUMP WAS “STRONGLY CONSIDERING” PARDONING CAPITOL RIOTERS
USA TODAY RATING: False

Trump didn’t pardon Capitol rioters during his final days in office. At the time, the Justice Department issued a statement saying it was not involved in efforts to pardon people involved with “the heinous acts” that took place at the Capitol.

THE CLAIM: REP. LAUREN BOEBERT TOOK A PHOTO WITH RIOTERS BEFORE A TOUR OF CAPITOL ON JAN. 5
USA TODAY RATING: False

An image claiming to show Rep. Lauren Boebert, R-Colo., with rioters at the Capitol a day before the attack was actually captured in December 2019 at the Colorado State Capitol in Denver. She was posing with members of several pro-Trump groups.

THE CLAIM: REP. ALEXANDRIA OCASIO-CORTEZ TWEETED THAT CAPITOL RIOTERS STOLE HER SHOES
USA TODAY RATING: False

Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez, D-N.Y., never said Capitol rioters stole her shoes. The congresswoman’s office told USA TODAY the tweet is fake, and no shoes were taken during the attack.

THE CLAIM: MITCH MCCONNELL SAID TRUMP WAS “PRACTICALLY AND MORALLY RESPONSIBLE” FOR THE CAPITOL RIOT AFTER VOTING TO ACQUIT HIM AFTER TRUMP’S IMPEACHMENT
USA TODAY RATING: True

Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell, R-Ky., voted to acquit Trump of inciting the Capitol riot during an impeachment trial but said during a speech on the Senate floor that the former president was “practically and morally responsible.” He said he believed it was unconstitutional to convict Trump during an impeachment proceeding after he had already left office.

THE CLAIM: VICE PRESIDENT MIKE PENCE WAS ARRESTED ON JAN. 6
USA TODAY RATING: False

Then-Vice President Mike Pence was not arrested on Jan. 6. He and other officials were taken to a secure location, and his spokesperson said Pence never left the Capitol during the riot.

THE CLAIM: LAUREN BOEBERT DISCLOSED NANCY PELOSI’S LOCATION DURING INSURRECTION, LED TOUR BEFOREHAND, REFERENCED 1776
USA TODAY RATING: Partly false

During the Capitol riot, Boebert tweeted that Pelosi left the House chamber, but she did not say where Pelosi went. It’s true Boebert was seen giving a tour of the Capitol before the insurrection and compared it to 1776.

THE CLAIM: DEMOCRATIC LEADERS IN THE HOUSE AND SENATE CALLED FOR VIOLENCE DURING BLM PROTESTS
USA TODAY RATING: Missing context

Posts accusing several Democratic leaders of hypocrisy for supporting violent Black Lives Matter demonstrations but condemning the Capitol riot are misleading. The quotes included in the meme were taken out of context and made before the summer 2020 protests against racial injustice.

THE CLAIM: THE INSURRECTION ACT HAS BEEN SIGNED AND ARRESTS HAVE BEEN MADE
USA TODAY RATING: False

Trump did not invoke the Insurrection Act on Jan. 6. The day after the riot, he publicly acknowledged the transition of power to Biden that would happen on Jan. 20.

COMPARISONS TO PREVIOUS DEMONSTRATIONS

Social media posts comparing previous demonstrations in Washington to the Capitol attack are misleading and leave out significant details.

THE CLAIM: IN 2018, LIBERALS AND DEMOCRATS PROTESTING AGAINST BRETT KAVANAUGH STORMED THE CAPITOL AND SUPREME COURT
USA TODAY RATING: Missing context

Posts comparing the insurrection and 2018 protests against Brett Kavanaugh’s nomination to the Supreme Court leave out key details. The Capitol was open to the public during the Kavanaugh demonstrations, unlike on Jan. 6, when rioters forced their way in. And protesters did not enter the Supreme Court as was claimed.

THE CLAIM: IMAGES SHOW POLICE PRESENCE DURING BLACK LIVES MATTER DEMONSTRATIONS COMPARED TO CAPITOL RIOT
USA TODAY RATING: Missing context

Comparisons between law enforcement’s handling of the 2020 Black Lives Matter protests and the Jan. 6 riot lack context. An image used in the claim shows National Guard members at the Lincoln Memorial after it was vandalized, not at the Capitol.

THE CLAIM: POLICE HELPED A PRO-TRUMP CAPITOL DEMONSTRATOR AND KICKED A BLM BYSTANDER IN THE HEAD
USA TODAY RATING: Partly false

A police officer was recorded helping a pro-Trump protester down the steps of the Capitol on Jan. 6, but a Black Lives Matter demonstrator did not have “his head kicked in by police.” The man was shoved by officers in New York, who were later charged with assault.

THE CLAIM: JOE BIDEN CONDEMNED VIOLENCE JAN. 6 BUT DIDN’T CONDEMN VIOLENT PROTESTS BY BLM OR ANTIFA IN THE SUMMER OF 2020
USA TODAY RATING: False

Biden repeatedly condemned violence linked to Black Lives Matter gatherings in 2020 and rioters on Jan. 6.

FAKE PREDICTIONS

Like many other major news events, people were quick to falsely claim that news outlets or TV shows predicted the events that took place on Jan. 6, implying the event was staged or planned.
Fact check: COVID-19, election misinformation dominated social media in 2021.

THE CLAIM: AN EPISODE OF “THE SIMPSONS” PREDICTED THE CAPITOL RIOT
USA TODAY RATING: False

A doctored photo showed Groundskeeper Willie, a character from “The Simpsons,” wearing the same outfit as the pro-Trump rioter in a furry horned hat. It was misused online to claim the TV show predicted the Jan. 6 attack.

THE CLAIM: NPR POSTED A STORY ABOUT RIOTERS IN THE U.S. CAPITOL AT 9:33 A.M., HOURS BEFORE THE ATTACK TOOK PLACE
USA TODAY RATING: Missing context

This was a misunderstanding of how breaking news is reported. National Public Radio did not post a story about rioters taking over the Capitol hours before it happened. The story was originally published on the morning of Jan. 6, and it was updated throughout the day with new developments.”

The link to the unedited USA Story with READ MORE links is here:

https://www.usatoday.com/story/news/factcheck/2022/01/04/fact-check-roundup-many-false-narratives-jan-6-insurrection/9052900002/

NO EVIDENCE THAT FRAUD AFFECTED ELECTION OUTCOME

On January 6, USA TODAY published an article entitled “Fact check: How we know the 2020 election results were legitimate, not ‘rigged’ as Donald Trump claims” written by reporter Daniel Funke. The article concluded saying that there is ample evidence fraud did not affect the 2020 presidential election outcome. Following are excerpts from the report:

“Based on our research, [USA TODAY] rate[s] FALSE the claim that the 2020 presidential election was “rigged.” Lawsuits, recounts, forensic audits and partisan reviews have all affirmed the election results. Officials from both parties have repeatedly debunked claims of widespread voter fraud. With 306 electoral votes, Biden beat Trump in the election.

In the immediate aftermath of Biden’s win, election officials insisted the results were legitimate.

The Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency and its partners said in a November 2020 statement:

The November 3rd election was the most secure in American history. … There is no evidence that any voting system deleted or lost votes, changed votes or was in any way compromised.”

Trump’s own attorney general, William Barr, said in early December 2020 that the Justice Department had “not seen fraud on a scale that could have affected a different outcome in the election.” Biden won the presidency with 306 electoral votes, which Congress certified in January 2021 after the Capitol riot.

At the time, some Republican lawmakers also pushed back on claims of widespread fraud.

“Nothing before us proves illegality anywhere near the massive scale, the massive scale that would have tipped the entire election – nor can public doubt alone justify a radical break when the doubt itself was incited without any evidence,” Sen. Mitch McConnell, the Senate’s top Republican said in his address to the chamber before it was evacuated during the Jan. 6 insurrection.

Since then, a mountain of evidence – including lawsuits, recounts, forensic audits and even partisan reviews – has affirmed those results.

Dozens of lawsuits by Trump and his allies aimed at overturning the election, some of which inspired misinformation about results in contested states like Nevada, failed. The Supreme Court refused to take up several cases challenging results in battleground states that played a key role in the outcome of the election.

In those battleground states, numerous audits and recounts have affirmed Biden’s win:

• In Arizona, a six-month audit of election results in Maricopa County, home of Phoenix, confirmed the state’s election results. The audit was conducted by Cyber Ninjas, a firm hired by the Republican-dominated state Senate and whose founder had previously promoted unfounded claims of voter fraud. Multiple hand recounts, as well as a forensic audit of voting machines, have also confirmed Maricopa County’s results.

• In Georgia, three separate audits found no evidence of wrongdoing affecting the state’s election outcome. Georgia’s Republican secretary of state has repeatedly quashed claims of widespread voter fraud.

• In Michigan, an audit of ballots, voting machines and election procedures affirmed Biden’s win. The bipartisan effort was the most comprehensive post-election audit in the state’s history.

• In Pennsylvania, a statewide risk-limiting audit found “strong evidence of the accuracy of the count of votes cast in the November 2020 presidential election. ” The audit examined ballots in 63 out of 67 counties.

• In Wisconsin, a recount in the state’s two largest counties found no evidence of widespread voter fraud. An audit of voting machines by the nonpartisan Legislative Audit Bureau, commissioned by Republican lawmakers, and an investigation by a conservative law firm also upheld the election results.

Many claims of fraud stemmed from a misunderstanding of how vote counting and reporting processes work in different states.

In Wisconsin, for example, some claimed late-night vote dumps for Biden were proof of fraud. That’s wrong – the state can’t count absentee ballots until Election Day, so tallies for the largest counties can take all day to complete, or even into the night. On election night, that resulted in a late addition of absentee votes, which trended heavily Democratic in 2020.

Similar narratives targeted other contested states.

In Michigan, an election-night typo resulted in the addition of more than 100,000 votes to Biden’s tally. Although the clerical error was quickly corrected, some falsely claimed it was evidence of voter fraud. In Georgia, footage of poll workers placing ballots in their proper storage containers was also misconstrued as evidence of fraud.

Other pervasive election conspiracy theories haven’t panned out, either.

Claims from conservative pundits that voting machines deleted Trump votes and changed them to Biden are false.
Companies like Dominion Voting Systems and Smartmatic have filed defamation lawsuits against Trump allies and conservative news outlets for promoting baseless claims about their voting technology.

The link to the unedited USA Report is here:

https://www.usatoday.com/story/news/factcheck/2022/01/06/fact-check-donald-trump-2020-election-results/9115875002/

REPUBLICANS BELIEVE ELECTION RIGGED

According to a November poll from the Public Religion Research Institute, 68% of Republicans believe the election was “stolen” from Donald Trump. Only 6% of Democrats and 26 percent of independents say the same. Tens of millions of Americans believe Trump’s “big lie” that the election was stolen even though there’s no evidence of significant voter fraud. According to a Washington Post article, the data points to three related explanations:

1. Tribal partisanship
2. A persistent tendency toward conspiratorial thinking among many Americans, and
3. A sustained misinformation campaign by Trump and his allies.

According to the Washington Post article, there’s a simple political pattern in election denial polls. When Republicans win the White House, Democrats are more likely to say the race was rigged. And when Democrats win the White House, Republicans are more likely to cry fraud.
University of Miami political science professor Joseph Uscinski, a who specializes in conspiracy theories, explained the pattern this way:

“Some people don’t like to lose, and they don’t have a good way of coming to grips with it. … You could think of it in politics as in sports: the winning team rarely complains about the umpires and referees. There’s nothing to complain about when you win — you only have something to complain about if you lose.”

When Trump lost, many Republicans followed this pattern: They alleged fraud rather than admitting that Biden won fairly. And strong Republicans, the people with the greatest attachment to the party, were the most likely to believe Trump’s voter fraud claims.

https://www.washingtonpost.com/opinions/2021/11/10/why-do-some-still-deny-bidens-2020-victory-heres-what-data-says/

COMMENTARY AND ANALYSIS

What is disgusting and the act of a traitor is that what unfolded on January 6, 2021 was an attack on our country, our very democracy, by a President of the United States who lost his election for a second term and who still refuses to accept his defeat to this day. Der Führer Trump lost the popular vote in 2016 to Hillary Clinton by 3 million votes only to win the electoral college vote by the identical number that Biden won over Trump. Instead of giving way and cooperating with a peaceful transition of power, Trump attempted a COUP D’É·TAT of his successor who won not only the electoral college vote but the popular vote by 6 million votes.

It is clear that Trump is the first fascist ever elected President of the United States who put himself above the law, his own country and his own party. Trump has no respect for our constitution nor free elections. His view is that the only votes that count are those that are cast form him, a lesson he probably learned from Vladimir Putin or Kim Jung Un. Trump’s strongest and closest allies and supporters need to come to their senses and the realization that Trump is a traitor to our country, to them, to all of us and to our democracy. Attempting to set aside the vote of the American people was an attempt to undermine our very democracy. It was a coup d’é·tat that failed.

The same goes for the “clown car” full of the Republican House and Senate members who initially sought to seek to set aside the 2020 victory of Joe Biden by voting not to certify the electoral college vote. Their conduct likewise is nothing less than in insurrection or rebellion against the United States and are democratic form of government. They too should be removed expelled by the House and Senate and if not voted out of office by their constituents. What is so damn disgusting is that there are way too many Senate and House Republicans that still defend Trump.

The physical damage is to the United State Capitol is easily repaired. The damage to our democracy by Führer Trump and his coup d’é·tat that failed will take years to recover from, if not at all.

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About

Pete Dinelli was born and raised in Albuquerque, New Mexico. He is of Italian and Hispanic descent. He is a 1970 graduate of Del Norte High School, a 1974 graduate of Eastern New Mexico University with a Bachelor's Degree in Business Administration and a 1977 graduate of St. Mary's School of Law, San Antonio, Texas. Pete has a 40 year history of community involvement and service as an elected and appointed official and as a practicing attorney in Albuquerque. Pete and his wife Betty Case Dinelli have been married since 1984 and they have two adult sons, Mark, who is an attorney and George, who is an Emergency Medical Technician (EMT). Pete has been a licensed New Mexico attorney since 1978. Pete has over 27 years of municipal and state government service. Pete’s service to Albuquerque has been extensive. He has been an elected Albuquerque City Councilor, serving as Vice President. He has served as a Worker’s Compensation Judge with Statewide jurisdiction. Pete has been a prosecutor for 15 years and has served as a Bernalillo County Chief Deputy District Attorney, as an Assistant Attorney General and Assistant District Attorney and as a Deputy City Attorney. For eight years, Pete was employed with the City of Albuquerque both as a Deputy City Attorney and Chief Public Safety Officer overseeing the city departments of police, fire, 911 emergency call center and the emergency operations center. While with the City of Albuquerque Legal Department, Pete served as Director of the Safe City Strike Force and Interim Director of the 911 Emergency Operations Center. Pete’s community involvement includes being a past President of the Albuquerque Kiwanis Club, past President of the Our Lady of Fatima School Board, and Board of Directors of the Albuquerque Museum Foundation.