Rep. Paul Gosar, R-Ariz., is being criticized for tweeting an edited anime video depicting violence against Democrats including Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez and President Biden.
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Rep. Paul Gosar, R-Ariz., is being criticized for tweeting an edited anime video depicting violence against Democrats including Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez and President Biden.
Bill Clark/Pool/AFP via Getty Images
Critics are slamming Republican Rep. Paul Gosar of Arizona for sharing an altered anime video in which he kills Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez and swings swords at President Biden.
Gosar shared the video from both his personal and professional Twitter accounts Sunday, writing, “Any anime fans out there?” in the latter. Twitter has not removed the tweets but instead hid them from view, with users required to click on a label in order to see it.
“This Tweet violated the Twitter Rules about hateful conduct,” reads the label. “However, Twitter has determined that it may be in the public’s interest for the Tweet to remain accessible.”
The 92-second clip appears to be an edited version of the opening credits of the Japanese manga series Attack on Titan.
It intersperses clips of migrants and Border Patrol agents, images of Democratic leaders and animation of Republican politicians — including Reps. Marjorie Taylor Greene of Georgia and Lauren Boebert of Colorado — on the attack. Blood spatters and words like drugs, crime, murder, poverty, gangs, violence and trafficking flash on the screen at points.
The Phoenix New Times reports that the plot of Attack on Titan is seen by some as an allegory for immigration and white nationalists’ extinction theory and that its anime has faced criticism for antisemitic, pro-fascist and pro-genocidal themes (which the show’s creator denies).
It seems as though the video was done in-house, as Gosar wrote on his personal Twitter that “the creativity of my team is off the hook.” His press secretary has not responded to NPR’s request for comment but told The Washington Post that “everyone needs to relax.”
Ocasio-Cortez castigated Gosar in a series of tweets on Monday, spanning the personal and the political. She slammed Gosar’s video as just one of several incidents of harassment she has faced on the job, arguing that institutions — Congress included — fail to protect women of color.
“So while I was en route to Glasgow, a creepy member I work with who fundraises for Neo-Nazi groups shared a fantasy video of him killing me,” she wrote. “And he’ll face no consequences bc [House Minority Leader Kevin McCarthy] cheers him on with excuses. Fun Monday! Well, back to work bc institutions don’t protect woc.”
Ocasio-Cortez recalled other incidents that happened at work and without consequences, such as when Rep. Ted Yoho, R-Fla., called her a “f****** b****” on the steps of the Capitol.
She promised to go back to business, but not before taking one final dig at Gosar:
This dude is a just a collection of wet toothpicks anyway.
White supremacy is for extremely fragile people &sad men like him, whose self concept relies on the myth that he was born superior because deep down he knows he couldn’t open a pickle jar or read a whole book by himself
“In any workplace in America, if a coworker made an anime video killing another coworker, that person would be fired,” he added.
“These blood thirsty losers are more comfortable with violence than voting. Keep exposing them,” tweeted Rep. Eric Swalwell, also of California.
Gosar, an ally of former President Donald Trump, has repeatedly downplayed the severity of the Capitol insurrection and has spread misinformation about what happened on Jan. 6. Earlier this year, he denounced “white racism” after speaking at a far-right conference whose organizer spoke approvingly of the storming of the Capitol and white nationalism, the The Washington Post reported.
And Gosar was among the lawmakers whose phone or computer records a House panel investigating the Jan. 6 Capitol insurrection asked social media and telecommunications companies to preserve, as those lawmakers were potentially involved with efforts to “challenge, delay or interfere” with the certification or otherwise try to overturn the results of the 2020 election, The Associated Press notes.
Ivy Getty is the daughter of John Gilbert Getty and the great-granddaughter of oil tycoon J. Paul Getty. The wedding was officiated by House Speaker Nancy Pelosi, and Mayor London Breed was also reportedly in attendance.
Newsom has always had close ties to the Getty family, though the wedding does not entirely explain why he canceled his trip to the climate conference. The Sacramento Bee’s Hannah Wiley noted that Newsom was supposed to be in Scotland from Nov. 1-3, and seemingly could have made it back in time for the weekend wedding.
FILE: Ivy Getty attends Gordon Peter Getty’s 85th birthday party on December 15, 2018 in San Francisco.
Drew Altizer Photography
The governor’s office told SFGATE on Monday that the governor worked out of the Capitol all of last week, and plans to resume normal public appearances this week. He is scheduled to appear at an economic summit in Monterey on Tuesday around noon.
The event, which will be live-streamed, was advertised as a “fireside chat.” It is unclear if Newsom will take questions from members of the media.
Chutkan heard arguments in the suit last week and promised to rule quickly on Trump’s initial emergency request. But she seemed inclined to reject it, questioning the legal basis for a former president to claim executive privilege over records when the sitting president and Congress disagree.
The National Archives has indicated that Trump is seeking to block at least 750 pages out of an initial 1,500 unearthed in response to the Jan. 6 committee’s request for records about the former president’s effort to overturn the election. Many of those papers are culled from the files of senior Trump aides like Mark Meadows, Stephen Miller and Patrick Philbin. They also include call and visitor logs.
Trump’s attorney, Jesse Binnall, issued his second request Monday night, asking Chutkan to approve an “administrative stay” of her own ruling even before she issued it. That way, Binnall argued, Trump would have a chance to appeal her decision before the Archives began delivering hundreds of pages to congressional investigators.
Migrants from the Middle East and elsewhere break down the fence as they gather at the Belarus-Poland border near Grodno, Belarus on Monday.
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Migrants from the Middle East and elsewhere break down the fence as they gather at the Belarus-Poland border near Grodno, Belarus on Monday.
Leonid Shcheglov/BelTA via AP
WARSAW, Poland — Hundreds if not thousands of migrants sought to storm the border from Belarus into Poland on Monday, cutting razor wire defenses and using branches to try and climb over them. The siege escalated a crisis along the European Union’s eastern border that has been simmering for months.
Poland’s government said it had rebuffed an illegal “invasion” and claimed the situation was under control. The Defense Ministry posted a video showing an armed Polish officer using a chemical spray through a fence at men who were trying to cut the razor wire. Some migrants threw objects at police.
Video footage from Belarusian media showed people using long wooden poles or branches to try to get past a border fence as police helicopters circled overhead.
“A coordinated attempt to massively enter the territory of the Republic of Poland by migrants used by Belarus for the hybrid attacks against Poland has just begun,” a spokesman for Poland’s security forces, Stanislaw Zaryn, said in a statement.
Noting that it’s also NATO’s eastern border, Zaryn stressed that the “large groups of migrants … are fully controlled by the Belarusian security services and army.” He accused Belarusian President Alexander Lukashenko of acting to destabilize Poland and other EU countries to pressure the bloc into dropping its sanctions on Minsk. Those sanctions were put into place after Belarus cracked down brutally on democracy protests.
Piotr Mueller, Poland’s government spokesperson, said 3,000 to 4,000 migrants were next to the Polish border on the Belarusian side.
Migrants from the Middle East and elsewhere gather at the Belarus-Poland border near Grodno, Belarus, on Monday.
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Migrants from the Middle East and elsewhere gather at the Belarus-Poland border near Grodno, Belarus, on Monday.
Leonid Shcheglov/BelTA via AP
There was no way to independently verify what was happening. Journalists have limited ability to operate in Belarus and a state of emergency in Poland is keeping reporters and human rights workers out of the border area.
The massing of people at the border appeared to rev up the crisis that has being going on for months in which the autocratic regime of Belarus has encouraged migrants from the Mideast and elsewhere to illegally enter the European Union, at first through Lithuania and Latvia and now primarily through Poland.
Anton Bychkovsky, spokesman for Belarus’ State Border Guard Committee, told The Associated Press that the migrants at the border are seeking to “exercise their right to apply for refugee status in the EU.” Bychkovsky insisted they “are not a security threat.”
Poland says they can apply for refugee status at Poland’s diplomatic missions, including in Belarus.
Germany calls Belarusian regime “a human trafficker”
But the massive group was viewed as a threat by Poland and other European countries, including Germany — the main destination for many. Steffen Seibert, German Chancellor Angela Merkel’s spokesman, told reporters Monday that “the Belarusian regime is acting as a human trafficker.”
“It instrumentalizes refugees and migrants in a way that’s politically and from a humanitarian point of view condemnable. And Europe will make a united stand against this continuous hybrid attack,” Seibert said.
The EU said it hoped that Poland would finally accept help from Frontex, the bloc’s border agency, a step Poland’s ruling nationalists have so far refused to do. Frontex would not comment on the border situation.
In Brussels, a spokesman for the European Commission, Adalbert Jahnz, called the siege “a continuation of the desperate attempt by the Lukashenko regime to use people as pawns to destabilize the European Union.”
Migrants from the Middle East and elsewhere gather at the Belarus-Poland border near Grodno, Belarus, on Monday.
Leonid Shcheglov/BelTA via AP
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Migrants from the Middle East and elsewhere gather at the Belarus-Poland border near Grodno, Belarus, on Monday.
Leonid Shcheglov/BelTA via AP
Bix Aliu, the U.S. charge d’affaires in Warsaw, tweeted that Lukashenko’s regime was risking the migrants’ lives and “using them to escalate the border crisis and provoke Poland.”
“Hostile actions by Belarus are exacerbating the situation on the border with the EU and NATO dangerously and must end immediately,” he said.
Polish Defense Minister Mariusz Blaszczak said on Twitter that more than 12,000 soldiers have been deployed to the border and a volunteer Territorial Defense force was put on alert. He also posted video footage of what appeared to be a large group of migrants in Belarus, near Kuznica, in northeastern Poland.
Polish ministers held an emergency meeting on the border crisis, with Prime Minister Mateusz Morawiecki writing on Facebook that Poland’s border is “sacred” and “not just a line on the map.”
Poland’s deputy foreign minister, Pawel Jablonski held talks with Iraqi charge d’affaires Hussein al-Safi on ways of ending the migration crisis and thanked Iraq for having Belarus close its consulates in Baghdad and Irbil that were giving out tourist visas to migrants.
Meanwhile, in Poland’s EU neighbor Lithuania, officials were preparing for the possibility of a similar incursion, with the Interior Ministry proposing to declare an emergency situation.
“We are getting ready for all possible scenarios,” said Rustamas Liubajevas, the head of Lithuania’s border guards.
Since the summer, Poland and Lithuania have seen thousands of migrants from the Mideast and Africa trying to cross into the EU. Poland has sought to block the attempts or send those they catch back into Belarus.
Belarusian political analyst Valery Karbalevich told the AP that the Moscow-backed Lukashenko regime seemed to be trying to use the migrants “to scare” the EU.
“The largest attack of migrants on EU borders is taking place three days after Belarus and Russia signed a new agreement on military cooperation. The Kremlin is at least aware of the details of what’s happening,” Karbalevich said.
A man who was allegedly shot in the arm by Kyle Rittenhouse during a deadly Wisconsin protest testified on Monday that he thought he was going to die as he faced the barrel of a semiautomatic rifle and saw the teenager “re-racking” the weapon.
Gaige Grosskreutz, 27, took the witness stand for the prosecution in the double homicide trial and testified that as a trained emergency medical technician and working paramedic, he went to Kenosha, Wisconsin, on Aug. 25, 2020, to provide medical aid to people who were injured during the protest as he had done at 75 demonstrations that summer.
Grosskreutz testified that as a legal observer for the American Civil Liberties Union, he was also recording the protest in Kenosha in that capacity for a Facebook Live broadcast.
A resident of Milwaukee, Grosskreutz testified that in addition to bringing his medical supplies to the protest, he brought his Glock-27 handgun despite having an expired concealed weapon permit.
‘You shot somebody?’
He said he had treated several people for minor injuries at the demonstration, which began after a Kenosha police officer shot and paralyzed Jacob Blake, a 29-year-old Black man, during a domestic incident. He said one of the protesters he treated had been shot in the arm with a rubber bullet he assumed was fired by the police.
Just before midnight, Grosskreutz testified that he was recording a live stream when he heard gunshots coming from the south of where he was and then saw Rittenhouse running in his direction being chased by people.
Grosskreutz’s video was played for the jury and he said he took it while running alongside the armed Rittenhouse and asking him, “Hey, what are you doing. You shot somebody?”
Rittenhouse continued to run while answering, “I’m going to get the police,” according to the video.
Grosskreutz said he briefly started to go back to where Rittenhouse was running from to see if he could find the person who was shot but then decided to follow Rittenhouse when people started yelling he had just shot someone.
“I thought that the defendant was an active shooter,” Grosskreutz said.
‘High likelihood I would be shot myself’
Prosecutors allege that at that point, Rittenhouse had already shot and killed Joseph Rosenbaum, 36, during an encounter at a car lot the teenager was helping to guard with other similarly armed men who answered an online call to come to Kenosha and help protect lives and property.
Grosskreutz said when he turned back to Rittenhouse’s direction, he saw Anthony Huber, 26, who video showed hitting Rittenhouse in the head with a skateboard, being fatally shot by the then-17-year-old gunman, who had been knocked to the ground and had also fired shots at an unidentified man who appeared to kick him in the face.
Video footage played for the jury by prosecutor Thomas Binger showed Grosskreutz holding his Glock handgun in his right hand and his cellphone in his left hand as he approached Rittenhouse, who was still on the ground.
Grosskreutz said that he saw Rittenhouse point his rifle at him but the gun didn’t go off. He said he then witnessed Rittenhouse “re-racking” the gun to prepare it to fire. The video showed Grosskreutz raising both hands in the air as he came within a few feet of Rittenhouse.
“I was very close to the defendant and I thought there was a high likelihood I would be shot myself,” Grosskreutz said. “By re-racking the weapon, I inferred that the defendant wasn’t accepting my surrender.”
‘I was never trying to kill the defendant’
Binger asked why he didn’t just shoot Rittenhouse.
Grosskreutz said that such a lethal response would have gone against the medical ethics ingrained in his mind and tattooed on his arm to “Do no harm.”
“I do know, though, I was never trying to kill the defendant. That was never something that I was trying to do,” Grosskreutz said looking directly at the jurors. “In that moment, I was trying to preserve my own life, but doing so while also taking the life of another is not something that I’m capable of or comfortable with doing.”
He said he was attempting to use a “non-lethal way to end that interaction” when, according to the video, he lowered his arms and moved toward Rittenhouse, who shot him in the right bicep.
Binger showed graphic photos of the gaping wound in Grosskreutz’s arm, an injury that has caused Grosskreutz to undergo multiple surgeries and physical therapy to recover from. The witness said he still has no feeling in his right arm from the elbow to his thumb.
During cross-examination from Rittenhouse’s attorney Corey Chirafisi, Grosskreutz said that he initially told investigators that he lost his gun that night before he was shot and the fact that he was armed was not mentioned in a $10 million lawsuit he filed against the city and county of Kenosha over the shooting.
“The way this case turns out has an impact on your ability to collect your $10 million, right?” Chirafisi asked.
Grosskreutz responded, “That is correct.”
“When you were standing 3 to 5 feet from him with your arms up in the air, he never fired, right?” Chirafisi asked Grosskreutz, referring to Rittenhouse.
“Correct,” Grosskreutz responded.
“It wasn’t until you pointed your gun at him, advanced on him, with your gun, now your hands down pointed at him, that he fired, right?” Chirafisi asked.
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Gov. Gavin Newsom, D-Calif., who has recently receded from public view to deal with unspecific family obligations, reportedly attended an oil heiress’ wedding in San Francisco on Saturday that was officiated by House Speaker Nancy Pelosi, according to a report.
Newsom has not been seen in public since abruptly canceling his trip to the COP26 climate summit in Glasgow on Oct. 29 over “family obligations.” But ABC 7 reported that he attended a wedding of “long-time family friend and Getty oil heiress Ivy Love Getty.” The report said Pelosi officiated.
Their offices did not immediately respond to after-hours emails from Fox News seeking comment. The report said the wedding was “star-studded” and Vogue had exclusive rights on all wedding photographs. The guests were asked to leave their phones at the entrance.
Daniel Lopez, a Newsom press secretary, said the governor worked at the state Capitol last week and would begin making normal appearances again sometime this week, according to a statement provided to SFGATE.
A report said the governor was planning a public appearance on Tuesday. Deadline reported that Newsom’s office announced late Monday that he will “participate in a fireside chat at the 2021 California Economic Summit sponsored by California Forward.”
Lopez further explained that the governor’s previous cancelation was not a result of the COVID-19 booster shot he received during his last public appearance.
“Last week Governor Newsom worked in the Capitol with staff on urgent issues including COVID-19 vaccines for kids, boosters, ports, the forthcoming state budget and California’s continued economic recovery,” Lopez said. “He will have public events this week related to the economy and vaccines.”
SAN FRANCISCO, CALIFORNIA – OCTOBER 01: California Gov. Gavin Nwsom talks with 7th grade students at James Denman Middle School on October 01, 2021 in San Francisco, California. ((Photo by Justin Sullivan/Getty Images))
Jennifer Siebel Newsom, the governor’s wife, addressed his absence in a weekend tweet that was later deleted.
“It’s funny how certain folks can’t handle truth,” she wrote. “When someone cancels something, maybe they’re just in the office working; maybe in their free time they’re at home with their family, at their kids’ sports matches, or dining out with their wife. Please stop hating and get a life.”
Gov. Gavin Newsom speaks at a news conference after receiving a Moderna COVID-19 vaccine booster shot at Asian Health Services in Oakland, Calif., Wednesday, Oct. 27, 2021. (AP Photo/Jeff Chiu)
California state senators John Laird and Bob Hertzberg reportedly bristled when asked about the governor’s absence at the Glasgow conference.
“Look, they said it was a family issue,” Hertzberg said, according to a reporter from Cal Matters. “There is no one in California who wanted to be at this conference more than Gavin Newsom. But we’re all human beings, man. I don’t think it’s appropriate to dig further into it.”
Northbound vehicles on the Glenn Highway approach Eklutna on Monday, Nov. 8, 2021. (Bill Roth / ADN)
The $1.2 trillion infrastructure package that passed the U.S.House Friday night will bring billions of dollars to Alaska to upgrade the state’s aging highways and bridges, improve the struggling ferry system and increase broadband access.
Rep. Don Young voted for the bill on Friday, joining just 12 other Republicans in approving it. In August, Sens. Lisa Murkowski and Dan Sullivan joined 17 of their fellow Republicans to approve the measure. Murkowski helped craft the bill earlier this year.
Young, in a statement on Friday, called the bill “historic” and said it may be the “last best chance” to make badly needed improvements to infrastructure in Alaska.
Young and other Republican supporters were criticized by some in their own party who called the bill wasteful. Young said the bill was flawed, but few bills are perfect, he said. The bill should have followed a different path to the House floor so improvements could be made, he said.
Exactly how much Alaska will receive from the bill is unknown, since funding will be distributed by grants from federal agencies, officials said. Still, the bill contains minimum amounts for each state and in some cases, specific provisions that benefit Alaska.
On a per-person basis, Alaska will do exceptionally well when it comes to funding for hard infrastructure, said Zack Brown, a spokesman for Young, in an emailed statement on Monday.
Murkowski on Friday called the bill “one of the most consequential legislative efforts” she has worked on in her career.
She said it will help expedite permitting that often delays Alaska projects, providing $550 billion in new spending over five years without raising taxes.
A northbound fuel truck travels across one of the Knik River bridges on Monday, Nov. 8, 2021. (Bill Roth / ADN)
Sullivan said in a statement Monday that Alaska is “infrastructure poor.” In addition to significant amounts of money for roads, airports, ports and water and wastewater systems, the measure contains “historic” amounts of money to expand broadband use, he said.
Gov. Mike Dunleavy said his administration is reviewing the measure’s impacts to Alaska. The state is preparing for guidance from federal agencies, he said.
“Alaskans are generally supportive of measures that, under the right terms, build roads, ports, and connect the state with the rest of the world,” he said in an emailed statement.
Here are some of the ways the bill will benefit Alaska, according to members of the state’s congressional delegation and information in the bill.
Vehicles travel north on the Glenn Highway during sunset on Monday, Nov. 8, 2021. (Bill Roth / ADN)
Roads and airports
• $3.5 billion in federal highway funding for Alaska over five years, to build new roads and highways, and rebuild and maintain existing ones.
• $225 million goes to Alaska to address more than 140 bridges considered to be “structurally deficient.”
• Funding is available to help improve a portion of the Alaska Highway in Canada, between the Alaska border and Haines Junction, Yukon, and the Haines Cutoff that goes from Haines Junction to Haines in Alaska.
John MacKinnon, who retired in September as head of the Alaska Department of Transportation and Public Facilities, said the bill is critical for Alaska. The transportation department in recent years has been forced to take money intended for construction and improvements, and spend it on maintenance, he said.
“The state’s capital needs have far exceeded the funds available,” he said.
The bill will help change that, he said.
“This is a windfall for Alaska,” he said. “It will be a real opportunity for a lot of work for a lot of Alaskans.”
• Alaska will receive a share of $15 billion in formula funding for the Federal Aviation Administration’s Airport Improvement Program. The money will help support the installation and expansion of runways, gates, and taxiways, and improve other facilities.
An Alaska Airlines passenger jet taxis pass Boeing 747 freighters at Ted Stevens Anchorage International Airport on Monday, Nov. 8, 2021. (Bill Roth / ADN)
• $5 billion in grants nationally will support a new Airport Terminal Improvement Program. The funding includes set-asides for small airports, like those in Alaska.
Jim Szczesniak, director of the Ted Stevens Anchorage International Airport, said the airport is reviewing the bill’s final details. It should provide funding to help the airport better compete for international cargo flights while improving passenger facilities.
“There are definitely some positive signs about what will be potentially coming to Anchorage,” he said.
The M/V Kennicott departs Whittier for Chenega Bay in April. The ferry, named for the Kennicott Glacier in Wrangell-St. Elias National Park, was built in 1998 and can carry 499 passengers and around 70 vehicles. (Loren Holmes / ADN)
The state ferry system
• $1 billion over five years for essential ferry service to rural Alaska communities, under a program proposed by Murkowski, according to her office.
• $73 million to build new ferries for Alaska.
• $250 million for an electric or low-emitting ferry pilot program. At least one pilot program will be conducted in Alaska.
Young said the Alaska Marine Highway System qualifies for federal highway funding in the infrastructure bill, for operations and repairs. That will be a first and it will help transform Southeast Alaska’s economy, he said.
“To say that this bill is a game-changer for Southeast is an understatement — this is a once-in-a-generation investment opportunity for Southeast Alaska’s families and economy,” he said.
From left, the container ship Matson Kodiak, bulk carrier Sandy Bay, and tanker Oak Express ships are docked at the Port of Alaska in Anchorage last month. (Loren Holmes / ADN)
Ports
• $250 million for remote and subsistence harbor construction.
• Alaska will benefit from $2.25 billion for the Port Infrastructure Development Program. The program will provide support for ports of all sizes, including in Alaska.
Jim Jager, a spokesman at the Port of Alaska in Anchorage, said the bill includes an array of grant opportunities that the port may be able to take advantage of as the federal money works it way through federal agencies and to states.
“In the big picture, I see lots of opportunities for funding projects we have on our books that we want to build,” he said. “That’s everything from obviously the new dock, to things like a rail-loading facility.”
Water and sanitation
• More than $180 million over five years will support water and wastewater projects in Alaska through the Clean Water State Revolving Fund and Drinking Water State Revolving Fund programs, Murkowski’s office said.
• $3.5 billion will support Indian Health Services sanitation facilities. That will help provide assistance for Alaska villages without household running water and toilets, according to Murkowski’s office.
“This unprecedented investment in sanitation infrastructure will clear all known project needs,” said a statement from Murkowski’s office.
• $10 billion will go to states to address PFAS contamination through Clean Water and Drinking Water programs. The funding will focus on small and disadvantaged communities, such as those in Alaska. PFAS are manmade chemicals that have been widely used, including in foam to help fight fires, and have been found in the ground in some Alaska locations. They can damage the liver and immune system and cause birth defects.
• $230 million for the EPA Alaska Native villages grant program will support Alaska communities with new and improved wastewater and drinking water systems. It will also provide technical assistance for the operation and maintenance of these systems.
The state is looking forward to meeting with rural communities to help them develop the capacity to operate and maintain projects, said Jason Brune, commissioner of the Alaska Department of Environmental Conservation.
“We are evaluating the final package, which hopefully will be a shot in the arm for rural Alaska water and wastewater projects,” Brune said.
Microwave and satellite communication dishes point across the tundra on Nov. 3, 2021 in Utqiagvik. (Loren Holmes / ADN)
Broadband
• $42 billion in grants will support the deployment of broadband nationwide. The money includes a minimum allocation of $100 million for each state, Murkowski’s office said.
• $2 billion will support the Tribal Broadband Connectivity Grant Program in Alaska and other states.
• $1 billion will support Middle Mile Broadband Infrastructure grants in the U.S., including Alaska.
In a statement, Sen. Sullivan said Alaska “is projected to be in the top ten in the country when it comes to money received for broadband build-out as a result of this infrastructure bill.”
Wind turbines sit on a hill near Kotzebue in July. The smaller turbines, some of which were installed in the late 1990s, have exceeded their operational life and have been replaced by two larger, more modern 900 kW turbines. Kotzebue Electric Association operates the wind farm in addition to a 300 kW solar power system and diesel generators. (Loren Holmes / ADN)
Climate change, electricity and renewable energy
• About $215 million will be available nationally over five years to help tribes adapt to climate issues. Of that, $130 million is for community relocation, which can help Alaska villages where land is eroding. Another $85 million is for climate resilience and adaptation projects, including in Alaska.
• $145 million will support hydropower and marine energy research nationally. The Alaska Hydrokinetic Energy Research Center at the University of Alaska Fairbanks uses money from that allotment.
• About $265 million will support geothermal, wind and solar energy projects. Alaska will receive some of that money to support the deployment and expansion of renewable energy.
• The bill incorporates legislation from Murkowski that will make available $250 million in grants and technical assistance for small utility providers that are not regulated by the U.S. Federal Energy Regulatory Commission. It will apply to many cooperatives and municipal utilities in Alaska, Murkowski’s office said.
Ecosystem and wildfire management
• $250 million for decommissioning, road and trail repair and maintenance and removal of fish passage barriers. Some of the money will help restore salmon and other fish habitat in Alaska’s national forests.
• More than $3.3 billion will be used in Alaska and other states for wildfire management, including tree thinning, controlled burns and creating breaks in brush and trees that can protect communities.
• Some $20 million will support construction and maintenance of public use cabins, including those found across Alaska.
• $100 million will support workforce training for firefighting and vegetation management. Native village fire crews will be able to take advantage of the money.
Other items
• $75 million for the Denali Commission, a federal agency that builds rural infrastructure in Alaska.
• Nationally, railroads will receive $5 billion through the Consolidated Rail Infrastructure and Safety Improvement Program; the Alaska Railroad will receive a share of that money.
• Alaska should receive $362 million over five years for a mix of transit formula grants available under the Federal Transit Administration, which support public transportation systems.
• More than $4.7 billion will support the clean up old oil and gas wells that can leak methane or other pollutants. The money will support the cleanup of wells drilled last century by the federal government in the National Petroleum Reserve-Alaska on the North Slope.
• Some $23 million is provided for the National Geological and Geophysical Data Preservation Program. The program supports the Geologic Materials Center in Anchorage.
• Reinstates a federal loan guarantee of $18 billion to support the Alaska LNG project, a proposal that seeks to tap vast deposits of North Slope natural gas for overseas shipment to utilities in Asia.
WASHINGTON (AP) — Further expanding its probe, the U.S. House committee investigating the Jan. 6 Capitol insurrection has issued subpoenas to six additional associates of former President Donald Trump who were closely involved in his efforts to overturn his defeat in the 2020 election.
The committee’s chairman, Mississippi Rep. Bennie Thompson, said in a statement Monday that the panel is demanding testimony and documents from former Trump campaign officials and others who participated in a “war room” ahead of the siege and strategized about how to halt the certification of Joe Biden’s victory.
Thompson said the committee had issued new subpoenas to Bill Stepien, manager of Trump’s 2020 reelection campaign; Jason Miller, a senior adviser to the campaign; Angela McCallum, national executive assistant to the campaign; John Eastman, a lawyer who advised the former president; Michael Flynn, a former national security adviser to Trump who talked with Trump ahead of the insurrection; and Bernard Kerik, who the committee says paid for hotel rooms that served as command centers ahead of Jan. 6.
“In the days before the January 6th attack, the former president’s closest allies and advisers drove a campaign of misinformation about the election and planned ways to stop the count of Electoral College votes,” Thompson said. “The Select Committee needs to know every detail about their efforts to overturn the election, including who they were talking to in the White House and in Congress, what connections they had with rallies that escalated into a riot, and who paid for it all.”
The subpoenas come after the panel has already demanded documents and testimony from several other Trump advisers — some who have cooperated and some who have not. The House voted last month to hold longtime Trump ally Steve Bannon in contempt after he refused to comply with his subpoena. Trump himself is fighting the probe in court.
The rioters who violently pushed back police to break into the Capitol and interrupt the electoral count repeated Trump’s false claims of widespread fraud, and the committee says the six newly subpoenaed witnesses helped amplify the misinformation in the days ahead of the attack. Trump’s false claims came as election officials and courts across the country verified Biden’s win, and as his own attorney general said there was no evidence of significant fraud.
Thompson says in the letters to the Trump associates that the panel has uncovered “credible evidence” of their participation in the former president’s efforts to overturn the election and cites ways that they individually tried to further his cause.
In Stepien’s subpoena, Thompson cites the testimony of an unnamed witness in saying he oversaw the “conversion” of Trump’s presidential campaign to a “Stop the Steal” effort. In letters to Miller and McCallum, Thompson cites specific efforts to spread the false claims, including a phone call from McCallum to an unidentified Michigan state legislator asking if the Trump campaign could “count on” them and urging the person to push for the appointment of new state electors.
Thompson detailed several efforts by Eastman, a lawyer and professor, to persuade Vice President Mike Pence to try to overturn the election as he presided over the congressional certification — a power Pence did not legally have. Thompson also cites Eastman’s outreach to states, including a briefing to state legislators, and his participation in the so-called “war room” at the Willard Hotel where he, Bannon, Kerik and others strategized ahead of the siege about how to overturn Trump’s defeat.
Kerik, a former New York City police commissioner who was pardoned by Trump after serving time in prison for tax fraud and other charges, responded to his subpoena with a lengthy statement on Monday evening. He said that he “was not hired to overturn the will of the people, only to look into the integrity of the process” and that his focus after the election was on “looking for evidence,” not public relations.
“As to the events of January 6th, I was not involved,” he said.
The others contacted by The Associated Press did not respond to requests for comment.
In the letter to Flynn — the former national security adviser who twice pleaded guilty to lying to the FBI and was also pardoned by Trump — Thompson cited a December Oval Office meeting with the then-president. Citing media reports, Thompson said Flynn and other participants “discussed seizing voting machines, declaring a national emergency, invoking certain national security emergency powers and continuing to spread the message that the Nov. 2020 election had been tainted by widespread fraud.”
The panel is working with other close Trump advisers to gain testimony, including former White House Chief of Staff Mark Meadows and administration aides Kashyap Patel and Dan Scavino. Members of the committee said they have been “engaging” with those witnesses but may move to hold them in contempt, as well, if they don’t comply soon.
Trump’s own opposition has prompted some of his advisors, including Bannon, to say they can’t speak publicly about their roles. The former president’s lawsuit argues that he can assert executive privilege, or a presidential claim to keep some information private, in an effort to block the government from releasing a tranche of internal White House documents to the panel. The committee has argued that privilege doesn’t apply.
President Biden has so far waived executive privilege on nearly all the documents that the committee has asked for, citing the panel’s need to investigate the violent attack.
In his subpoena to Eastman, Thompson sought to preemptively attack any attorney-client privilege that he may attempt to cite to avoid testifying. The letter noted that Eastman has already “made extensive public comments” regarding his legal advice and direct discussions with Trump.
Former Justice Department official Jeffrey Clark, who aligned himself with Trump’s efforts to overturn the election as other department leaders pushed back, appeared for a deposition on Friday but declined to cooperate, presenting the committee with a letter saying he would not answer questions based on Trump’s assertions of privilege, including in the ongoing court case.
Thompson said afterward that he had rejected the claims of privilege and said Clark “has a very short time” to reconsider and cooperate.
The committee has already interviewed more than 150 people across government, social media and law enforcement, including some former Trump aides who have been cooperative. The panel has subpoenaed more than 20 witnesses total, and most of them, including several associates who helped plan the massive “Stop the Steal” rally the morning of the 6th, have signaled they will cooperate.
___
Associated Press writer Eric Tucker contributed to this report.
In a statement provided to SFGATE Monday afternoon, Newsom press secretary Daniel Lopez said that the governor worked at the Capitol last week and will resume normal appearances sometime this week.
“Last week Governor Newsom worked in the Capitol with staff on urgent issues including COVID-19 vaccines for kids, boosters, ports, the forthcoming state budget and California’s continued economic recovery,” Lopez said. “He will have public events this week related to the economy and vaccines.”
In response to the growing speculation (fueled largely by a lack of transparency on the part of Newsom’s office), Newsom’s wife Jennifer Siebel Newsom, tweeted over the weekend, “It’s funny how certain folks can’t handle truth. When someone cancels something, maybe they’re just in the office working; maybe in their free time they’re at home with their family, at their kids’ sports matches, or dining out with their wife. Please stop hating and get a life.”
She fired that tweet off on Sunday night, then deleted it not long after. On Monday, two California state senators — John Laird and Bob Hertzberg — who are in Scotland for the climate conference, also bristled at questions regarding Newsom’s absence.
“Look, they said it was a family issue,” Hertzberg said, according to Cal Matters’ Emily Hoeven. “There is no one in California who wanted to be at this conference more than Gavin Newsom. But we’re all human beings, man. I don’t think it’s appropriate to dig further into it.”
Laird added that the controversy is “overblown.”
Because Newsom received his COVID-19 booster shot in his last public appearance, some more conspiratorial-minded individuals on social media have used the governor’s absence to cast doubt on the safety of boosters. Twenty-one million Americans have received booster shots to date and there is broad consensus among health experts that boosters are safe and effective, with side effects similar to the second dose of the mRNA vaccines.
“The cancelation was not a result of his booster shot,” Lopez wrote in an email.
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The protester and medic who was wounded by Kyle Rittenhouse during the unrest on the streets of Kenosha, Wisconsin, testified Monday that he was pointing his own gun at Rittenhouse when the young man shot him.
Gaige Grosskreutz was called to the stand Monday as the prosecution’s 16th witness in the murder trial of Rittenhouse, 18, who faces up to life in prison if convicted. Grosskreutz, the third and final man who was shot by Rittenhouse during a night of destructive protests in August 2020, recounted how he drew his own pistol after the bloodshed started.
Under questioning from the prosecution, Grosskreutz said he had his hands raised as he closed in on Rittenhouse and didn’t intend to shoot the young man. Prosecutor Thomas Binger asked Grosskreutz why he didn’t shoot first.
Gaige Grosskreutz talks about the permanent injuries to his right arm and hand as he testifies about being shot, during the Kyle Rittenhouse trial at the Kenosha County Courthouse in Kenosha, Wis., on Monday, Nov. 8, 2021. (Mark Hertzberg/Pool Photo via AP) ((Mark Hertzberg/Pool Photo via AP))
“That’s not the kind of person that I am. That’s not why I was out there,” he said. “It’s not who I am. And definitely not somebody I would want to become.”
But his testimony unraveled under questioning from the defense. During cross-examination, Rittenhouse defense attorney Corey Chirafisi asked: “It wasn’t until you pointed your gun at him, advanced on him … that he fired, right?”
“Correct,” Grosskreutz replied. The defense also presented a photo showing Grosskreutz pointing the gun at Rittenhouse, who was on the ground with his rifle pointed up at Grosskreutz.
Grosskreutz, under follow-up questioning from the prosecutor, said he did not intend to point his weapon at Rittenhouse.
During his testimony, 27-year-old Grosskreutz explained how he thought Rittenhouse “was an active shooter.” Asked what was going through his mind as he got closer to the 17-year-old Rittenhouse, he said, “That I was going to die.”
Prosecutors showed graphic images and videos of the injuries that Grosskreutz had suffered when the bullet tore away a large portion of his bicep.
Rittenhouse is on trial for fatally shooting two men and wounding a third. He and at least one friend said they traveled to the Wisconsin city to protect local businesses and provide medical aid after two nights of businesses being looted and set on fire.
Kyle Rittenhouse looks back to the gallery during a break in testimony from Gaige Grosskreutz during his trial at the Kenosha County Courthouse in Kenosha, Wis., on Monday, Nov. 8, 2021. (Sean Krajacic/The Kenosha News via AP, Pool)
Rittenhouse was 17 at the time and brought a medical kit and an AR-15-style semiautomatic rifle, the latter of which had been supplied to him by a friend and was later used in the shootings. He is charged with two counts of homicide, one count of attempted homicide, recklessly endangering safety and illegal possession of a dangerous weapon by a person under 18.
Prosecutors have portrayed Rittenhouse as the instigator of the violence. His lawyers have argued that he acted in self-defense.
Wisconsin’s self-defense law allows someone to use deadly force only if “necessary to prevent imminent death or great bodily harm.” The jury must decide whether Rittenhouse believed he was in such peril at the time and whether that belief was reasonable under the circumstances.
Grosskreutz said he had gone to the protest in Kenosha to serve as a volunteer medic, wearing a hat that said “paramedic” and carrying medical supplies, in addition to a loaded pistol. He said his permit to carry a concealed weapon had expired and he did not have a valid one that night.
Kenosha Police officer Ben Antaramian shows the jury a tear gas canister that Gaige Grosskreutz testified he picked up out of the street before he was shot by Kyle Rittenhouse during the Kyle Rittenhouse trial at the Kenosha County Courthouse in Kenosha on Monday, Nov. 8, 2021. (Mark Hertzberg/Pool Photo via AP)
He said he went into action after seeing Rittenhouse kill a man just feet away — the second person Rittenhouse fatally shot that night.
While Grosskreutz said he never verbally threatened Rittenhouse, Chirafisi, the defense attorney, said that people don’t have to use words to threaten others. They can do so by their actions, “like running after them down the street with a loaded firearm,” Chirafisi said.
On cross-examination, Chirafisi sought to portray Grosskreutz as dishonest in his description of the moments right before he was shot, with Chirafisi asserting that Grosskreutz was chasing Rittenhouse with his gun out. Grosskreutz denied he was chasing Rittenhouse.
Chirafisi said Grosskreutz lied when he initially told multiple police officers that he dropped his weapon.
Defense attorney Corey Chirafisi questions potential jurors during jury selection in the trial of Kyle Rittenhouse, in Kenosha, Wis., Monday, Nov. 1, 2021. (Mark Hertzberg/Pool Photo via AP)
He also pointed to Grosskreutz’s lawsuit against the city of Kenosha, in which he alleges police enabled the violence by allowing an armed militia to have the run of the streets during the demonstration.
“If Mr. Rittenhouse is convicted, your chance of getting 10 million bucks is better, right?” Chirafisi said.
Chirafisi asked Grosskreutz if he told his former roommate that his only regret was “not killing the kid and hesitating to pull the gun before emptying the entire mag into him.” Grosskreutz said: “No, I never said that.”
At the defense table, Rittenhouse kept his eyes on Grosskreutz as he testified, taking detailed notes when the witness spoke about the moment he was shot.
Last week at Rittenhouse’s trial, witnesses testified that the first man shot and killed, Joseph Rosenbaum, 36, was “hyperaggressive” and “acting belligerently” that night and threatened to kill Rittenhouse at one point.
One witness said Rosenbaum was gunned down after he chased Rittenhouse and lunged for the young man’s rifle.
Rosenbaum’s killing set in motion the bloodshed that followed moments later, with Rittenhouse fatally shooting Anthony Huber, a 26-year-old protester seen on bystander video hitting Rittenhouse with a skateboard. Rittenhouse then wounded Grosskreutz.
The prosecution is expected to rest its case on Tuesday, at which point Rittenhouse defense team will begin calling its own witnesses.
Fox News’ Jiovanni Lieggi and The Associated Press contributed to this report.
OAKLAND, Calif. (KRON) — The Oakland police officers union said a toddler’s violent death and a mass shooting over the weekend were tragic consequences of defunding the police department.
“Oakland’s sad reality has become back-to-back violent tragedies. A mass shooting and murder Friday. An innocent toddler murdered on Saturday. Followed by another murder that evening,” the Oakland Police Officers’ Association wrote.
The toddler, who was just shy of his 2nd birthday, was identified by family members as Jasper Wu.
Jasper Wu (Family photo)
Investigators said there was a shootout between vehicles on I-880 in Oakland at 2:10 p.m. Saturday. The California Highway Patrol does not believe the gunmen were aiming for Jasper’s mother’s car, but the family was caught in the crossfire.
Jasper was shot and died soon after in a children’s hospital. The killers are still at-large and no arrests have been made.
Jasper’s senseless death sent shockwaves through the Bay Area.
Mayor Libby Schaaf tweeted Monday, “To lose a 23-month-old to gun violence is as heart-wrenching and as sickening as it gets. As a mother and as a mayor, I’m devastated by the totality of human loss and trauma caused by gun violence in our society.”
Jasper was his mother’s only child, and he never had the chance to meet his father, who lives in China, according to friends of the victim’s family. Jasper had recently celebrated Halloween by dressing up as Superman.
The toddler’s death was the 118th homicide in Oakland this year. Just hours after the I-880 shooting, another homicide in Oakland brought the death toll up to 119.
“This reality was created by the ‘Defund The Police” majority on the City Council, who have abandoned public safety in Oakland,” said POA President Barry Donelan.
Jasper Wu (Family photo)
Two-thirds of Oakland residents reported feeling “less safe” in their city compared to two years ago, according to a poll conducted by the city’s chamber of commerce. Fifty-one percent said they believe the city needs more police officers.
“Oakland’s strained police officers continue to work hard … and striving to stem the violence despite being vilified and provided no support,” the union wrote.
The Oakland Police Department currently has 681 sworn staff members — it’s lowest staffing since 2014.
The POA said it’s staffing crisis was magnified by the City Council voting to freeze 55 police officer positions, 100 police officer position for 2022, disbanding the Traffic Division, eliminating community foot patrol officers, and scaling back crime reduction teams.
“It speaks to cowardice. He is happy to indict the foot soldiers—because that is easy. It is comparatively harder to investigate, and prosecute, and charge the people who planned it, the brains behind the operation,” says Elie Mystal on AG Merrick Garland. “He doesn’t seem to have the gumption to do it.”Nov. 9, 2021
The governor’s race was one of several where candidates were waiting to concede until after the results were finalized.
New Jersey’s second most powerful lawmaker, Steve Sweeney, who lost his State Senate seat to a relatively unknown Republican candidate, Edward Durr, had not conceded the race as of Monday afternoon. The Associated Press called the race on Thursday morning, as Mr. Durr maintained a 2,298-vote lead over Mr. Sweeney with all precincts counted, and by the weekend it had become a punchline on “Saturday Night Live” and “Last Week Tonight With John Oliver.”
At the heart of the delays were election technology used for the first time in New Jersey, enabling voters to cast ballots early, in person, over nine days.
The system used poll books that required an internet connection; in some cases, poll workers were confused by the new process. (At one polling location, for example, workers had not turned on the Wi-Fi router, an election lawyer said.)
Boards of election across the state also struggled to hire enough people to oversee Election Day voting, leading the state to offer an extra $100 to entice workers.
A spokeswoman for the secretary of state has maintained that the problems were not widespread, but they did lead to long lines at some polling sites, creating frustration that spilled out on Twitter. It also prompted a last-minute effort by the American Civil Liberties Union of New Jersey and the state’s League of Women Voters to extend voting hours on Tuesday by 90 minutes. A judge rejected their request.
A witness at Kyle Rittenhouse’s trial testified Monday that he confronted a rifle-toting Rittenhouse with a gun of his own to try to stop the bloodshed, and thought he was going to die as he closed in on the young man. Gaige Grosskreutz, 27, ended up getting shot and seriously wounded in the arm by Rittenhouse.
“I thought the defendant was an active shooter,” Grosskreutz said, recounting how he pulled out the pistol he had holstered.
Gaige Grosskreutz cries as he describes the moments where he was shot by Kyle Rittenhouse during the trial at the Kenosha County Courthouse in Kenosha, Wisconsin, on Monday, Nov. 8, 2021.
Sean Krajacic / AP
Asked what was going through his mind as he neared the 17-year-old Rittenhouse, he said, “That I was going to die.”
On cross-examination, defense attorney Corey Chirafisi sought to portray Grosskreutz as dishonest in his description of the moments right before he was shot, with Chirafisi asserting that Grosskreutz was chasing Rittenhouse with his gun out.
Grosskreutz said he was not chasing Rittenhouse.
Chirafisi also pointed to Grosskreutz’s lawsuit against the city of Kenosha, in which he alleges police enabled the violence by allowing an armed militia to have the run of the streets during the demonstration.
“If Mr. Rittenhouse is convicted, your chance of getting 10 million bucks is better, right?” Chirafisi said.
Rittenhouse, now 18, is on trial on charges of killing two men and wounding Grosskreutz in the streets of Kenosha during a turbulent protest against racial injustice in the summer of 2020. The one-time police youth cadet from Antioch, Illinois was 17 when he went to Kenosha with an AR-style rifle and a medical kit in what he said was an effort to safeguard property from the demonstrations that broke out over the shooting of Jacob Blake, a Black man, by a white Kenosha police officer.
Grosskreutz had a gun in has hand, with his arms raised, when Rittenhouse fired, shooting him in the bicep. A prosecutor asked Grosskreutz why he didn’t shoot Rittenhouse.
“Like I said, that’s not the kind of person that I am. That’s not why I was out there,” he said. “It’s not who I am. And definitely not somebody I would want to become.”
Earlier that night, Grosskreutz was recording on his cellphone for a livestream when he heard gunshots a few blocks away. He heard people yelling for a medic, and he began running toward the sound of the gunshots.
The video played in court showed Grosskreutz coming upon Rittenhouse as Rittenhouse was running away. He asked him what he was doing and if someone was shot. Rittenhouse said: “I’m going to the police. I didn’t do anything.” At the time, Grosskreutz testified, he he thought Rittenhouse said, “I’m working with the police.”
Grosskreutz ran along with Rittenhouse for a few seconds while trying to talk to him, but then turned to go help whoever might have been shot. But then Grosskreutz turned back toward Rittenhouse because he heard people saying that Rittenhouse had shot someone.
In the courtroom, Rittenhouse kept his eyes on Grosskreutz as he testified. When asked questions by prosecutors, Grosskreutz turned and looked straight at the jurors, who sat just feet away.
Kyle Rittenhouse and his defense team watch video of the shooting as Gaige Grosskreutz testifies about being shot in the right bicep during the Kyle Rittenhouse trial in Kenosha (Wisconsin) Circuit Court, Nov. 8, 2021.
Mark Hertzberg / AP
One juror nodded her head in agreement when the judge instructed the jury to disregard Grosskreutz’s referring to Rittenhouse’s fatal shooting of another protester as a “murder. ”
Rittenhouse is charged as an adult with two counts of first degree homicide and one count of attempted homicide. He is als charged with recklessly endangering the safety of two other victims and possessing a weapon while under the age of 18.
Grosskreutz, who was trained as a paramedic, testified that he volunteered as a medic at protests in Milwaukee in the days after George Floyd died under the knee of a Minneapolis police officer in May 2020. Grosskreutz said he attended around 75 protests before the night he was shot in August 2020, offering help to anyone needing medical attention.
Grosskreutz said he was wearing a hat that night that said “paramedic” and was carrying medical supplies, in addition to a loaded pistol. Grosskreutz said his permit to carry a concealed weapon had expired and he did not have a valid permit that night.
“I believe in the Second Amendment. I’m for people’s right to carry and bear arms,” he said, explaining why he was armed. “And that night was no different than any other day. It’s keys, phone, wallet, gun.”
He said he provided medical assistance to about 10 other people that night.
Rittenhouse is white, as are the three men he shot, but the case has raised polarizing questions about racial justice, policing, vigilantism and the right to bear arms.
Prosecutors have portrayed Rittenhouse as the instigator of the bloodshed. Rittenhouse’s lawyer has argued that he acted in self-defense, suggesting among other things that Rittenhouse feared his weapon would be taken and used against him.
In the first week of Rittenhouse’s trial, witnesses testified that the first man shot and killed that night, Joseph Rosenbaum, 36, was “hyperaggressive” and “acting belligerently” that night.
Richie McGinniss, who was recording events on a cellphone that night for conservative website The Daily Caller, testified that Rosenbaum made a lunge for Rittenhouse’s gun.
“I think it was very clear to me that he was reaching specifically for the weapon,” McGinniss said.
Rosenbaum’s killing set in motion the bloodshed that followed moments later: Rittenhouse shot and killed Anthony Huber, a 26-year-old protester seen on bystander video hitting Rittenhouse with a skateboard. Rittenhouse then wounded Grosskreutz.
Grosskreutz has a tattoo on the arm where he was shot. It is the common medical image of a snake wrapped around a staff, and at the top it has a banner that says, “Do no harm” and at the bottom, a banner reading “Do know harm.”
Grosskreutz testified that he has difficulty lifting heavy objects with his right arm and has a loss of feeling extending from his bicep to his thumb.
Prosecutors said the juror asked a courtroom deputy, “Why did the Kenosha police shoot Jacob Blake seven times? Because they ran out of bullets,” saying the joke was in poor taste and showed racial bias.
Editor’s note: This article has been updated to clarify the charges against Rittenhouse.
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