This was NOT on my 2024 bingo card

Here is what the museum had to say about it because it’s funnier than any news article

Trump's trial "is a fulfillment of his rights"

"That Trump will be tried for his coup attempt is not a violation of his rights. It is a fulfillment of his rights. It is the grace of the American republic. In other systems, when your coup attempt fails, what follows is not a trial."

--Timothy Snyder, PhD, Levin Professor of History, Yale University

Note: I super don't like the framing of this headline. "Here's why it matters" idk it's almost like there's an entire country's worth of people who get to keep their democracy! Clearly! But there are few good articles on this in English, so we're going with this one anyway.

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2024 is the biggest global election year in history and the future of democracy is on every ballot. But amid an international backsliding in democratic norms, including in countries with a longer history of democracy like India, Senegal’s election last week was a major win for democracy. It’s also an indication that a new political class is coming of age in Africa, exemplified by Senegal’s new 44-year-old president, Bassirou Diomaye Faye.

The West African nation managed to pull off a free and fair election on March 24 despite significant obstacles, including efforts by former President Macky Sall to delay the elections and imprison or disqualify opposition candidates. Add those challenges to the fact that many neighboring countries in West Africa — most prominently Mali, Burkina Faso, and Niger, but other nations across the region too — have been repeatedly undermined by military coups since 2020.

Sall had been in power since 2012, serving two terms. He declined to seek a third term following years of speculation that he would do so despite a constitutional two-term limit. But he attempted to extend his term, announcing in February that elections (originally to be held that month) would be pushed off until the end of the year in defiance of the electoral schedule.

Sall’s allies in the National Assembly approved the measure, but only after security forces removed opposition politicians, who vociferously protested the delay. Senegalese society came out in droves to protest Sall’s attempted self-coup, and the Constitutional Council ruled in late February that Sall’s attempt to stay in power could not stand.

That itself was a win for democracy. Still, opposition candidates, including Faye, though legally able to run, remained imprisoned until just days before the election — while others were barred from running at all. The future of Senegal’s democracy seemed uncertain at best.

Cut to Tuesday [April 2, 2024], when Sall stepped down and handed power to Faye, a former tax examiner who won on a campaign of combating corruption, as well as greater sovereignty and economic opportunity for the Senegalese. And it was young voters who carried Faye to victory...

“This election showed the resilience of the democracy in Senegal that resisted the shock of an unexpected postponement,” Adele Ravidà, Senegal country director at the lnternational Foundation for Electoral Systems, told Vox via email. “... after a couple of years of unprecedented episodes of violence [the Senegalese people] turned the page smoothly, allowing a peaceful transfer of power.”

And though Faye’s aims won’t be easy to achieve, his win can tell us not only about how Senegal managed to establish its young democracy, but also about the positive trend of democratic entrenchment and international cooperation in African nations, and the power of young Africans...

Senegal and Democracy in Africa

Since it gained independence from France in 1960, Senegal has never had a coup — military or civilian. Increasingly strong and competitive democracy has been the norm for Senegal, and the country’s civil society went out in great force over the past three years of Sall’s term to enforce those norms.

“I think that it is really the victory of the democratic institutions — the government, but also civil society organization,” Sany said. “They were mobilized, from the unions, teacher unions, workers, NGOs. The civil society in Senegal is one of the most experienced, well-organized democratic institutions on the continent.” Senegalese civil society also pushed back against former President Abdoulaye Wade’s attempt to cling to power back in 2012, and the Senegalese people voted him out...

Faye will still have his work cut out for him accomplishing the goals he campaigned on, including economic prosperity, transparency, food security, increased sovereignty, and the strengthening of democratic institutions. This will be important, especially for Senegal’s young people, who are at the forefront of another major trend.

Young Africans will play an increasingly key role in the coming decades, both on the continent and on the global stage; Africa’s youth population (people aged 15 to 24) will make up approximately 35 percent of the world’s youth population by 2050, and Africa’s population is expected to grow from 1.5 billion to 2.5 billion during that time. In Senegal, people aged 10 to 24 make up 32 percent of the population, according to the UN.

“These young people have connected to the rest of the world,” Sany said. “They see what’s happening. They are interested. They are smart. They are more educated.” And they have high expectations not only for their economic future but also for their civil rights and autonomy.

The reality of government is always different from the promise of campaigning, but Faye’s election is part of a promising trend of democratic entrenchment in Africa, exemplified by successful transitions of power in Nigeria, Liberia, and Sierra Leone over the past year. To be sure, those elections were not without challenges, but on the whole, they provide an important counterweight to democratic backsliding.

Senegalese people, especially the younger generation, have high expectations for what democracy can and should deliver for them. It’s up to Faye and his government to follow."

-via Vox, April 4, 2024

i have realized that for the rest of our lives we will just be reliving different variations of november 5th forever and ever

Some things you can't make up. Above I added only the arrow to the frothing MAGA zombie trying to participate in the Trump attempted coup in that screen cap.

When I watch Jan. 6 footage I see a wall of white racists foaming at the mouth

An estimated 2,000 terrorists invaded the Capitol on January 6th. About 65% of them have been nabbed so far. Three more were taken into custody in Ron DeSantis's Florida on the anniversary.

Multiple Jan. 6 fugitives arrested at Florida ranch 3 years after Capitol attack: FBI

The FBI is still seeking suspected terrorists who took part in the Capitol assault. See if you recognize any of these frothing fascists...

Capitol Violence Images — FBI

Here's recently released footage of the screeching MAGA hyenas attempting to force their way into the House chamber.

I think I should remind people that, while it's nice to see putin's grip falling apart, the Wagner mercenary group are far from heroes. They were complicit in the invasion of Ukraine as well as having ties to, if not being themselves, neo-nazis. Both Putin's regime and the Wagner group need to fall. Freedom to Ukraine, freedom to all

The opinion piece outlines what is in the indictment and how it was organized in a way to streamline the trial process.

An additional point about what is not in the indictment:

Finally, we shouldn’t miss the wisdom involved in what isn’t charged. There is no count alleging Trump’s direct involvement in the Jan. 6 Capitol siege, including incitement of the mob, as recommended by the House Jan. 6 committee. That narrowing increases the prospects for a pre-election trial. The more complicated Jan. 6 charges could easily have delayed the trial and aren’t needed to accomplish the primary mission.

Further, Trump was not at the Capitol when the violence occurred. And while common sense tells us he was inflaming the crowd in his speech at the Ellipse, issues around the First Amendment impose a potential barrier to a charge of incitement ever reaching a jury.

In addition, like an experienced mob boss, he also planted words like “peaceful” in his speech to include plausible deniability about inciting violence. For all these reasons, Smith may have charged in a way that makes evidence of incitement relevant without having to prove seditious conspiracy or insurrection beyond a reasonable doubt.

The Other 9/11

50 years ago today, the US government bombed civilians and public officials in Chile because the socialist they elected was doing a good job. Under the dictatorship we installed, 40,000 political prisoners were tortured, and 3,000+ were killed.

This is an excellent NY Times interactive article, so the above link is a gift 🎁 link so anyone can read the entire article, even if they don't subscribe to the NY Times. Here are some excerpts.

Upending the outcome of a free and fair presidential election is no minor endeavor. It requires time, energy, money and, especially, an awful lot of people willing to do the wrong thing — or at least go along with it. The network of people who allegedly helped Donald Trump try, without success, to stay in power more than two and a half years ago may seem hopelessly chaotic, but there was a method to the madness. American elections are, by design, entrusted to the states and therefore decentralized. To meddle in them requires national masterminds working hand in glove with plotters at the state and local levels — a tangle of conspirators, enablers and indulgent bystanders as messy and sprawling as our democracy itself. And while it can be tempting to downplay or dismiss the entire nightmare as the pathetic machinations of crackpots and fringe figures or even to wave it off as ancient history, that would be a mistake. Those who worked to overturn the 2020 election are the same kinds of people and groups Mr. Trump would surely surround himself with if elected to a second term: unscrupulous or timid federal and state officials, ethically flexible lawyers and Republican yes men and women. Except that in 2025 those figures would have a better sense of how to dismantle the guardrails that once stood in their way and how to exploit the fault lines and weaknesses in our electoral process. [emphasis added]

Below is the final graphic in the article that shows all the people connected with Trump's coup attempt, including some who refused to go along with it:

This interactive article is well worth reading, and I invite you to use the above gift link to do so.

______________ The text of this article is by Michelle Cottle; the graphics are by Taylor Maggiacomo and Norman Eisen.

Stewart Rhodes, the founder and leader of the Oath Keepers, was sentenced to 18 years in prison on Thursday for leading a far-reaching plot to keep then-President Donald Trump in power after he lost the 2020 election.

A second Oath Keepers member, Kelly Meggs, the leader of the Florida contingent of the group, was sentenced to 12 years in prison.

The sentences are the first handed down in over a decade for seditious conspiracy.

“What we absolutely cannot have is a group of citizens who – because they did not like the outcome of an election, who did not believe the law was followed as it should be – foment revolution,” District Judge Amit Mehta said before handing down the sentence. “That is what you did.” ...

Mehta said Rhodes, 58, has expressed no remorse and continues to be a threat...

Earlier on Thursday, Mehta ruled that Rhodes’ actions amounted to domestic terrorism.

“He was the one giving the orders,” Mehta said. “He was the one organizing the teams that day. He was the reason they were in fact in Washington DC. Oath Keepers wouldn’t have been there but for Stewart Rhodes, I don’t think anyone contends otherwise. He was the one who gave the order to go, and they went.”

Rhodes was convicted of seditious conspiracy by a Washington, DC, jury in November in a historic criminal trial that was a test of the Justice Department’s ability to hold January 6 rioters accountable and validated prosecutors’ arguments that the breach of the Capitol was a grave threat to American democracy.

The seditious conspiracy charge has rarely been brought in the century and a half that the statute and its forerunners have been on the books...

US Capitol Police officer Harry Dunn, who testified earlier this week about his experience on January 6, told CNN that Donald Trump should be “next.”

“It is a step towards full accountability,” Dunn said. “[Stewart Rhodes's] lawyers argued that Donald Trump is the root of the problem, and I totally agree. Let’s get him next.” ...

CNN National Security Analyst Juliette Kayyem said the sentencing should have a “chilling effect on these groups,” especially as the presidential election season begins.

“This tough sentence is going to make the Oath Keepers, the Proud Boys, all these organizations, it’s going to make them more difficult for them to recruit and, as important, for them to raise money,” Kayyem said...

Rhodes, who was accused of leading dozens other individuals in a coordinated plot that culminated in the January 6 siege, was also found guilty of obstructing an official proceeding and tampering with documents.

Of those that Rhodes led, 22 have already been convicted of various federal crimes by a jury or guilty plea. Eight, including Rhodes’ codefendant Meggs, were convicted of seditious conspiracy.

-via CNN, 5/25/23

hey guys idk how to tell you this but the coup just ended cause the president of belarus said pretty please to the leader of the neo nazi militia so i guess the civil war isn’t happening and i’m not even kidding

It would be Russians to have the worlds most pathetic coup, wouldn’t it

On This Day In History

January 6th, 2021: Thousands of people walked to the US Capitol building and entered it in an attempt to stop the formalization of Joe Biden's election.

This resulted in

5 deaths during the attack and 4 officer suicides afterwards.

At least 20 hospitalizations (5 rioters, 15 police)

Nearly one thousand people facing criminal charges

The delay of the voter count (though it eventually went ahead)

$30 million worth of stolen and damaged property

Several instances of laptop theft and potential cybersecurity breaches

The second impeachment of Donald Trump

A Senate investigation causing leading figures of the US Capitol Police to resign

Anti-protest legislation being passed in Florida, Mississippi, and Indiana