US Capitol Police Chief Steven Sund is resigning, according to a US Capitol Police official, after facing criticism over an apparent lack of preparedness to deal with Wednesday's violent mob on Capitol Hill.
Sund's resignation is effective Jan. 16, according to a Capitol Police official.
House Speaker Nancy Pelosi today called for Sund's resignation and said the House Sergeant at Arms has told her he is submitting his resignation as well.
Pelosi made her comments during her weekly news conference, and follows Senate Democratic Leader Chuck Schumer saying he would fire the current Senate Sergeant-at-Arms when he becomes majority leader.
"If Senate Sergeant Arms [Michael] Stenger hasn't vacated the position by then, I will fire him as soon as Democrats have a majority in the Senate," Schumer said in a statement.
6:14 p.m. ET, January 7, 2021
FAA warns fliers against "unruly behavior" after several incidents involving Trump supporters
From CNN's Pete Muntean
As some Trump supporters leave Washington, DC, after yesterday’s attack on the Capitol, the Federal Aviation Administration is warning fliers not to act up.
“Unruly behavior on an airplane may violate federal law,” the FAA posted in a travel alert on Twitter, warning of a possible $35,000 fine. “Always follow crew instructions.”
The warning comes after social media posts of pro-Trump passengers flying to Washington, DC, shouting down fellow passengers, flight attendants struggling to enforce mask rules, and other Trump supporters harassing GOP Sen. Mitt Romney in an airport terminal.
On Wednesday, the head of the largest association of flight attendants said that those who participated in the assault on the Capitol should be banned from commercial flights. CNN observed a ramped up police presence at Reagan National Airport, but the Metropolitan Washington Airports Authority reports no arrests on Thursday at Reagan or Dulles.
6:08 p.m. ET, January 7, 2021
Trump asking aides and lawyers about self-pardon power
From CNN's Pamela Brown and Jeremy Diamond
Erin Schaff/Pool/Getty Images
President Trump has been asking aides and lawyers, including White House counsel Pat Cipollone, about his self-pardon power, multiple sources tell CNN.
Some of those conversations have happened in recent weeks, one of the sources said. It is unclear if it has come up since the mayhem at the Capitol building yesterday fomented by the President’s rhetoric or after his recent controversial call with the Georgia secretary of state. Trump has asked about the legal and political consequences of a self-pardon, according to a source close to the President.
He has also asked for legal opinions on whether he has the authority to issue a self-pardon and has been advised on the potential political fallout. This person said it was not yet clear whether the President would follow through with a pardon for himself.
Another person said it is not in the works in the White House counsel's office currently but that doesn’t mean it won’t happen or that the Department of Justice's Office of Legal Counsel is not currently reviewing the matter.
CNN has previously reported Trump has been asking aides since 2017 about his self-pardon power and has been “obsessed” with the idea. Recently, Trump allies such as Sean Hannity on Fox have suggested publicly that he should. Trump has also tweeted that he believes he has the power to do so.
A presidential self-pardon is untested and experts are divided on its constitutionality. A Justice Department legal memo says the President cannot pardon himself but he can step down and ask his vice president to take over and pardon him. However, that memo is not binding.
6:10 p.m. ET, January 7, 2021
850 National Guard members will work in 12-hour shifts to secure Capitol grounds
From CNN's Oren Liebermann
DC National Guard guardsmen stand outside the Capitol on January 7 in Washington, DC. John Moore/Getty Images
As 6,200 members of the National Guard arrive in Washington, DC, Secretary of the Army Ryan McCarthy said they would be used in 12-hour shifts, with 850 of them on Capitol grounds at a time, while others work traffic control points throughout the city.
The National Guard members, which will arrive from Maryland, Virginia, New Jersey, New York, Delaware, Pennsylvania, and DC units, are deployed for a minimum of 30 days, and they are expected to fully arrive during the weekend.
They will help erect a 7-foot non-scalable fence around the Capitol grounds as well as help support security in the area, working with other agencies and law enforcement.
Speaking on a call with reporters, McCarthy said the rules and use of force would also be reviewed ahead of the Jan. 20 inauguration of President-Elect Joe Biden, which is seen as the next major milestone — and potential target — as the transition of power moves forward.
"We'll potentially make adjustments accordingly," McCarthy said of the rules and use of force. National Guard members were deployed Wednesday with protective gear and riot equipment, but without any weapons, whether lethal or non-lethal.
"We are singularly focused on putting a plan in place that we have the adequate level of capability to support this next extraordinary milestone of the transfer of power on the 20th of January,” McCarthy added.
At the moment, McCarthy said there was 741 National Guard members on Capitol grounds, with another 93 working across 31 checkpoints to control traffic into the area. McCarthy said he has been in constant communication with Congressional leadership and DC Mayor Muriel Bowser.
McCarthy began the call by condemning the violence and riots, "Yesterday was a horrible and shameful day here in the Capitol and the nation at large. The District of Columbia asked for the Army to help and the National Guard responded."
5:46 p.m. ET, January 7, 2021
Trump cancels planned trip to Camp David this weekend
From Kate Bennett, Pete Muntean, and Betsy Klein
President Trump has canceled plans to travel to Camp David on Friday, according to a source familiar with the plans.
Earlier Thursday a White House official told CNN that the President had planned to be away for the weekend, and a temporary flight restriction from the Federal Aviation Administration had been in place over the presidential retreat beginning Friday — meaning civilian aircraft are directed not to fly over the area.
A separate source familiar with the President’s schedule says this trip to Camp David was on Trump's calendar, prior to Wednesday's siege of the US Capitol.
5:44 p.m. ET, January 7, 2021
Democratic senator fears Trump may get the US "into some sort of conflict" in his last days
Senator Chris Coons testifies before the Senate Judiciary Committee on October 15, 2020 in Washington, DC. Mandel Ngan/Pool/AFP/Getty Images
Sen. Chris Coons, a Democrat from Delaware, fears that President Trump may put the US in a precarious position during his last days in office.
"After the events of yesterday, all of us have to step back and pause and say what else is President Trump capable of in the remaining 13 days of his presidency?" Coons told CNN this afternoon. "My concern would be that President Trump would get us into some sort of conflict in his last 13 days that would then leave President-elect Biden not only with the challenge of responding to a pandemic, but getting us out of or unwinding an unplanned and unnecessary and needlessly disruptive conflict somewhere in the world."
Coons remarks come after White House press secretary Kayleigh McEnany walked into the briefing room and made no apology for the President's behavior, or his rhetoric, or his administration, in the wake of the riot Wednesday at Capitol Hill.
4:47 p.m. ET, January 7, 2021
John Kelly says he'd vote to remove Trump if he were still in the Cabinet
From CNN's Josiah Ryan
Former Chief of Staff John Kelly listens as President Donald Trump speaks at a briefing on October 5, 2017 in Washington, D.C. Andrew Harrer/Pool/Getty Images
President Trump’s former chief of staff John Kelly today said he would vote to invoke the 25th Amendment if he was still serving in Trump's Cabinet.
"Yes, I would," said Kelly, hesitating slightly before replying to CNN's Jake Tapper's question: "If you were in the Cabinet right now, would you vote to remove him from office?"
Earlier in the conversation, Kelly, who served on the Cabinet from July 2017 through December 2018, also said current members of the Cabinet ought to meet to consider removing Trump, even though he has just 13 more days in his term.
"The Cabinet should meet and have a discussion," said Kelly. I don't think it will happen. But I think the Cabinet should meet and discuss this."
"The behavior yesterday and in the weeks and months before that has been outrageous from the President," he added. "What happened on Capitol Hill yesterday is a direct result of his poisoning the minds of people with the lies and the frauds."
Watch the moment:
6:46 p.m. ET, January 7, 2021
First federal charges filed in US Capitol riot
From CNN’S Kara Scannell and Katelyn Polantz and Austen Bundy
Tayfun Coskun/Anadolu Agency/Getty Images
Two men became the first people to be hit with federal charges on Thursday for their actions in a riot at the US Capitol building one day earlier in which pro-Trump supporters overran the building leading to officers being injured and four deaths.
The men, identified as Christopher Alberts and Mark Jefferson Leffingwell, were both scheduled to appear in federal court in Washington, DC, Thursday afternoon.
Alberts, of Maryland, was charged with one count of carrying or having access to firearms or ammunition on US Capitol Grounds, according to the complaint sworn by an officer with the Metropolitan Police Department.
Alberts, who was wearing a bulletproof vest and wearing a backpack, was approached by the MPD officer after the officer identified a bulge on Albert’s right hip.
The officer said Albert’s tried to flee and after he was apprehended with the help of two other officers they found with a black Taurus G2C 9mm handgun and a magazine of ammunition.
In total, according to the complaint, Alberts had 25 rounds of ammunition on him. The officer also seized a gas mask, pocket-knife, first aid kit, and one military meal-ready-to-eat, or MRE.
Alberts told authorities after his arrest that “he was in possession of the firearm for personal protection and he did not intend on using the firearm to harm anyone.”
Leffingwell, 51, faces three criminal counts and has not yet entered a plea.
During the push of to enter the Capitol building, Leffingwell allegedly attempted to push past a Capitol Police officer who was trying to blockade the building, then punched the officer, authorities said.
The officer, Daniel Amendola, wrote that Leffingwell punched him "repeatedly with a closed fist" in his police helmet and in the chest. The police then restrained him. Leffingwell later apologized to Amendola, according to a court filing.
The Capitol Police officer's statement of facts released Thursday also described the police reaction to the siege as the joint session of Congress was underway certifying the electoral vote of Joe Biden for president, when a crowd gathering outside that then broke into the Capitol building.
"Members of the US Capitol Police attempted to maintain order and keep the crowd from entering the Capitol; however, shortly after 2:00pm, individuals in the crowd forced entry into the US Capitol, including by breaking windows," Amendola wrote.
The officer also described evacuating Congressional officials and the Vice President Mike Pence.
"In reacting to the crowd that had breached a window of the building, I moved to a hallway" on the Senate side of the Capitol, Amendola described. "While there, I attempted to form a barrier with other officers to stop or deter additional individuals from entering the Capitol building."
The federal court proceedings for Capitol-related defendants are before Magistrate Judge Michael Harvey of the DC District Court and are ongoing now.
Police did not report where Leffingwell resides. He is currently being held in the central cellblock of the DC jail, according to his court proceeding. He'll stay there overnight until he can be seen in court again Friday. Prosecutors say he might flee if released.
His attorney told the court that Leffingwell is a disabled veteran who suffers from memory loss.
4:33 p.m. ET, January 7, 2021
Michelle Obama says Pro-Trump rioters were "allowed to denigrate the flag and symbols of our nation"
Former first lady Michelle Obama speaks at the Obama Foundation Summit at Illinois Institute of Technology in Chicago, Illinois, in 2019. Scott Olson/Getty Images
In her statement today, former first lady Michelle Obama pointed out the differences in how the behavior of Black Lives Matter protesters and Pro-Trump rioters was treated by the authorities
The former first lady noted that the BLM protests across the country this past summer were an "overwhelmingly peaceful movement" that brought together people of "every race and class."
"And yet, in city after city, day after day, we saw peaceful protesters met with brute force," she added.
She continued by saying that "yesterday made it painfully clear that certain Americans are, in fact, allowed to denigrate the flag and symbols of our nation. They've just got to look the right way."
