Trump endorses Gosar one day after House censure
Former President Donald Trump is endorsing Rep. Paul Gosar, one day after the Arizona Republican was censured by the House of Representatives for posting a violent cartoon video that depicted a character with his face killing one with New York Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortezโs.
EXPLAINER: Why Congress is looking closely at Jan. 6 rally
The House panel investigating the Jan_ 6 Capitol insurrection has focused some of its early work on the planning behind a massive rally at which President Donald Trump falsely claimed to have won reelection and told his supporters to โfight like hell.โ.
Democratic Arizona Rep. Kirkpatrick won't seek reelection
FILE - IN this Nov. 8, 2016 file photo, Democratic senatorial candidate U.S. Rep. Ann Kirkpatrick, D-Ariz., speaks to supporters during an election night party in Phoenix. Kirkpatrick, a five-term Arizona Democrat, announced Friday, March 12, 2021, she won't run for reelection in 2022. (AP Photo/Matt York, File)TUCSON, Ariz. โ U.S. Rep. Ann Kirkpatrick, a five-term Arizona Democrat, announced Friday she won't run for reelection in 2022. The district has been competitive in recent elections but Kirkpatrick defeated Republican challenger Brandon Marlin by a nearly 40,000-vote margin in November. After redistricting made that district more Democratic, Gosar switched districts and Kirkpatrick won the 1st District seat again in 2012 and was reelected in 2014.
Brothers denounce lawmaker who challenged Biden victory
FILE - In this Dec. 3, 2020 file photo Freedom Caucus chairman Rep. Andy Biggs, R-Ariz., speaks on Capitol Hill in Washington. Biggs has been castigated by his two brothers over his efforts to cast doubt about President Joe Biden's victory. โPolitical ambition, peer pressure and fealty to Trump proved to be too strong a drug to resist," William Biggs and Daniel Biggs wrote to The Arizona Republic. A spokesman for Andy Biggs, Daniel Stefanski, did not respond to an email request for comment about the letter by the Biggs brothers to the newspaper. โIt just seemed like saying nothing just felt like tacit approval of the things that heโs done,โ William Biggs told The Republic.
Biden win confirmed after pro-Trump mob storms US Capitol
Violent protesters loyal to President Donald Trump stormed the Capitol Wednesday, disrupting the process. One Republican lawmaker publicly called for invoking the 25th Amendment to force Trump from office before Biden is inaugurated. The support Trump has received for his efforts to overturn the election results have badly strained the nationโs democratic guardrails. Some House lawmakers tweeted they were sheltering in place in their offices. The Pentagon said about 1,100 District of Columbia National Guard members were being mobilized to help support law enforcement at the Capitol.
Ted Cruz objects to certification of Arizona's electoral votes, initiating effort to challenge Joe Biden's victory
Senator Ted Cruz, R-Texas, during a hearing at the U.S. Capitol in Washington D.C. in December of 2020. Credit: Pool/ABACA via Reuters ConnectU.S. Sen. Ted Cruz on Wednesday objected to the counting of Arizona's electoral votes, starting a process of challenging President-elect Joe Biden's victory in the Electoral College. Cruz stood during a joint session of the U.S. House and the U.S. Senate to register his objection alongside U.S. Rep. Paul Gosar, R-Arizona. Vice President Mike Pence then asked whether the objection was in writing and signed by a senator and Cruz answered, "It is." The proceeding Cruz engaged in is ceremonial and his objection is doomed to fail in both the House and the Senate. The state's other senator, John Cornyn, announced he would not join this effort, but a number of Texas House Republicans announced in recent days they would object.
Claim that Sharpie pens ruin Arizona ballots misses the mark
As states across the U.S. release vote totals for the presidential election, some social media users are falsely claiming that ballots are being invalidated in Arizona. In what's come to be known as #Sharpiegate, social media posts suggest that election officials in Maricopa County provided voters with Sharpie pens, which interfered with ballots being recorded, specifically those for President Donald Trump. Hereโs a look at the facts:CLAIM: Votes were eliminated in Arizona because people were made to use Sharpie pens to mark their ballots. Arizona election officials confirmed that Sharpies were used in voting, but they said that would not invalidate a ballot. While election officials took to social media to debunk the Sharpie rumors, others in Arizona were not convinced.
More than a dozen arrested as protesters demand vote count
One person arrested for allegedly damaging property was taken to a hospital after โexperiencing a medical episode,โ police said in a statement early Thursday. Officers seized multiple firearms, ammunition, a knife, fireworks, body armor and gas masks from people who were arrested, a sheriffโs office statement said. The protests came as smaller groups of Trump supporters gathered at vote tabulation sites in Phoenix, Detroit and Philadelphia, decrying counts that showed Democrat Joe Biden leading or gaining ground. In Phoenix, at least two dozen Trump supporters gathered outside city hall Thursday morning, chanting โProtect Our Vote.โ The group said they planned to return to the tabulation center, where a Wednesday night rally decried a declaration by Fox News that Biden was the winner in Arizona. This is evidence of democracy, not fraud.โIn Detroit, a few dozen Trump supporters gathered outside the city's convention center Thursday morning, as election workers counted absentee ballots inside.