Today’s edition of quick hits:
* Officer Brian D. Sicknick: “A U.S. Capitol Police officer died Thursday after being injured in clashes with pro-Trump rioters in the Capitol the day before.”
* It’s come to this: “House Speaker Nancy Pelosi told House members Friday that she called Joint Chiefs of Staff Chairman Mark Milley to ask what was being done to prevent President Donald Trump from accessing nuclear launch codes, calling the president ‘unhinged.’”
* As the violence and damage weren’t enough: “U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention director Dr. Robert Redfield on Friday described the Capitol riots as a ‘surge event’ that would lead to ‘significant spreading’ of Covid-19.”
* On a related note: “As more cases of the more contagious variant of the coronavirus are detected in the United States, there’s growing concern among scientists that the country hasn’t been doing enough to track genetic changes in the virus, leaving Americans in the dark about the emergence of potentially dangerous new strains.”
* Understandable: “Twitter on Friday removed the accounts of Michael Flynn, Sidney Powell and other high-profile supporters of President Donald Trump who promoted the QAnon conspiracy theory. The permanent bans are among the highest profile that the company has instituted as part of its efforts to crack down on misinformation and calls for violence.”
* Notable arrest #1: “A West Virginia legislator who recorded and then deleted a video of himself storming the U.S. Capitol with hundreds of rioters has been charged. Del. Derrick Evans, a Republican West Virginia state representative, was charged Friday, NBC News confirmed.”
* Notable arrest #2: “A man photographed casually sitting with his foot on a desk in House Speaker Nancy Pelosi’s office at the U.S. Capitol while a pro-Trump mob rampaged the halls of Congress was arrested Friday, law enforcement officials said.” * A tough paragraph to read: “One current Metro D.C. police officer said in a public Facebook post that off-duty police officers and members of the military, who were among the rioters, flashed their badges and I.D. cards as they attempted to overrun the building. ‘If these people can storm the Capitol building with no regard to punishment, you have to wonder how much they abuse their powers when they put on their uniforms,’ the officer wrote.” * Quite a story: “Journalist Neil Sheehan agreed five years ago to tell the tale of how he got the Pentagon Papers — on the condition it not be published until his death. It was published today by the New York Times, just hours after he passed away.” Have a safe weekend.
Steve Benen is a producer for "The Rachel Maddow Show," the editor of MaddowBlog and an MS NOW political contributor. He's also the bestselling author of "Ministry of Truth: Democracy, Reality, and the Republicans' War on the Recent Past."
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