Ten Iowans are included in President Trump’s mass clemency for the Jan. 6, 2021 attack on the U.S. Capitol by a mob of his supporters. The attack, which was intended to stop the certification of Joe Biden’s victory in the 2020 presidential election, injured more than 140 police officers. Property damage to the Capitol from […]
Capitol insurrection
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In Waterloo, Trump avoids discussing Colorado Supreme Court decision but does mention Hitler
Donald Trump addressed a cheering crowd at the Waterloo Convention Center on Tuesday night, but never mentioned the day’s biggest news about his presidential campaign. Shortly before Trump took the stage at his Commit to Caucus event, the Colorado Supreme Court issued a decision confirming a lower state court’s finding that Trump had engaged in […]
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Iowan Doug Jensen sentenced to five years in prison for ‘leading role’ in Jan. 6 insurrection
One of the most notorious faces — and T-shirts — photographed inside the U.S. Capitol Building on Jan. 6, 2021 belonged to an Iowan, Doug Jensen. On Friday morning, the 43-year-old former Des Moines construction worker was sentenced to five years in federal prison. This is just short of the 64 months’ imprisonment requested by […]
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Prosecutors recommend more than five years in prison for Iowan who led mob on Jan. 6
Doug Jensen of Des Moines is facing more than six years in federal prison for his leading role in the Jan. 6, 2021 insurrection at the U.S. Capitol. In a sentencing memorandum filed in U.S. District Court in Washington D.C. on Wednesday, federal prosecutors recommended Jensen serve “64 months’ imprisonment, three years of supervised release, […]
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Former Rep. Jim Leach breaks with the Republican Party, endorses Bohannan for House and Franken for Senate
Jim Leach, who represented Johnson County and much of southeastern Iowa in Congress for 30 years as a Republican, changed his party registration to Democrat ahead of the June 7 primary, the Quad City Times reported on Wednesday. “Today, the Republican Party that I spent so many years with has really let the country down,” […]
Posted inElection Coverage
‘Let go, let God’: Sen. Grassley gets evasive about Jan. 6 during radio interview
“I better not say I’m ready to answer your questions, because I don’t know what you’re going to ask,” Sen. Chuck Grassley said at the beginning of his telephone interview with Dr. Bob Leonard on KNIA/KRLS, the local news radio station for Knoxville, Pella and Indianola. It seemed like a good-natured joke when Grassley said […]
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As McConnell calls Jan. 6 ‘a violent insurrection,’ Grassley and Ernst avoid giving direct answers on the issue dividing Republicans
The Republican National Committee’s attempt to whitewash the Jan. 6, 2021 attack on the U.S. Capitol as “legitimate political discourse” while condemning two Trump-critical party members has led to pushback from GOP senators, Politico reported on Tuesday. That pushback does not include Iowa’s two Republican senators, Chuck Grassley and Joni Ernst. The RNC, the governing […]
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‘There’s Q shit everywhere!’: ‘The Daily Show’ spotlights Iowa Trump supporters at Des Moines rally
Iowa was again the subject of a Daily Show segment most residents of the state would consider to be embarrassing. But while Iowans are used to being portrayed as folksy and a bit out of touch during caucus season, the piece aired Monday night showed a more cringey and conspiratorial slice of Iowa. The Daily […]
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The conspiracy-theory influence on Iowa’s laws and lawmakers
Donald Trump was not welcomed back into the Oval Office on Friday, Aug. 13, as some MAGA loyal predicted. But the failure of such Trumpian prophecies usually does little to dull the fervor of right-wing conspiracy theorists. Encouraged by online influencers and politicians who stand to benefit from the spread of misinformation, an array of […]
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Iowan facing Jan. 6 charges claims he ‘got taken’ by QAnon, is granted pretrial release
According to a D.C. judge, Iowan Doug Jensen’s behavior during the Jan. 6 Capitol insurrection — videos and photos of which went viral in the wake of the chaos — was neither the worst nor the most benign that day. “Mr. Jensen’s conduct falls somewhere in the middle of the spectrum of offenses that Jan. […]
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How UI grad Liz Crokin became one of QAnon’s biggest influencers
Content warning: This article contains references to sexual assault, child abuse and racism. “QAnon Congresswoman” Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene was red-pilled (that is, fell down the rabbit hole of far-right online conspiracy theories) back in 2017. “I first heard about [Q] from Liz Crokin,” Greene said in a Facebook Live video from November 2017. “She’s […]
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The fifth Iowan charged for the Capitol insurrection allegedly assaulted, threatened to shoot an officer
An Iowa man arrested by the FBI earlier this month for taking part in the U.S. Capitol insurrection was allegedly part of a mob that assaulted a police officer, shot him with a stun gun and stole his badge, radio and ammunition while attempting to grab the officer’s service weapon, among other acts of violence, […]
