14 minute read
Election Coverage
Violence Erupts in Nation’s Capital During MAGA Rally
Trump’s Drive-By Appearance Emboldens His Supporters ing banners that read, “Trump 2020: Keep America great,” and “All aboard the Trump train.” Women for America First seStacy M. Brown return at night, after 99 percent of cured the D.C. rally permit and the WI Senior Writer the crowd had left, to assault el- right-wing group promised a mas@StacyBrownMedia derly people and families,” Trump sive celebration for Trump. The tweeted. “Police got there, but so-called Million MAGA March,
Thousands of white national- late. Mayor is not doing her job.” which did not come close to havists gathered with far-right militia Trump has labeled members of ing its promised one million pargroups on Freedom Plaza in D.C. the Black Lives Matter Movement ticipants, also included other proon Saturday, Nov. 14, to vocalize as Antifa, but CBS News defined Trump groups like Stop the Steal their support of lame-duck Pres- antifa as anti-facist, and comprised DC. ident Donald Trump and help of people who are known not for At nearby Black Lives Matter bolster his false claims that Demo- what they support, but what they Plaza, counter-demonstrators carcrats stole the 2020 election. oppose: Fascism, nationalism, far- ried large banners in support of
With many of the participants right ideologies, white suprema- President-Elect Joe Biden. Many refusing to use face coverings, the cy, authoritarianism, racism, ho- of the signs featured photos of pro-Trump demonstrators includ- mophobia, and xenophobia. Biden and Vice President-Elect ed members of the Boogaloo and Trump’s motorcade slowly rode Sen. Kamala Harris. Others had 5 The Proud Boys, a well-known white nationalist group, were among the thousands of Proud Boys. Police reported at least 20 arrests after many in the crowd lingered into the night, by demonstrators. Wearing a red MAGA Hat, the president gave a thumbs-up to his words posted on them including “Loser,” “Fired” and “ByeDon.” D.C. Mayor Muriel Bowser said Trump demonstrators protesting the election of President-elect Joe Biden and Vice President-elect Kamala Harris at the MAGA Rally in Northwest on Saturday, Nov. 14. (Roy Lewis/The Washington Informer) hurling rocks, bottles and other admirers and the obsessed follow- Metropolitan Police officials main- firearms into our city,” Newsham access to federal office space and objects at counter-demonstrators ing responded by wildly cheering tained the monitoring of caravans told NBC News. resources. and even innocent passersby. and waving American flags and comprised of Trump supporters “You cannot open carry in the Biden spent a large portion of
Numerous videos uploaded to a cache of pro-Trump banners. who reportedly arrived from Texas. District of Columbia – anywhere in the day Saturday huddled with adthe internet showed what appeared Trump didn’t get out of his ve- D.C. Police Chief Peter News- the District of Columbia,” he said. visors in Delaware. to be members of the Proud Boys hicle. He left the rally as secret ham warned that it remains illegal Members of a truckers’ group The president-elect, who conknocking a man to the ground, Service agents escorted him to his for anyone to carry guns at rallies calling itself StopTheTires2020 tinued to ponder over important stomping on and brutally kick- Virginia golf course. in the District – a consistent feature reportedly planned to shut down cabinet assignments, took a bike ing him as a woman attempted to The motorcade returned about of pro-Trump rallies around the their vehicles to make a stand ride with his wife Jill and Secret come to the man’s aid. three hours later as Trump headed country. against Biden’s “ban on fracking.” Service agents at Cape Henlopen
“Radical left ANTIFA scum was back to the White House. Again, “We see some folks that are com- Oregon trucker Jeremy Re- State Park. easily rebuffed today by the big the crowd of supporters went wild, municating on social media sug- woldt, the organizer of StopThe- He responded in the affirmative D.C. MAGA Rally crowd, only to cheering “stop the steal,” and wav- gesting that they’re going to bring Tires2020, told the trucking web- to a Reuters News reporter who site Freight Waves that the US is called out, “Are you any closer to a capitalist economy and oil is the making a cabinet decision?” fuel “she survives on.” Rallies like the one in D.C. will “The blue-collar workers are lit- presumably continue until Trump erally the ones that make the wheels officially concedes or leaves office turn,” Rewoldt said. “Without on January 20. But a growing truck drivers, this country could number of Republicans reportedly not survive for long.” have become uneasy with Trump’s Biden has clarified that his refusal to admit defeat. proposal only opposes hydraulic As the coronavirus pandemic fracking on federal lands. continues to worsen, many who The Facebook group, com- witnessed Trump rallies admit prised primarily of truck drivers, they’re concerned about such gathmembers of the U.S. military and erings turning into super spreader their families, along with Trump events. supporters, reported more than “MAGA super spreader hate 51,500 members on Saturday. rallies combined with the Ku Klux Meanwhile, Trump’s refusal to Klan White House being turned accept defeat has stalled the official into a petri dish and added with transition. that Walter Reed stunt are likely According to multiple reports, the cause of over 130 U.S. Secret the federal agency that releases Service Agents currently infectfunding to an incoming presi- ed with the coronavirus. This 5 A Black family from North Carolina joins white nationalist groups and other Trump supporters to protest the election of dent-elect, the General Services is bio-terrorism. Period,” singer President-elect Joe Biden and Vice President-elect Kamala Harris at Freedom Plaza in Northwest on Saturday, Nov. 14. (Roy Administration, has yet to recog- and self-described political junkie Lewis/The Washington Informer) nize Biden’s victory, denying him Ricky Davila tweeted. WI
Trump’s Last Gasp for Presidency May Hinge on ‘Faithless’ Electors
S. Robert Morganpostcard final.pdf 2 6/18/18 3:49 PM
Founder/Artistic Director
Stacy M. Brown WI Senior Writer @StacyBrownMedia
Debates continue to surge about rumors that Donald Trump has plans to sway the Electoral College in his favor and against President-Elect Joe Biden.
The New York Times recently reported that the defeated Trump is privately pressing advisers about the possibility of Republican state legislatures appointing electors to vote for him in the Electoral College, bypassing voters’ wishes.
In 2016, Trump won 306 electoral votes, well above the 270 needed to claim the presidency. But at least two of those 306 electors declined to vote for Trump.
Electors who defect from their states’ wishes become identified as “faithless electors.”
With the president ramping up rhetoric that Democrats stole the 2020 race and his administration continuing to withhold essential transition documents and funds, some wonder if enough electors could ignore the will of the people and vote to keep Trump in office.
In total, 538 members comprise the Electoral College who gather in their respective state capitals to cast the formal vote for president.
They’re selected at state and local party conventions and are almost always supportive of their party’s candidate. Chosen electors cannot be sitting senators, members of Congress and they cannot hold any office of trust or profit in the country.
Following the Nov. 3 election, the District selected its three presidential electors: statehood advocate Barbara Helmick, grocery store cashier Jacqueline Echavarria and registered nurse Meedie Bardonille.
“I would never have thought in a million years that I would be representing the District of Columbia with the Electoral College, as a delegate—it’s fantastic,” Echavarria told WJLA. “And it’s for the anniversary of the Women’s Suffrage Movement, so it’s an honor to mark that occasion too.”
The Electoral College was established as a comprise that brought founding states together, explained former Pennsylvania State Rep. David Parker.
“It has stood the test of time and unwinding the Electoral College after an election would produce civil war,” the Republican remarked in an earlier interview.
“Each campaign using the most advanced political technology and campaign experts undertook their best strategy to win 270 electoral college votes. Neither campaign set out to win the popular vote,” C Parker said. M Currently, President-elect Joe Y Biden leads the popular vote over CM Trump by about five million. MY Biden has been projected to garner 308 electoral college votes once results have been certified. CY
CMY On Dec. 14, members of the K Electoral College will convene in each state and in the District of Columbia. They will mark their votes on the ballots, seal both the electoral and popular votes and forward them to the District for safekeeping until Jan. 6. Then, the new Congress will host a meeting to open the ballots and officially name a winner. Vice President Mike Pence, the president of the Senate, must declare whether he and Trump have been re-elected or defeated.
“If there is evidence of fraud in the appointment and, or voting of presidential electors, they can be challenged when they are counted in January,” said Paul Engel, founder of The Constitution Study.
“Since it appears different political parties will control the two houses of Congress, I do not think any such challenge would succeed,” Engle determined. Isolated instances of faithless electors have occurred in the past
ELECTORS Page 22
Photo by Sharon C. Farmer © 2013
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5 A U.S. map showing representation to the Electoral College. (Photo courtesy Wikicommons)
EVICTIONS from Page 16
Here’s a summary of the process:
A landlord must file a complaint with the court. Then the court will send both tenant and landlord a summons to appear.
After an appearance, a landlord must obtain a “judgement for possession” from the court.
The landlord would obtain a warrant of restitution and finally a county sheriff would act on the warrant to oversee the eviction.
“It’s important to know that regardless of the circumstance a landlord has to file something with
Stay Informed! www.washingtoninformer.com
the court in order to evict someone, unless the tenant leaves voluntarily,” Williams said. “You are your own advocate. Educate yourself about what your rights are. If you have questions, always call an attorney.”
The coronavirus has created new legal challenges and questions such as whether local jurisdictions can issue eviction moratoriums.
Williams said from a constitutional perspective, it depends on what a moratorium may entail. Jurisdictions continue to follow the state’s COVID-19 emergency order.
County and Baltimore City officials have implemented financial assistance programs to assist residents affected by the pandemic and uses federal CARES Act funding strictly for coronavirus relief.
Before Hogan announced the state would provide $10 million in CARES Act funding for low-income residents toward rent relief, Del. Julian Ivey (D-District 47A) of Cheverly said residents need money immediately.
“We need rental relief in the form of cash payments. It just needs to be done one way or the other,” said Ivey, who’s working to help residents in his district affected by eviction proceedings.
Williams said the state funding would help, but added, “I’m cautiously excited. It is great we are getting that money, but how quickly can we get it?”
As for Smith, he’s relieved he ELECTORS from Page 21
but there have never been enough to affect the outcome. The most significant attempt to overturn an election occurred in 2016 when some electors tried to force the election into the House of Representatives.
“But some states had laws that corrected those votes – the Supreme Court recently affirmed that such laws are permissible – and the total number was only around 10 anyway,” said Kermit Roosevelt, a professor of law at the University of Pennsylvania Law School who’s a distant cousin of President Franklin Delano Roosevelt and a great-great grandson of President Theodore Roosevelt.
“If the results of the state votes
can remain in the residence and continue to pursue employment. His case made him mentally stronger, he said, especially after he called 35 lawyers seeking help.
“[Williams] was the only person who called me back and was consistent,” said Smith, who lives with his fiancé who’s also unemployed. “I started crying when she came with me to the courtroom. She is for the community and was with me through this process. Unfortunately, this pandemic may be with us for a while, too.”
For residents in need of legal assistance, call Community Legal Services at 240-391-6370. WI
stand, Biden’s electoral total will be large enough that faithless electors won’t be an issue. Faithless electors are quite rare because electors are typically party officials who are very loyal to the party,” Roosevelt remarked. “So I would not expect the president’s claims about fraud to affect them.”
Roger Pilon, a B. Kenneth Simon Chair in Constitutional Studies at the Robert A. Levy Center for Constitutional Studies at the Cato Institute in Northwest, recalled one history-making faithless elector from 1972.
“Roger MacBride was a faithless elector who made history before going on to become the Libertarian Party’s nominee for president in 1976,” Pilon said. “As treasurer of the Republican
INSURANCE from Page 14 not terminating coverage and the year to payback owed premiums is automatic. Several health insurers made it easier for enrolled small businesses to stay insured by providing approximately $4.2 million in premium relief this summer.”
The DC Health Link, the District’s health care exchange under the Affordable Care Act (ACA), is a target of conservative opponents of the law. that has come under attack from conservatives who challenged the constitutionality of the law’s individual mandate before the U.S. Supreme Court on Nov. 10. However, Kofman said “the ACA is the law of the land.”
“Anyone who wants quality health insurance can get it now,” she said. Kofman said District policymakers embedded health insurance consumer protections into law.
“Our local insurance standards protect people with preexisting conditions,” she said. “However, many people rely on monthly premium reductions called advanced premium tax credits. And thousands of residents rely on expanded public insurance called Medicaid.”
Kofman said “if the Supreme Court strikes down the ACA’s coverage provisions, people everywhere not just in the District Party of Virginia, he was a party elector pledged for Richard Nixon and Spiro Agnew. But in the Electoral College, he voted instead for the nominees of the Libertarian Party – John Hospers and Tonie Nathan. Ms. Nathan was thus the first woman in U.S. history to receive an Electoral College vote.”
Pilon emphasized that lawsuits which Trump has filed in various states could produce evidence that might sway electors.
“But, not likely since there is little evidence so far of electoral fraud and the margins in critical states seem sufficient to hold, absent evidence of fraud large enough to reverse those outcomes,” he concluded.
WI
would lose premium reductions if they have private coverage and would be in danger of losing Medicaid if they have public insurance.”
The possible loss of Medicaid--a health plan for the indigent--in the District by the high court comes in the wake of the D.C. Department of Health Care Finance announcement Nov. 11 all Medicaid and D.C. Alliance enrollees in its managed care programs have access to every acute care hospital in the city for both inpatient and outpatient hospital-based care.
“The District is fortunate to have a strong hospital network that is equally committed to delivering quality care to persons with either private or publicly-funded health insurance, making possible this watershed policy,” Deputy Mayor for Health and Human Services and Department of Health Care Finance Director Wayne Turnage said.
Weaver said he doesn’t deal with Medicaid recipients. He said some of his nearly 40 employees are on their parents’ insurance or have their own insurance. However, he did make one thing clear.
“I think DC Health Link is a good, user-friendly system,” he said. “Using a good broker, my whole team’s health care needs are being taken care of.”
WI
