Biden volunteers in Philly; Republican slams colleagues over QAnon conspiracy theory; members of Trump’s campaign behind rally that ignited Capitol riot

A Lehigh County man arrested Sunday for shoving police with metal barricades during the Jan. 6 Capitol riot had enrolled in the Pennsylvania State Police Cadet Academy several years ago.

A state police spokesperson confirmed that Craig Bingert, 29, of Slatington, Pa., left the academy in 2015 less than a week after he had begun his training.

He declined to discuss the circumstances, citing personnel privacy.

Bingert surrendered to the FBI on Sunday after it began circulating images of him online in hopes of identifying him in connection with the Capitol attack.

The photos – stills taken from a Metropolitan Police officer’s body camera – show Bingert, holding an American flag, in a crowd of people that shoved barricades against police desperately trying to keep them at bay.

Later, another officer’s camera caught Bingert waving is flag in a crowd of Trump supporters chanting “F—the police,” according to the charging documents in his case.

» READ MORE: Feds charge Harrisburg woman accused of stealing Pelosi’s laptop and an ex-Pa. state police cadet in connection with Capitol attack

— Jeremy Roebuck

Harris resigned her Senate seat from California at noon Monday, ahead of being sworn in as the nation’s first female and first Black vice president.

Harris, a Democrat who was elected to the Senate in 2016, sent a letter to California Gov. Gavin Newsom (D) saying her resignation was effective at noon. She was the second Black woman and first South Asian American senator in history. She will be replaced by Alex Padilla, who was tapped by Newsom to fill the open seat.

In an op-ed published Monday, Harris noted that the Senate will soon be evenly divided but said she hopes she won’t have to frequently exercise her power to break ties.

“Since our nation’s founding, only 268 tie-breaking votes have been cast by a Vice President,” Harris wrote in an op-ed in the San Francisco Chronicle. “I intend to work tirelessly as your Vice President, including, if necessary, fulfilling this Constitutional duty. At the same time, it is my hope that rather than come to the point of a tie, the Senate will instead find common ground and do the work of the American people.”

— Washington Post

Freshman Rep. Lauren Boebert (R., Colo.) took a group of visitors on a tour of the U.S. Capitol before the deadly riot on Jan. 6, fellow Rep. Steve Cohen (D., Tenn.) told CNN Monday morning.

“Whether those people were people involved in the insurrection or not, we don’t know,” Cohen said, adding he thought Boebert “is not on the home team, she was with the visitors.”

Cohen said he and Rep. John Yarmuth (D., Ky.) saw Boebert taking a group for a tour between Jan. 3 and Jan. 6, when pro-Trump loyalists stormed the Capitol in an attempt to stop the certification of President-elect Joe Biden’s victory.

Boebert’s office did not immediately respond to a request for comment.

Boebert, an outspoken supporter of President Donald Trump and a gun rights advocate, has drawn criticism from colleagues for ignoring metal detectors placed outside the House chamber. Democrats have also questioned her tweets about Speaker of the House Nancy Pelosi’s location during the riot. Earlier in the day she tweeted “Today is 1776,” a mantra heard being shouted by pro-Trump loyalists as they stormed the Capitol.

Ben Goldey, Boebert’s communications director, quit less than two weeks on the job, citing “the events of January 6th” in a statement to Axios.

— Rob Tornoe

A 29-year-old Lehigh County man accused of attempting to topple a barricade and overrun Metropolitan Police during the Jan. 6 Capitol riot surrendered himself to the FBI on Sunday.

Federal authorities charged Craig Bingert, of Slatington, with obstructing the police.

Court records indicate that Bingert had recognized his own photo in fliers investigators had circulated online seeking to identify participants in the insurrectionist attack.

The image — taken from body camera footage from a Metropolitan Police officer — shows Bingert, wearing a knit hat with the word America on it and holding an American flag, standing among a crowd that attempted to shove over a barricade guarded by the officer who was filming the incident, according to the charging documents filed in his case

Later, agents said, after that incident, other body cam footage shows Bingert milling around the same area, waving the flag, while the crowd around him chants “F—the police.”

Bingert’s court filings indicate that it was his lawyer, who is not named in the documents, who first contacted authorities and arranged for his client to turn himself in.

His LinkedIn profile, cited in the documents, lists his last known job as a clerk at an Aeropostale — a job he says he left in 2012, about a year before graduating from Mansfield University of Pennsylvania in Tioga County with a bachelor’s degree in criminal justice and law enforcement.

He will be tried in federal court in Washington, D.C.

— Jeremy Roebuck

President-elect Joe Biden volunteered at Philadelphia hunger relief organization Philabundance Monday morning as part of the national day of service for Martin Luther King Jr. Day, visiting the city just two days before he’s sworn into office.

After taking selfies with masked supporters outside the group’s South Philadelphia headquarters, Biden and his wife Jill Biden stood along a conveyor belt in the parking lot, helping pack food for those in need. As disco played over loudspeakers, Biden, wearing a face mask, his aviators, and a green Philabundance hat, placed canned goods, two at a time, into food boxes. Jill Biden added packages of rice.

They stayed for a little under an hour. Some 150 food boxes were packed at the event, according to a Biden aide.

» READ MORE: Biden volunteered in Philly to mark Martin Luther King Jr. Day

— Jonathan Tamari

Participants in an inauguration rehearsal on West Front of Capitol were evacuated Monday morning due to a fire several blocks away not believed to be a threat.

“In an abundance of caution following an external security threat under the bridge on I-295 at First and F Streets, SE, Acting Chief Pittman ordered a shutdown of the Capitol Complex,” the Capitol Police said in a statement. “There are currently no fires on or within the Capitol campus.”

— Rob Tornoe

Sen. Ben Sasse (R., Neb.) harshly slammed his Republican colleagues for their refusal to denounce QAnon, the far-right conspiracy theory he says is destroying the party “from within.”

“Until last week, many party leaders and consultants thought they could preach the Constitution while winking at QAnon. They can’t,” Sasse wrote in an essay for The Atlantic. “The GOP must reject conspiracy theories or be consumed by them. Now is the time to decide what this party is about.”

While right-wing QAnon supporters carry a lot of different views, most believe in a baseless theory that Democrats, Hollywood stars, and members of the “deep state” are part of a complex ring of human trafficking and child abuse, and that President Donald Trump is working to stop them. The FBI has labeled QAnon a domestic terrorist threat.

The crowd of pro-Trump loyalists who stormed the U.S. Capitol earlier this month were filled with QAnon supporters, including Jake Angeli of Arizona, the self-described “QAnon Shaman” who was arrested last week.

Sasse directed his ire at House Minority Leader Kevin McCarthy (R., Calif.) for his silence in the face of such wild and dangerous conspiracy theories, and his role in backing newly-elected Rep. Marjorie Greene (R., Ga.), who has supported QAnon in the past and regularly spreads misinformation about the election and COVID-19.

“During [Greene’s] campaign, House Minority Leader Kevin McCarthy had a choice: disavow her campaign and potentially lose a Republican seat, or welcome her into his caucus and try to keep a lid on her ludicrous ideas. McCarthy failed the leadership test and sat on the sidelines. Now in Congress, Greene isn’t going to just back McCarthy as leader and stay quiet,” Sasse wrote. “She’s already announced plans to try to impeach Joe Biden on his first full day as president. She’ll keep making fools out of herself, her constituents, and the Republican Party.”

Sasse is one of just a handful of Republicans willing to criticize Trump during his presidency, and has signaled his support for the House’s impeachment, though he hasn’t announced how he’ll vote in the upcoming Senate trial.

— Rob Tornoe

Federal authorities have obtained an arrest warrant for a Harrisburg woman they suspect may have stolen House Speaker Nancy Pelosi’s laptop during the Jan. 6 Capitol siege with the intent of selling the device to Russia’s foreign intelligence services.

In an affidavit filed late Sunday evening, agents said they were contacted by the former romantic partner of Riley June Williams, 22, who recognized her in footage shot during the insurrectionist attack by the British network ITV.

Williams’ ex also reported having seen other video showing Williams pocketing the computer from Pelosi’s office and told investigators that Williams had said she intended to send it to a friend in Russia who would arrange the transfer to the SVR, the Russian equivalent of the CIA.

That deal fell through, Williams’ former partner told FBI agents according to the affidavit, and the laptop remains in her possession.

» READ MORE: Feds seeking Harrisburg woman accused of stealing Nancy Pelosi’s laptop during Capitol riot

— Jeremy Roebuck

President-elect Joe Biden will be sworn in as the nation’s 46th president on the steps of the U.S. Capitol in two days. But today, he’ll be in Philadelphia.

Biden and his wife, future First Lady Jill Biden, will spend their Martin Luther King Jr. Day of Service volunteering at Philabundance, the region’s largest hunger-relief group.

Biden is also scheduled to meet with his transition team Monday, according to his official schedule.

Vice President-elect Kamala D. Harris, who is resigning her Senate seat on Monday, plans to volunteer in Washington, her office told the Washington Post.

President Donald Trump has no public events listed on his official schedule.

— Rob Tornoe

Members of President Donald Trump’s failed presidential campaign played key roles in orchestrating the Washington rally that spawned a deadly assault on the U.S. Capitol, according to an Associated Press review of records, undercutting claims the event was the brainchild of the president’s grassroots supporters.

In a statement, the president’s reelection campaign said it “did not organize, operate or finance the event.” No campaign staff members were involved in the organization or operation of the rally, according to the statement. It said that if any former employees or independent contractors for the campaign took part, “they did not do so at the direction of the Trump campaign.”

At least one was working for the Trump campaign this month. Megan Powers was listed as one of two operations managers for the Jan. 6 event, and her LinkedIn profile says she was the Trump campaign’s director of operations into January 2021. She did not respond to a message seeking comment.

The AP’s review found at least three of the Trump campaign aides named on the permit rushed to obscure their connections to the demonstration. They deactivated or locked down their social media profiles and removed tweets that referenced the rally. Three blocked a reporter who asked questions.

Caroline Wren, a veteran GOP fundraiser, is named as a “VIP Advisor” on an attachment to the permit that Women for America First provided to the agency. Between mid-March and mid-November, Donald J. Trump for President Inc. paid Wren $20,000 a month, according to Federal Election Commission records.

Maggie Mulvaney, a niece of former top Trump aide Mick Mulvaney, is listed on the permit attachment as the “VIP Lead.” She worked as director of finance operations for the Trump campaign, according to her LinkedIn profile. FEC records show Maggie Mulvaney was earning $5,000 every two weeks from Trump’s reelection campaign, with the most recent payment reported on Nov. 13.

— Associated Press

U.S. defense officials say they are worried about an insider attack or other threat from service members involved in securing President-elect Joe Biden’s inauguration, prompting the FBI to vet all of the 25,000 National Guard troops coming into Washington for the event.

The massive undertaking reflects the extraordinary security concerns that have gripped Washington following the deadly Jan. 6 insurrection at the U.S. Capitol by pro-Trump rioters. And it underscores fears that some of the very people assigned to protect the city over the next several days could present a threat to the incoming president and other VIPs in attendance.

Army Secretary Ryan McCarthy told The Associated Press on Sunday that officials are conscious of the potential threat, and he warned commanders to be on the lookout for any problems within their ranks as the inauguration approaches. So far, however, he and other leaders say they have seen no evidence of any threats, and officials said the vetting hadn’t flagged any issues that they were aware of.

“We’re continually going through the process, and taking second, third looks at every one of the individuals assigned to this operation,” McCarthy said in an interview after he and other military leaders went through an exhaustive, three-hour security drill in preparation for Wednesday’s inauguration. He said Guard members are also getting training on how to identify potential insider threats.

» READ MORE: FBI vetting National Guard troops in DC amid fears of insider attack

— Associated Press

Despite a stark warning from the FBI that state capitals could be targeted by far-right extremists or armed protesters this week, just a handful of demonstrators appeared at government buildings in Harrisburg and Trenton on Sunday as throngs of law enforcement patrolled.

“We are breathing a collective sigh of relief,” Trenton Mayor Reed Gusciora said Sunday afternoon. “It appears there are more skateboarders than protesters here.”

The relief rippled across a nation on the edge, still reeling from the Jan. 6 insurrection at the U.S. Capitol that left five dead and set off a massive law enforcement response from coast to coast ahead of President-elect Joe Biden’s Wednesday inauguration. Last week, the FBI warned that at least one group that backs President Donald Trump called for supporters to “storm” government buildings, and authorities said some far-right personalities indicated they’d begin their demonstrations Sunday.

In preparation, Pennsylvania Gov. Tom Wolf activated hundreds of members of the National Guard, the Capitol was closed, and police fortified the building with barricades. Streets were shut down in Harrisburg and Trenton, and residents hunkered down in their homes.

It turned out that both cities were quiet Sunday. In Harrisburg, a few demonstrators appeared, as did a couple counterprotesters, including one who approached police and denounced white supremacy while clutching his lunch in a Styrofoam container. The largest gathering near the Capitol was likely a scrapbooking convention at a nearby hotel, made up of mostly women armed with scissors and creativity.

» READ MORE: In Harrisburg and Trenton, ‘a collective sigh of relief’ as few pro-Trump loyalists show up following FBI warning

— Anna Orso, Rob Tornoe, Julia Terruso and Samantha Melamed