A Double Agent At The Capitol
New Case Has More Evidence January 6 Rioters Were Armed
Your humble Uprising correspondent skipped yesterday’s news roundup to prep for tonight’s book club event. That will only be open to subscribers and founding members and, after next week, these morning news roundups will exclusively go to subscribers as well. Sign up!
DOUBLE AGENT AT THE CAPITOL: Drug Enforcement Agency Special Agent Mark Sami Ibrahim is facing multiple charges related to entering the grounds of the U.S. Capitol with his service weapon on January 6. Newly unsealed court documents detail evidence gathered by the FBI including photos that seem to show Ibrahim posing with his badge and gun visible.
The federal complaint and statement of facts in the case is the latest piece of evidence that some Capitol rioters were armed. Ibrahim’s case is one of the more dramatic examples thus far of people with law enforcement and military experience allegedly participating in the riot. In April, ABC News reported “over half a dozen ex-police officers” were among “at least 52 active or retired military, law enforcement, or government service employees” that have been arrested in conjunction with the attack on the Capitol. The George Washington University Program on Extremism, which is also tracking the cases, has said about 10 percent of the 545 people involved in federal cases related to the siege “have military experience.”
According to the FBI, Ibrahim shared his pictures on “a WhatsApp group chat with at least five other law enforcement officers,” at least one of whom expressed concern. FBI agents also spoke to a friend of Ibrahim’s who was allegedly with him at the Capitol and said he “had been thinking about his next move after leaving the DEA and wanted the protests to be his stage for launching a ‘Liberty Tavern’ political podcast and cigar brand.
Ibrahim’s attorney, Gretchen Gaspari, did not respond to a request for comment.
NOT SO SWEET HOME: Tarrant City, Alabama Councilman Tommy Bryant called a Black colleague a “house n----r” during a meeting on Monday night. Bryant, a Republican, made the comment when members of the public were discussing allegedly racist posts made by his wife.
While the state Democratic Party has called for his resignation, the local GOP merely condemned the remark. According to Insider, the Black woman Bryant subjected to the slur “appeared visibly upset and left the meeting sobbing.”
FINAL COUNTDOWN: The New York City Board of Elections has certified Brooklyn Borough President Eric Adams’ victory in the Democratic mayoral primary. Adams ultimately defeated Kathryn Garcia by just 7,197 votes in the final round of ranked choice voting. The victory puts him on a nearly guaranteed path to becoming the next leader of a city of more than 8.3 million people.
BADGER STATE: Wisconsin Lieutenant Gov. Mandela Barnes has officially jumped into the state’s crowded Democratic Senate primary. Barnes, 34, was the state’s first Black lieutenant governor and would be its first Black senator. The seat, a top target for Democrats, is currently filled by Republican Ron Johnson, who was re-elected by about 99,000 votes in 2016.
FUN FACT: Laika, the dog who was launched into orbit by Russia in 1957, was a stray dog captured from the streets of Moscow. Officials believed the city’s mongrels would be accustomed to cold temperatures and harsh conditions. It took over 40 years for the Russian government to admit that Laika likely died within hours of the launch. In 2008, a monument was erected in the dog’s honor in Moscow.
Despite her quick demise, Laika managed to fly higher than Jeff Bezos and actually enter orbit.
On a semi-related note, the Gorillaz album “Laika Come Home” is fantastic.
That’s all for today! If you haven’t already, please subscribe to The Uprising and tell your friends! And if you work in politics, please don’t forget to leave a (news) tip on your way out → hunter.walker@protonmail.com
Great issue.