Pen-pricks
• Barbra Streisand and Alyssa Milano went on Twitter to exult over the Trump impeachment proceedings and called for the Senate to convict Trump. I love the Hollywood crowd. Whenever I mock conservative views, it’s considered edgy satire and when I mock liberal views, it’s hate speech.
• Dallas Mavericks owner Mark Cuban declared the National Anthem will no longer be played before home games, but he was overruled by the NBA. Mark may not realize what thin ice he’s on. Dallas is so conservative it’s believed JFK was killed there for going too soft on a leftwing Cuban.
• Senate Democrats commence their second trial of Donald Trump in the U.S. Senate Chamber this week. The president has decided to stay out of the trial and stay engaged on his job. On Monday, all President Biden had to say was to congratulate the Buccaneers and Chiefs on a great World Series.
• Dr. Fauci advised wearing two masks to ensure the infection numbers keep trending down. Of course there are doubters who insist masks don’t work. My neighbor doesn’t believe masks stop the virus because his wife wore a mask on a recent business trip, and she came home with chlamydia.
PHOENIX – The father of two Arizona siblings facing federal charges involving the attack on the U.S. Capitol has suggested without evidence that antifa and Democrats could have instigated the riots and he expressed shock about the arrests.
Felicia and 25-year-old Cory Konold were arrested Thursday by the FBI in connection with the storming of the Capitol building on Jan. 6 in an attempt to stop Congress from certifying the election of President Joe Biden. The age of Felicia Konold hasn’t not been released by authorities.
Conspiracy, civil disorder and illegally entering a restricted building were among the charges filed Wednesday against the siblings in federal court in Washington.
The siblings made their first court appearance Friday in Tucson. U.S. Magistrate Judge Eric Markovich said they are likely to be released from custody Thursday to home confinement and be required to wear electronic monitors to track their movements.
Prosecutors allege the siblings conspired with the Kansas City chapter of the Proud Boys, a far-right, male chauvinist extremist group, during the attack. A probable cause affidavit alleged the siblings and others near the front of the crowd helped move and keep open barriers that had blocked entrance to the Capitol.
Eric Manch, an attorney for Cory Konold, said his client wasn’t involved in the Proud Boys or any conspiracy to hurt anyone. Manch said his client went to Washington out of concern for his sister’s welfare. “That was his primary motivation for going there,” Manch said.
Jay Marble, a public defender representing Felicia Konold, didn’t immediately respond Friday to a message seeking comment.
The siblings’ father, 62-year-old Robert Konold, suggested without evidence to the Arizona Daily Star that the insurrection was caused by organizations opposed to former President Donald Trump.
“It couldn’t have been Trump guys,” Robert Konold said. “I’m thinking it could’ve been more antifa or you know Democrats wanting to make Trump look bad or something. No normal Republican would go nuts.”