'Twas the night before Election Day, when all through Maricopa County, Arizona, voting officials were working their tails off in order to get 72 polling places set up before morning.
As of 5:45 p.m. Monday evening, Fox 10 reported, 72 of the county's 503 polling places were not ready. Reporter John Hook tweeted that Maricopa County Recorder Adrian Fontes told him there was "no guarantee they will be ready by opening for Election Day. They hope to work through the night to open on time, ready to go."
Fontes was more upbeat at 9 p.m., when he spoke to Fox 10 again. He said several of the 72 sites were now operational, and the public should have "confidence that these sites are all gonna be open tomorrow morning at 6 a.m. for voting." This isn't "some kind of catastrophe," Fontes added, and he expects to see huge crowds on Tuesday "doing their civic duty."
During the state's primary on Aug. 28, Maricopa County hired a contractor to set up voting machines, but the company didn't send enough technicians, and several polling places across Phoenix could not open at 6 a.m. At the time, Fontes said 62 polling places were affected, but all were up and running by 11:30 a.m. On Monday, Fontes stressed that there are 125 local inspectors setting up the equipment, with the county not relying on outsiders. Catherine Garcia
Former Michigan Gov. Rick Snyder (R) on Wednesday was charged with two counts of willful neglect of duty in connection with the Flint water crisis.
The charges are misdemeanors, and if found guilty, Snyder faces up to one year in prison and a $1,000 fine. Brian Lennon, Snyder's attorney, told The Associated Press "we believe there is no evidence to support any criminal charges," and prosecutors have not shared any details on the case with him.
Snyder served as Michigan's governor from 2011 to 2018. In April 2014, the emergency manager he picked to run Flint decided the city could save money by changing its water source from Lake Huron and the Detroit River to the Flint River. The water was not treated properly, and lead that leached into it from old pipes made residents sick. The tainted water also led to two outbreaks of Legionnaires' disease, which caused 12 deaths.
For five years, two teams of prosecutors investigated the role Snyder and other officials played in this environmental and health disaster. Charges are also expected for one of Snyder's former advisers and his state health director, AP reports. Catherine Garcia
Federal authorities on Wednesday issued a joint intelligence bulletin cautioning that last week's riot at the Capitol will be a "significant driver of violence" for white supremacists and armed militia groups.
The bulletin, dated Jan. 13 and sent by the National Counterterrorism Center and the Departments of Justice and Homeland Security, warns that extremists looking to trigger a race war or civil war "may exploit the aftermath of the Capitol breach by conducting attacks to destabilize and force a climatic conflict in the United States." Racist extremists and anti-government militias "very likely pose the greatest domestic terrorism threats in 2021," the agencies said.
The breaching of the Capitol is emboldening extremists, the bulletin states, and baseless conspiracy theories from QAnon will likely inspire some to "engage in more sporadic, lone-actor, or small-cell violence against" racial, ethnic, and religious minorities, government officials, and law enforcement. Additionally, individuals who have accepted President Trump's false claims that the election was "stolen" may also "adopt the belief that there is no political situation to address their grievances and violent action is necessary." Read more at The New York Times. Catherine Garcia
During a Wednesday phone call with police chiefs from across the United States, FBI Director Christopher Wray warned that there is the potential for extremist violence in the days leading up to President-elect Joe Biden's inauguration.
Wray was joined on the call by Kenneth Cuccinelli, the acting director of U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services. They asked police departments to serve as their eyes and ears, sharing any intelligence they gather with other law enforcement agencies. Miami Police Chief Jorge Colina told The New York Times Wray asked the chiefs to "continue to overshare intelligence" and not assume that they already know about potential threats.
The Times spoke to another police chief on the call, who asked to remain anonymous. They said the U.S. Capitol has an extensive law enforcement presence, and the concern has shifted to attacks against federal buildings, state capitols, and the homes and businesses of lawmakers. Federal officials are monitoring extremist messages being posted online, and Wray said the police chiefs should be mindful of local armed groups and people acting on their own.
"They're very, very worried about these, what they've referred to as domestic violent extremists, embedding themselves in other protests," the chief said. "Christopher Wray seemed particularly concerned about what was sort of the disregard these folks have for democratic government. The focus was not to go after people engaged in peaceful protest. There were others embedded in that who were engaged in violence and criminal behavior." Catherine Garcia
House Speaker Nancy Pelosi (D-Calif.) signed the article of impeachment against President Trump on Wednesday evening, saying she was "heartbroken" over the president inciting "an insurrection."
The House of Representatives voted 232-197 to impeach Trump, a "responsibility we did not think one week ago we would have," Pelosi said during the brief engrossment ceremony.
The bipartisan impeachment was a way for the House to demonstrate that "no one is above the law, not even the president of the United States; that Donald Trump is a clear and present danger to our country; and that once again we honored our oath of office to protect and defend the Constitution of the United States, so help us God," Pelosi said. Trump is now the first president to ever be impeached twice. Catherine Garcia