Pezzola would subsequently enter the Capitol — arriving at the precise moment that Sen. Chuck Grassley, then the third in line to the presidency, was being evacuated. And he would record a video celebrating the breach of the Capitol that has been a key piece of evidence for prosecutors in the seditious conspiracy trial against Pezzola and four Proud Boys leaders: Enrique Tarrio, Joe Biggs, Ethan Nordean and Zachary Rehl.
In addition to seditious conspiracy, the five men are charged with attempting to obstruct Congress’ proceedings that day and aiding in the destruction of government property.
Pezzola used the early portion of his testimony to separate himself from the group’s leadership.
“The craziest damn thing is I never even knew these guys before I met them at the courthouse,” Pezzola said.
Pezzola’s turn on the stand is a climactic moment for the trial, and potentially the last before the four-month-long trial goes to the jury. Prosecutors have portrayed the Proud Boys as a sinister force on Jan. 6, plotting to do whatever they could to disrupt the transfer of power from Trump — who they viewed as an ally — to President Joe Biden. Trump’s call for a “wild” protest in Washington, D.C. on Jan. 6 was the moment the group’s leaders decided to take measures to help Trump disrupt the incoming Biden presidency, prosecutors have alleged.
The group also took a sharp turn against police in mid-December 2020, when four members of the Proud Boys were stabbed outside a bar following a pro-Trump event and the alleged perpetrator was not apprehended, prosecutors contended.
The case relied heavily on thousands of Telegram messages sent among members of the group describing their intentions and coordinating rallies and protests related to the election results. They also showed ample video of the group’s movements in Washington D.C. on Jan. 6. The government’s key witness in the case, Proud Boy leader Jeremy Bertino, testified that he knew the group’s goal was to derail the transfer of power, even though there were no explicit plans relayed to the group’s broader membership.
The defense has contended that the group’s role has been inflated, that they’re more akin to a drinking club whose members use a lot of hyperbole and overheated language that they didn’t intend to back up.
Pezzola’s testimony — expected to last at least deep into Wednesday — continued in that vein. He said he viewed the Proud Boys as a forum for camaraderie and brotherhood, not a force for violence. He said that on Jan. 6, he never had any inkling of a plan or conspiracy to stop Congress from convening to count electoral votes.
He acknowledged trespassing and crossing police lines at least twice. And he admitted that he shattered “one pane of glass” of the Senate window. But after that, he said, he “wandered around lost with no idea where I was going, took some pictures.”
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( With inputs from : www.politico.com )
Hyderabad: Speaking about periods openly is no more taboo, GHMC Mayor Gadwal Vijayalakshmi said addressing female students at the Government High School for Girls in NBT nagar on Sunday.
“Let us shun old ways of managing periods. You must change along with changing times. Use sanitary pads. Pay attention to personal hygiene. Periods are a natural and biological process. And every girl goes through this process. Pain is also attached to Periods. You must face it and you must also attend school,” she said while addressing 100-plus girls at the school.
Earlier Gadwal Vijayalakshmi inaugurated a Sanitary Pads vending machine and an incinerator along with Ritu Shah, chairperson of FICCI Ladies Organisation (FLO).
GHMC Mayor launching the sanitary pad vending machine.
The function was held at NBT Nagar Girls Highschool at Banjara Hills on Saturday late evening. Later she distributed pads to girls.
FLO under its ‘Sustain her health’ initiative donated both machines and pads. They will continue to provide pads free of cost for the benefit of the girls, a press note informed.
“No one should skip school due to periods or periods related to pain, or uneasiness. Education is also equally important,” said Ritu Shah while addressing the girls.
Later Dr Sweta Agarwal spoke about menstrual hygiene, Physical Wellness and Kanika Jain about mental wellness.
Dr Sweta Agarwal told them to follow three rules of periods. One is to pay utmost importance to hygiene. The second rule is to use sanitary pads. Three is to dispose of used pads hygienically.
“No one needs to feel shy talking about periods,” she said. She asked them if they watched the Padman movie, and if not asked them to watch it. Please talk openly, she told them. She told them to eat such fruits which contain a lot of water such as Water Melon, Cucumber etc.
Kanika Jain while talking about mental wellness, said that each one of them is prone to menstrual-related stress. “You need to learn to cope with it,” she told them. She also suggested some home remedies and asked them to use medicine when the pain becomes unbearable sometimes. She also told them to play outdoor sports to deal with stress.
Anita, the headmistress of the school also participated in the function.
Former Andhra Pradesh Chief Minister and TDP supremo N Chandrababu Naidu (File Photo)
Nellore: On a day the ruling YSRCP launched a massive outreach programme under ‘Jagananne Maa Bhavishatyu’ (Jagan is our future), Telugu Desam Party chief N Chandrababu Naidu urged the people of Andhra Pradesh not to repose faith on Chief Minister Y S Jagan Mohan Reddy.
Naidu made these remarks while addressing a TDP meeting in Nellore and declared that Reddy is not the future of Andhra Pradesh.
“Jagan is not your faith nor…your future,” remarked Naidu, as per a statement issued on Friday night, adding that people have to rethink on the trajectory that the state is moving in.
He observed that the youth are getting addicted to drugs and abandoning activities useful for their families.
During his visit in Nellore, the former chief minister took a selfie in front of some rows of AP Township and Infrastructure Development Corporation (APTIDCO) homes, questioning why these houses are not yet allotted to the beneficiaries and called on TDP leaders to challenge Reddy on what he has done for the people and the state.
Naidu alleged the Chief Minister imposed a burden of Rs 10.5 lakh crore on the people of the state in the past four years, including levying tax on garbage.
He noted that it was the TDP which laid the foundation for welfare in the state when former Andhra Pradesh CM and party founder N T Rama Rao had launched the Rs 2 per kg rice scheme and houses for the poor. Naidu also highlighted the ‘largest’ number of welfare schemes rolled out by his government in Andhra Pradesh between 2014 and 2019.
The Leader of the Opposition highlighted that Reddy has completely neglected the Polavaram multi-purpose irrigation project.
Nagpur: Union minister Nitin Gadkari has asked Congress leader Rahul Gandhi to apologise for his critical remarks on late Hindutva ideologue V D Savarkar and said no one has the right to insult him.
Gandhi should realise that he insulted the Hindutva icon due to some misunderstanding, Gadkari said addressing a gathering organised as part of the ‘Savarkar Gaurav Yatra’ at Shankar Nagar in Maharashtra’s Nagpur city on Tuesday.
The Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) leader said the former Congress president should show a big heart and tender an apology for his “crime”.
“Who has given him the right to insult Savarkar? No one will tolerate insult of Savarkar,” Gadkari maintained.
Gadkari, speaking in a lighter vein, thanked Gandhi for giving the BJP an opportunity to make the country’s youth aware about Savarkar’s life and message through the yatra.
The former Congress chief has constantly targeted Savarkar by raking up the issue of his mercy plea. His latest attack came last month following his disqualification from the Lok Sabha when he said, “My name is not Savarkar, my name is Gandhi and Gandhi does not offer an apology to anyone.”
The BJP and Maharashtra Chief Minister Eknath Shinde-led Shiv Sena have organised ‘Savarkar Gaurav Yatras’ in the state to honour the Hindutva ideologue and counter Gandhi’s criticism against him.
“At the risk of asking a stupid question, what is it you do for a living?” prosecutor Nicole Lockhart asked after DiCaprio, 48, finished spelling his name for the court reporter.
“I am an actor,” DiCaprio replied nonchalantly.
To the uninitiated, the Hollywood heartthrob’s presence at the trial could seem almost as unlikely as the government’s central contention in the criminal prosecution: that Michel, a member of the hip hop trio the Fugees, took more than $80 million from a Malaysian businessperson, Jho Low, to support President Barack Obama’s 2012 presidential bid and later to buy influence with President Donald Trump’s administration.
But Low was friendly with DiCaprio and Michel for years and ultimately became a major funder of DiCaprio’s 2013 film, “The Wolf of Wall Street.”
U.S. prosecutors later alleged that Low was the architect of a multibillion-dollar fraud scheme that looted Malaysia’s sovereign wealth fund known as 1MDB. In 2016, the Justice Department sought to seize the future profits from the film, arguing that it was paid for with money stolen from 1MDB. The feds ultimately settled for a $60 million payout, which was passed on to Malaysia’s government.
DiCaprio spent a little over an hour on the witness stand, recounting a slew of “lavish” parties where he met Low.
“He had a multitude of different parties,” the actor and film producer said of Low, who remains at large and was recently convicted in absentia by a Kuwaiti court for the 1MDB fraud and sentenced to 10 years in prison. “Some of them were on boats. Some were at nightclubs, … dinners.”
DiCaprio said Low also became a generous donor to the actor’s charitable foundation, even donating art that was auctioned in Saint-Tropez, France.
The most politically and perhaps legally salient thing DiCaprio offered up Monday was that he had a discussion with Low prior to the 2012 U.S. presidential election.
“He mentioned in passing he and possibly a group of other partners of his were going to give a significant contribution to the Democratic Party,” DiCaprio testified. “I recall him saying a significant sum, something to the tune of $20 [million] to $30 million. … I said, wow, that’s a lot of money.”
Prosecutors allege that Low was not a U.S. citizen and lacked a U.S. green card, so he was not eligible to donate to U.S. political campaigns. It’s unclear who the “partners” were, if they existed, and whether they could donate legally.
The indictment in the case alleges that Low transferred over $21 million to the U.S. for use to back Obama in the 2012 presidential race and that Michel donated about $865,000 to the Obama campaign through straw donors and about $1 million to a super PAC supporting Obama. It’s unclear what became of the rest of the money.
A spokesperson for the Democratic National Committee did not immediately respond to a request for comment on DiCaprio’s testimony.
Under cross-examination by Michel’s attorney David Kenner, DiCaprio offered even more illustrations of Low’s apparent wealth and extravagant spending. The defense attorney asked DiCaprio about a private-jet trip Low organized to Australia and then back to the U.S. about a decade ago in order to try to celebrate New Year’s Eve twice.
DiCaprio said he was hazy on the details but Low did have that goal.
“I remember a trip to Australia [with] a massive group of people,” he said. “I do remember [Low] saying that was an objective of his.”
DiCaprio said he wasn’t sure if the timing actually played out to usher in the new year twice. “It depends on how you look at it,” he quipped, prompting laughter from jurors and others in the court.
The prosecution objected to some of the repeated questions about over-the-top partying. U.S. District Court Judge Colleen Kollar-Kotelly declined to allow an answer to one defense question about Britney Spears jumping out of a birthday cake for Low at one of his blasts.
However, Kenner may have scored some points for his client Monday by detailing the extensive vetting DiCaprio’s lawyer, his production team and Paramount Pictures did of Low and others involved in funding “Wolf of Wall Street.” The defense attorney passed up his opportunity last week to give an opening statement in the case, but he appeared to be suggesting that it was unrealistic to expect Michel to know details about Low’s citizenship or his alleged misdeeds when more experienced vetters apparently missed any signs of trouble in his background.
“My understanding was I was given a green light by my team, as well as the studio, to accept financing from Mr. Low,” DiCaprio told the jury. He said he believed “the background check was fine and he was a legitimate businessperson.”
Lockhart attempted to rebut some of that testimony by getting DiCaprio to acknowledge that, while U.S. political donations from non-resident foreigners are unlawful, foreign funding for films is entirely legal.
The sixth-floor courtroom at the courthouse near the Capitol was not quite full as DiCaprio began testifying late Monday morning.
However, onlookers steadily crowded the gallery as word spread about the Hollywood star making an in-person appearance. Law clerks and even one veteran courtroom clerk for another judge were seen ducking in briefly to get a glimpse of the actor better known for occupying the bow of the “Titanic” than a federal courtroom witness stand.
Paparazzi who joined the usual coterie of network television cameras staking out Trump-related grand juries at the courthouse were disappointed, as DiCaprio was whisked in and out of the building without passing the phalanx of cameras at both of the public entrances.
In 2018, DiCaprio testified in the same building before a grand jury investigating Michel, but his appearance was not reported until later.
Jurors’ reactions to DiCaprio’s testimony were hard to assess because the judge has ordered people in the courtroom to wear masks, although witnesses, lawyers questioning them and the judge typically do not.
DiCaprio said he’d known Michel since he hit stardom in the 1990s as part of the Fugees and met the band backstage at a concert. The two have been social friends since, the actor said.
The judge’s masking policy caused a complication Monday after the prosecutor asked DiCaprio to point out Michel, who was wearing a black mask. After the actor struggled briefly, Michel raised his hand in the air and pointed at the ceiling, easing the task.
An unusual number of court personnel seemed to interact briefly with DiCaprio during a short break in the testimony, but the cause for the crowding became apparent after the actor was excused shortly after noon Monday. As soon as he departed, almost every observer stood to leave the courtroom, prompting an outbreak of laughter from the judge and some jurors at the spectacle.
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( With inputs from : www.politico.com )
Ahmedabad: Chicken and other varieties of poultry birds fall in the animal’ category under the Food Safety and Standards Act, the Gujarat Government told the High Court on Friday.
It prompted senior lawyer Percy Kavina, who is representing chicken shops which have faced action for violation of rules, to say that in that case poultry shops will have to engage veterinary doctors to comply fully with law.
In January, two NGOs filed a PIL in the High Court seeking a ban on supply of poultry birds to meat shops contending that birds were illegally slaughtered in these establishments instead of being sent to slaughterhouses.
The HC then directed the authorities to take action against unlicensed meat shops. Civic bodies across the state raided meat shops and issued closure notices to several of them for violation of rules.
Several chicken shops were also shut during this drive. The owners of these sealed meat shops and chicken shops approached the High Court for relief.
The bench of Justice NV Anjaria and Justice Niral Mehta was hearing these civil applications. During the hearing on these applications on Friday, Government Pleader Manisha Lavkumar said the definition ofanimal’ under the Act also includes poultry. Fish is not included because they are not “slaughtered” but only taken out of water, the lawyer said.
Advocate Kavina said the inclusion of poultry in the larger category of meat “goes against age old practice of how meat has been sold and consumed.”
When poultry birds are slaughtered in a small concealed area discreetly, it should not be banned, he said.
If chicken is considered to be on par with meat, “chicken shop owners need to appoint a veterinarian to do the stamping (as in slaughterhouses),” he said.
“Inclusion of poultry as an animal ignores the way poultry is sold in retail. You are insisting that poultry is meat and therefore it must be checked pre-slaughter and post-slaughter and then it should be stamped. It is impossible for small chicken sellers. He will have to keep a vet there,” said Kavina.
Amaravat: Andhra Pradesh Chief Minister Y S Jagan Mohan Reddy on Friday directed officials concerned to expedite land resurvey under ‘YSR Jagananna Saswata Bhu Hakku Bhu Raksha Pathakam’ scheme, including completing first phase for 2,000 villages by May 20, along with laying of survey stones.
In a review meeting, the Chief Minister ordered officials to ensure that every village secretariat has one rover at least for better flow of resurvey at the village level.
The state has taken up resurvey of lands on a large scale after hundred years, unlike any other state, said Reddy in a statement and added that this exercise is important not only to the present generation, but also posterity.
The southern state aims to employ modern technology and dole out tamper-proof documents to land owners so that none could manipulate them.
Meanwhile, officials apprised the CM that 31 lakh survey stones are ready to be set in place once the survey gets completed, out of which 50,000 are ready to be supplied on a daily basis.
Reddy instructed officials to procure sufficient number of stones for the next phase, while municipal officials informed that they are making preparations to survey urban areas and data analytics are currently ongoing.
Panchayat Raj officials also told the CM that survey of 300 villages would be completed by the third week of April and in all villages by December end.
Chandigarh: The Punjab government has informed the Akal Takht that 348 of the 360 people taken into preventive custody during a police crackdown against radical preacher Amritpal Singh have now been freed.
The Akal Takht Jathedar’s personal secretary Jaspal Singh on Thursday said a message was received from the state government that the rest would also be released soon.
Earlier this week, Akal Takht Jathedar Giani Harpreet Singh had given an ultimatum to the state government to release all Sikh youths held during the police crackdown against Amritpal Singh and his aides.
The Jathedar had also condemned the state government for invoking the National Security Act against a few people during the police crackdown.
A few days prior to the Jathedar’s ultimatum, the Punjab Police had said that out of those detained, nearly 30 were hardcore criminals. The rest would be released after verification, a senior police official had said.
Meanwhile, police have stepped up security in and around Amritsar and Bathinda amid reports that Amritpal Singh may surrender after entering any of the two Sikh shrines the Golden Temple in Amritsar or the Takht Sri Damdama Sahib in Bathinda.
Vehicles are being checked at several places in other districts, including Hoshiarpur, in search of the head of ‘Waris Punjab De’.
Amritpal, who has been on the run since March 18 when the police crackdown was launched, appeared in a video on Wednesday.
In the undated clip, he urged the Akal Takht to summon a “sarbat khalsa” a congregation of Sikhs to discuss issues concerning the community.
The Punjab Police on Tuesday night launched a massive search operation in a Hoshiarpur village and many adjoining areas following inputs that radical preacher Amritpal Singh and his aides could be in the area.
Gandhinagar: In the wake of recovery of mobile phones from some jails during a recent search operation in Gujarat, the state government on Wednesday informed the Legislative Assembly that it has now decided to install more powerful jammers that can block even 5G mobile signals.
In a mega overnight operation on March 25, the Gujarat police conducted simultaneous searches at 17 jails across the state, during which mobile phones were recovered from three jails, said Gujarat Minister of State for Home, Harsh Sanghavi, in the Assembly on the last day of the Budget session.
The police teams had found 16 mobiles, 10 electronic items, 29 lethal objects and even narcotics during the mega drive, he said.
The minister was speaking on this issue under rule 116 of the Assembly, which deals with “matters of urgent public importance”.
During this surprise search operation across the state, police teams also found tobacco products and a pen drive from the prison barracks. Of the total 17 jails searched, including Ahmedad’s Sabarmati central jail, nothing suspicious or illegal was found from five jails, Sanghavi said.
“At present, jammers which can block 2G mobile signals are installed in our jails. Such jammers have their limitations because phones available in the market today are even 5G-enabled. Hence, for better security, we have decided to install jammers that can block even 5G signals in our jails,” he told the House.
The search operation, in which 1,700 police personnel were involved, began on Friday night. The intention behind the move was to check if any illegal activity was taking place there and also to ensure that the inmates are getting facilities they are entitled to as per the law, the minister added.
According to him, the home department has already initiated a probe against officials of those jails where such illegal items were recovered from the inmates.
Chandigarh: Chief Minister Manohar Lal Khattar on Monday directed the officers of Haryana Shehri Vikas Pradhikaran (HSVP) to develop a separate dashboard for all the properties of the state’s urban development authority.
Details such as property location and owner’s name would be registered in the dashboard, he said.
He also directed the officials that the entire record of the HSVP including the documents of the properties should be digitised.
The chief minister, who is also the chairman of HSPV, was presiding over the 125th meeting of the authority here, according to an official statement.
In the meeting, Khattar gave ex-post facto approval for the construction of multi-storey car parking and commercial complex by Faridabad Smart City Limited on about 4,000 square metre land in Sector-18A of Faridabad.
Post facto approval was also given for the issuance of allotment letters of ownership rights to 131 shopkeepers and Antyodaya Market being constructed in place of the Rehri Market; as per the instructions of the Chief Minister, after the incident of fire in the Rehri market of Sector-9, Panchkula last year.
Apart from this, pucca shops will be set up as Antyodaya Market in place of Rehri markets in Sectors 7, 11 and 17 of Panchkula.
The chief minister said pucca shops should be constructed in the cities where Rehri markets are functioning.
On this, HSVP Chief Administrator Ajit Balaji Joshi informed the chief minister that the HSVP has a proposal to set up Antyodaya Market in place of Rehri markets in Gurugram, Faridabad and Karnal.
Khattar instructed the officers to constitute a committee to prepare a list of the cities where buildings or any other type of construction or activity has been done on the HSVP’s land or on the land of other departments.
It was also apprised in the meeting by the officials that the HSVP has 5,418 residential, 2,688 commercial and 230 institutional properties, out of which 4,804 residential, 2,305 commercial and 205 institutional properties have been sold through e-auction.
Khattar said that on the lines of the scheme for setting up cooperative group housing societies for MLAs, employees, journalists and lawyers in Panchkula, permission can be given to set up cooperative group housing societies for former MLAs as well.
Chief Secretary Sanjeev Kaushal, Chief Principal Secretary to Chief Minister, D S Dhesi, Additional Chief Secretary, Finance Department, Anurag Rastogi, Additional Chief Secretary, Industries and Commerce Department, Anand Mohan Sharan, were among other senior officers present in the meeting.
