Trump news – Armed groups dwarfed by security at state capitals as president’s approval at new low
The latest updates from the White House and beyond on 17 January 2021
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President Donald Trump’s approval rating has plummeted to an all-time low as the US leader prepares to exit the White House.
In the wake of the deadly Capitol riots on 6 January, the president has seen his approval rating dive, with the change in perception being largely among Republicans.
The worst polling came from Pew Research Center, which found Mr Trump’s disapproval rating to be at 68 per cent, with his approval rating falling to 29 per cent, the lowest yet, in a poll of 5,360 adults conducted between 8-12 January.
The findings come as states across the US brace for the possibility of inauguration week violence as President-Elect Joe Biden prepares to take office on Wednesday. Small armed groups appeared at statehouses on Sunday, but the size of the gatherings appeared dwarfed by the security presence.
On Sunday, former FBI director James Comey warned of the “very serious” risk of violence breaking out around the inauguration following deadly riots at the US Capitol last week.
Before he stormed Capitol, GOP lawmaker harassed women at abortion clinic
West Virginia Delegate Derrick Evans resigned from the state’s House of Delegates after filming himself at the deadly Capitol riots on 6 January, but before he stormed the Capitol, it has come to light that the GOP lawmaker previously harassed women at an abortion clinic.
In February 2019, Mr Evans, donning a “Make America Great Again” hat, filmed a patient outside an abortion clinic, telling her: “You will not do this in secret in West Virginia”.
The former lawmaker had reportedly made a habit out of protesting outside the Women's Health Centre, the only abortion clinic left in the state.
Samantha Schmidt and Caroline Kitchener detail the former lawmaker’s behavior before he joined the deadly Capitol riots last week:
Before storming Capitol, Republican harassed women at abortion clinic
Everywhere he went - the abortion clinic, Black Lives Matter protests, drag brunches - Evans brought along his phone, and his following, doing what he could to shame and agitate the people around him.
Trump ally Mike Lindell sparks alarm after carrying notes about martial law
MyPillow founder Mike Lindell, a Trump supporter and ally, has sparked alarm after being photographed entering the West Wing of the White House on Friday carrying notes appearing to address the possibility of imposing martial law.
On Friday, Mr Lindell wrote on Facebook: “Keep the faith everyone! We will have our president Donald Trump 4 more years!"
Later, a Washington Post photographer captured images of the MyPillow founder carrying notes with the words: “Insurrection Act now a result of the assault on the…" and “martial law if necessary", among other concerning lines.
While Mr Trump has promised an “orderly transition” to the Biden administration, the incident has prompted concerns, particularly after last week’s deadly riots at the US Capitol Building.
Here, James Crump looks into who Mr Lindell is and what his relationship is with the president:
Who is ‘MyPillow guy’ and Trump ally Mike Lindell?
Mr Lindell has publicly supported the president in his efforts to overturn the November election results
Guatemala cracks down on migrant caravan bound for US ahead of inauguration
Guatemalan authorities have ramped up efforts to block a caravan of thousands of Central American migrants and asylum seekers making their way to the US ahead of President-Elect Joe Biden’s inauguration.
As many as 7,000 to 8,000 people traveling with the caravan have entered Guatemala since Friday, according to Guatemala’s immigration authority.
Many are fleeing Honduras, looking to escape poverty and violence exacerbated by the pandemic and back-to-back hurricanes affecting the region.
According to Reuters, security forces clashed with a group of hundreds of migrants and asylum seekers after hundreds of people were able to break through a police blockade in Vado Hondo, near Chiquimula in eastern Guatemala.
"A small group got through and the rest were detained. The people who got past have been located," Alejandra Mena, a spokesperson for Guatemala's immigration department told the press agency.
Guatemala has not said how many people have been detained in total as the caravan seeks to continue the journey towards Mexico and ultimately to the US border.
Former White House staffer describes having to tape records Trump tore back together
A former White House staffer has described having to tape up documents President Donald Trump tore so they can be preserved as per US law.
Speaking with The Guardian, Solomon Lartey, a former White House records analyst, said the first document he had to tape up was a letter from Democratic Senate minority leader Chuck Schumer about a government shutdown.
“My director came up to me and said, ‘you have to tape these together,’” he said.
Mr Larty said the president was warned that such documents were considered presidential records and had to be preserved by law. However, he said the US leader continued to tear up documents.
“They told [Trump] to stop doing it. He didn’t want to stop," he said.
As a result, he said, at least 10 records staff ended up on what The Guardian labeled “Scotch tape duty”, from early on in Mr Trump’s presidency and until at least mid-2018.
It is unclear just how many documents have been torn up by the president.
What did James Comey warn?
Speaking with Sky News on Sunday morning, the former FBI director said there was a “very serious” risk that further violence could be seen in the capitol and across the United States in the coming days.
“I'm worried because there are armed, disturbed people who are in this state of mind where they believe that their country is being taken from them, and so it's a threat law enforcement in the States has to take very seriously,” said Mr Comey.
"At the same time, I know that we have the capability, investigative and the tactical capability on scene, to protect these locations and so I'm optimistic that the threat will be neutralised, but it has to be taken very, very seriously."
The former FBI boss, who was fired by Mr Trump in 2017, also called-out the one-term president’s election allegations, which he said were a “fog of lies” aimed to "destroy the notion that truth exists", as Tom Batchelor writes.
Ex-FBI director Comey warns of ‘very serious’ risk of violence at Biden’s inauguration
Police must take ‘armed, disturbed people’ seriously ahead of Wednesday’s ceremony, lawyer says
Man arrested in DC with ammunition made ‘honest mistake’
A Virginia man who was arrested in Washington DC with a handgun and 500 rounds of ammunition, said he made an “honest mistake” and had not meant to carry a firearm though a security checkpoint set-up in the aftermath of the US Capitol riot.
According to the Washington Post, 31 year-old Wesley Allen Beeler was also carrying an “unauthorised” security pass, when he tried to enter one of multiple security checkpoints in place as the capital prepares for Joe Biden’s inauguration ceremony on Wednesday.
He has since been released with a stay away order, after a court hearing on Saturday, as Alex Woodward writes.
Man arrested at DC checkpoint with loaded handgun and ‘unauthorised’ inauguration credentials
Police discover more than 500 rounds of ammunition at checkpoint into security-heavy capital
Amtrak police chief says security threat among largest he’s seen
Amtrak’s head of police, Sam Dotson, has described the security threats surrounding Joe Biden’s inauguration as among biggest he has seen, after the 6 January riot on the Capitol.
“We’ve done this four years ago and even four years before then. But this is the first time we’re putting in place a plan where there’s been an active assault on the institutions of our democracy," Dotson said to Politico. “This is as serious of a law enforcement threat as I’ve seen, potentially, in my career.”
Amtrak, as well as airports, airlines and security agencies have all worked together to protect the inauguration ceremony from potential violence, with extra security across the transport network, and measures in place to manage disruptive riders.
DC’s metro will also close the 13 stations within the security perimeter around the White House and Capitol complex until Thursday, a day after the inauguration.
Still, Amtrak and its employee unions have called on the federal government to include rail passengers in the Transportation Security Administration’s no-fly list, to further prevent violence occurring next week, as Gustaf Kilander writes.
Amtrak CEO asks Congress to expand TSA’s ‘No Fly List’ to rail passengers
Amtrak is limiting ticket sales, requiring masks to be worn on their trains, and expanding their security personnel following deadly Capitol riot
Sunrise in Washington DC, with three days until inauguration
This picture was taken as the sun rose over the US Capitol and Washington DC on Sunday morning, where president-elect Joe Biden will be sworn-in as the 46th president in three days time.
Dominic Raab avoids saying whether he is happy to see Trump leave office
Foreign Secretary Dominic Raab has said it is his job to “make the best of…relations" with whoever is in the White House after being asked whether he is happy to see President Donald Trump leave office.
“It's the job of the British Government, and certainly as Foreign Secretary, to make the best of our relations with whoever's in the White House,” Mr Raab said after being asked the question on Sky News’ Sophy Ridge on Sunday programme.
“I think we've seen some pretty shocking scenes in terms of Capitol Hill recently, the Prime Minister has been very clear on all of that,” he said.
However, the foreign secretary said the British government is focusing now on Wednesday, when President-Elect Joe Biden takes office.
“We're very focused on Wednesday when there's a new president and a new team making sure that in our G7 presidency year, when we're hosting COP26 here, the climate change talks, that we can work with the new US administration, on human rights, on Covid, on climate change,” he said.
"On all of those areas we need to bring countries together to tackle these global problems."
Gen. Milley expected to maintain military continuity as Biden takes office
As the incoming Biden administration looks to bring a wave of change to the White House, the president-elect is likely to look to one holdover to maintain military continuity: Gen. Mark Milley, chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff.
Joe Biden is set to keep Gen. Milley on as his senior military adviser after he takes office on 20 January.
Here’s why Gen. Milley is expected to play an especially important for continuity as the Biden administration takes office:
Gen. Milley key to military continuity as Biden takes office
When the incoming Biden administration takes charge of a Pentagon rocked by four years of leadership churn, it'll look mainly to one holdover to provide continuity
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