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Supporters of US President Donald Trump protest in the US Capitol Rotunda on January 6, 2021, in Washington, DC.

Saul Loeb | AFP | Getty Images

A retired New York Police officer seen on surveillance video shaking a tambourine while walking around inside the U.S. Capitol on Jan. 6 with a mob of Trump supporters was arrested Tuesday morning.

Sara Carpenter, 51, is the latest in a number of former or current members of law enforcement to be charged in connection with the riot, which began with protests against the election of President Joe Biden.

Carpenter, who voluntarily surrendered Tuesday, told FBI agents in January that she went to the Capitol with others after hearing then-President Donald Trump instruct them to "march to the Capitol," according to a court filing.

The riot left five people dead, including Capitol Police Officer Brian Sicknick. Two other police officers who defended the Capitol that day killed themselves on the heels of the riot, which injured nearly 140 other cops.

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Carpenter retired from the New York Police Department in 2004 after about 10 years of service. During the 1990s, she worked as a spokeswoman for the NYPD.

Detective Sophia Mason, a current spokeswoman for the Police Department, said in an email, "The NYPD worked closely with the FBI Joint Terrorism Task Force culminating with the arrest of Sara Carpenter."

Carpenter was ordered released by a judge on a personal recognizance bond after appearing via videoconference Tuesday in Brooklyn, New York, federal court. She faces misdemeanor charges of knowingly entering or remaining in any restricted building or grounds without lawful authority, disorderly or disruptive conduct in a restricted building or grounds, and violent entry and disorderly conduct on Capitol grounds.

"Any involvement in the Jan. 6 [riot] is serious conduct," said assistant U.S. Attorney Josh Hafetz at that hearing.

But the prosecutor said that Carpenter's cooperation with the FBI, her voluntary surrender and other factors led prosecutors in Brooklyn and Washington to agree that a non-monetary bond would be sufficient "to ensure she will return to court and protect the safety of the community."

Under the conditions of that bond, Carpenter's travel is limited New York City or Long Island, unless it is to visit Washington for court appearances and meetings with a lawyer there for the case. She had turned over her passport when she surrendered to the FBI.

DOJ submits photo of a tambourine as part of a Statement of Facts related to former NYPD officer Sara Carpenter participating in the Capitol Riots on Jan. 6th, 2021.

Carpenter's case, along with hundreds of other criminal cases against alleged Capitol rioters, is being prosecuted in District of Columbia federal court.

The court filing says that the FBI received an anonymous tip on Jan. 7 saying that Carpenter telephoned a relative and said that she was inside the Capitol and had been tear-gassed during the invasion. The tipster gave Carpenter's home address in the borough of Queens in New York City.

Carpenter on Jan. 18 told FBI agents during an interview that she drove to Washington on Jan. 5 and the following morning "went to the rally point where Trump's Twitter page has instructed all supporters to hear about the election fraud," the filing said.

Trump, for months after the November presidential election, repeatedly and falsely claimed that he had won the election and that Biden's victory was the result of widespread ballot fraud in multiple states.

Federal and state courts have consistently rejected those allegations, as did Trump's own attorney general at the time, William Barr.

On Jan. 6, Trump, his family members and various allies held a rally outside the White House, where they again made false statements about the election and urged supporters to help them reverse the election results. Those results were due to be confirmed that day by a joint session of Congress presided over by then-Vice President Mike Pence.

According to the filing, Carpenter told FBI agents, "She heard President Trump's words on the jumbo televisions and speakers instructing people to rally back, not leave, and march to the Capitol."

"Carpenter stated that at approximately 1:00 p.m., she began to walk with a large group of people to the Capitol. Carpenter stated that she entered the Rotunda of the Capitol, where she observed other individuals walking around and leaving with items," the filing said.

"Carpenter told FBI agents that she observed police yelling for individuals to get out, then pushing and shoving the crowd. Carpenter stated she was trampled and pepper sprayed as she exited the Capitol building."

DOJ submits photos as part of a Statement of Facts, identifying Former NYPD officer Sara Carpenter (dressed in red hat, green jacket wearing a grey backpack), participating in the Capitol Riots on Jan. 6th, 2021.

Source: Department of Justice.

The filing also notes that during her interview, Carpenter said she had taken video of the Capitol building's interior with her mobile phone. She sent an FBI agent a text message containing that video footage on Jan. 19, the filing said.

Capitol closed-circuit television video shows Carpenter in a red hat, green coat and black boots, with a backpack, entering the Capitol Rotunda with a crowd, the filing said.

Before she exited the Rotunda, Carpenter is seen on video turning "back to the room and raises [her] hands in the air," the filing said.

DOJ submits photos as part of a Statement of Facts, identifying Former NYPD officer Sara Carpenter (dressed in red hat, green jacket wearing a grey backpack), participating in the Capitol Riots on Jan. 6th, 2021.

Source: Department of Justice.

"In her left hand she holds a tambourine, which she shakes several times before turning back around and exiting the Rotunda," the filing said.

A March 2 search of Carpenter's home found the items of clothing she was wearing at the Capitol that day, as well as the backpack, the filing said.

"Carpenter also voluntarily provided the tambourine she confirmed she carried inside the Capitol," the filing said.

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Ex-New York cop Sara Carpenter arrested on Capitol riot charges, told FBI she went there on Trump instructions - CNBC

The CEO of social media site Gab has claimed he rejected a proposal in January to have former president Donald Trump on the platform.

Andrew Torba, who founded the service in 2016, said that representatives of the former president's senior adviser and son-in-law Jared Kushner made the pitch: equity in the business in exchange for Trump to sign up and post his opinions to the site.

As first reported by Forbes, Torba said that he had declined the telephone call proposal immediately, saying: 'No, I'm not entertaining that."

And it didn't sound likely the CEO would change his mind in the future. He added: "Gab's not for sale. There's no amount that would get me to sell. Zero."

Sharing the Forbes story on his Gab profile this week, Torba wrote: "As I have said many times, [Trump] is welcome to join Gab anytime and speak freely. But Gab is not for sale and under no circumstances will Gab change our free speech policies, Mr. Kushner."

Gab is broadly pitched as a conservative-friendly alternative to mainstream social sites such as Twitter or Facebook, and its looser moderation policies has left it an attractive option for right-wing personalities, conspiracy theorists and white nationalists.

It's website describes Torba as a "Christian technology entrepreneur" who launched it after seeing a rise in censorship from other platforms during the 2016 election.

There is an account for Donald Trump on the website already, but Torba has previously said the profile is not used by the former president himself.

In February, Torba accused Kushner of "actively trying to keep Trump off Gab" and said the Trump Gab account was just a mirror archive of public statements.

"We've always been transparent about this and would obviously let people know if the President starts using it. The only reason he's not using it right now to contact his base is because dopey advisers like Jared Kushner, who lost him the election, are blocking him from using it," Torba wrote, confirming the Trump profile is run by Gab.

Trump was permanently suspended by Twitter on January 8 "due to the risk of further incitement of violence" in the wake of the Capitol riot two days prior.

His Facebbook profile was locked for 24 hours on January 6. The next day, the blocks on his Facebook and Instagram were extended indefinitely, and remain in place.

Buzzfeed News reported on February 5 that members of Trump's campaign, including former manager Brad Parscale, approached another social media platform, Parler, with a similar offer: asking for a stake in the company in exchange for Trump joining.

That deal never went though and Parscale told Buzzfeed at the time the president "was never part of the discussions," and claimed they were "never that substantive."

While Trump remains banished from social media, speculation has surged over the past few days that he may soon return via his own platform. Senior adviser Jason Miller told Fox News last weekend that Trump could pull in "tens of millions of people."

"I think that we're going to see President Trump returning to social media in probably about two or three months here, with his own platform," Miller claimed to Fox News. "And this is something that I think will be the hottest ticket in social media."

A request for comment to Gab's listed press information on Wednesday resulted in a bounce-back email. Trump's representatives have been contacted for comment.

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Donald Trump's Team Sought Stake in Gab But Was Rejected, CEO Andrew Torba Claims - Newsweek

A former lawyer for Donald Trump who made several false claims of voter fraud in regard to the 2020 presidential election is now arguing that no reasonable person would have believed her conspiracy theories.

Lawyers for Sidney Powell make the argument in a court filing in hopes of getting a $1.3 billion defamation lawsuit filed against her by Dominion Voting Systems dismissed, CNN reports. Dominion filed the lawsuit in January.

Even [assuming] that each of the statements alleged in the Complaint could be proved true or false, no reasonable person would conclude that the statements were truly statements of fact, the filing says, as reported by Business Insider.

Powell claimed that Dominion voting machines were rigged to switch votes for Trump to Joe Biden, his Democratic challenger, during the election. There is no evidence any vote-switching occurred in what experts have called the most secure election in U.S. history.

According to CNN, Powell was sharing her opinions on the election and that people were free to come to their own conclusions. Powell made several public and TV appearances pushing the false claims. She lost every lawsuit she filed in making the false claims, Buzzfeed reports.

Indeed, Plaintiffs themselves characterize the statements at issue as wild accusations and outlandish claims, the filing says. They are repeatedly labeled inherently improbable and even impossible. Such characterizations of the allegedly defamatory statements further support Defendants position that reasonable people would not accept such statements as fact but view them only as claims that await testing by the courts through the adversary process.

According to Buzzfeed, Powells lawyers want Dominions lawsuit or the case moved to Texas. Theyre also arguing that Powells claims were hyperbole and should be protected by the First Amendment.

But Buzzfeed reports that government filings show many people arrested during the Jan. 6 insurrection at the U.S. Capitol have cited Powells claims of a rigged voting system as a reason for believing the election was stolen from Trump.

Dominion has separate lawsuits against former Trump lawyer Rudy Giuliani and Mike Lindell, the My Pillow CEO. Conservative commentators Lou Dobbs, Maria Bartiromo, and Jeanine Pirro have been sued by election-technology company Smartmatic.

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Donald Trumps former lawyer Sidney Powell argues no reasonable person would believe her conspiracy theories - masslive.com

As The Sun reports, the White House news conference was Biden's first official one as president and was limited to 25 reporters. He even had a cheat sheet, noted observers.

During the press conference, the presidentconfirmed he has every intention of running for re-election in 2024, and commented on the United States Covid-19 vaccination roll-out. "No other country in the world has even come close, not even close, to what we are doing," Biden claimed (via BBC). Elsewhere, the President also hadharsh words for his predecessor, criticizing Trump's handling of the expanding humanitarian crisis on the southern border.

Speaking toLaura Ingraham onFox News, Trump hit back at Biden's comments, claiming his own administration'sborder policies were superior because they encouraged fewer people to show up at the U.S.-Mexico border (via The Sun). "By the time we finished what we were doing [on the border], very few people were coming up because they knew they weren't going to get through." He added,"We stopped 'catch and release' which was a disaster."

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Donald Trump's Harsh Reaction To Joe Biden's Press Conference - The List

During an interview with former President Donald Trump, Fox News host Harris Faulkner falsely told Trump and viewers that Homeland Security Secretary Alejandro Mayorkas had resigned. Just seconds later, she apologized and said, "Forgive me, that has not happened."

HARRIS FAULKNER: Because it's just happened now and I want to double check this with our producers. The DHS Secretary Alejandro Mayorkas has resigned. Mr President--

DONALD TRUMP: Well, I'm not surprised. Good-- that's a big victory for our country.

HARRIS FAULKNER: Hold on. Let me-- let-- let me stop. Let me stop. Let me listen to my team one more time. Forgive me. Forgive me. That has not happened. But-- and I apologize--

DONALD TRUMP: OK.

HARRIS FAULKNER: Listening to the team and you.

DONALD TRUMP: Cross out that victory.

HARRIS FAULKNER: Right-- well-- and I want to tell everybody, you issued a statement last night and you called for that, though. And you're just talking about him just to clarify is somebody who you feel is not competent to handle what's going on. So let me clean up on aisle seven with my error. He has not resigned and let me move right to what you are calling for and others too. For him to move out of the way and possibly get somebody who can do the job. Your thoughts.

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Fox News host falsely announces Alejandro Mayorkas's resignation while interviewing Donald Trump - Yahoo! Voices