The ‘Field of Flags’ and the Washington Monument are seen on the National Mall in front of the Capitol building
(AFP via Getty)
Inauguration Day 2021 began like no other. A ring of steel and tens of thousands of National Guard troops surround Washington DC for the swearing-in of Joe Biden and Kamala Harris, following the insurrection at the US Capitol earlier this month by a pro-Trump mob.
The outgoing president broke with 150 years of tradition and refused to welcome his successor and be present for the peaceful transfer of power at noon. Instead, Mr Trump jetted off on Air Force One for his new life in Florida early Wednesday. Here, The Independent follows the day as it unfolds.
Nearly 200,000 American flags are seen in the early hours of Inauguration Day on the National Mall as part of a ‘Field of Flags’ exhibition to represent those not able to attend due to the Covid-19 pandemicAFP via Getty Images
The Washington Monument was closed to members of the public for Joe Biden’s inauguration amid security concerns following an attack on the Capitol by pro-Trump rioters on 6 JanuaryREUTERS
Donald Trump and Melania Trump depart the White House for the last time on the morning of Inauguration Day. The couple is eschewing the tradition of meeting the incoming first family and will not attend president-elect Biden’s inauguration. Ms Trump has not given incoming first lady, Jill Biden, a tour of the private residence and has reportedly not been in touch with her at allAFP via Getty Images
Donald Trump and Melania Trump hold hands as they prepare to depart the White House on Marine One to Florida several hours ahead of the inauguration ceremony. Mr Trump is the first president in more than 150 years to refuse to attend their successor's inaugurationGetty Images
Members of Donald Trump’s family including senior advisors Ivanka Trump and Jared Kushner stand on the tarmac at Joint Base Andrews in Maryland as they arrive for US President Donald Trump's departure ceremonyAFP via Getty Images
Joe Biden and Jill Biden attend services at the Cathedral of St Matthew the Apostle ahead of the presidential inauguration ceremony. Once inaugurated, Mr Biden will be the second Catholic president in US history and the first since John F KennedyGetty Images
US National Guardsmen stand on a closed street outside the Capitol Building. Some 25,000 National Guard troops have been brought in from across the country to ensure security on Inauguration Day, replacing the huge crowds of tourists that would usually gather in the nation’s capital to welcome a new presidentYegor Aleyev/TASS
Security is set up along Pennsylvania Avenue before the 59th Presidential Inauguration. Security officials have assured that there will be extremely tight security around the entire capital region on Inauguration Day after pro-Trump rioters breached the Capitol on 6 January AP
Speaker of the House Nancy Pelosi and her husband ahead of Joe Biden’s arrival at the Capitol for the inauguration ceremonyEPA
Former Vice President Dan Quayle arrives for the inauguration ceremony of Joe Biden as the 46th President of the United States on the West Front of the CapitolAP
Joe Biden, Kamala Harris, Jill Biden, and Doug Emhoff wave as they arrive on the East Front of the Capitol for the inauguration ceremonyGetty Images
Former president Bill Clinton arrives with former Secretary of State Hillary Clinton for the inauguration of Joe Biden as the 46th President of the United States on the West Front of the CapitolGetty Images
Former President George W Bush and his wife Laura Bush arrive for the inauguration ceremony of Joe Biden as the 46th President of the United States on the West Front of the CapitolREUTERS
Former President Barack Obama and former First Lady Michelle Obama arrive at the inauguration of Joe Biden as the 46th President of the United States on the West Front of the CapitolGetty Images
Vice President Mike Pence and Karen Pence arrive at the inauguration of Joe Biden on the West Front of the US Capitol. Mr Pence is attending the inauguration ceremony despite the absence of President Donald Trump, who left Washington before the ceremony beganAP
Vice-president elect Kamala Harris and her husband Doug Emhoff wave as they make their entrance to the inaugural ceremony on the West Front of the CapitolREUTERS
President-elect Joe Biden and Jill Biden arrive at his inauguration ceremony on the West Front of the CapitolGetty Images
Donald Trump and Melania Trump arrive at Palm Beach International Airport in West Palm Beach, Florida after departing Washington before the inauguration ceremony of Joe BidenREUTERS
Senator Amy Klobuchar speaks at the inauguration of US President-elect Joe Biden on the West Front of the US CapitolGetty Images
Lady Gaga sings the National Anthem during the inauguration ceremony on the West Front of the Capitol. Ahead of the inauguration on 19 January, Gaga said she hoped the ceremony would be ‘a day of peace for all Americans.’REUTERS
Kamala Harris is sworn in as vice president, becoming the first woman to hold the office in the nation’s history, as well as the first Black woman and first woman of South Asian descent to hold the title. Spouse Doug Emhoff holds the bible and also makes history in becoming the first ever first gentlemanREUTERS
Joe Biden is sworn in as the 46th president of the United States as his wife Jill Biden holds the bible. The president welcomed a ‘day of history and hope’ after taking Oath of Office saying: ‘This is America’s day. This is democracy’s day. A day of history and hope’REUTERS
Joe Biden delivers a speech after being sworn in as the 46th President of the United States during which he addressed the severity of the coronavirus pandemic across the US, the rise of political extremism, and outlined a path towards unity for the nationREUTERS
Amanda Gorman recites a poem during the inauguration of Joe Biden, referencing Biblical scripture and at times echoing the oratory of John F Kennedy and the Rev Martin Luther King Jr as she asked: ‘Where can we find light/In this never-ending shade?’REUTERS
Attendance at Joe Biden’s inauguration was slashed to limited numbers in light of the coronavirus pandemic, which has claimed the lives of more than 400,000 Americans Getty Images
Joe Biden and his wife Jill Biden watch a military pass in review ceremony on the East Front of the Capitol at the conclusion of the inauguration ceremoniesAP
Joe Biden signs three documents including an inauguration declaration, cabinet nominations, and sub-cabinet nominations in the President’s Room at the Capitol AP
Joe Biden received a historical presidential escort from 15th Street to the White House with representations from every branch of the military but no crowds or tourists due to the coronavirus pandemic and safety concerns REUTERS
President Joe Biden is driven through Washington with a military escort to Arlington Cemetery ahead of the wreath-laying ceremony as streets are lined with members of the militarySky News
Joe Biden and Kamala Harris lay a wreath at the Tomb of the Unknown Soldier at the Arlington National Cemetery following the inauguration ceremonyAP
Joe Biden and Jill Biden wave as they arrive at the North Portico of the White House, which has had its 132 rooms deep cleaned since Donald Trump’s departure in light of the coronavirus pandemicREUTERS
When it was announced late last year that I would be joining the Miami Herald, el Nuevo Herald and Bradenton Herald the headlines referred to me as a history maker — the first Black executive editor in the Herald’s 117-year history.
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Captain Sir Tom Moore: tributes paid by family at funeralPublic were not able to attend funeral but thousands of signed online book of condolencesCoronavirus – latest updatesSee all our coronavirus coverage Soldiers from the British Army’s Yorkshire Regiment carry the coffin of Captain Tom Moore during his funeral service at Bedford crematorium. Photograph: Joe Giddens/AFP/Getty Images
The “Trump-made-me-do-it” defence is already looking like a longshot. Facing damning evidence in the deadly Capitol siege last month — including social media posts flaunting their actions — rioters are arguing in court they were following then-President Donald Trump's instructions on Jan. 6. But the legal strategy has already been shot down by at least one judge and experts believe the argument is not likely to get anyone off the hook for the insurrection where five people died, including a police officer. “This purported defence, if recognized, would undermine the rule of law because then, just like a king or a dictator, the president could dictate what’s illegal and what isn’t in this country," U.S. District Judge Beryl Howell said recently in ordering pretrial detention of William Chrestman, a suspected member of the Kansas City-area chapter of the Proud Boys. “And that is not how we operate here.” Chrestman’s attorneys argued in court papers that Trump gave the mob “explicit permission and encouragement” to do what they did, providing those who obeyed him with “a viable defence against criminal liability.” “It is an astounding thing to imagine storming the United States Capitol with sticks and flags and bear spray, arrayed against armed and highly trained law enforcement. Only someone who thought they had an official endorsement would even attempt such a thing. And a Proud Boy who had been paying attention would very much believe he did,” Chrestman’s lawyers wrote. Trump was acquitted of inciting the insurrection during his second impeachment trial, where Democrats made some of the same arguments defence attorneys are making in criminal court. Some Republican lawmakers have said the better place for the accusations against Trump is in court, too. Meanwhile, prosecutors have brought charges against more than 250 people so far in the attack, including conspiracy, assault, civil disorder and obstruction of an official proceeding. Authorities have suggested that rare sedition charges could be coming against some. Hundreds of Trump supporters were photographed and videotaped storming the Capitol and scores posted selfies inside the building on social media, so they can’t exactly argue in court they weren’t there. Blaming Trump may be the best defence they have. “What’s the better argument when you’re on videotape prancing around the Capitol with a coat rack in your hand?” said Sam Shamansky, who’s representing Dustin Thompson, an Ohio man accused of stealing a coat rack during the riot. Shamansky said his client would never have been at the Capitol on Jan. 6 if Trump hadn’t “summoned him there.” Trump, he added, engaged in a “devious yet effective plot to brainwash” supporters into believing the election was stolen, putting them in the position where they “felt the the need to defend their country at the request of the commander in chief.” “I think it fits perfectly,” he said of the defence. “The more nuanced question is: Who is going to buy it? What kind of jury panel do you need to understand that?” While experts say blaming Trump may not get their clients off the hook, it may help at sentencing when they ask the judge for leniency. “It could likely be considered a mitigating factor that this person genuinely believed they were simply following the instructions of the leader of the United States,” said Barbara McQuade, a former U.S. attorney in Michigan who's now a professor at the University of Michigan Law School. It could also bolster any potential cases against the former president, experts say. “That defence is dead on arrival,” said Bradley Simon, a New York City white-collar criminal defence attorney and former federal prosecutor. “But I do think that these statements by defendants saying that they were led on by Trump causes a problem for him if the Justice Department or the attorney general in D.C. were to start looking at charges against him for incitement of the insurrection.” While the legal bar is high for prosecuting Trump in the Capitol siege, the former president is already facing a lawsuit from Democratic Rep. Bennie Thompson that accuses him of conspiring with extremist groups to prevent Congress from certifying the election results. And more lawsuits could come. Trump spread baseless claims about the election for weeks and addressed thousands of supporters at a rally near the White House before the Capitol riot, telling them that they had gathered in Washington "to save our democracy." Later, Trump said, “I know that everyone here will soon be marching over to the Capitol building to peacefully and patriotically make your voices heard.” A lawyer for Jacob Chansley, the shirtless man who wore face paint and a hat with horns inside the Capitol, attached a highlighted transcript of the Trump's speech before the riot to a court filing seeking Chansley's release from custody. The defence lawyer, Albert Watkins, said the federal government is sending a “disturbingly chilling message” that Americans will be prosecuted “if they do that which the President asks them to do.” Defence lawyers have employed other strategies without better success. In one case, the judge called a defence attorney’s portrayal of the riots as mere trespassing or civil disobedience both “unpersuasive and detached from reality.” In another, a judge rejected a man’s claim that he was “duped” into joining the anti-government Oath Keepers group and participating in the attack on the Capitol. Other defendants linked to militant groups also have tried to shift blame to Trump in seeking their pretrial release from jail. An attorney for Jessica Watkins said the Oath Keepers member believed local militias would be called into action if Trump invoked the Insurrection Act to stay in office. Watkins disavowed the Oath Keepers during a court hearing on Friday, saying she has been “appalled” by fellow members of the far-right militia. “However misguided, her intentions were not in any way related to an intention to overthrow the government, but to support what she believed to be the lawful government,” her lawyer wrote. Meanwhile, a lawyer for Dominic Pezzola, another suspected Proud Boy, said he “acted out of the delusional belief that he was a ‘patriot’ protecting his country." Defence attorney Jonathan Zucker described Pezzola as “one of millions of Americans who were misled by the President's deception.” “Many of those who heeded his call will be spending substantial portions if not the remainder of their lives in prison as a consequence," he wrote. “Meanwhile Donald Trump resumes his life of luxury and privilege." Michael Kunzelman And Alanna Durkin Richer, The Associated Press
A military guard of honor and Royal Air Force fly-past marked the funeral on Saturday of Captain Sir Tom Moore, the World War Two veteran who raised millions of pounds for Britain's health service during the coronavirus pandemic. By the time he finished, on April 16, he was being willed on by millions in Britain and beyond, and the total raised was heading toward 39 million pounds ($54 million). Moore was knighted by Queen Elizabeth in recognition of his efforts, while the White House said after his death that he had "inspired millions through his life and his actions".
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With more than 2.6 billion daily users, there's no denying that Facebook (NASDAQ: FB) reaches a lot of people around the world across Facebook, Messenger, Instagram, and WhatsApp. Corinne Cardina, Fool.com's healthcare and cannabis bureau chief, spoke with Nick Sciple, the bureau chief of tech, energy, and industrials, on a Fool Live episode recorded Feb. 11, about a quote from Peter Thiel, who was an early investor in Facebook, that speaks to how tech companies try to manage how their power is perceived by the public and regulators. Corinne Cardina: Let's talk a little bit about Facebook's power, antitrust.
Securities Litigation Partner James (Josh) Wilson Encourages Investors Who Suffered Losses Exceeding $50,000 In SolarWinds To Contact Him Directly To Discuss Their Options New York, New York--(Newsfile Corp. - February 27, 2021) - Faruqi & Faruqi, LLP, a leading national securities law firm, is investigating potential claims against SolarWinds Corporation ("SolarWinds" or the "Company") (NYSE:SWI) and reminds investors of the March 5, 2021 deadline to seek the role of lead plaintiff in a federal securities ...
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