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Six Missouri Republicans Objected to Electoral Votes Even After Capitol Attack

Written by DOYLE MURPHY

When police finally regained control o the . . apitol a ter pro Trump e trem ists stormed the building on anuary si issouri epublicans oted in support o the same conspiracy theories that inspired the iolent insurgency. The most prominent was en. osh awley who was the first . . senator to announce he would object to certi ying the results o the presidential election. espite recounts and more than court decisions dismissing resident onald Trump s debunked claims o widespread oter raud aw ley claimed he was obligated on behal o his constituents to object to the oting process specifically in ennsyl ania. n his way into the apitol on the day o the attempted coup awley was photographed saluting the same e tremists who would later o erwhelm apitol olice officers smash out windows and climb in side the building where they ran sacked ongressional offices and celebrated the insurrection. The group had become con inced despite all e idence that the presidential election has been stolen. It s a message that Trump continued to peddle the morning o anuary . nd while a num ber o epublicans which notably includes ep. nn Wagner and en. oy Blunt o issouri chose to break with the president s un hinged claims and ote to certi y the elections awley and fi e . . representati es rom issouri objected once ongress resumed business that night. ere s the list o the issouri poli ticians who were among epub licans to object to certi ying otes in either ri ona or ennsyl ania en. osh awley ep. am ra es ep. Vicky art ler ep. Billy ong ep. Blaine uetkemeyer ep. ason mith

Together they ollowed a path that was sure to ail but would score points with the ar right actions o Trump s base. awley was among just si senators who ultimately objected. ourteen had been e pected to object but the majority backed o . omething about being orced to take shelter rom a mob storm ing the halls o ongress seemed to ha e made most o the would be objectors reconsider. n

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Sen. Josh Hawley. | OFFICIAL PORTRAIT Rep. Sam Graves. | OFFICIAL PORTRAIT

Rep. Vicky Hartzler. | OFFICIAL PORTRAIT Rep. Billy Long. | OFFICIAL PORTRAIT

Rep. Blaine Luetkemeyer. | OFFICIAL PORTRAIT Rep. Jason Smiths. | AOFFICIAL PORTRAIT

Cori Bush: Expel Congressmen Who Incited Capitol Terror

Written by JAIME LEES

Sworn in just two days before rioters stormed the U.S. Capitol, Congresswoman Cori Bush isn’t wasting any time when it comes to taking legislative action.

In response to the deadly domestic ter-

Rep. Cori Bush | OFFICIAL PORTRAIT

ror attack in Washington, D.C., Bush has introduced a resolution demanding the expulsion of the members of Congress who “incited this domestic terror attack through their attempts to overturn the election.”

Hundreds of pro-Trump rioters stormed the Capitol on January 6 as Congress gathered to count the electoral votes. The process of signing off on the presidential election results is usually pro forma, but some Congress members, such as Missouri Sen. Josh Hawley, had promised to object. Emboldened by their example and the soon-to-be-ex president’s debunked claims that the election was “stolen,” the insurgents overwhelmed Capitol Police officers as members of Congress, including Bush, were rushed to safety. Five people died in the chaos, including a police officer who was beaten by the intruders and a woman who was shot by law enforcement as she and others in the mob tried to force their way into a secure hallway.

Bush, who was newly appointed to the House Committee on Oversight and Reform, was still sheltering in place when she released details of her intentions and the draft of her resolution.

From her press release:

“The Republican members of Congress who have incited today’s domestic terror attack at the United States Capitol must be held accountable for violating their Oath of Office. I am prepared to do whatever it takes to defend our democracy. That’s why, as my first legislative action, I will be introducing a resolution to

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Missouri Jails Director Sued in North Carolina Abuse Case

Written by RYAN KRULL

This story was sponsored in part by a Fund for Investigative Journalism grant.

Missouri Department of Corrections Director Anne Precythe is one of ten defendants in a lawsuit brought by a woman who was repeatedly raped by her parole officer in orth arolina in 2015. Before coming to Missouri in 2016, Precythe was the director of Community Corrections for the orth arolina epartment o Public Safety.

The plaintiff in the case was originally on probation in Virginia when she mo ed to orth Carolina to be closer to her family. Maud Ingram became her probation officer and made it clear that he would revoke her probation, sending her back to jail, if she didn’t have sex with him.

Three years prior, the lawsuit alleges, Ingram had blackmailed another female under his supervision in a similar manner and instead of being disciplined was transferred and promoted. Ingram’s pattern of behavior continued until the plaintiff in this current civil case approached a lawyer for help. The lawyer contacted law en orcement and in the orth Carolina State Bureau of Investigation sent the plaintiff to a meeting with Ingram wearing a wire. Ingram was recorded instructing the plaintiff to pull her dress up. “Oh, I can’t see that pussy like that come on here,” Ingram was recorded saying right before agents entered the room and arrested him. He pleaded guilty to four counts of rape in 2017 and was sentenced to eighteen years. The current civil suit was filed a year later.

“What happened to Ms. Roberts at the hands o her probation officer is not in question,” said Merewas the ones up above who we would argue knew or should have

the orth arolina epartment o Corrections in 1988 as a probation and parole officer. he worked her way up in the agency to eventually become director of Community Corrections in 2013. Two years later Attorney General Eric Holder appointed recythe to the ational Institute of Corrections Advisory Board. The following year thenMissouri Governor Eric Greitens hired her as the Director of Missouri Department of Corrections. The de ense counsel in the orth arolina ci il suit has filed a motion for summary judgement, arguing that the case should be dismissed as a matter of law and not go to a jury. The plaintiff’s attorneys have responded, and both parties are waiting for the judge to rule. The MODOC did not want to comment on pending litigation. Missouri’s prison system had its Missouri Department of Corrections Director Anne Precythe. | MISSOURI DOC own problems during a raucous beginning to 2021. A riot occurred dith Hubbard, the attorney repre- every week. The suit claims, “Rea- Treatment Center, a minimum senting the plaintiff in the current sonable supervision would have security prison in the northwest civil suit, which is making its way revealed a history of abuse, mis- part of the state. Between 20 and through ederal court in orth conduct and unfitness to ser e as 25 inmates destroyed a housing Carolina. “It is undisputed that he a probation officer. unit and administration office a took advantage of her and forced At the time of Ingram’s miscon- ter becoming intoxicated. her to do horrific things. The only duct, Precythe was in charge of Injuries to staff and offenders thing at issue in this lawsuit is 2,500 employees, including In- were minimal but according to whether his supervisors can be gram. filing made by the de ense one individual familiar with the held accountable for his actions.” states that, “As a result of the size incident, property damage was

Ingram is one of the defendants of Community Corrections and extensive. Rioters broke winin the suit. The other nine defen- her areas of responsibility, she re- dows, toilets and sinks, pulled dants are the individuals charged lied heavily on her assistants and security cameras from walls and with supervising him, ranging the chain of command to manage sprayed fire e tinguishers in the from his direct boss all the way day-to-day matters and to super- mailroom and other offices. n up to the person in charge of the ise officers in implementing and entire DPS. enforcing policies…Before this Ryan Krull is a freelance journalist b iously the probation offi- matter became a full-scale inves- and assistant teaching professor cer at the bottom of this organi- tigation Precythe had not heard of in the department of communicazational chain directly committed Maud Ingram” or the plaintiff. tion and media at the University of these acts,” Hubbard said. “But it Precythe began her career with Missouri-St. Louis. on ew ear s e at ary ille known that he might be prone to do something like this. He’d been EXPEL REPS grace under fire during this difficult and high-stress situation. In addition investigated for similar behavior Continued from pg 9 to being a registered nurse and pastor, before.” Bush’s interest in politics was sparked

As the director of Community call for their expulsion from the House when she volunteered as an organizer orrections or the orth arolina of Representatives under the Four- and triage nurse during the Ferguson DPS, Precythe was in charge of an teenth Amendment. No person should uprising in 2014. agency whose mission, according be serving in Congress who is actively Now, less than seven years later, to its website, is to provide “mean- working to undermine the rights and as a member of Congress, she drew ingful supervision to offenders on freedoms of the American people as af- comparisons to the violence faced by probation, parole or post-release forded to us by the Constitution.” Ferguson protesters at the hands of supervision” and “reach an equal From the draft of her resolution she police and the soft-touch response to balance of control and treatment entered on Monday: the largely white insurrectionists who for offenders that will positively “Directing the Committee on Ethics flooded into the nation’s Capitol this afaffect their behavior and lifestyle to investigate, and issue a report on, ternoon as police gave way. patterns.” whether any and all actions taken by In addition to calling for the expul-

The suit alleges that Ingram’s Members of the 117th Congress who sion of some Republican members of bosses were “grossly negligent” sought to overturn the 2020 Presiden- Congress, she is also “calling for the and “reckless” in their hiring and tial election violated their oath of office immediate impeachment of Donald supervision of Ingram. At the time to uphold the Constitution or the Rules Trump & his removal from office.” that the rapes occurred, the suit of the House of Representatives, and Bush tweeted this of Trump and his alleges, he was on a “poor perfor- should face sanction, including remov- enablers: mance review plan,” which meant al from the House of Representatives.” “Their actions must have consethat his cases were to be reviewed It’s no surprise that Bush has shown quences.” n