Local police from across the country facing heat for attending Capitol protest, riot; hacked Parler data could help - Entrepreneur Generations

"Police officers and at least one police chief from departments across the United States are facing termination, suspension or other discipline for their proximity to or alleged involvement in a chaotic gathering in Washington on Wednesday that ended in a riot at the U.S. Capitol and left five people dead," Kim Bellware reports for The Washington Post. "Departments in California, Washington state, and Texas are among those that have announced investigations into their officers based on tips, social media posts and other evidence, though more officers could be identified as evidence emerges in the coming days."

Some officers who were at the protest and/or the riot afterward are from rural areas or small towns. For example, Police Chief David Ellis of Troy, New Hampshire, has been criticized for his presence at the protest, though Ellis has denounced the rioting and treatment of Capitol police, Mia Summerson reports for the Keene Sentinel. 

Jason Riddle, a former corrections officer and mail carrier from Keene, was also present that day. "Riddle said he went to D.C. to participate in the protest, believing the election had been stolen from Trump. But despite being among those who entered the Capitol, and posting photos on Facebook, he described the violence he witnessed inside as 'chaos,'" Summerson reports. Riddle posted on Facebook that he plans to run for local office soon.

Two off-duty police officers from Rocky Mount, North Carolina, were identified in photos of the riot, sparking a Black Lives Matter protest Sunday, Luanne Rife, Mike Allen and Karen Dillon report for The Roanoke Times. The officers have been placed on paid administrative leave while the police department investigates.

Journalists soon may be able to see whether local law enforcement or other prominent local figures were at the protest or riot, or whether they were advocating violence online. A hacker reportedly archived almost all posts on Parler made on January 6, the day of the Capitol riot, Dell Cameron reports for Gizmodo. The hacker got virtually all of the content, including posts, deleted posts, the personal information required to register for an account, direct messages, and videos posted by users with GPS coordinates embedded in the data files. That identifies the whereabouts of posters who made the videos.

from The Rural Blog https://ift.tt/2LDPgsP Local police from across the country facing heat for attending Capitol protest, riot; hacked Parler data could help - Entrepreneur Generations

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