Shorouk Express
High profile prisoners from the January 6, 2021 insurrection began to be freed Tuesday after President Donald Trump’s controversial pardons for almost everyone convicted.
Freed prisoners included Enrique Tarrio, the now-former leader of the neo-fascist Proud Boys gang who was convicted of treason-related charges after fueling a mob that attacked the Capitol. Tarrio, who was sentenced to 22 years in prison, was among four members of the group convicted of seditious conspiracy and other crimes.
Stewart Rhodes — founder of the far-right Oath Keepers anti-government militia who was similarly convicted of seditious conspiracy and sentenced to 18 years in prison — was also released from prison after Trump commuted his sentence alongside 13 other associates of the two groups.
The previous day Fox News scored a viewership win for Trump’s inauguration, but the president didn’t do quite as well as his predecessors. Early ratings released Tuesday show that Trump’s ceremony pulled in nearly 14 million fewer viewers than Joe Biden’s day back in 2021.
Fox News, however, drew 10.3 million total viewers, and 2 million in the coveted advertising demographic of adults aged 25-54. The total, if it stands, would be the second-highest-rated inauguration in the channel’s history.
Trump complained that Tuesday morning’s prayer service at the National Cathedral the day after his inauguration was “not too exciting” after the Bishop of Washington urged him to show mercy towards migrants and LGBT+ children. Her sermon has enraged the right, with one lawmaker saying the New Jersey native should be deported.
Meanwhile, across the country, 22 states are now challenging the president’s executive order to end birthright citizenship as unconstitutional.
ANALYSIS: Trump’s whirlwind first day
After taking the oath of office at noon on Monday, the new president sprinted through his first day. Issuing more than 200 executive orders and other actions, Trump began his administration’s assault on birthright citizenship, environmental protections, and parts of Joe Biden’s legacy with directives targeting a staggering scope of issues.
This was all carefully calculated: a “Day One” agenda that captured Americans’ attention in a way that Biden and his former running mate/replacement Kamala Harris never could.
Oliver O’Connell22 January 2025 07:15
Number of states suing Trump over ‘flagrantly illegal’ birthright citizenship order grows to 22
She is the lead plaintiff in a federal lawsuit against the newly inaugurated president and members of his administration, accused of mounting a “flagrantly illegal” attempt to “strip citizenship from millions of Americans with a stroke of a pen.”
Oliver O’Connell22 January 2025 06:45
After giving TikTok a second chance, can Trump actually save the app from its ban?
On Sunday, the 170 million Americans who use TikTok saw the same message when they opened the app.
But can Trump really save the app?
Katie Hawkinson investigates.
Oliver O’Connell22 January 2025 05:45
Exclusive: Insiders claim Trump has Starmer ‘over a barrel’ on trade deal
Donald Trump’s new administration believes it has Sir Keir Starmer’s government “over a barrel” on trade as Britain becomes increasingly reliant on a US deal, insiders have told The Independent.
Senior sources in the president’s team said the UK had no choice but to seek a trade agreement after the prime minister said his government’s success would be judged primarily on economic growth.
David Maddox, The Independent’s political editor, reports from Washington, D.C.
Oliver O’Connell22 January 2025 04:45
Ariana Grande ‘likes’ post mocking Carrie Underwood’s inaugural performance
Brittany Miller reports on what happened next.
Oliver O’Connell22 January 2025 03:45
Amid fears of first Trump deportation raid, Chicago immigrant hub neighborhood goes quiet
Immigration czar Tom Homan said Monday that Immigrations and Customs Enforcement had “pulled back” a reported Chicago operation, after news of the potential plan leaked over the weekend, but that Americans will see the agency in action “real soon.”
The looming threat of an ICE raid, whenever it comes, has already impacted the Little Village area, according to local business owners and officials.
Oliver O’Connell22 January 2025 03:15
ICYMI: Trump looks awkward as bishop urges him to ‘have mercy’ on ‘scared’ immigrants and LGBT+ youth
Oliver O’Connell22 January 2025 02:45
Comedian Theo Von slams the Paul brothers over inauguration prank
In an X/Twitter video posted by 29-year-old Logan Paul and captioned: “MAKE CHAIRS GREAT AGAIN,” Von is seen sitting directly in front of the YouTuber when his chair suddenly collapses.
Oliver O’Connell22 January 2025 02:15
Homeland Security orders employees back to office ahead of expected mass deportations
Department of Homeland Security employees have been ordered back to the office as the agency follows through with new President Donald Trump’s executive order and ahead of his expected mass deportations of illegal migrants.
In a memo shortly after the inauguration, Acting DHS Secretary Benjamine Huffman said the amount of hours being spent in the office throughout the agency was “unacceptable.”
Madeline Sherratt has the details.
Oliver O’Connell22 January 2025 01:45
Watch: ‘QAnon Shaman’ adopts bizarre English accent
‘QAnon Shaman’ adopts bizarre English accent when confronted on Jan 6
“QAnon Shaman” Jacob Chansley spoke in a bizarre English accent when BBC Newsnight presenter Victoria Derbyshire confronted him over the January 6 US Capitol riot. Chansley is a former believer and disseminator of the QAnon conspiracy theories and self-described shamanic practitioner. In 2021, he and other Trump supporters descended on the historic building in an attempt to overturn the then-incumbent president’s 2020 election defeat to Joe Biden. His distinct appearance rocketed the far-right conspiracy theorist as a worldwide symbol for the insurrection. A judge later said he “literally spearheaded” the movement into the chamber. On Monday (20 January) he was one of the 1,500 individuals charged with crimes connected to the riot whose convictions were quashed in Donald Trump’s pardons.
Oliver O’Connell22 January 2025 01:15
