you would certainly think so, given how obvious it is. the tough, unfortunate reality is that republicans resistance to efforts to gather better information and intelligence about the far right domestic terror threat is not new. in fact, in the early days of the obama administration, there was an intelligence at dhs who put together a report showing veterans were at risk of being radicalized. coffman brought machetes and molotov cocktails to washington. he was a veteran. when dhs tried to do more work on that topic, it was congressional republicans who usually oppose what they call, quote, unquote political correctness, who all of a sudden were very offended that anyone would even consider talking about far-right extremism when it came to our veterans. and so that effort got dialed down dramatically, essentially completely sidelined because of that republican resistance and the years since then, obviously,
representatives with a bipartisan vote and is a critical step to ensuring our nation never has to endure an attack at the hands of our countrymen again. we implore our senate republican colleagues to work with us to find a path forward on a commission to examine the events of january 6th. the urgency of that full investigation is underscored in a new court filing denying one rioter s request to be released from jail prior to his trial. the filing details how lonnie coughman of alabama was arrested on january 6th when police found weapons, including multiple guns, hundreds of rounds of ammunition, machetes and a stun gun in his pickup truck. the filing adds this. in the bed of mr. coffman s truck, law enforcement officers also recovered 11 mason jars containing a flammable liquid with a hole punched in the top of each jar along with lighters and rags. all of that on top of the two guns coffman had with him.
the filing goes on to suggest a premedicated effort by coffman. he was found carrying contact information of a militia group member from southeast texas and had nearly a month prior to the riot reached out to a gop senator. it says on december 11, 2020, mr. coffman drove around the u.s. capitol and attempted to drive to the residence of in part ted cruz. then it describes how when he didn t find senator cruz at home, he called his office. the staffer said he seemed to be coming from the friend angle in wanting to help with the election fraud he saw. coffman has pleaded not guilty to his 16 charges of d.c. firearms violations and one federal firearms count, but the striking details about his alleged preparation and participation in the insurrection only bolster the rationale for an independent investigation into what really happened. if only the gop were into it. seeing if republicans stand on the side of truth and democracy