I have fond memories of my ninth-grade civics class at Belen Junior High school taught by the late Boleslo Lovato, former mayor of Belen, back in my school year of 1980-81.
Civics was a required course then and it was a useful course for me to learn not only how federal and state governments work but also how local government and quasi-governmental agencies work, too.
One of the foundational lessons was the three branches of government: executive, legislative and judicial. Understanding the difference is fundamental to understanding government.
Before I took that class, I had the opportunity to serve as an honorary page at the New Mexico Legislature and, as a Cub Scout. I was able to meet then Gov. Jerry Apodaca in his office. Both of those experiences gave me some small insight into the legislative and executive branches of government when Mr. Lovato taught us civics a few years later.
Hours after the attack on the Capitol ended, a group calling itself the Last Sons of Liberty posted a brief video to Parler, the social media platform, that appeared to show members of the organization directly participating in the uprising. Footage showed someone with a shaky smartphone charging past the metal barricades surrounding the building. Other clips show rioters physically battling with baton-wielding police on the white marble steps just outside the Capitol.
Before Parler went offline its operations halted at least temporarily when Amazon refused to continue to host the network the Last Sons posted numerous statements indicating that group members had joined the mob that swarmed the Capitol and had no regrets about the chaos and violence that unfolded on Jan. 6. The Last Sons also did some quick math: The government had suffered only one fatality, U.S. Capitol Police Officer Brian Sicknick, 42, who was reportedly bludgeoned in the head with a fire extinguisher. But
Jonathan Valdes/USAF Taylor Bechtol, then an Air Force staff sergeant, with munition at Joint Base Elmendorf-Richardson in Alaska on Oct. 26, 2018. Bechtol has been linked to the Boogaloo Bois. By A.C. Thompson, ProPublica, and Lila Hassan and Karim Hajj, FRONTLINE Hours after the attack on the Capitol ended, a group calling itself the Last Sons of Liberty posted a brief video to Parler, the social media platform, that appeared to show members of the organization directly participating in the uprising. Footage showed someone with a shaky smartphone charging past the metal barricades surrounding the building. Other clips show rioters physically battling with baton-wielding police on the white marble steps just outside the Capitol.
This story is part of an ongoing collaboration between ProPublica and FRONTLINE that includes an upcoming documentary.
Hours after the attack on the Capitol ended, a group calling itself the Last Sons of Liberty posted a brief video to Parler, the social media platform, that appeared to show members of the organization directly participating in the uprising. Footage showed someone with a shaky smartphone charging past the metal barricades surrounding the building. Other clips show rioters physically battling with baton-wielding police on the white marble steps just outside the Capitol.
Before Parler went offline its operations halted at least temporarily when Amazon refused to continue to host the network the Last Sons posted numerous statements indicating that group members had joined the mob that swarmed the Capitol and had no regrets about the chaos and violence that unfolded on Jan. 6. The Last Sons also did some quick math: The government had suffered only one fatality, U.