Th e Bu l l eTin " SaTu r day, Ja n ua r y 9, 2021 A3
TODAY
It’s Saturday, Jan. 9, the ninth day
of 2021. There are 356 days left
in the year.
Today’s Highlight in History:
In 2020, Chinese state media
said a preliminary investiga-
tion into recent cases of viral
pneumonia had identified the
probable cause as a new type of
coronavirus.
In 1788, Connecticut became
the fifth state to ratify the U.S.
Constitution.
In 1793, Frenchman Jean Pierre
Blanchard, using a hot-air bal-
loon, flew from Philadelphia to
Woodbury, New Jersey.
In 1861, Mississippi became the
second state to secede from the
Union, the same day the Star
of the West, a merchant vessel
bringing reinforcements and
supplies to Federal troops at
Fort Sumter, South Carolina, re-
treated because of artillery fire.
In 1913, Richard Milhous Nixon,
the 37th president of the United
States, was born in Yorba Linda,
California.
In 1916, the World War I Battle
of Gallipoli ended after eight
months with an Ottoman
Empire victory as Allied forces
withdrew.
In 1945, during World War II,
American forces began landing
on the shores of Lingayen Gulf
in the Philippines as the Battle of
Luzon got underway, resulting
in an Allied victory over Imperial
Japanese forces.
In 1951, the United Nations
headquarters in New York offi-
cially opened.
In 1958, President Dwight D.
Eisenhower, in his State of the
Union address to Congress,
warned of the threat of Commu-
nist imperialism.
In 1987, the White House
released a January 1986 memo-
randum prepared for President
Ronald Reagan by Lt. Col. Oliver
L. North showing a link between
U.S. arms sales to Iran and the
release of American hostages in
Lebanon.
In 2003, U.N. weapons inspec-
tors said there was no “smoking
gun” to prove Iraq had nuclear,
chemical or biological weapons
but they demanded that Bagh-
dad provide private access to
scientists and fresh evidence
to back its claim that it had
destroyed its weapons of mass
destruction.
In 2009, the Illinois House
voted 114-1 to impeach Gov.
Rod Blagojevich, who defiantly
insisted again that he had
committed no crime. The Illinois
Senate unanimously voted to
remove Blagojevich from office
20 days later.
In 2015, French security forces
shot and killed two al-Qaida-
linked brothers suspected of
carrying the rampage at the
satirical newspaper Charlie
Hebdo that had claimed 12 lives,
the same day a gunman killed
four people at a Paris kosher
grocery store before being killed
by police.
Ten years ago: Federal prose-
cutors brought charges against
Jared Loughner, the man
accused of attempting to assas-
sinate Rep. Gabrielle Giffords,
D-Ariz., and killing six people
at a political event in Tucson
the day before. British movie
director Peter Yates, who sent
actor Steve McQueen screech-
ing through the streets of San
Francisco in a Ford Mustang in
“Bullitt,” died in London at 81.
Five years ago: Actor Angus
Scrimm, 89, the “Tall Man” in the
“Phantasm” horror films, died in
Tarzana, California.
One year ago: The Democrat-
ic-controlled House approved a
resolution asserting that Presi-
dent Donald Trump must seek
approval from Congress before
engaging in further military
action against Iran. At his first
campaign rally of 2020, Trump
told an Ohio crowd that he had
served up “American justice” by
ordering a drone strike to take
out Iran’s top general.
Today’s Birthdays: Actor K.
Callan is 85. Folk singer Joan
Baez is 80. Rock musician Jimmy
Page (Led Zeppelin) is 77. Actor
John Doman is 76. Singer David
Johansen (aka Buster Poindex-
ter) is 71. Singer Crystal Gayle
is 70. Actor J.K. Simmons is 66.
Actor Imelda Staunton is 65.
Nobel Peace laureate Rigoberta
Menchú is 62. Rock musician Eric
Erlandson is 58. Actor Joely Rich-
ardson is 56. Rock singer-musi-
cian Dave Matthews is 54. Ac-
tor-director Joey Lauren Adams
is 53. Actor Omari Hardwick is 47.
Roots singer-songwriter Hayes
Carll is 45. Singer A.J. McLean
(Backstreet Boys) is 43. Cather-
ine, Duchess of Cambridge, is 39.
Rock-soul singer Paolo Nutini is
34. Actor Nina Dobrev is 32. Ac-
tor Basil Eidenbenz is 28. Actor
Kerris Dorsey is 23.
— Associated Press
LOCAL, STATE & REGION
WASHINGTON, D.C. | VIOLENCE AT THE CAPITOL
Arrested Oregon man: Police ‘sympathetic’
BY LIZZY ACKER
The Oregonian
In the aftermath of the vio-
lence that erupted Wednesday
in Washington, D.C., records
show at least three Oregonians
were arrested in the siege at the
U.S. Capitol.
One of them was Rodney
Taylor, 57, of Bandon.
Taylor said Thursday that
many of the officers he en-
countered during his trip were
friendly.
“The majority of the cops that
I interacted with in D.C., they
strike an unmistakably sympa-
thetic pose or tone,” he said.
He said he saw Capitol police
retreat “immediately,” and offer
almost no resistance when the
violence began and a mob sup-
porting Trump broke into the
U.S. Capitol.
Taylor, who owns US Sur-
vey Supply, a company that
sells surveying equipment and
has a master contract with the
Washington State Department
of Enterprise Services, was
arrested for curfew violation
Wednesday and released early
Thursday morning.
D.C. Mayor Muriel Bowser
imposed a 6 p.m. curfew after
rioters stormed the Capitol .
It was Taylor’s third trip to
the nation’s capital in three
weeks, he told The Oregonian
in a phone call from the district
Thursday. Taylor said he trav-
eled to there “for the preserva-
tion of the republic” and be-
cause he is “gravely concerned”
about the United States becom-
ing a communist country.
The phenomenon of seem-
ingly friendly police has been
widely reported. A viral video
captured amid the chaos shows
an unidentified police officer
posing for pictures with rioters
Jacquelyn Martin/AP file
With the Washington Monument in the background, people attend a rally Wednesday in support of President Donald Trump near the White House.
who broke into the building.
Taylor told KGW he as-
cended the Capitol stairs but
didn’t enter the building.
He told The Oregonian that
he supported peaceful pro-
test and he believed “antifa
agitators” were behind the vi-
olence, citing images he has
seen on Twitter and Parler
and the fact that some agita-
tors were wearing Trump hats
backward and didn’t respond
to his questions about Repub-
lican lawmakers.
These claims, including the
theory that antifa wears Trump
hats backward, have been re-
peatedly debunked.
Taylor was arrested hours af-
Officials: Republican
lawmaker let protesters
into Oregon Capitol
BY SARA CLINE
The Associated Press/Report for
America
PORTLAND — A Republi-
can state representative let pro-
testers into the Oregon Capitol
building, which was closed to
the public, during a December
special legislative session where
demonstrations outside turned
violent, the Speaker of the
House said Thursday.
During the far-right protest,
which was held in opposition
to statewide COVID-19 restric-
tions and attracted hundreds
of people, protesters assaulted
reporters, attacked authorities
with bear spray and broke glass
doors. They were eventually
cleared from the building.
As lawmakers inside the
building discussed corona-
virus-related bills, around 50
protesters briefly breached the
building. The Capitol has been
closed to the public as part of a
pandemic safety measure.
House Speaker Tina Kotek
said during a news conference
about the Capitol operations
safety plan that Rep. Mike Ne-
arman, R-Independence, had
allowed protesters into the
building.
Kotek called Nearman’s ac-
tions “reckless and dangerous.”
“This was a serious, serious
breach of public trust,” Kotek
said. “Legislative staff and mem-
bers felt terrorized by the incur-
sion, particularly our members
who are members of color.”
It is not immediately clear
if and what consequences Ne-
arman will face. Attempts to
reach Nearman on Thursday
weren’t immediately successful.
OREGON CONGRESSIONAL DELEGATION
25th Amendment or
impeachment pressed for
BY DOUGLAS PERRY
The Oregonian
In the wake of the attempted
takeover of the U.S. Capitol
in Washington, several mem-
bers of Oregon’s congressio-
nal delegation say it’s time for
Vice President Mike Pence and
Trump’s cabinet members to
trigger the 25th Amendment,
the constitutional mechanism
that would remove the presi-
dent from office.
“It’s so disturbing to me that
we still need to advocate for
this with just 14 days left in
his term, but it’s no longer op-
tional,” said Rep. Earl Blume-
nauer, D-Portland, suggesting
that Trump could create more
crises if left to finish out his full
time in office.
Rep. Peter DeFazio, D-Eu-
gene, seconded that view, stat-
ing that “the most expedient
way to remove Trump from
office is to invoke the 25th
Amendment. I am calling on
Vice President Pence and the
cabinet to immediately declare
through the 25th Amendment
that the President is unable to
discharge the powers and du-
ties of his office.”
Sen. Ron Wyden called
Trump “a clear and present dan-
ger to our democracy. His cab-
inet must use the 25th amend-
ment to act.” Sen. Jeff Merkley
said the amendment “should
be invoked today and Trump
should be removed from office.”
Oregonians could face charges in insurrection
Oregon U.S. Attorney Billy Williams on Thursday said Oregonians who
traveled to Washington, D.C., and participated in this week’s armed
insurrection at the U.S. Capitol would be prosecuted to the “fullest ex-
tent of the law” in Oregon.
In a statement, Williams called Wednesday’s events “an abomination
to our democracy and utterly indefensible.”
ter the break-in. He said he was
attempting to show police offi-
cers a video on his phone.
“We had witnessed police
beating a woman with a baton,”
Taylor said. “Police should not
hit women with batons.”
He was in front of his hotel,
he said, when he approached
police to show them the video,
“cellphone in one hand and my
other hand in the air.”
Taylor said he told the offi-
cer, “I mean you no harm,” and
the officer responded by telling
him he was violating the cur-
few ordinance.
“My response was, ‘Sir, I only
wish to show you this video,’”
he said, “And his response was,
‘You are under arrest.’”
Taylor said he was put in
handcuffs and after about a
half an hour, taken to a “re-
mote interim jail facility,”
where he was processed with
about 75 other men.
During his arrest and pro-
cessing, Taylor said, “I took
the opportunity to mention to
several different officers that I
thought that what was happen-
ing was grossly unfair.”
“I was met with a certain
amount of agreement,” he said.
About 3:30 a.m., he said, he
was released and shared an
Uber with another man back
to the area of his hotel. Taylor
said he was fined $25.