What happened at the Capitol on Jan. 6 of this year is most immediately and obviously attributable to one person: Donald Trump. It was Trump’s months of dishonesty about the danger of election fraud before Nov. 3 that tilled the soil, it was Trump’s months of dishonesty about the election results that sowed the seeds, it was Trump’s weeks of encouragement to show up in Washington that day that yielded the crop.
But as has been the case since Trump emerged as a dominant force in right-wing politics, the energy he brought to the issue created an entire ecosystem in which his allies could thrive. Conspiracy theorists and grifters circled around the idea that the election was stolen, addressing unmet demand in the marketplace.
Few did so more successfully than Ali Alexander. Alexander has been a figure on the fringe right for some time, a name familiar to people who’d heard of Alex Jones or Laura Loomer. In the wake of the 2020 election, though, he gained something new: a clear ally in the establishment. His “Stop the Steal” movement was murky in its intended outcomes beyond gaining attention for Alexander and vacuuming up cash, money that he insisted didn’t benefit himself at all. But he was in the right place at the right time with the right amount of shamelessness and a demonstrated interest in the spotlight.
On Thursday, Alexander is scheduled to offer testimony before the House committee investigating the Capitol riot. According to prepared remarks obtained by the New...
PORTLAND, Ore. - Two men face federal charges for allegedly defrauding Medicare, the Department of Health and Human Services, the Veterans Health Administration and private insurance companies out...