Impeachment article has 200 cosponsors: US rep.
The draft, citing "incitement of insurrection," could be introduced Monday.
President Donald Trump is slated to hand over control of the White House to President-elect Joe Biden in 11 days.
Top headlines:
- Rep. Cicilline: 'Just passed 200 cosponsors' on article of impeachment
- GOP Rep. Kinzinger: Best thing for the country is Trump to resign
- Pence to attend Biden's inauguration: Source
- Senate Democrat says Cruz, Hawley should resign or 'the Senate must expel them'
- Trump asked Georgia election investigator to 'find the fraud': Source
Statehouses advised to increase security after Capitol riot
Federal law enforcement officials have advised police agencies in state capitals to increase their security posture at statehouses around the country following the riot at the US Capitol, law enforcement sources told ABC News.
The concern, the sources said, is an emboldened right-wing that considered Wednesday a success and may next turn to locations in closer to home.
Like the U.S. Capitol, statehouses are often backdrops for demonstrations that law enforcement officials now fear could turn violent.
“The safety of the Massachusetts State House, its employees and its neighbors is of utmost importance. As we witness the events in Washington, DC and across the nation, we are aware of the need to ensure the safety of this building and those who work within it. We continually assess our security needs and will adjust as necessary,” said Massachusetts Gov. Charlie Baker, Senate President Karen Spilka and House Speaker Ronald Mariano in a joint statement.
Across the country in Washington state, Gov. Jay Inslee activated the National Guard to patrol the Capitol Campus when the state legislature convenes Monday.
“As legislators begin their work on behalf of the people of the state of Washington, we must do whatever we can to ensure that they can do that work without fear, intimidation or harassment. The actions we saw in both Washington, D.C. and Olympia earlier this week were completely unacceptable and will not be repeated in our state capital again,” Inslee said.
Security was also increased around the statehouse in Maryland, Gov. Larry Hogan said.
“Maryland State Police as well as Maryland Capitol Police, some of which you see around here, have increased security around the Maryland State House complex, since there’s been a number of incidents at state capitols and governor’s mansions around the country,” Hogan said.
-ABC News' Aaron Katersky and Josh Margolin
Capitol rioter seen in photo carrying lantern arrested
Florida authorities say on Friday night they arrested one of the alleged Capitol rioters who was seen in a viral photograph carrying Speaker Nancy Pelosi’s lectern through the halls.
Adam Johnson, 36, of Parrish, Florida, is being held in Pinellas County Jail and charges are pending after federal marshals picked him up, according to arrest records.
Army reviewing whether to arm National Guardsmen for inauguration
Army Secretary Ryan McCarthy said Friday the Army will soon determine whether to allow Guardsmen to be armed for the inauguration based on a review of threat intelligence.
"We'll be looking at the intelligence and make a determination over the next day or so," McCarthy told the Associated Press. "It's just going to require us to get better intel, and then we'll have to make a risk assessment."
"The Secretary of the Army, in concert with Federal and Metropolitan leadership and D.C. National Guard continue to assess the security environment in the District of Columbia," an Army official told ABC News.
"As part of the standard mission analysis, we evaluate mission requirements based on requests, and it can include looking into the force posture level and the standing rules for the use of force. The Army is a planning organization and this a standard part of mission analysis," the official added.
- ABC News' Luis Martinez
Pelosi remains noncommittal on impeachment but urges Dems to 'be prepared'
After an hours-long phone call earlier Friday with the entire Democratic caucus, House Speaker Nancy Pelosi in a new statement is walking a fine line on next steps and remaining noncommittal on moving forward with impeachment.
Pelosi said it's still Democrats' hope that Trump will "immediately resign."
"But if he does not, I have instructed the Rules Committee to be prepared to move forward with Congressman Jamie Raskin’s 25th Amendment legislation and a motion for impeachment. Accordingly, the House will preserve every option – including the 25th Amendment, a motion to impeach or a privileged resolution for impeachment," she said in the statement.
This comes after nearly 160 Democrats have signed on to legislation in support of a single article of impeachment against the president -- which it is expected that they still plan to introduce as early as Monday -- but Pelosi does not definitively say she will support it or that the chamber will move forward with impeachment.
- ABC News' Mariam Khan and Benjamin Siegel
Georgia election official debunks fraud theories Trump raised on call with Raffensperger
Georgia election official Gabriel Sterling, a Republican, at a press conference on what he called "anti-disinformation Monday," ran through major voter conspiracies pushed by Trump, his allies and far-right media outlets and debunked them one-by-one in an effort to restore faith in Georgia's election system.
"The reason I'm having to stand here today is because there are people in positions of authority and respect who have said their vote didn't count and it's not true," Sterling said, stressing to Georgians that their votes count ahead of critical runoffs in the state which will determine the balance of power in the U.S. Senate.
"It's Whac-A-Mole again. It is Groundhog Day again. I'm going to talk about the things I've talked about repeatedly for two months, but I'm going to do it for one last time," Sterling said, adding he "screamed" at the radio upon hearing audio of the phone call between Trump and Secretary of State Brad Raffensperger because theories Trump questioned have already been "thoroughly debunked."
For example, Sterling, responding to those who claim there were roughly 2,500 people who voted without being registered, said, "Let's just be clear about this: you can't do it!" He said, "So that number is zero," going on to debunk other theories.
Asked if he believes, as some have said, that Trump's phone call was an attack on democracy, Sterling said he'd leave others to make that decision before adding he felt it was "out of place."
"I found it to be something that was not normal -- out of place -- and nobody I know who would be president would do something like that to a secretary of state," Sterling said.
Asked about Raffenperger's desire to have the phone call recorded and whether he was concerned about anything improper being said or needing to release it later, Sterling said it was recorded "out of an abundance of caution"
"I think given the environment we're in right now, the political situation that we're in, the history of the president, knowing that he sometimes doesn't necessarily characterize things as they might have actually occurred, it was out of abundance of caution," Sterling said.
"I'm sure the president's side may have recorded it, too. They may have been the ones who leaked part of that, too," he added.