TMZ.com Home

Donald Trump was like a roadmap for the protesters who descended on D.C. Wednesday and wreaked havoc in the building that is the hallmark of our democracy, and as a result, he may have a new, non-presidential title -- criminal defendant.

Criminal defense lawyer Mike Cavalluzzi joins us on "TMZ Live" Friday to tick off the possible criminal charges Trump could face for inciting the crowd and encouraging them to wreak havoc in a building that is the foundation of our nation.

Mike zeroes in on the death of Ashli Babbitt, a woman who was part of the insurrection who was shot dead under the Capitol dome. There's something called felony murder ... that's when someone engages in or incites the commission of a violent felony in which someone dies.

The people who committed the initial felony -- even if they didn't fire the fatal shot -- could be charged with murder, and Trump's words and actions over the last 2 weeks arguably triggered the violent attempted coup that resulted in battery on police officers, vandalism and desecrating the hallowed structure.

Mike says Trump's words ... "You'll never take back our country with weakness, you have to show strength and you have to be strong." Well, that could be viewed by prosecutors as inciting a riot.

Martin Luther King Jr.'s daughter wants to see the rioters who stormed the Capitol get more than a slap on the wrist ... she says letting them off easy sends the wrong message.

Bernice King tells TMZ ... she's disturbed the pro-Trump rioters had almost free reign when they laid siege on the Capitol ... a very different reaction from the one her father's peaceful marchers got back in the day in D.C.

MLK's youngest child tells us she's baffled how rioters were able to move through the Capitol without much resistance -- they were in the House and Senate chambers, Speaker Nancy Pelosi's office, everywhere -- and then they just walked out the front door.

Like Michelle Obama and others, Bernice wonders how the rioters would have been treated if they were Black Lives Matter supporters. She's not really wondering ... she knows.

Issac Bruce says if he were runnin' the Rams show ... he'd dump Jared Goff for Deshaun Watson -- telling TMZ Sports a potential trade with the Texans would be a no-brainer for him.

"I'd love to see it, I'm just going to be honest," the Rams legend says. "I think Deshaun Watson is a great talent. He can throw the football well. He's a competitor."

"You don't have to worry about if this guy is going to show up on Sunday. At all."

Of course, a Houston-Los Angeles trade would take a LOT of dominoes to fall ... first, the Texans would have to be willing to jettison their star QB -- even if he's as disgruntled as some reports say he is.

Second, the Rams would have to get creative with contracts considering Goff's massive deal ... AND they'd likely have to come up with a bunch of draft picks to give away as well.

But, Bruce says if there's any way L.A. can make it work ... the Rams should do it and not think twice.

"If Les [Snead] can pull it off, man," Bruce said of the Rams' general manager, "I'd be jumping on the table as well to make it happen."

As for Bruce's feelings on Goff going forward ... you can tell, Isaac ain't exactly Jared's #1 fan.

Swedish songstress Anni-Frid Lyngstad (full name Princess Anni-Frid, Dowager Countess of Plauen) was in her 20s when she became an international sensation after she and her 3 harmonically-superior bandmates formed the iconic '70s band ABBA ... and released hits like 'Gimme! Gimme! Gimme!,' "The Winner Takes It All," "Mamma Mia," "Take A Chance On Me" ... and course the disco juggernaut "Dancing Queen."

Lyngstad was joined in the supergroup by the keys-tickling (and her husband at the time) Benny Andersson ... and blonde vocalist Agnetha Faltskog and her partner the guitar-strumming Björn Ulvaeus.

DaBaby's shopping spree on world-famous Rodeo Drive came to an abrupt halt when Bev Hills cops stopped him and his pals and allegedly found a gun.

DaBaby hit several stores on Rodeo Thursday including Dior, Gucci and Moncler. As he and 3 other men were about to drive off, multiple cop cars surrounded their vehicle. Law enforcement sources tell us someone had called the cops to report DaBaby and his crew had weapons.

Baby and his friends were detained while officers searched the vehicle, and found one handgun.

We're told the rapper was arrested for carrying a loaded firearm, a misdemeanor. Although cops initially detained everyone in the car, we're told DaBaby is the only one getting booked.

Tony Lopez -- one of the popular members of TikTok's Hype House -- used social media to "groom" and have sex with 2 teenage girls ... at least according to an explosive new lawsuit, but he denies the allegations.

The underage girls -- suing under the aliases H.L. Doe and C.H. Doe -- both claim 21-year-old Lopez first began communicating with them via text and social media despite knowing they were minors ... and say he tried to coerce them into meeting for sexual encounters.

H.L. alleges Lopez first lured her away from her friends on Jan. 4, 2020 and engaged in unlawful sexual acts with her ... including oral and vaginal sex. In the suit, the teen claims she told him she was 16 before that encounter, but later admitted she was really 15.

Even so, she alleges they had sex again on Jan. 19 at his place in Nevada -- and that Lopez told her not to take any pics with her phone because he wanted to keep their relationship secret.

The other accuser, C.H., claims she met Lopez in April 2020 when she was invited to the Hype House in L.A. by one of its founders, Thomas Petrou. She claims they exchanged text and Snapchat info, and Lopez -- knowing she was 16 -- almost immediately began soliciting nude photos or video from her.

C.H. alleges Lopez sent a photo of himself with the caption, "Show me your boobs," and repeatedly tried to coerce her into sending explicit photos or sneaking out to meet him to have sex.

She says she always declined, but according to the suit ... he allegedly sent her nude photos exposing his penis.

Both girls are suing Lopez for sexual battery and emotional distress. They're also suing Hype House and its founders -- including Petrou and Chase Hudson -- for negligence.

Lopez tells TMZ ... "These allegations are not at all true. I never sent nudes to these women and didn’t ask them to send me pictures either. And, I certainly wouldn’t have sex with someone who told me they were underage."

President Trump's Twitter suspension is over, and his first tweet is a video message of unity, peace and a promise the Capitol insurrectionists will be brought to justice. What a difference 36 hours makes.

In the video, shot at the White House, the President says he was outraged by the "violence, lawlessness and mayhem" seen Wednesday. Trump claims he "immediately" deployed the National Guard once the attack started -- but there's plenty of proof that just wasn't the case.

The troops didn't arrive until several hours after Senators and Representatives were forced to flee in fear for their lives.

Trump is now saying his only goal in challenging the election results was to ensure the integrity of the vote and defend American democracy. Of course, his words to his assembled crowd of followers yesterday were far more incendiary.

Interestingly, today's message included a vow to punish those responsible for the attack -- whom he softly refers to as "intruders" -- but yesterday he said "we love you."

Trump also verbalized, for the first time, what was essentially a concession ... saying a new administration will be inaugurated on January 20 and his focus is on a smooth and orderly transition of power.

Finally, Trump wrapped it up, saying his single term as President was the honor of his lifetime, but added ... "our incredible journey is only just beginning."

Michelle Obama sees 2 Americas when she looks at the attempted coup -- one with the police response to pro-Trump rioters, and the other a much different response to BLM protesters.

The former First Lady just shared her thoughts on Wednesday's chaos at the Capitol ... and she says one of the things that strikes her most is the massive gulf between how police handled that situation ... compared to last summer's demonstrations.

Michelle says the folks rioting Wednesday would not have been allowed to walk free after laying siege to the Capitol, setting up gallows, waving Confederate flags and "desecrating the center of American government" if they looked like the folks who go to Martin Luther King Jr.'s church.

Driving her point home, Michelle points out BLM demonstrators were greeted with cracked skulls, mass arrests and pepper spray during peaceful protests.

Michelle says there's a lot of work to be done in this country, as some Americans are allowed to "denigrate the flag and symbols of our nation" ... while others are labeled "unpatriotic for taking a knee in silent protest."

Barack Obama also spoke out against the riots ... but his response strikes a much different tone than his wife's.

The U.S. Capitol Police Dept. may have been able to thwart Wednesday's attempted coup if it had all hands on deck, but we've learned they had less than ONE-QUARTER of the force working ... despite multiple, clear warnings the protest could turn violent.

Capitol Police sources tell TMZ ... 500 officers were working Wednesday as President Trump revved up the huge crowd of his supporters upset over the election results -- giving them their marching orders with the Capitol as the final destination. Trump has been dog-whistling for weeks now, promising something big would happen on January 6.

With that backdrop, the Capitol Police are 2,200 strong, yet only 500 were on duty. The way it works in most police departments around the country ... when there's the possibility of social unrest it's all hands on deck. That did not happen here.

Our source says the police believed they had enough staff to contain any unrest ... by setting up barricades and locking up the 3 House office buildings -- the Cannon, Longworth and Rayburn Buildings. The sad fact ... they were grossly understaffed.

Even worse, we're told when the cops on duty were instructed to start deploying tear gas to clear the rioters ... they were not given masks or proper protective equipment. This resulted in many officers becoming debilitated themselves ... meaning even fewer police were at the ready to contain the insurrection.

We're told when it became obvious things were completely out of control, several Capitol Police officers who work the night crew made their way to the Hill to help out ... but by then, according to one Capitol Police source, it already felt like "Olympus Has Fallen."

Rep. Karen Bass of California -- who was in the Capitol Building at the time of the invasion -- is shocked and appalled at the security breach ... and not necessarily buying Capitol Police excuses.

She suggests -- like many others -- the insurrection was made possible by the lax treatment of Trump's supporters, and she believes if a similar situation arose with BLM protesters ... they would have dealt with it in a vastly different, more violent way.

White House Correspondent for TheGrio April Ryan has a slightly different take, but it still doesn't reflect kindly on the Capitol Police. She tells us they acted like keystone cops during the failed coup attempt, but feels it's par for the course.

She says the grotesque images will be long remembered around the country and the world, and there needs to be a drastic revamp of the Capitol Police Dept. to protect the building and its occupants from terrorists ... both domestic and foreign.

We were even told cops were not allowed to take time off from January 5-7 and a plan was being implemented to have a heavy police presence in the area -- both uniformed and in street clothes. It makes it even more puzzling why the full complement of cops wasn't there.

On the bright side -- the FBI is on the hunt for the rioters ... as Rep. Bass says they should be.

Several airlines are stepping in to help keep things calm after the Association of Flight Attendants called on President Trump's supporters to settle the hell down on commercial flights.

American Airlines has banned booze and United's increased staffing to-and-from D.C. flights in the wake of Wednesday's attempted coup by Trump supporters -- many of whom reportedly terrorized passengers on flights to the nation's capital.

As we reported, Senator Mitt Romney was on the receiving end of "traitor" chants during his Tuesday flight from Utah.

American and United's response comes a day after the union repping almost 50,000 flight attendants called on airlines and law enforcement to act after "the mob mentality behavior" on several flights ... which it says "threatened the safety and security" of all passengers and crew members.

American already wasn't serving booze in its main cabins because of COVID, but now it's banned alcohol throughout, including first class. The ban's in effect until at least Thursday night. Both American and United are increasing staff at D.C.-area airports.

Flight attendants, for example, had complained Trump supporters on a Tuesday flight from Texas to D.C. projected a pro-Trump message on the cabin.

The union's fed up, and wants law enforcement to take things up a notch, saying ... "Acts against our democracy, our government, and the freedom we claim as Americans must disqualify these individuals from the freedom of flight."

Rep. Karen Bass is outraged and saddened about the ordeal she and all of Congress endured -- and can't help thinking the Capitol attack would've been thwarted if rioters weren't Trump supporters.

The Congresswoman from California's 37th district joined "TMZ Live" Thursday to recount the terror of the moment lawmakers had to be evacuated ... a shocking event she calls ironic ... in a couple of ways.

First of all, Bass says she anticipated things getting dicey on the streets of D.C. ... but she told her family she'd be safe and sound inside the typically heavily guarded Capitol.

Secondly, she believes the protesters-turned-rioters were almost enabled by the authorities to do what they did. Rep. KB says it stands in stark contrast to what happened during last summer's Black Lives Matter demonstrations.

Her implication is pretty clear, and it all comes back to President Trump ... who still has 13 days left in office. If you think Bass isn't concerned about that even though the riots are over ... think again.

As she points out ... it's not just his actions yesterday that are troubling, but his behavior on social media over the course of his presidency and his plethora of recent lamed duck hirings and firings

Benjamin Kickz, famous for selling rare sneakers to a laundry list of celeb clients, just got arrested in Florida and charged with felony robbery.

Benjamin allegedly swiped an iPhone from another man at the Fontainebleau Hotel in Miami Beach on New Year’s Eve, walking away with the device as his entourage beat the crap out of the guy ... according to the Miami-Dade State Attorney’s Office.

Authorities say Benjamin believed the man had taken a photo of him without his permission, and when the guy denied snapping a pic, BK allegedly grabbed the phone out of his hands.

The alleged beatdown sounds pretty savage ... authorities claim Benjamin's entourage beat, punched and kicked the guy in the head, causing serious injuries and sending him to the hospital.

Benjamin's known for his sneaker hookups ... and he's sold pairs and rubbed elbows with celebs like Drake, Bad Bunny, Lil Pump, Kodak Black and the late Nipsey Hussle.

Benjamin was booked into Dade County Jail Thursday morning and has been charged with one count of felony strong-arm robbery.

Nothing was spared in or around the Capitol in the chaos and destruction triggered by President Trump ... including the Inauguration stage which suffered significant damage.

TMZ got these pics showing the stage's siding torn to shreds ... as it appears the insurrectionists were gung-ho to do maximum damage. The stage itself is still standing, but it's gonna need a lot of repairs.

In a move that's clearly coming one day too late ... security's erecting 8-foot high fencing.

There are also guards now standing watch over the construction that had been going on for at least 5 months.

As we reported ... work had been ramping up on the West Front of the Capitol. At the time, it was hard to tell what the setup would look like ... whether it would be a scaled-down version of past inaugurations ... due to the COVID-19 pandemic.

It remains to be seen how Wednesday's deadly violence at the Capitol will change final plans for Inauguration Day.

Miami Mayor Francis Suarez says while the 305 was once a hot spot for COVID-19 infections, his city's found a way to turn the page ... while other major cities are struggling.

The Mayor joined "TMZ Live" Thursday and touted Miami's progress in battling the coronavirus -- a stark contrast to what L.A. County is dealing with right now. He harkened back to some dark days last summer when Miami averaged 3,500 new cases per day, but says they're down to 2,500 per day.

Suarez says their hospitalization numbers are even better.

As for why L.A. is doing so much worse ... with much stricter restrictions and business closings -- Mayor Suarez says Miami's citizens are "hardwired" to do the basics ... wear masks, social distance and frequently wash their hands.

Doesn't seem like there's any magic solution there, but it's hard to argue it's not working. L.A.'s nightclubs, bars and restaurants are closed -- indoors and outdoors -- while Miami's wide open. Celebs like Diddy, Teyana Taylor and others are taking full advantage ... though we didn't see much social distancing at those events.

April Ryan says members of Congress want President Trump gone before Inauguration Day ... and, as of now, their best path to getting it done looks like the 25th Amendment.

The veteran White House Correspondent for TheGrio joined us Thursday on "TMZ Live" and told us what she's hearing from folks on both sides of the aisle -- the attempted coup was the last straw, and the only issue now is how they'll oust Trump.

April says the 25th Amendment is very much in play ... which is pretty eye-opening considering invoking it is a tough sell. Remember, Mike Pence and either a majority of Trump's Cabinet OR two-thirds of both the Senate and the House have to be on board.

April ran down the list of lawmakers coming out against the President ... and really painted a picture of how the dynamics in D.C. are drastically changing.

April also told us what Congressional leaders were thinking and feeling as they were being whisked off to an undisclosed location Wednesday with the Capitol under siege ... and she tells us why some of the most powerful people in the country were very much afraid.

Just one day after his supporters rioted inside the U.S. Capitol, President Donald Trump went back to business. And by business, we mean golf.

POTUS awarded the Presidential Medal of Freedom to 3 professional golfers on Thursday -- retired stars Annika Sorenstam and Gary Player, as well as Babe Didrikson Zaharias, who died in 1956.

The Presidential Medal of Freedom is the nation’s highest civilian honor ... which the White House describes as an award given to those "who have made especially meritorious contributions to the security or national interests of the United States, to world peace, or to cultural or other significant public or private endeavors."

Player and Sorenstam were slated to receive the award back in March ... but the event was pushed due to the COVID-19 pandemic.

The ceremony is normally open to the press ... but not this time around.

Of course, that most likely has to do with the events that transpired in D.C. on Wednesday ... with hundreds of pro-Trump supporters invading the Capitol Building.

If you're questioning the decision to continue with the event -- given the country is still dealing with the aftermath of Wednesday's incident -- you're not alone.

Player's son, Marc, expressed his concerns with his dad accepting the award, tweeting, "I wish my father would simply & politely decline this 'award' at this time."

"Tone deaf. In denial. Wrong!!"