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Iowa early News Headlines: Monday, Jan. 11, 2021

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January 11th, 2021 by Ric Hanson

Here is the latest Iowa news from The Associated Press at 3:38 a.m. CST

DES MOINES, Iowa (AP) — The Iowa Legislature will convene today (Monday), with Republicans holding large majorities and promising an agenda that could include tax cuts and changes to voting, gun and school attendance laws. Republicans expanded their majority in the House in November and maintained their edge in the Senate. They see the election as an affirmation that voters support the conservative actions they have taken since winning full control of the Legislature in 2016. The GOP to-do list is expected to include efforts to reduce taxes, making changes to voting rules, expand gun rights and require in-school attendance despite concerns about the coronavirus pandemic. The 150 lawmakers will gather in the Statehouse with no mask requirements and rules that do not require disclosure of a positive COVID-19 test.

UNDATED (AP) — Authorities have arrested a man from Iowa who allegedly took part in the riot in and around the U.S. Capitol by supporters of President Donald Trump. Police Sgt. Paul Parizek says officers assisted the FBI in arresting 41-year-old Doug Jensen on Friday night at his home on the south side of Des Moines. He was booked into jail early Saturday on five federal charges. It isn’t clear if he has an attorney yet. Video posted online during the Wednesday rioting showed a man who appears to be Jensen, who is white, pursuing a Black officer up a flight of stairs as a mob trails behind.

WASHINGTON (AP) — The violent mob that stormed the U.S. Capitol last week was overwhelmingly made up of longtime Trump supporters. The Associated Press reviewed social media posts, voter registrations, court files and other public records for more than 120 people connected to the rioting. They include Republican Party officials, GOP political donors, far-right militants, white supremacists and adherents of the QAnon conspiracy theory. The evidence gives lie to claims that the violence at the Capitol was perpetrated by left-wing antifa thugs rather than supporters of the president. An FBI official says investigators have seen “no indication” antifa activists were disguised as Trump supporters during the Capitol riot.

DES MOINES, Iowa (AP) — A Des Moines man has been sentenced to 25 years in prison in connection with a shooting last April. Littleton Clark, 41, was sentenced Friday in the April 12 shooting that took place outside a Des Moines apartment complex. Police said Clark fired into a group of people and wounded another man twice in the torso. The victim survived but needed surgery after the shooting. Court records show that 41-year-old Littleton Clark pleaded guilty last month to assault and two weapons charges as part of a deal with prosecutors. In return, an attempted murder charge and two other charges were dropped.