A few individuals in Congress are trying to make us forget that there was a violent attempted coup on January 6th on behalf of the outgoing “Dear Leader.” Let’s take a look at them and their statements.
According to AP, Rep Paul Gosar (R, AZ) said federal law enforcement was “harassing peaceful patriots” as it searches through photographic evidence of those who might have committed crimes on that day.
Rep. Jody Hice, (R, GA), commented: “It was Trump supporters who lost their lives that day, not Trump supporters who were taking the lives of others.”
The now infamous statement of Representative Andrew Clyde (R, GA) that the attack was just a “normal tourist visit” is well documented. And his gaslighting became even more stark with the revelation that he was photographed barricading the House chamber doors to prevent the entry of those “tourists.”
Senator Ron Johnson (R, WI) was quoted by Minnesota Public Radio as saying, “I knew those were people who love this country, that truly respect law enforcement, would never do anything to break the law, so I wasn’t concerned.”
Now we come to Marjorie Taylor Greene (R, GA). Already infamous for her combative and harassing tactics, she was reported on by CNN for defending President Donald Trump against accusations that he incited the Capitol insurrection, Greene argued: “The timeline doesn’t fit the narrative. Trump supporters could not have listened to President Trump’s speech at the WH and then been ‘incited’ by him to walk to and attack the Capitol.”
CNN disposed of her gaslighting with this response: “This is just not true—even leaving aside the fact that insurrectionists near the Capitol could have listened to Trump’s speech on their phones or could have been inspired by Trump’s previous rhetoric. There was more than enough time for people to walk about a mile and a half from The Ellipse park, where Trump gave a speech that ended before 1:15 p.m. ET, to the Capitol, where rioters were still present more than three hours after Trump concluded. In fact, the FBI alleges that some insurrection participants did make this walk, including one who allegedly went from the Trump speech to her hotel and then into the Capitol.”
Lastly for today we have House Minority Leader Kevin McCarthy (R, CA). Back in February a widely reported phone call between McCarthy and Trump during the riot had McCarthy begging Trump to call off the rioters. But on April 25th the Washington Post reported McCarthy’s “continuing defense” of Trump’s response to the riot. A full about face.
And as of this morning, McCarthy has come out in opposition to a deal cut yesterday to establish a 9-11 style commission to fully investigate the insurrection.
McCarthy was also instrumental in pushing through the ouster of Liz Cheney from her House leadership position because of her refusal to whitewash the insurrection as something other than the violent event it clearly was.
Let us not ever forget that five people died during the assault on the Capitol, including a police officer, and 140 officers were injured. The insurrection also caused widespread damage and led to National Guard troops being called in to restore order. More than 400 Trump supporters have now been charged in the storming of the building, including members of far-right extremist groups and even an active duty Marine officer.
