Republicans blasted for 'hugging' cop-attacking Jan. 6 rioters in scathing House speech
In a scathing speech during a meeting of the House Homeland Security Committee, Rep. Robert Garcia (D-CA) tore into his Republican colleagues regarding their favorable treatment of participants in the deadly January 6 insurrection.
Even though he didn't mention anyone by name, Garcia admonished his fellow committee members on the other side of the aisle for allegedly showing warmth toward January 6 defendants currently being held in the Washington, D.C. jail. Garcia seemed to all but point to Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene (R-GA), who sits on the committee and has repeatedly heaped praise on those who participated in the siege of the U.S. Capitol.
"I want to go back to January 6. We talk about policing and supporting police officers, and it's very important to support our Capitol Police that were here, protecting the Capitol on January the 6th," Garcia said. "I toured the DC jail with one member of this committee in the majority. And when we did that, unfortunately, those prisoners, those insurrectionists, were treated like heroes. They were hugged, they were given handshakes by members of the majority — particularly one member of this committee."
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"Let's remember the facts: 17 of the 20 that were charged at that jail were charged with assaulting police," he continued. "Six of them had already pleaded guilty, yet they are being called in some cases heroes, they are being called hostages by members of the majority."
As Garcia stated, a bulk of the defendants currently housed in the D.C. jail are being incarcerated on charges of assaulting police officers, including some who used weapons. An April article by New York University's Just Security publication reported that "some of the most disturbing acts of violence at the US Capitol" were carried out by D.C. jail inmates.
"One convicted felon helped lead the assault on police guarding the Capitol’s external security perimeter, an 'attack [that] paved the way for thousands of rioters to storm the Capitol grounds," Just Security's Tom Joscelyn, Fred Wertheimer and Norm Eisen wrote. "Another inmate allegedly threw 'an explosive device that detonated upon at least 25 officers,' causing some of the officers to temporarily lose their hearing."
"It's very important that we support the police, and not the 20 people that are being held, that are being coddled, supported and uplifted by some members of the Congress, which I think is shameful and disgusting," Garcia added. "And quite frankly, hypocritical as well."
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Former President Donald Trump has used January 6 as a major talking point in campaign speeches, opting to refer to those incarcerated for attacking the U.S. Capitol as "hostages." He has pledged to pardon vast swaths of January 6 participants, and has lamented their treatment as criminal defendants.
Just Security noted that Trump has been in consistent communication with Micki Witthoeft, who is the mother of deceased insurrectionist Ashli Babbitt. Witthoeft has held vigils outside the DC jail, and has told supporters that Trump has committed to "setting these guys free" should he win a second term in November.
"[Trump] said to pass that on to the guys inside that they’re on his mind, and when he gets in they’ll get out," Witthoeft said.
Babbitt was an air force veteran and QAnon conspiracy theorist who flew roughly 3,000 miles across three time zones from San Diego, California to Washington, D.C. in the midst of a deadly pandemic to overturn the 2020 election. She broke through several police lines and was only stopped after being struck by a bullet fired from a Capitol police officers' gun.
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