After last week’s deadly assault on the U.S. Capitol by supporters of President Donald Trump, members of Congress are expressing something once unthinkable: that some of their own colleagues may be endangering their lives. Not in a rhetorical sense, but in a direct and immediate way.
“It’s the most poisonous I’ve ever seen,” Rep. Don Beyer, D-Va., said in an interview. “There’s the overall sense that maybe if some of them have guns — and likely the ones who are more into conspiracy theories and QAnon with the pedophilic satanic rings — are we safe from them?”
Since the deadly riot Jan. 6, lawmakers have suggested — not, so far, backed up by evidence — that far-right colleagues may have helped plan or guide the attack. There are particular concerns about some newly elected members who have espoused extremist views, including comments supportive of the QAnon lie that accuses perceived enemies of Trump of being part of a child-abusing cult.
Congresswomen Marjorie Taylor Green and Lauren Boebert insist they should be able to carry guns on the floor of the Senate. Madison Carthorne says he was armed on the floor during the insurrection.
Who do you think they see as a threat? The mob breaking down the doors?
Nope:
She’s QAnon, of course:
“Q is a patriot. We know that for sure,” Greene said in the half-hour-long video. She went on to explain the ins and outs of the theory, noting that QAnon “seems completely for the good” “and totally on Trump’s side.”
Here’s Lauren Boebert last year at a Colorado “protest” with White Supremacists flashing White Power signs:
“Madame Speaker, I have constituents outside this building right now and I promised to be their voice,” said Boebert on the House floor mere moments before the pro-Trump rioters invaded the building. Earlier that day, Boebert tweeted, “Today is 1776.”
Some have alleged that Boebert was attempting to aid rioters who were searching for U.S. House Speaker Nancy Pelosi by tweeting information about her whereabouts during the attack.
Later that day, Boebert attempted to back away from the rioters she earlier referred to as her constituents, saying they “were not conservative” and potentially nodding to the conspiracy that Antifa was behind the riot.
Now, just a week after being sworn into Congress, some are calling for Boebert’s removal.
As some national news outlets have reported, Boebert’s former campaign manager Sherronna Bishop once praised the Proud Boys, a white supremacist hate group that was among those who attacked the Capitol. Over the past several months, the Colorado Times Recorder has reported extensively on Boebert’s ties to far-right extremist groups and conspiracies.
Boebert has long embraced the far-right militia movement, appearing at events with them and even asking members of the III% United Patriots, also known as the “Three Percenters,” to provide security at campaign events, as reported by CTR’s Erik Maulbetsch in July. The group had a strong presence at Wednesday’s riot.
Boebert appeared at a rally in opposition to Colorado’s “red flag” gun law in December of 2019 alongside members of the Three Percenters and the Proud Boys, Maulbetsch reported at the time.
This summer, Boebert tweeted, “I am the militia. #2A #WeThePeople.”
In May, when armed militia members entered the Michigan Capitol over COVID-19 orders, Boebert tweeted that Michigan Gov. Gretchen Whitmer “should not be in power,” and that “she’s become an outright tyrant.”
Last month, Boebert said in an interview with Breitbart News that “the Second Amendment isn’t about hunting, except hunting tyrants, maybe.”
These people are menaces. They should be expelled.