Contested Republican Senator Ron Johnson of Wisconsin, a die-hard Trump supporter, comes under attack after claims the January 6 attack on the US Capitol was not an “armed insurrection”.
“This didn’t seem to me to be an armed riot,” Senator Johnson told far-right host Jay Weber on WISN, as reported by the Washington Post. “When you hear the word ‘armed’, don’t you think of firearms? Here are the questions I would have liked to ask: How many firearms were confiscated? How many shots were fired? “
“If that was a planned armed riot, man, you’ve really had some idiots,” added Johnson.
If you missed it this weekend, Senator Ron Johnson (R-WI) said this about the 1/6 Capitol Insurrection:
“That didn’t seem like an armed riot to me. I mean, armed – when you think you hear armed, don’t you think of firearms?” pic.twitter.com/pZuJnpeKzg
– The recount (@therecount) February 16, 2021
Until a few weeks ago, Johnson was chairman of the Homeland Security and Government Affairs Committee, which means he, more than most in the Senate, had access to people who knew first-hand what was happening during the January 6 riot. In other words, he could and should have checked.
Johnson had access to Google, as many have noted since his remarks over the weekend.
Politifact quickly assessed his claim as “Pants on Fire”, noting that there were not only many weapons, but also other weapons, including “explosives”, along with “knives, brass knuckles, a stun gun and other weapons”.
“In the afternoon, officials in the Capitol fought for their lives and for the seat of the American government,” CNN reported on January 19 on the day of the uprising in an article that used the word “weapon”. ten times. “They were on their own, with no proper protective gear, no knowledge of support, including people, many with weapons, trying to take over the government.”
“One officer said he did not disapprove of any officer firing his weapon, but they were disappointed. I have 16 bullets in my pistol and 28 in my long gun. Then what?’ he said.”
“At that point, I wasn’t looking for weapons. But there were arrests with guns, a Molotov cooler (cocktails were found). We recovered 9 or 10 weapons, found people or took them away. Guarantee so many more had them, ”he said. “You don’t want to start a shootout or take a bloodbath. We wouldn’t have won. “
Five days earlier, the Washington Post offered this quote from Metro DC Police Officer Daniel Hodges:
“I didn’t want to be the guy to start shooting because I knew they had guns – we had guns confiscated all day,” he said. “And the only reason I could remember they didn’t shoot us was because they waited for us to shoot first. And if there had been a firefight between a few hundred officers and a few thousand demonstrators, we would have lost. “
Johnson was quickly hammered for his obvious lie:
“It didn’t seem like an armed riot. How many firearms were confiscated? How many shots were fired?” Wisconsins @ SenRonJohnson.
Police recovered a dozen guns and enough live ammunition to shoot every member of Congress five times. https://t.co/SGRobpksll
– Shannon Watts (@shannonrwatts) February 16, 2021
This guy is an embarrassment to my state. Let’s defeat him in 2022.https: //t.co/BZrFFJ1i8I
– Pete Souza (@PeteSouza) February 16, 2021
It is hard to believe that there are senators who are as deliberately stupid as Ron Johnson, who says January 6th is “not an armed uprising” for him.
Tell that to the grieving families, the Russian Ron.
– BrooklynDad_Defiant! (@mmpadellan) February 16, 2021
On which planet does this person live on https://t.co/z1SJlYhJvJ
– Molly Jong-Fast🏡 (@MollyJongFast) February 16, 2021
It was hard to tell with all the guns, knives, tazers and clubs. https://t.co/r5Rkj51HG3
– Tea pain (eTeaPainUSA) February 16, 2021
Senator Ron Johnson’s character trait best defines after claiming that the insurgents are not armed.
– Joe Lockhart (@joelockhart) February 16, 2021
Senator Ron Johnson: “That didn’t seem like an armed riot to me.”
So, I think all these people with sticks, bats, hockey sticks, shields and flagpoles to hit people with were just the fucking welcoming committee, Ron? Fuk off Nazi Boy.https: //t.co/C328ntrNGj pic.twitter.com/9iDjmbXSmf
– “Aunt Crabby calls bullshit” (@DearAuntCrabby) February 16, 2021
Comments are closed.