Capitol Riot Retcon: Republican Candidates Promote January 6th Conspiracy Theories
Capitol Riot Retcon: Republican Candidates Promote January 6th Conspiracy Theories
Republican candidates for congress and state legislatures are campaigning by embracing January 6th conspiracy theories and promoting myth that Capitol Riot defendants are 'political prisoners.'
Republicans are attempting to rewrite the history of the January 6th Insurrection, and many Republican candidates for Congress and state legislatures are campaigning by embracing January 6th conspiracy theories and promoting myth that Capitol Riot defendants are “political prisoners.”
During the months leading up to the 2024 presidential election, Radical Reports will identify, highlight, and map the candidates promoting January 6th conspiracy theories and attempting to rewrite the history of January 6th. This research and reporting will be featured in the new project: Capitol Riot Retcon.
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In the years since the Capitol Riot, Republican lawmakers and candidates “have softened their criticism of the insurrection in an apparent loyalty test to former President Trump.” Republican voters have embraced conspiracy theories of January 6th — 34% of Republicans believe that it is “probably” or “definitely” true that “FBI operatives organized and encouraged the attack on the U.S. Capitol,” according to a poll published by the Washington Post and University of Maryland.
There are at least 195 candidates for state and federal office who voted against the certification of the 2020 election results, spread election related conspiracy theories, or who were otherwise involved in the events related to the January 6th Insurrection, according to Public Wise’s Insurrection Index.
Republican candidates in Ohio have promoted conspiracy theories about January 6th including “the idea that FBI informants provoked an otherwise peaceful crowd, and making the claimed that “those convicted of crimes are hostages or political prisoners.”
Several prominent right-wing Republicans have continued to campaign on conspiracy theories about January 6th. In Arizona, Kari Lake, who is once again a candidate for U.S. Senate in the Republican primary in Arizona, has defended those that participated in the Capitol Riot and promoted conspiracy theories including that the events on January 6th were a “staged riot.” In Colorado, Lauren Boebert, the embattled Congresswoman from Colorado's 3rd Congressional District who is now a Republican primary candidate 4th Congressional District, called Capitol Riot defendants “political prisoners.”
From Republican candidates for the U.S. Senate to candidates for state senate, political newcomers are also campaigning on conspiracy theories about January 6th.
In New York, Cara Castronuova, co-founder of Citizens Against Political Persecution, is candidate for U.S. Senate in the Republican primary, and has often appeared in right-wing media including Newsmax and The Gateway Pundit. Castronuova has repeatedly spread various conspiracy theories about January 6th, including that the Capitol Riot was a “Deep State orchestrated event, used to roll out a Psychological Operation (PSYOP) designed to target Trump and label his supporters as domestic terrorists.” Edward Lang, who has plead not guilty to multiple charges related to the Capitol Riot, recently endorsed Castronuova.
In Texas, Martha Fierro is the Republican candidate for the State Senate in District 6, and Fierro is campaigning on a platform that embraces right-wing position on various issues. After the 2020 election, Fierro posted on Twitter/X that “the truth will be known Cheaters never win,” and included the hashtag #BidenWillNeverBePresident. On January 6, 2021, Fierro posted a photo on Facebook and compared that day’s Capitol Riot to the pro-choice protests at the Texas Capitol in the summer of 2013, and commented “never forget their hypocrisy and dedication to fundamentally changing our country.”
Those of us who watched that insurrection on the teevee *as it happened* aren't so impressed with the lies about what happened that day. We watched the feces-smearing lowlifes wandering out afterwards, and we marveled that nobody was detaining them.
For some reason I felt compelled to click the link to the Shaman’s blog post. I found it… less than persuasive lol. The shaman didn’t cite even one source, except some of his buddies saying trust me bro. Oh and one twitter post which could easily just be a lie lmao. Also doesn’t seem to understand what a Psy Op is. Apparently it’s basically “media says thing I don’t like, but also can’t disprove.” Not really doing much to convince me that he’s somehow a victim here.